hold on #DOOM #dayofwrath

imo Halo 2 had a far better team-up with the Flood (and inevitable betrayal) than 3 because it was all a diversion for the Gravemind to accomplish its true goal: reaching the In Amber Clad so it could access High Charity, not just killing Truth and turning evil again right after.

The iconic dialogue scene in Halo 2 is memorable precisely because it's basically the only time the Gravemind speaks, and it's not to gloat or insult the cast, but to warn that the Prophets are messing with forces they don't understand and will doom the galaxy in their ignorance.

Two and this is a hot take, the Gravemind completely lost all presence and cosmic horror in Halo 3 vs 2. The bastard won't fucking shut up and he just sounds like a generic conceited angry bad guy, not an ancient impersonal and endlessly patient force of cosmic entropy.

My only major criticisms of the game are twofold. One, the campaign sorely missed Cortana's warm humanizing presence, which appropriately complements Chief's cold machine-like nature. Also big thanks for the constant interruptions that completely take away all player control.

The final missions were mythically memorable, with the UNSC allying themselves with the Sangheili and Guilty Spark (remnant of the Forerunners), all the major factions uniting against the shared enemy of the Flood. Lamentable to see Guilty Spark go.

I could quickly tell Halo 3's writing was weaker than 2's due to the lack of a dual Arbiter storyline - and his respective arc - but the coop sequences with Master Chief were still fun and amazing characterization, their actions speaking louder than words ever could.

That being said, I really wasn't a fan of the new grenades. The addition of 2 new types - flame and spike - would be fine, but they were kinda underwhelming and furthermore you can now only carry 2 of each, including the actually useful frag and plasma grenades.

Though I've always been a plasma rifle fan through and through - for the shield draining and no reloading - the Spiker was my new favorite against the Flood and Brutes.

The debut of the gravity hammer was another badass addition, and at least for me preferable over the energy sword's absolutely busted hitbox.

The gameplay does have a small number of welcome additions, namely the equipment items that spice up the combat. The active cloak was by far my favorite.

My review of Halo 3 It would take me many, many playthroughs to fully appreciate this series, which though in some ways not as good than its predecessor, this third game is a stellar conclusion to the Halo trilogy. A solid foundation for 343's spinoffs.

Doomguy skin pack #4 Slayer armors based on Prototype, Sundered, and the Xenomorph alien #Doom crossover art by @artofNate_jw / Nate_jw #dayofwrath

Heads up that I'll be streaming again starting tonight! We already played through their first 3 games, so I'll finish off the series with Quake 4 and Halo 4! Once these two are done I'll move onto Wolfenstein! twitch.tv/infinitypilot