More often than not, when a game is in development for over three years it does not live up to the hype. Bungie's Halo is the exception. Not only does the game live up to the hype--it greatly exceeds it. This sci-fi first-person shooter is a nearly perfect blend of gameplay, graphics, and sound.

The story revolves around the conflict between humans and an alien race known as the Covenant. The aliens have discovered a powerful artefact--on the ring-shaped planet called Halo--that will shift the balance of power and it's up to the player to stop them. In addition to several first-person shooter levels there are numerous opportunities to engage in vehicular combat. Both the enemy and ally artificial intelligence are extremely impressive. Enemies will use the terrain and layout to put you in tight spots. Allies will know when to cover and aid you. For instance, if you hop into a jeep an ally will know to jump in and man the turret on the back of it.

Graphics are exquisitely detailed, but only move at 30 frames per second rather than 60. The sound effects and voice-acting are superb. The level design is among the best ever; most of the game is engaging and challenging without being frustrating. There's also high replay value thanks to the built-in single-player, cooperative, and death match modes.

Much like the outstanding GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64, Halo raises the bar for console first-person shooters. It will be the title that all console action games are measured against for years to come.--Raymond M Padilla

The gameplay is great, the game is well balanced and the range of weapons, vehicles and landscapes is wide and varied, but what really makes Halo one of the best games of all time is the amazing storyline which keeps evolving throughout the game, suddenly twisting just when you think you know what is going on. I was genuinely sad at the finale of the game, and wanted the story to continue (which eventually, of course, it did in Halo 2 and 3)

If you like the story, and want to see more of where it came from, look up the Marathon series of games on the Apple Mac from Bungie in their pre-Microsoft days. I think Marathon is now also available on XBoxLive.

This is one of the best FPS games ever. Developers BUNGIE got it spot on with this first game in the trilogy.

You take on the role of John Spartan (Sierra 117) and your mission; Save the Galaxy from distruction! After landing on a strange ring world known as Halo you encounter fierce resistance from an advanced alien civilisation known as the Covenant. You must battle your way through all types of scenarios to stop the Covenant from acheiving their goal of galatic salvation.

The game brings action packed battle sequences, tough difficulty levels, great weapons and second to none gameplay. This game defined the Xbox and will get you hooked like never before. Prepare for battle and don't look back!!

Oh and watch out for the FLOOD. Happy gaming

I got my XBOX 360 just before Xmas 2007. I was keen to join the HALO fraternity so decided to start at the beginning and purchase this via the XBOX Originals downloadable games.

I have to say that despite its age it is a superb game and its obvious why the series has gone stratospheric.

The game is colourful with plenty of detail. The graphics stand up to scrutiny yet. Its a big game with about 8 levels involving roughly 4 missions each. The music and sound effects perfectly compliment the game.

The game is simple to play with an intuitive if not easy to learn control system and is quite forgiving to the gamer. You might find this makes it easy but there are still a few good challenges which are difficult but not insurmountable.

Overall, I enjoyed playing this as much as COD 4 and recommend that you take a trip back in time [to the future!] and try this out. You won't be disappointed.

Roll on HALO 2.

Lets start with the single player eh, s'alright.. some introduction to controls, weapons, vehicles and gameplay. Some pretty epic moments, like the end of the level "The Maw" and "two betrayals" is pretty much ALL epic.. "The Library" - probably the worst level created. Shame theres some maps looped, or just reversed. BUT the system link is bloody amazing, 50 kills AINT ENOUGH IN A LAN. Capture the flag can be just too epic and some slayer on sidewinder and the ORIGINAL MAP BLOODGULCH.

If you got a lotta mates who have a lotta space in their house, and 2-4 xbox's an tv's, AND a bunch of crossover cables, AND copies of halo, THEN youve got the recipe for a quality meal of multiplayer gaming. You'll laugh, shout, argue and cry if youre crap, and at the end of games youll find yourself congregating with your chums for ages on whether or not your corpse deserved to get wacked and grenade'd, if it was a headshot or not, DID YOU SEE HIS VISOR FLY OFF??, who got pistol whipped, whos a rocket hog, how'd they get out the map. THEN one of youre mates would get a modded xbox, and make the warthog pink, shotgun fire about 9 rockets, throw master cheifs and sniper bullets instead of grenades and turn vehicles into skulls and so on. GOT FRIENDS? GET HALO. NO FRIENDS? UNLUCKY.

This game redifined shooters when it came out and quickly got a huge following. A great game. If you like action, interesting storylines and great multiplayer experiences (for offline play) buy this game.