If MS could just get the reliability worked out it would be a stellar console. I was not a console gamer until about 1yr ago and tried a 360...like all MS products, its great..when it works correctly.

I have two 360's and have not had the red ring of death yet (knock on wood) but the smaller problems of discs not spinning up/readable occasionally reeks of a problem caused by making a product 'just good enough' instead of 'great'.

Now all 360 needs is a good flight sim that can reward proper flying skills. Screw the jets, give us a chance to fight in an SE5 vs. a DVII.

Kevin, Phoenix, AZ, USA

First, if anyone out there is thinking about buying an x-box 360 i'd reccomend buying a factory refurbished one. If there is one upside to so many consoles crapping out it is the glut of refurb's. which coincidentally cost less than a Wii does. Second, Yes halo is that fun, the campaign is awesome, and multiplayer is endless and quick for the "pick up and play" folks.

Chris, SLC, USA

Sorry, World of Warcraft beats Halo any day. Hype does NOT equal best or biggest. I doubt 9.5 million people will play Halo.

Jason, Baltimore, MD

I have the game and beat it. It is sweet and it has a clifhnger ending its after the credits.

jeseb braswell, Rockwall, Tx

A beta is called that for a reason, don't be making such large assumptions on the game based on that alone. Also you can always go to ign.com to find out the bad. At least they did quote the part saying that there were problems in the game. So yea, stop trying to sound smart.

Shams Ben Amor, Saint John, Canada

I'm more of a PlayStation fan. And, no denying, I'm jealous. Enjoy this one, XBots!

Master Chef, Oxford, UK

I recently purchased a 360 after giving two back for refunds when they expired, both within 2 weeks of purchase! The reason I bought another one is they now are falcon 65 nm consoles thank god and with HDMI cable built in even on a non elite console. Personally would prefer PS3 but no titles as yet. Halo is a so-so game, still gears of war for me is fantastic

Simon, Brighton,

Many people have missed the point.
The beauty of the Halo trilogy is the ease of which co-op and split screen is carried out.
The adrenaline rush when you pull off a headshot with the sniper rifle.
Sneaking up behind someone with a energy sword.
Running over people in a ghost.
Dodging a rocket that was "locked on" to your banshee.
Sticking people with grenades.
Agreeing with your friend that this time you'll stay back and cover your friend while he runs forward while duel wielding.
Manning the turret on the the warthog.
Joining up with a friend in a split screen when its supposed to be a free for all.

Halo 3 does not have to be a game only for hardcore gamers it can be a casual game.
Its mix of simplicity and complexity depending on the player ensures the Halo trilogy's place in gaming heaven.

Rory Grieve, Hong Kong,

Begone with your "proper gaming", I say to each their own, every game has it's good points and it's bad points.

There were points in Halo 3 where I was either disappointed, frustrated, or thought things could have been done better, but those were fat outwighed by the amount of times I fell off my chair after on of many 'edge-of-your seat' firefights got a little more tense before it was over.

With that said, I had to play through the first five missions twice, because you can't save a solo game -and- a co-op game simultaneously on the same profile.

I also vastly preferred the flood as a mindless horde instead of a dance troupe with guns under the control of an oversized triffid that speaks in rhyme.

Overall, the good outweighs the bad in every respect, my favourite game so far this year.

Schorl, Rotherham, England

WOOHOO! just got halo 3 and it is sooo cool! man ive never been on a better game than this before! IT ROCKS!!!!

jamie stephenson, Lutterworth, England

Half Life 2 is a way better game in every respect, more atmospheric, better gameplay, better story..

Halo is for console owners, HL2 is for the proper gamers.

Owen, London, UK

I bought a 360 Elite two months ago because I had to finish the Halo trilogy and kick more tale on Xbox live. I am picking it up on my lunch break and migh take of the rest of the day to play it, and I am a 28 year with a corporate position in marketing. The game is just that damn good.

Jonathan , Pittsburg, KS

@ tom

"I bought the system the day it came out and have sent it back twice already."

Enough said. I'll stick with the Wii until Microsoft gets their act together.

Daikon, Matsue, Japan

I love the people that won't buy the xbox360 because of console issues and are going to wait until no more problems. I bought the system the day it came out and have sent it back twice already. I got a free game out of it and many hours already on the system. I was without a xbox for less then a week and a half if you added both times together. I'll let all you know how fun Halo 3 is.......

tom, Santa Cruz, USA

I played the demo version of Halo 2 and it did not entice me enough to buy and play the full game. If this is more of Halo 2, then to me it is so-so. Spending so much means good marketing but does not guarantee good game.

peter, amsterdam,

As much as I like Haloand would really like to rush out and get a copy of Halo 3, I still don't own a 360 and won't until I am very sure the console is reliable. I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars on a system that might break down in a few months. I still keep hearing too many horror stories from people who are on their 3rd or 4th system - ridiculous. I figure by waiting, hopefully they'll get all the problems ironed out and the price should drop - a win-win. Over-heating caused by the GPU causing the red rings of death is just one of the problemsI wish the heck Microsoft would announce what exactly the problems were and what they have done about it ... AND .. when the heck the falcon 65 nm consoles will be coming out ! If Microsoft wants to win this console war they have to seriously address this isue and realize there are people out there who have poor confidence in the quality of the 360.

chris, Ottawa,

*sigh* ... I played the hell out of the orginal Halo; Halo 2, not as much; and as I'm typing this I now consider myself a casual gamer. I don't have a 360 or PS3, although, I do have a Wii and a DS because of the whole "pick up and play" thing. I haven't been a "hardcore" gamer for quite some time now because of the amount of time it requires for you to invest.

I, however, have not been able to escape the damn Halo 3 hype. I'm probably going to go out and get a damn 360, and buy more damn controllers, and the damn Live subscription because of this damn game.

I strayed from mainstream videogames, and it really didn't bother me, so the fact that this game is getting to me ... I dunno, kinda freaks me out. I don't want to get back into video games in that way, but I think Halo 3 might be that damn good ... ugh ..

Carlos, edison, nj

It seems that Microsoft has won the hearts of magazines and websites they also buy ad space on.

I'm more of a Gears of War guy myself too.

Jason, Americatown, USA

More fun than campaign mode or capture the flag on Halo 2. Not as fun as LaserTag or Capture the Flag in the backyard.

oldSchool, tulsa, ok

meh, its a great shooter no doubt about that but it's just a game... far to highly overated

Tom, northampton,

I picked up a copy at Argos last week, before they stopped selling, and my reaction, is that it's more of the same, and the game is "so so".

I played the beta and little has changed since then (apart from the addition of single player), the graphics are OK, but not stunning, and the framerate seems to suffer badly sometimes.

I would give it a 7.5/10 rating. I think Gears Of War is as good as it gets currently.

Mark, Dorchester, Dorset

hot!

yay, colchester,

how come u only showed the good part of wat ign had to say about it?

Frank, Oceanside, California