Had this since yesterday (don't hurt me) and played through the first few levels, it is just what I expected it to be so far......BRILLIANT! The word I would use so far is cinematic in terms of the whole experience, from the gameplay and set pieces all the way to the music.
Everyone will want to know about the graphics, they are nice and functional. They are not at a Gears level by any means but that does not mean they are poor by any means! Best way to describe the graphics would be sharp and crisp, oh and I must give special mention to the lighting. The first level (won't say what it is) shows this off very well, you are walking through and you will see a glimpse of lighting creeping in.....it looks lovely!
Gameplay is classic Halo but with a few tweaks here and there. You can pretty much play the game how you want to which for me is part of the brilliance of Halo. You love long range combat? Get a sniper, battle rifle and a few grenades, unleash your hell on the Covenant! I personally love ripping off a turret, walking up to a group of Covenant and pumping them full of lead, superb! I am currently playing on normal but am finding it as easy as I thought I would, partly due to the superb AI of the enemies. There were many moments that made me go "wow" but one in particular sticks out.....
I run up
Suddenly
Needless to say
Main story wise I don't want to ruin anything for any of you guys but I will say so far it is very interesting!
On the MP side, I can't really play with anyone yet but I did have walk around all of the maps last night and every map is very very good. I can imagine some of you do not wanna know about the maps so I won't name them or go into detail but........I can see a lot of fun NTSC sessions happening once everyone has the game, there is something for everyone on almost every map. Oh and I dabbled a little in the Forge mode, also seems very interesting with the whole editing as you play aspect.

edit by charlesr: please everyone remember to use spoiler tags where necessary.
Everyone will want to know about the graphics, they are nice and functional. They are not at a Gears level by any means but that does not mean they are poor by any means! Best way to describe the graphics would be sharp and crisp, oh and I must give special mention to the lighting. The first level (won't say what it is) shows this off very well, you are walking through and you will see a glimpse of lighting creeping in.....it looks lovely!
Gameplay is classic Halo but with a few tweaks here and there. You can pretty much play the game how you want to which for me is part of the brilliance of Halo. You love long range combat? Get a sniper, battle rifle and a few grenades, unleash your hell on the Covenant! I personally love ripping off a turret, walking up to a group of Covenant and pumping them full of lead, superb! I am currently playing on normal but am finding it as easy as I thought I would, partly due to the superb AI of the enemies. There were many moments that made me go "wow" but one in particular sticks out.....
I run up
Suddenly

Main story wise I don't want to ruin anything for any of you guys but I will say so far it is very interesting!
On the MP side, I can't really play with anyone yet but I did have walk around all of the maps last night and every map is very very good. I can imagine some of you do not wanna know about the maps so I won't name them or go into detail but........I can see a lot of fun NTSC sessions happening once everyone has the game, there is something for everyone on almost every map. Oh and I dabbled a little in the Forge mode, also seems very interesting with the whole editing as you play aspect.

edit by charlesr: please everyone remember to use spoiler tags where necessary.
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