You’ve got to dash to get to and away from enemies so they never know where to find you next, unload rounds of ammunition into the hordes of Hell’s creatures, chainsaw an unsuspecting zombie to replenish it all, then get up close and ruthlessly burn your victims to cause them to sweat out armor shards.
It took everything that made Doom 2016’s revival incredible and upped the ante by adding a unique push and pull to everything you do. While it never aims to diminish the power fantasy that comes with ripping and tearing through hordes of Hell’s residents, Doom Eternal is also never shy about reminding you that you need to be smart and methodical with your approach to its stellar combat scenarios. Interweaving more personal stakes with its epic main story was no easy task, especially after the two previous entries were so well-loved, but Halo 3 sticks the landing like a plasma grenade on a Grunt. It deftly moves from small-scale, close-quarters combat to wider arenas, while always maintaining blockbuster tension and thrills – and that’s on top of the thrilling vehicle missions and a great use of the franchise-defining Skulls to turn the gameplay experience on its head.
Doing away with the dual-perspective campaign of Halo 2, Halo 3 firmly puts players through their paces as Spartan John-117, channeling Bungie’s top-tier gunplay through a series of memorable encounters. Halo 3 allowed players to finally finish the fight, with a trilogy-ending campaign that brings Master Chief’s story to a thrilling conclusion.