Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game, based on the science fictional events and settings in the Halo Universe. It was developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft. Halo 3 was released on September 25th, 2007 exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Halo 3 is the sequel to Halo 2 and concludes the current story arc that the previous two games told. It involves SPARTAN John-117 returning to Earth in order to stop the Prophet of Truth from activating The Ark, thus activating the Halos, which would result in the extermination of all life in the galaxy. Shortly into the game, he also has to contend with the arrival of the Flood on Earth, as well as retrieve Cortana from the wrath of the evil Gravemind.
Even though the game does not progress directly on from the end of Halo 2, Halo 2's cliff-hanger, Halo: Uprising, a mini comic book series released by Marvel, filled in the missing segments between Halo 2 and Halo 3 on Earth.
Halo 3 was released on the long-awaited September 25th in North America and Australia, the 26th in Europe, and the 27th in Japan. It has been rated M for Mature (blood, gore, violence, and mild language) by the ESRB, but M 17+ means that Halo 3 is recommended for 17 years or older, not restricted (this is only a rating for parental guidance) by the OFLC, but in many stores, like GameStop, ID was required because anyone under the age of seventeen is unable to buy a copy of Halo 3. Europe's PEGI rating system gave the game a 16+ rating, which serves as a guideline rather than as a rule. However the UK Release is rated 15 by the BBFC which means it is slightly easier to purchase.
Exactly like its predecessors, Halo 3 was a very prosperous, record-breaking game. Accompanied by its record-breaking 1.7 million preorders in the U.S, it was set for release on the sought-after 25th of September, and few expected it not to break any records. 24 hours after release, Halo 3 had generated a record-breaking $170 million in the U.S., transcending the number that Microsoft was expecting, $155 million, which later was beaten by Grand Theft Auto IV's worldwide $310 million. Microsoft never released a 24-hour sales number, but it is estimated to have sold in the region of 2.4 - 2.5 million copies within 24 hours of availability in the U.S. - approximately 1.8 million units after 8 hours - with that number increasing to 3.3 million units, 12 days after release. Within 24 hours, over 1.1 million gamers had played Halo 3 on Xbox Live. One week after release, over 2.7 million players - nearly one-third of the total Xbox LIVE members at that time - had played it on Xbox Live. As of November 17, 2008, Halo 3 had reportedly sold 8.8 million copies worldwide.
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Source: Halo.Wikia.com http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Halo_3
