"Finish the fight? Or fight online?"

Imagine. September 26th. Sweaty, Slothful teenagers all over the world will fire up their 360's in a bid to finish the fight. They will finish that fight. Then they will fight each other on the hallowed ground that is the Xbox Live arena. Blood will be shed. Lives will be lost. Not just the various Master Chiefs that litter Valhalla, but the sweaty, slothful teenagers that splashed their oh-so-precious cash on the next First-Person-Shooter.

Before I come down on one side, let me make it perfectly clear that I think Halo 3 looks like a great game. It appears to take everything that makes a staple FPS work and then blows it up to the point of bursting. The gameplay looks sublime, the graphics are brilliant and as for the sound-well, you listen to thirty seconds of the soundtrack and tell me you’re not amazed. But it's beyond these factors where Halo 3 stands out. The Forge editor, 4-player online co-op, a dynamic replay editor and advanced; if not amusing, AI's are just a few examples of Halo's highlights that separate it from the rest of the crowd, thus thrusting it into the hearts and minds of gamers and non-gamers alike. Most of this attention is not from the game itself, rather from the title "Halo," the epic advertising campaign and over three years of hype.

Whether it's the cinema ads, the cliff-hanger from Halo 2 or the legions of fans posting 10.0 reviews before they've even played the game, Halo 3 has the hype of a high-powered rollercoaster. And those sweaty teenagers are buying it! Read the reviews. 9.5 on IGN and Gamespot. Now listen to what they’re saying. “Halo 3 is awesome! The Forge editor, the co-op, OMFG! But it was a bit overhyped.” At the end of the day, is hype not all Halo 3 has going for it? Sure, the game itself is great, but before the reviews hit the net some time yesterday, sweaty teenage gamers with acne and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Gears of War insane, anyone?) would have gladly believed what Bungie wanted them to believe. It’s a case of “ignorance is bliss” and the 1 million-upwards pre-orders online and in stores are testament to this.

Despite this, come Wednesday, every teenager and game-obsessed man-child is going to be clawing at game shelves, ravishing their ill-deserved copies of Halo 3. Then, for the next four years of their life, no-one will see them, except their 60-year-old mother bringing them soda refills so as to prolong their headshot marathons and machinima rip-off wannabes. With this lot, the fight will never be finished. And Bungie couldn’t be happier...