To that end, Halo 3's single-player adventure surpasses its prequels by combining the best elements from the previous games. Like to the original Halo, this action unfolds in varied large-scale environments, and like Halo 2, Master Chief can board enemy vehicles and toss off their drivers. Though the environments are larger than before, Halo 3 still doesn't qualify as a free-roaming sandbox game - once you move into an new area, there's generally no turning back. Even so, the game lets you tackle missions in various ways, sniping enemies from afar, flanking them on either side or simply running them over with a vehicle of choice. Our only complaint was that many of the environmental themes - forest, beach, inside alien compounds - seem overly familiar, like remixed levels from the previous games.

Up to four people can play through the coop game simultaneously over local LAN or online through Xbox Live. This completely redefines Halo 3's campaign experience. Even though the game supposedly levels up the difficulty based on how many people are playing, we recommend ratcheting up the difficulty settings to Heroic or Legendary to balance out the extra firepower. Dedicated fans will most likely replay the adventure at least two to three times, once on normal, once on a higher difficulty (just to reaffirm those awesome shooting skills) and then again with a few buddies.

As expected, the game's high-definition cutscenes look ready for the big screen and the orchestral music sticks in your head long after the credits roll. Composer Martin O'Donnell reuses and remixes familiar tracks from the other games, creating a fantastic score that adds tension and heroic overtones at just the right moments. Expect to see this soundtrack in regular iPod rotation once its available for download.

Despite all the praise, Halo 3's still not the mind-blowing masterpiece we wanted it to be. Bungie developers always said that they weren't looking to reinvent Halo, just refine. And so they did, which was disappointing in some cases. As with Halo 2, uninspired boss fights left us empty, with no build up and little or no fanfare upon completion. The game also cheats players out of killing some key bad guys, which lessens the game's impact. The game also offers absolutely zero backstory for new players, picking up right after Halo 2 ends. A short "the story so far" intro would fit in well with Microsoft's mainstream marketing strategy.