It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm writing this, as I am an ardent Halo fan, but it was a bit of a surprise even to me how impressed and moved I am with Halo 3's campaign. I tried hard to go in with lowered expectations, and I think I succeeded. Maybe it was that lower expectation that helped me enjoy the game for what it is. It might just be that Bungie makes games that kick ass. Once I get a halfway decent internet connection, I'll be able to partake of some of the multiplayer horrors Simon Thorn detailed in his recent article found here on WickedInfo.com. But enough about that! On to the fanboy geek-love!

7 Reasons Halo 3's Campaign Kicks Your Ass!

1) The graphics - Sure, it's no Gears of War, but no one making the game ever proclaimed it would be. Compare Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 3 and you see a remarkable increase in the detail and clarity of damned near everything you're given to look at. It's still a videogame, yes, so it ain't gonna be like real life, but stop by a rock in the game, or take a look out over one of the many sprawling vistas, and boy, oh boy, you'll see it's getting there.

2) The gameplay - Why fix what ain't broken? Sure, sure, lots of voices floating out along the interwebs scoff mightily at that question. To those voices I say: If you don't like it, why are you still wasting your time playing it? Because there's got to be a better game out there to play, right? Right?

3) Co-op! - Having co-op in a Halo game is like eating or breathing--sure, you could live for a while without it, but is it really advisable? To avoid riots in Redmond, Bungie wisely included co-op, but to inspire a Mardi-Gras-esque festival of joy, they also included online co-op--for FOUR players! Being given the opportunity to play the story mode of the game with three of your closest friends, or three complete strangers if you'd like, was a stroke of programming magic and fan-loving genius. Now, though, they'll have to put it in every game from here on out. It's expected.

4) The characters - Wow. Every single main character gets more than one moment in the spotlight--some three or four--and is spot on performed by the voice actors, who may never get the proper credit or respect for this aspect of their acting craft. Look up Halo 3 on IMDB.com to see the names of many great actors you may already know and love, and some you may discover to be new favorites. All of them are worth a listen (especially David Scully).

5) The story - I never thought a videogame could make me tear up. The time I've invested in the characters and events in this game series, added to the punches pulled by the developers to complete the story arcs in this final game of this trilogy about Master Chief and his plucky A.I. companion, Cortana...wow again. Seeing the story play to its conclusion, and experiencing the dialogue, the cutscenes, the music, and the art direction synchronizing in this game world to create that conclusion...It wasn't out and out weeping, but I admit, I needed a shirt sleeve or two.

6) The Return of (a fair and balanced) Legendary - I played Halo: CE on its hardest difficulty, Legendary, because damn it, that was FUN! So fun that I played it on Legendary, start to finish, skipping no levels, countless times (I lost track after 30 or so). While Halo 2 punished players in some parts of its campaign, Halo 3 returned to the roots of its gameplay and provides another fun and challenging experience on Legendary.

7) Replayability - You think you're finished once the credits roll and you see the final cutscene after they're done? Or the two cutscenes after you've beaten the game on Legendary? Oh, no. If you neglected to enjoy co-op through the campaign, with one, two, or three of your chosen friends, you've got one more reason to go back.

Add to that reason the skulls hidden throughout the game. Cool to find, and better than Halo 2's because these crusty artifacts not only give you achievement points, but allow you to unlock even more challenges in campaign! Like to hear the rarer dialogue it'd take you hundreds of hours of play to catch? Enable your IWHBYD skull. Think Legendary was too easy, and you're ready for a real challenge? Turn on the Mythic skull. Like to play Viva Pinata, but can't pull Halo 3 from the disc tray? There's a Grunt Birthday Party skull you should find and put to use (see for yourself the fun to be had with it). And after all that, you can play through again and see how many points (and more achievements there are to win) you can get playing with Campaign Scoring enabled. It makes a solo game an arcade-like challenge, and a co-op game an exercise in teamwork (or team-killing, if you're so inclined).