The game is released at midnight tonight NZ time.
Coverage of the NZ launch and a full review from the Mad Gamer will be on nzherald.co.nz from midnight tonight, with video of the game's release and fans' reaction to it on Tuesday morning.
SAN FRANCISCO - Halo 3, the highly anticipated video game, has won high praise from pre-launch reviewers who gushed over the lush settings, cinematic feel and array of multiplayer features.
The game, the final chapter of a trilogy that began in 2001 with the launch of Microsoft's original
Xbox, is a key part of the company's strategy to take a bigger share of the console gaming market from Sony.
Gaming news website GameSpy gave Halo 3 five stars, its highest ranking, saying it was so good that it was worth buying an Xbox 360 just to play it.
"Quite simply, Halo 3 is the reason the Xbox 360 exists," GameSpy said.
Since Halo 3 is the game industry equivalent of a new Harry Potter book or Star Wars movie, few expected it to be a flop.
Specialty gaming retail chain GameStop said the title set a record for advance orders while Microsoft has said it expects initial demand to surpass that for 2004's Halo 2 which racked up $125 million in its first 24 hours.
The game is set to go on sale on September 25.
Reviewers did voice a few complaints. Some said the game's graphics, while impressive, fell short of titles such as Take-Two Interactive Software's BioShock and Gears of War, also from Microsoft.
Others said the behaviour of computer-controlled enemies wasn't very realistic.
"Will Halo 3 live up to the hype? No. There isn't perfection here. There isn't an absolute, please-all quality," said gaming blog Joystiq.com, though it added that the game was still a must-have.
Most critics said any shortcomings were more than made up for by unprecedented variety that includes a cooperative mode that allows four people to play together online, and editing tools to let gamers modify levels to compete against each other in "deathmatch" competitions.
Dan Hsu, editor-in-chief of gaming magazine EGM, gave the game a perfect 10 rating.
"It's such a huge package. It's hard to imagine something gamers don't like here," Hsu said.
GameSpot, another top gaming news website, weighed in with a rating of 9.5, saying the new features refreshed the familiar feel of the Halo universe.
"When you roll all this stuff together ... it really feels like a dramatically different game, and a dramatically bigger game. It comes together in an amazing package that is definitely one of the year's best," GameSpot said.
- REUTERS
