Introduction: With the dawn of a new gaming system giant, no one really know how successful the X-box will be. Only time will tell. But in the meantime, why not play the console for yourself by slamming in its highly anticipated release title, Halo.

Review: Halo is one of the most amazing first person shooter' to date. With the graphics provided by the Geforce 3 and the processing power of a Pentium III, Halo dishes out captivating screens sure to ensnare the X-box unbelievers. It blows other 1st person shooters away. But not only is it a fast and beautiful game, it also has a solid, classic Sci-fi storyline to draw from.

You begin the game aboard one of Earth's last remaining star ships, The Pillar of autumn. It is currently fleeing from pursuing alien forces known as the Covenant. They are attempting to lure the aliens away from Earth. You will receive briefing on the ship before tackling the ten missions laid before you. You will quickly learn about your armor and weaponry, which is very realistic, compared to similar titles.

One thing some people may not like is that you are only allowed to carry two weapons at a time. Fortunately, there is an array of weapons to choose from. The most effective and popular one being the assault rifle. It can carry sixty rounds and is fully automatic with a flashlight resting on the barrel. There is also a pistol, which is effective on minor enemies, but useless against more powerful swarms of elite enemies. Later on, you can acquire a sniper rifle, which is very handy from a distant position but useless close up. I think the best weapon in the game is the shotgun. Nothing could be more satisfying than charging directly up to a Covenant Grunt and blowing him away in a bloody frenzy. There are also alien weapons that you can combat with. Among them is the plasma pistol and rifle. These are fairly useless unless you have a lot of ammo. All Grunts carry them so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one. The more elite enemies, however, carry needlers, which blast your crew with explosive rounds. Sounds cool but is not very damaging. Last but not least in your inventory is the rocket launcher. It is a wonderfully powerful weapon, but definitely not made for close up combat. You will end up killing yourself and anything in near vacinity.

One of Halo's best features is the advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI). Enemies duck and cover in real-time, flank, and when all else fails charge. You also have a marine squad with you. They are separate entities, and really feel like other players in your team. You can also assign a real person to one of them in Co-op Mode and really kick some alien ass! I say "one" because Halo has many interesting features.

Another great addition to the already killer game is the Multiplayer Mode. Just hook-up four X-box' together by Ethernet cables and a hub, and you have one massive multiplayer slaughterfest. You and 15 friends can go head-to-head in many different styles of play, including Capture the Flag and Free-for-All. Then, throw in vehicles like the massive Scorpion tank and the all-terrain Warthog, and you have a killer multiplayer set up on your hands. Last but not least (in most cases) is the sound. From the haunting Gregorian chanting in the menu screen, to the pulsepounding score during the game, halo has one awesome soundtrack.

Conclusion: This is truly the most promising X-box game out there right now and I can give it no less than a perfect score.

Ratings: (scale of 0.0 - 5.0)