Is it finally time to finish the fight? After 4 years of waiting, of hanging on the cliff's edge, as it were, Halo 3 has been released, to the delight of millions of gamers worldwide. To my delight even. As I sit here writing this, however, I wonder the need to compose a review of Halo 3. Would my meager words persuade or dissuade you to purchase this game? Doubtful, because you have probably already dropped your sixty, seventy, or hundred and twenty dollars on the game. So why, I wonder? Simple, I enjoy playing Halo, and I enjoy writing.

Epic is the first word to come to mind when I think of this game. Could the saga of the Master Chief have been inspired by other such epic works as Beowulf, The Iliad, The Epic of Gilgamesh, or even The Oddesy? Perhaps. It is the tale of a single man, greater than the rest, aided by a valiant few, against overwhelming odds, to save his people. In this case, of course, his people, are ALL people. But I'm sure you know the story already.

The campaign is what we've come to expect from a Halo game, the Chief, tearing his way through grunts, jackals, brutes, and anything else the Covanant can throw at him with a shower of lead and plasma. The story is told on as large a scale as ever, not just one man, in his own conflict, but instead, one part, albeit the largest part, in a war spanning the entire galaxy.

Only this time, you need not fight alone. The long promised, and long delayed Xbox Live co-op play is finally present. Not just two players, but an entire squad of four people can play through the campaign. And the lads at Bungie even had the foresight to think of blessed continuity, maintaining the cinematic feel of the game by having just one Master Chief in co-op play. The other three play as the Arbiter, and two other Elites. The Arbiter is even with you in solo play throughout the majority of the game, going a long way to keep you anchored in the story in cooperative mode.

Full Xbox live functionality is a welcome sight. You can join a party with your friends, and bring them with you to the campaign, competition, the Theater mode, or The Forge. Get tired of working your way through Legendary mode, and you can bring your friends to Matchmaking, the competitive part of Halo on Live. In it, the game will find another party with as close a skill level as possible for you to fight against. It works incredibly well, only getting bogged down when you have an odd number of people. Once you've grown tired of dominating the competition, or being dominated, you can move on over to the Theater, and relive you hair raising battles from any players point of view or from an objective standpoint. I have found it useful to discover where that damnable sniper was hiding, the one who kept removing my head with his sniper rounds.

By and far my favorite is The Forge. In it, your party can create custom games in the map editor mode. Change spawn points, add or remove weapons or vehicles, set checkpoints for race type games, change gravity levels, nearly anything you can think of short of remaking the layout of the map itself. When your game is set just the way you like it, share it with the entire Halo 3 community. While your at it, go back to the theater, record that amazing double headshot, and share it as well. I've found myself spending nearly as much time playing around with all the extra features as I spend shooting things.

Of course, Halo isn't perfect. As I try to back up that last sentence, I really can't think of any flaws with the game. No major ones at least. It controls very smoothly, the game runs at a near constant framerate of 60fps, even during the most frenetic of battles. The 5.1 Dobly Digital surround sound is crisp, clear, and amazing. Of course, the graphics are top of the line for the 360. The environments, the weapons, bullet trails, explosions, facial features, smoke and fire, everything, down to the scratches on the Master Chiefs armor, look as real as I could expect out of a video game right now.

I suppose the only flaws I can think of are ones that have been there since the first Halo. The story, though greatly expanded upon in well written paperback novels, is somewhat hard to follow, leaving out parts here and there. And of course, Legendary mode. It is as difficult as ever. I have never felt a sense of accomplishment when I finish. Just the feeling that I plowed through it to the next checkpoint. Luck always seemed to be the only way to make it, your skill being far inferior to the perfectly guided headshots of the computer opponents. Or maybe I just suck at it, where others give the computer a run for its money.

When it comes down to it, I felt I had received well more than $70 worth of fun within the first day I had the game. And isn't that all a video game boils down to? Fun? And of course, playing on Xbox live with friends as if they were lounging on your couch next to you. While you show them the correct way to play Halo, with every poignant shotgun blast, grenade stick, and headshot a constant reminder of why you love playing this game. You love it because it lets you shoot your friends. Something they've had coming for far too long.

Glassgost

Xbox Live - GIassgost (thats a capital I after the G)

'can't imagine what you're painting'