I've finished the fight. For three long years Microsoft has told me that I need to finish a fight and believe. Three long years since the end of Halo 2 left me with my jaw open as to how bad the ending is, and three long years between some of the most explosive first person shooting around. Three long years. Many expected Halo 3 to be ready for the Xbox 360 launch, but they were wrong and Microsoft did give Bungie the time needed to polish this monster game off. In a way it seems a bit silly to write this review. Chances are you would have bought it anyway and are just looking to see what the critics think, however for those who are still not convinced, or perhaps PlayStation fans, Halo 3 is the game that defines the Xbox 360 console in both good and bad ways.

Halo 3 picks up pretty much right after Halo 2 finished. Chief is on earth, motionless with a squadron of Marines trying to revive him so he can finish the fight. The game never really gives players an overall perspective of what happened in Halo 1 and 2 so unless you've finished those fights, don't expect to understand one iota of the storyline. This is a real shame and a bit stupid considering this is the first Halo game on the 360 console. We found the storyline to be a little lacking and doesn't evoke the cinematic styling of the first game, but even so it does close the trilogy off well.

Halo 3 is made up of two distinct game modes; single player and multiplayer. The single player campaign is of course the main section where Chief finally comes to earth, beats a lot of enemies and then finishes the fight. The single player game mode can be a little lackluster at times but what it does do, it does very well. There are instances in the single player where you will get frustrated, especially in one level which we won't name due to spoilers, but it’s a frustration which isn't a bad one. It's one where you feel frustrated but don't get angry. There are not many games on the market that can make you angry in one instance, but also make you happy to be playing the game at the same time. Halo 3 is one of them.

There have been a number of changes to the game since we last visited Master Chief. First of all, the enemies are a lot tougher and a lot smarter, as you would expect on a next generation console. However, perhaps the most awesome addition to the game is the Hammer Brutes who carry a giant weapon which can be utilized by Chief once they are beaten. This hammer is the single greatest weapon in the Halo trilogy and perhaps in any 360 first person shooter game. They basically took the sword from Halo 2, and upped its power by a thousand fold and handed it to Chief. The result is a lot of dead enemies.

There are also a number of new vehicles and weapons. The first time you come across the mongoose and hunter is another section which defines this game. Being able to ride a vehicle which resembles a motorcycle with the ability to also fly in the air and take the ghosts on at their own game really does change the experience up quite a bit. The fact they are present in two of the games most epic battles (of which there are many) gives some indication as to how many ways there is to play through Halo 3's single player component. “Do I fly in or do I drive in?” etc.

However the single player component only makes up half of what is an incredibly complete package. For those who can't get enough single player, you can play the game online with up to four friends in co-operative play, but there is also the party system for multiplayer which was first used in Halo 2 and, in our opinion, has not been topped since in terms of the perfect way to use the Live infrastructure that Microsoft provides.

Not only can you play multiplayer with maps Bungie has defined, but there is also an incredibly unique game mode called ‘Forge’. This is basically a level editor where you play the game as you build. If you want to add friends to help you build fun levels and then play them, you can. This really ups the ante on other developers as it’s one of the most unique and no doubt one of the hardest things to program ever seen on the Xbox systems. For those without Live, you can play system link as well and also use the saved films feature which is basically a YouTube style system for Halo 3. Each user is allocated a set number of MB on Bungies servers to share videos and you can purchase more if you wish. This is one of the most incredibly powerful tools given to gamers ever. This is the kind of thing that you see on development kits. The ability to fast forward, watch movies over and over again and even take screenshots to upload to the web. This is one of the most social features around in gaming today and it makes us wonder if Microsoft should have kept their 'welcome to the social' Zune slogan for Halo 3.

Visually Halo 3 was always going to be up against Gears of War. However if there is one thing Halo 3 proves it’s that gameplay over graphics wins every time. While GOW is one of the most beautiful looking games on the system and really shows it off well, Halo 3 delivers in so many ways, it would be entirely possible to live off Halo 3 gameplay until the new Xbox is released there is so much to do and find. It's not that Halo 3 is a bad looking game but it would have been nice to see just a bit more graphical fidelity and detail because unfortunately it is not the best looking game on the system, but by far not the worst either.

Halo 3 is a once in a generation game in many respects. While the single player campaign did disappoint us, much like the Halo 2 campaign, the sum of its parts add up to one of the most fully featured gaming experiences around. The fact that Bungie has included all this for the usual price point is going to redefine what we expect for our hard earned cash every time we go to the store. Halo 3 is a gaming experience all 360 owners must partake in and, once you overlook its problems, you will find a very solid game, especially on the multiplayer side of things.