[wages of sin]

And I must say that i'm a little taken aback by the actual lack of discourse towards the hatred of Halo3.

Right off the bat i'll tell you that i'm absolutely a Halo super fanboy. A fanboy isn't a bad thing, as long as your objective. Back in the day (middle to late 80's, into the 90's) a fanboy didn't mean what it does to day.

I prefer the Halo series over most series for a myriad of reasons, however, I will specifically address the relationship between Cod4 and Halo3 since that seems to be the game people like comparing it to.

1st and compare the single player modes of both games.

Halo for me, is about the story. I've read and own all the books as well (including the comics) and Bungie has done an excellent job in creating an excellent story that IMO really puts the player in the position of accepting the fact that you are humanities last hope of survival. It's not that the premise is new mind you, but it's in the execution of said story, especially if you emerse yourself in the books.

With Cod4, I love the real world issues it addresses, but unlike Army of 2, the skirt around the issue of fighting Al Queda and all it's branches in the on going war on terrorism. My hats of to Infinity Ward for taking that bold step, but why not go all the way.

When it comes to AI, hands down Halo3 wins this point. Ramping up the difficulty in Halo3 gives you smarter AI opponents who seem to really think about what they are doing. In Cod4, ramping up the difficulty means you take more damage, and that's not fun. Monster closets shouldn't be the way to challenge players in Cod4, especially for a game who supposedly is pushing the envelope on realism.

I really do like the way the Cod4 laid out the story however, and enjoyed the single player mode. When doing the marine missions I felt like I was in the thick of it, that is until 9 guys come storming out of the bathroom, that killed it for me. IMO Halo3 did a better job of putting you in the world of the MC and what he has to go thru and accomplish.

I could go on about the single player, but as with all of these, it's a matter of opinion and for me, Halo3 offers a superior single player experience overall.

Now onto multiplayer.

Cod4s multiplayer is a blast to play to be sure. However for me I prefer Halo3. IMO Halo3 requires more skill to play and offers much more of a challenge. Granted, it's harder to get good at but thats a good thing if you ask me. If you put the time and effort into and think about what your doing, it's an awesome experience.

One of the biggest problems for me in Cod4 is the matchmaking. If i'm a level 16, I shouldn't be matched up with people who are level 43 on there 2nd prestige. Granted, it doesn't take long to unlock goodies, and for the most part, I did'nt have trouble taking down higher level players, but, in the end, I didn't feel compelled to continue playing on and on to unlock more things. Not having onlinie achievements also detracted from my urge to play as I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything. lastly, why have levels that are uneven to begin with? In Halo3, you are matched appropriately to your level of skill thus offering a challenge everytime. Again, IMO Halo3 requires more skill to play so having accurate matchmaking really counts.

Most other issues with multiplayer aren't issues, they are preferences. Not right, not wrong, just what you the player prefers. For example, some people dis on Halo because you can't run or more appropriately sprint as in Cod4. To me this isn't an issue as both options fit the gameplay of said games. Having a sprint button in Cod4 works great for Cod and the same can be said for Halo3. Not having a run button doesn't affect the gameplay at all IMO. The rest such as, martydom, airstrikes and the like, are all preferences and are a testament to greatness on behalf of both games that they can offer such different gameplay experiences that we as gamers can enjoy.

Having saved films, forge and the integrated online community with Bungie.net all add to the Halo3 experience for me, and proved more than enough to satiate my FPS needs online and off, for years to come. In the end both are excellent games that offer AAA gaming experiences for all gamers. My suggestion? Stop all the hating and give props were props are do. It's not Bungies fault that the game got marketed supper hard, something that didn't bother me, but nonetheless people hold that up as a reason to hate on it. I liked the commercials and ads for Halo3. They were well done and successful. You shouldn't count that against Halo as a game, it's ignorant and unfair.

In conclussion, (sorry for being long in the tooth) it all comes down to preferences. I think both games are excellent, but for me Halo3 offers more, is more fun, and it's just what I prefer. I don't need to hate on Cod4 as it's an excellent game, just not my cup of tea for online or single player. I traded my copy in allready but plan on getting a used one down the road for anther round of single player on veteran. Both games are a testament to what top notch developers can do when they put there noses to the grind stone and pump out great games. Play what you like and enjoy. Yes i'm a uber Halo fanboy, but that doesn't stop me from acknowledging greatness. Game recognizes game, hell, I even liked the first Killzone.

Again sorry for the long post, and thanks for "hearing" me out.