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No one needs to be told to buy Halo 3. The fact that it's available should be news enough. But we've gathered the reviews anyway and, not surprisingly, Halo 3 dominates like Shaquille O'Neal on a 15 year-old with two broken legs.

Raise your hand if you are at work and running on zero sleep. Now raise your hand if you called in sick today. Seriously, leave a response if you have a funny story from release day or made up an elaborate excuse to stay home from work or school. We've been waiting a long time for this day so let's savor it.

To begin, I think the question on everyone's mind is, "Does it live up to the hype?" Halo 3 has been, undoubtedly, the most hyped video game ever. A failure to, not only meet, but surpass this hype would be catastrophic for the entire Microsoft camp. Luckily for them, us, and weary analysts everywhere, Halo 3 does not disappoint.

"Just like that girl you dated in college, Halo 3 has some issues. Don't' worry; the good far outweighs the bad. This is Halo 3, and it is indeed the game you've been waiting for the past three years."- IGN

"We've put in some serious hours reviewing this game, and after several exhaustive playthroughs both solo and co-op as well as countless bloodthirsty multiplayer rounds, we can announce that Halo 3 is everything that it needed to be to fulfill our wildest gaming fantasies..." - Gamespy

"Rest assured that no matter what you expect out of this series - epic single player, massive multiplayer, insane coop, robust community and editing tools - you will not be disappointed. Halo 3 is an overwhelming success." - GamesRadar

Okay, although the above question is a prominent one, we all knew deep down that Halo 3 was going to be something special and that Bungie wouldn't disappoint; especially when the reputation of one of the worlds largest electronics corporation is on the line. So the next question is how exactly does Halo 3 transcend the previous iterations while remaining loyal to the style of gameplay that made Halo the flagship of the Xbox?

One way to approach this answer is to consider the new weapons and vehicles. Gamespot confirms that the gameplay is as intricately nuanced as previous titles, making it pretty much perfectly balanced. And the new weapons only add to the experience. Gamespot examines some of Halo 3's weapon additions:

"One example is the spiker, which is an exciting automatic pistol that fires quickly and decimates opponents, especially if you're holding a pair of them. Another is the mauler, which is a one-handed shotgun that can level enemies up close. You'll even find weapons so huge that your movement speed slows when you carry them. [...] The end result is gameplay that feels wholly familiar without retreading the same ground too heavily."

The new weapons are awesome and fit into the context of Halo quite nicely. But what truly makes Halo 3 a new and fantastic type of animal is the addition of several unique gameplay features that reinvent the way we play first person shooters. One of these features is called campaign scoring. It allows players to work as a team while competing for kills, headshots, grenade sticks and a whole gambit of other challenges. 1up describes Halo 3's campaign scoring system:

"The campaign game takes on an entirely different, faster-paced vibe when everyone's racing to take out Covenant forces before their teammates can nab those precious points. Further adding to the replayability are the hidden skulls. Each of these, when activated in a solo or co-op game, increases the difficulty of the gameplay in a certain way. For example, you can make enemies luckier, or you can turn off your aiming cursor and weapon graphic. Mixing and matching these skulls increases the scoring modifier and thus, the possible high score."

Another unique feature is called Forge. Forge is a level editing mode where players can create their own gametypes. The immense depth of this mode is attributed to the availbility of numerous options and variables. Gamepro explains Forge below, for in-depth how-to's check out Bungie's official Forge Editing Guide.

"How it works is players enter one of the pre-built multiplayer maps that come with the game. Sadly, there is no blank template, which would have been convenient touch. All of the master objects, however, can be deleted and replaced. There is a memory currency in the form of U.S. dollars that limits how many units of each object that can be placed in the map. Players hit up on the directional pad to enter "build" mode, which turns the player into a Monitor that can fly freely around the map with the same fluid controls as video playback. From here, players can select weapons, vehicles, objects such as crates and ammo supply cases, waypoints, and respawn points from menu subsets. It's really easy and extremely addicting."

I don't even need to tell you to buy Halo 3. I can safely say this release marks a dramatic change in gaming and the industry will never be the same. Bask in the glory of Halo Day!

Hey, Thanks: IGN, Gamespy, GamesRadar, Gamespot, 1up & Gamepro

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