Casual and hardcore gamers, there's only one thing to say: Welcome To The Next Level.

When we refer to the "next level" of video gaming, it's usually in terms of visuals. For all the play mechanics, ease of control, and other design innovations a developer can make, the "next level" of gaming isn't realized till we see a huge leap in the graphics. As shallow as that might seem, we are visual creatures after all and as video gamers, our first instinct is to gauge the quality of a game from what we initially see. After our interest in watching the game has been peaked, then come secondary factors - very important ones - like responsiveness of control, depth of play mechanics, and level of immersion in the gameplay. These are all important features that we take into account, but if the visuals aren't light years ahead of the previous generation of video games, it's not perceived to be elevating the standard of gaming. For Dead Or Alive 3, that's not a problem at all; as the most gorgeous 3D fighting game seen to date, the amount of detail and the superfluous visual effects that pierce your retinas - real-time lighting, bump mapping, intricate texture work, and so on - the visuals alone raises the bar of excellence. Team Ninja could have easily stopped with the visuals and rehashed the same combat engine from Dead Or Alive 2. But the team didn't stop setting standards in just the graphics as they combined this level of visual quality with subtle but innovative 3D gameplay mechanics incorporating a new standard of strategy never experienced in a 3D fighting game before. Include responsiveness in control that's intuitive with one of the best multi-player elements in a fighting game, and you've not only introduced the next level for a 3D fighting game, but Dead Or Alive 3 represents the new standard of excellence that only the Xbox can deliver.
As a 3D fighting game, the premise is bluntly straightforward - pummel your opponents with an arsenal of hand-to-hand techniques until they cry for mommy in the fetal position. The story - a rather unimportant element for any fighting game - remains pretty much the same as it has for the DOA series. Fighters around the world have entered the DOA tournament for numerous reasons - fame, fortune, revenge, or just to kick some well-textured, polygon ass. Sixteen fighters make up the roster of selectable characters, many returning favorites from past DOA games and three brand new ones. As you would think, nearly every character has distinctly different martial art styles with varying strengths and weaknesses (for a more in-depth look at the characters, check out our DOA 3 Fighter Of The Day feature). A total of fourteen stages keeps the action fresh and exciting; no two matches will be fought the same due to the importance of each fighting area. For that matter, no two matches will ever look the same thanks in part to the fantastic visual splendor that places Dead Or Alive 3 soaring above any 3D fighting game.

Graphics
From the animated seagulls on the sunset beach, the amazing wool detail of Bayman's special forces costume, the clouds of pure white powder as fighters circle each other in the snow level, the neon lights that light up the DOATEC HK street levels, the elegant lifelike nature of Lei Fang's silk qipao dress flowing in the wind, the numerous leaves that float of their own accord in forest level... it's easy to go on and on about the spectacular graphic details that adorn DOA3. Never before in any fighting game, or any video game for that matter, has there been such a godly display of visual detail. It's almost impossible to talk about the best visual feature in the game because there's such a vast amount of detail in everything you see. A large amount of the graphic splendor definitely went into designing each of the fourteen stages, each featuring several magnificent visual delights. It would take too much time (and internet space) to go into detail each of the stages so I'll just talk about my three favorites: DOATEC HK, Forest, and the Tao areas. The Tao area takes place in an Asian temple-like setting with brittle tiles that crack when you or an opponents gets knocked off their feet. The architecture in this level is remarkable, but even more impressive is when you crack the tile floors, they remain cracked for the remainder of the fight. The Forest level is a stunning stage with leaves that flow throughout the fight. Two wonderful graphic elements are of keynote here: knocking an opponent into a tree will send a light shower of brown leaves fluttering to the ground. But then as leaves make their slow descent to the ground, if you perform attacks that sweep across the flight of these leaves, they will react accordingly flying with such frightening realism, you have to see it to truly believe it. Then there's the DOATEC HK. This stage is the epitome of DOA 3 stages; featuring a sparklingly view of the city lights of Hong Kong just as the sun begins to set, you start at the top of the high building. And in the world of DOA 3 if you start somewhere high, you have to send an opponent falling off the edge. A trademark standard set in Dead Or Alive 2, DOATEC HK is one of four stages that has multiple levels where you can send the opponent flying off for some tremendous falling damage. While each of the four multi-tiered stages are equally impressive when you launch a lackey off the edge, DOATEC HK sends them flying through glass level, INTO a neon sign with electric sparks blazing, and finally landing into the brightly lit streets of Hong Kong with a resounding thump. Anytime you send an enemy down one of these stages, you get some excellent dramatic camera views that really add to the thrill and excitement to this fighting game.

While there's an obvious lift to the graphics in the stage design, the character models have been given the same intricate treatment. Although the face models haven't been drastically improved, the detail to the costumes is astounding. Bump mapping is everywhere - decorating a print pattern on Kasumi's outfit, making Hitomi's fighting gloves look like their made of rubber, making Ayane's ninja costume appear to be made of felt. Characters with metallic-like surfaces - Hayabusa's ninja gear, Bass's biker chains, Lei Fang's shimmering dragon on her dress - are so well-detailed it's just unbelievable. Add in the real-time lighting and it reflects playfully off these metal surfaces. Running at a super smooth frame rate (yes, 60 fps folks), characters have been given more frames of animation to make them even more life-like in their animations. They've also made the game so realistic, when character get slammed up against a tree, their limbs almost wrap up around the tree - man it looks like it hurts! To say this game looks just like DOA 2 is simply ludicrous; after playing DOA 3, DOA 2 looks almost plain in comparison (those of you still unsure, we've done some research about the visual differences just for you). Another DOA 3 standard that always marks this as a DOA title are the lovely ladies and their "well-proportioned" attributes (cue in LL Cool J's "Jingling Baby" here). It's not quite as perverse as it was in DOA 2 but, it's still there for most of us boys to enjoy. But don't make the mistake in judging this game as shallow just because of the oogle-friendly girls or the bigger mistake in pronouncing Dead Or Alive 3 as just "great eyecandy." Amidst this mountain visual glory lies a innovative gameplay system that is solid as gold.

Gameplay
It would've been SO easy for Team Ninja to wow the world with the marvelous graphics of Dead Or Alive 3 and leave the gameplay exactly as it was with DOA 2. Fortunately for us (and unfortunately for the competition), the quality of Dead Or Alive 3's gameplay depth matches its near flawlessness in its visuals. Controls are incredibly intuitive and responsive; it's rare that I make the movement mistake of "hopping" when trying to sidestep. I do have to admit that diagonal commands on the Xbox controller aren't exactly perfect but once you get used to the controller, you'll be spinning circles around the opponent.

DOA 3 keeps the basic button setup: Free, Punch and Kick buttons. Combining D-Pad commands and button patterns will create a series of different attacks unique to each character. There are a ton of special moves to learn and master, but the meat and potatoes that every DOA player must learn is the counter. More so than any other fighting game, the counter system is a major gameplay mechanic that not only keeps the action fast and intense, but gives players of all levels an equal chance in the ring. To initiate a counter, you press back on the D-pad and the Free button at the same time. Since attacks come at three different levels - high, middle, and low - you also have to counter accordingly by pressing the Free button and diagonally up/back on the D-Pad for a high counter, the Free button and back for a mid counter, and the Free button and diagonally down/back for a low counter. Counters have been toned down since DOA 2 so they don't do quite so much damage. Nonetheless counters are very powerful for two reasons: (1) they can alter the momentum of a game dramatically and (2) counters can interrupt the stagger penalty from your character. When your fighter receives a particularly heavy blow, there's a possibility that your fighter will stagger a bit, enabling the opponent to follow up with an attack. By initiating the counter command during this stagger, you'll instantly wake up from the stagger penalty; time this as your opponent tries to follow up with an attack and if you've guessed what type of attack is coming correctly, you will counter his devious attempt. If it sounds like the counters are too powerful, they're really not; constantly using the counter mechanic without any real thought is very dangerous, especially if you guess incorrectly. This can lead to a powerful counter blow, another key DOA 3 play mechanic. When performing an attack, you have to be aware of the speed and distance of your attack. Should your opponent strike you to interrupt your attack or punish you for a missed attack, you'll be subject to a counter blow that deals more damage and, even more dangerous, may send you airborne. Counter blows apply to missed counters and throws as well, so don't be too counter happy else you end up in the air... and once in the air, you're helpless until the opponent lets you hit the ground.

One of the greatest features in DOA 3's gameplay mechanics is the ability for any level of player to take the controls and have some decent success their first time out. How many times have you've tried your hand against a Virtua Fighter 3 player only to be slapped down in a matter of seconds? The technical learning curve for DOA 3 isn't as steep as Virtua Fighter and that enables novice players to enjoy the game without being too frustrated. This certainly makes Tag Tea mode, one of the best features in the game, a lot more fun to play; get three other buddies together and get ready to spend hours on end perfecting your tag team strategies no matter how good or bad your friends are. Does this sound like a game where advanced players will be beat often by scrub players? While the play mechanics are simpler to understand and the advanced techniques easier to master than other 3D fighting games, what separates a DOA 3 novice player from an advanced player is not only utilizing the counter techniques and special moves at the right time, but strategic positioning. This is where the jewel of the gameplay depth shines in DOA 3 and what really makes this 3D fighting game revolutionary.

In most 3D fighting games, the strategies in using the environment you fight in are limited to a few wall throws and ring outs. Dead Or Alive 2 introduced a whole new standard to stage strategies with multi-level stages and enclosed arenas with damaging walls. But Dead Or Alive 3 takes this concept to the next level and if you really want to excel at the game, you have to learn how to make use of the environments around you. For example, on the multi-tiered Lost World level, you fight on a relatively small platform where you can easily fall off for some major damage. With a character like Bass, it would be advantageous to use one of his bigger throws to fling his foe off the cliff, but because of he's a big target and has slow speed, he should stay a safe distance from the cliff. This is opposite of Christie; her fast speed is accentuated with her extremely useful side step technique, arguably the best side step technique in the game. A good tactic with Christie on the Lost World stage is to stay close to the edge and bait her enemy into knocking her off the edge. When the enemy comes with attack, use her side step technique to evade the attack, and slap the foe off the edge. Using the environments isn't limited to sending an enemy for a long drop; compact stages play to the advantage of grapplers as it keeps the enemy from wandering too far away and gives grapplers with downed throw attacks a better chance of using their lethal throwing techniques. Additionally, there are several stages with objects players can use to perform wall throws or wall attacks that can do some very heavy damage. Rather than having players master and memorize hardcore several attack techniques that may take several months to master and turn off more players, DOA 3 puts more emphasis on how one can utilize the 3D backgrounds to their advantage. This is truly a unique way of making depth for a fighting game; instead of memorizing what combo string to use, how to guard cancel a specific move to cancel out a special move in mid-animation, or how to eliminate the frames of animation for a particular move to increase the speed of an attack, DOA 3 puts emphasis on how players can utilize the environment to gain the advantage. There's less memorization and more strategic planning on "how can I get my target to that area of the stage, what do I do to knock him off the edge, and how do I use this tree to get behind my opponent." The integration of the environments to increase the depth of strategy is truly unique, and that's what will be the difference between a scrub novice and a tactical master of this game.

Sound
Sound in fighting games has always been an afterthought, but DOA 3's sound effects are superb. There are some really painful-sounding throws that will have you wincing in pain. Interaction with the 3D environments generally yields some excellent sound effects; good examples include the stone-like shattering when you slam opponents on the tile ground of the Tao level and the short-circuit electric sound effects when you send an opponent into the wall of the X Octagon. Character voices remain in their normal Japanese voices, something I prefer over the dubbed voices. The in-game music is a good mix of electronica and heavy guitar riffs but nothing really outstanding. I'm not a Aerosmith fan so having the band play 'Amazing' isn't something I'm overjoyed about, but it could be worse.

From the heaps of comments and praise that I've been typing, it's sounding like this is the perfect fighting game ever, right? Well, almost. In nearly almost every gameplay aspect, this is pretty close to the best 3D fighting game experience I've ever had, especially when you put in the awesome Tag Team mode feature that essentially makes DOA 3 a totally different game. Unfortunately, when it comes to play modes and features, DOA 3 isn't exactly bursting at the seams. You have a Story Mode, Time Attack mode, a pretty fun Survival mode, Tag Tea mode, a Team Battle mode, Versus Mode, a Watch mode where you can watch CPU players go at it, Sparring mode to practice your moves, and the Theater option so you can view the pretty nifty CG end movies of each character. That seems to be a good number of modes, but you can get pretty tired of Time Attack and Survival mode pretty easily.  There are costumes to unlock as well as some other extras, but you're going to have to work at getting them. A slightly annoying gripe was the inability to have two players in Sparring mode; while I love the Exercise mode where you're given one attack at a time to practice successfully, it would've been nice to also have two players practice against each other with infinite health. Then comes my gripe with the last boss. Those that remember Tengu from DOA 2 will be even more disappointed with the last boss in DOA 3. I'm not going to give away too much about the last boss; just that he was really no fun to fight. It's also notable to mention the very minor visual flaws. They're not necessarily flaws, but I guess more like wants. For example, I want the water, that looks quite nice, to dynamically react to the players sending ripples up the stream. You can kick up powdering snow, but on the beach level, you can't kick up sand? And in the incredible ice caverns, the level looks fantastic but I was kind of expecting the reflection of fighters off the ice floor. Again, these are more like "wants" than gripes; when you're given so much visual delight, you just want more everywhere.

Comments

For the last few years, the Dead Or Alive series has been the third-stringer in the 3D fighting game world as Tekken and Virtua Fighter battled it out. Even now, there's a pretty sizeable percentage of gamers that prejudge Dead Or Alive 3 as a cheap thrill featuring big-breasted ladies as the main draw, calling it a turbo charged Virtua Fighter 2, or a less flashy Tekken 3. To those gamers, it's time to eat those words and welcome, not only a competitor that looks to be the best 3D fighting game, but also the new standard of video gaming. It's time to realize that Dead Or Alive 3 is nothing like Virtua Fighter or Tekken but a unique 3D fighting game that will definitely change both the way we see the next generation of 3D fighting games, but sets the standard for quality on the Xbox. Welcome to the next level.

Graphics: 10/10

Sound:  9/10

Controls:  9/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Overall: 9/10

-Matt out

When you get past all of the chatter about the potential of Halo looking better on a PC, and all of the yip-yap about Halo being "just another" first person shooter, and all of the lip-flapping about Halo not being able to compete with the very best games on PS2 or GameCube and you actually sit down and play the game on your Xbox?you're in for one hell of a game.

The only thing people need to be concerned about when it comes to Halo is how soon they're going to get it and where they're going to find the time to play. With a story good enough for a full length novel, audio and visual elements as detailed as any you've ever seen and excellent pacing, Halo is the reason for Xbox and vice versa. Bungie has brought to the Xbox the game that will prove hundreds of thousands of naysayers wrong (about the system and thegame) and bring sweet relief and joy to those who've been biting their nails and pacing in circles waiting for Microsoft's machine to arrive. Hype is one thing; reality is another; Halo on Xbox is one of the best things to happen in videogames.

Features:

>> Situational First and Third Person perspectives.
>>Role-based, cooperative multiplayer team game
>> Play story mode as a single player or cooperatively with another player. 
>> Choose from a variety of conventional human and powerful alien weaponry 
>> Vehicles include marine jeeps and tanks to alien flyers and hovercrafts. 
>> Squad based combat.
>>Enjoy the action with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and Widescreen playback features. 

The Story

Halo takes place in the far future where mankind is locked into a brutal war against a race of aliens known as the Covenant. These dudes are seriously evil. They wipe out entire planets at a time, and they are so fast at doing so that we poor humans are unable to get much information on them before they nuke us into oblivion.

The horde of aliens is getting closer and closer to Earth with the clock quickly ticking down before they completely annihilate our race. Finally the line is drawn. In a massive battle near a human planet, only one ship survives: Pillar of Autumn. The commander of the ship decides to lure the Covenant as far away from Earth as possible so she programs the ship's AI to jump to some random location in the opposite direction of the home system.

Eventually the ship arrives at a distant area or space where they find both a gas giant called Threshold and its small moon known as Basis. This wouldn't be so strange except for the fact that they find a giant ring construct floating between the two objects, which is about 10,000 miles in diameter. Unfortunately for the small ship, the entire Covenant battle fleet had followed them and arrived in the system shortly before.

When you boot up the game, you're knee deep in the middle of the Autumn being evacuated. That giant ring construct is Halo and the secret that it holds is the part of the story that will be up to you to discover.

Gameplay
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how Halo plays, I'd like to share a few of the quotes blurted out in and around the IGN offices and other places as passers-by were enraptured by a glimpse of Bungie's first person superstar.

"Are those guys fighting with you?"

"Drive the Jeep! I wanna see the Jeep!"

"Damn, this feels like a movie!"

"I thought the fun part happened already."

"How come the enemies speak English?"

You will fire roughly 4 million rounds at all sorts of alien creatures and vehicles by the time you reach the end of Halo. It's definitely a first person shooter with the emphasis on shoot. But it's how you're motivated to deal all of that damage that makes the experience so enjoyable. And I'm not referring to the backstory of the game either. The artificial intelligence of the enemies is sophisticated enough and increases in difficulty at such a nice steady pace to that you are literally getting better the more you play.

There are a handful of basic enemy types that you'll encounter in Halo including the small annoying Grunts, force-field wearing Elites, shield carrying Jackals, terrifying Hunters and the good old cloaking Elites --they carry cool energy swords that you don't want to know about. Each of the different enemy types behaves and attacks according to their specific "personalities" and so there are tactics in dealing with each.

Grunts are basically chicken-ish and so they like to attack when they have plenty of backup and run away once you isolate them or show your aggression. The magic is in how they express themselves. When Grunts run away they only get so far and hide behind cover before they muster some more courage and pop out again. You simply pop them at will with whatever weapon you have handy.

Elites have an entirely different plan. They have shields, just like you, so they're more likely to go toe-to-toe. Once you get their shields down, however, they panic and become even more aggressive with a running melee attack of some kind. Since their shields are down, your best bet is to smash them with a melee attack of your own with whatever weapon you may be carrying. How often have you gotten frustrated in other FPS games and wished you could just smash the enemy in his side-chewing mouth? An up close and personal attack with the butt of your assault rifle is one of the more underrated joys that Halo will bring you.

The cloaked Elites, Jackals and Hunters are all just their own kind of trouble. The point is, you can have some expectations of what an enemy will do when you encounter them, but their individual moves will always keep you on your toes trying to react best to what they're doing. I said you'll spend 4 million rounds in Halo but I'd guess that you're only landing a third of them even if you're good.

How you'll actually play Halo is a result of how your Mark V Master Chief is designed to function as a warrior. Your cyborg's limited cargo space is how things stay nice and balanced. Human weapons include a pistol, the assault rifle, sniper rifle, shotgun and rocket launcher. Weapons you can pickup from the Convenant include a plasma pistol, plasma rifle and the needler (a cool looking delayed reaction weapon that homes in on targets). Each has a unique rate of fire, ammo capacity and damage potential, which is important because you can only carry two weapons at a time. You can't have doubles of anything so you'd better choose wisely when it comes to the tools of destruction you'll carry. The Sniper rifle for example has 10x zoom and night vision capabilities but it only carries four bullets at a time. Great at long distances, but enemies often like to attack in packs like I said. One of your four concussion grenades or four plasma grenades (courtesy of the Covenant) is usually a better way to go with a crowd of bad guys. You can only carry so much ammo for each weapon so reloading is another great way to make yourself vulnerable in Halo. This is a deliberate move on the part of Bungie to further limit you from dominating the game.

The limitations of the Master Chief along with the speed of the game and behavior of the enemies is what makes Halo a great console first person shooter. They come together to strike a fine balance between an all out firefight and using some tactical combat techniques. You can wade into a room with a dozen Covenant and feel confident because you've got a rocket launcher, shotgun and a full complement of grenades. But unless you're also good on the analog sticks and able to move about to use your weapons efficiently you'll get creamed. Traversing and tracking your targets is slower like you'd expect on a console and the enemies seem to know this. They'll try to outflank, surround you and close in for the kill, so it's up to you to be fast, accurate and smart all at the same time.

The vehicles of Halo are revolutionary. This is where the game seamlessly transitions from first person to third person perspective in real time. Furthermore, each vehicle including the Human Warthog and Scorpion and the Covenant Banshee and Ghost has a weapon and armor set up. I've already raved about the innovation of the Warthog Jeep in a separate feature but the accolades apply to all of them. I get the feeling though that the Jeep was Bungie's initial pride and joy. The control scheme works essentially the same as in first person with one analog stick for aiming and looking and the other for moving forward and back. It will feel extremely strange at first, but it does become second nature fairly quickly. The physics of the Warthog are better than the physics of some dedicated off-road racing games, and this includes the passengers riding in the driver's seat, passenger's seat and at the turret. They all bounce around and react with every single jump and fishtail you make. It even affects their accuracy when there are enemies to be shot at. The truths is, in single player or multiplayer games, there is no videogame experience that can compare to mobbing around in the Warthog with buddies (either AI or human controlled) blasting enemies from the passenger seat or the machine gun mounted on the back. Maybe this is why you'll be delighted, as I was, that Halo requires plenty of Jeep driving throughout the game. Unfortunately the Scorpion tank doesn't get as much love, with only one, but significantly long, section of the game featuring tank play.

That's enough gushing for now. Halo does have some elements to it that are not good and even a little disappointing. First off, the level design really hits a rut about midway through the single player game. The middle third of the game basically has you playing the same level over again except instead of fighting your way in to an objective like you did the first time, you're fighting your way back out. There's a major plot twist to keep you interested and motivated to keep playing and the sections you cleared on the way in are re-fortified with enemies and new objectives on the way out, but it is the same maze of bridges, corridors and areas you've already seen. The effect is, that after being constantly surprised and impressed early on in Halo, you eventually realize that you're doing a lot of things over again that you assumed you were done with. If I kill every bad guy on my way into a base, why are there even more bad guys waiting for me on my way out? Constant instant gratification early on in Halo soon turns to a holding pattern of waiting for something new. You'll definitely get the reward towards the end of the game, but it would've been great if there wasn't any dip at all.

The much hyped co-op mode is a blast since you can play through the entire single player game with a buddy, but we were disappointed that you will NOT be able to go co-op with two Xboxes, two TVs and two Halos using a link cable. It turns out that Bungie had every intention of including this but couldn't squeeze it in on time. It?s especially frustrating because you can do Multiplayer with a buddy and two Xboxes but you're limited to the dedicated Multiplayer maps and game types. They're good, but there's nothing like having a friend literally help you through a game on his or her own full screen.

The multiplayer game is quite exhaustive with mulitple game types and customizable options of each. You can go straight deathmatch with friends and do what comes naturally but this is Halo, there's always more to it than the obvious. It's my prediction that the "Rally" games will be extremely popular because we've never had the opportunity to race vehicles around environments with a friend manning the weapons. Imagine Twisted Metal: Black with humans controlling the vehicles and the weapons. That's what we're talking about here. The problem is the game can start to stutter the more players, vehicles and explosions you add.

Remember you can connect with up to three other Xboxes with up to four players on each 'box in multiplayer games. A game with sixteen players holds the promise of a lot of fun, but it's in your best interest to keep the game type as simple as possible if you want to keep a decent framerate. However, anybody that experienced Perfect Dark's multiplayer game won't have a problem with the framerate hit. As a rule of thumb it's best to spread out players on as many Xboxes as possible. So if you have four buddies and they all have systems and Halos, don't all lump together on one TV for split screen action, spread out and link up with four TVs.

Graphics
Halo isn't 60 frames per second, but it moves plenty fast enough at 30 for you to enjoy. Remember we're not talking N64 or PSX here, so 30 frames of beautifully rendered environments, enemies and particle effects a second still looks damn good on the Xbox. A full 60 fps would've been an awesome sight, but I don't think anybody would want to sacrifice the fun they've included in Halo to achieve that framerate.

The game is not invulnerable to severe chopping. Whenever you get multiple vehicles in large areas you're really asking for trouble. Even then you'll only notice unbearable chopping when you get near structures or other intricately modeled areas. In first person however, even with floods of enemies charging in around you, Halo stays rock solid. This is first person shooter remember, not a third person vehicular combat game.

But the game still looks outstanding. IGNcube's Matt Cassamassina is a card-carrying texture junkie and one of the first things he noticed was how good Halo looks when you're up close to a tree or rock. The bark looks woody and the stones look hard and unforgiving.

You may not have time to go on Cassamassina's sight seeing tour of rocks and trees because you'll have all kinds stunning lighting effects from the explosions to keep you distracted. Everything that produces light in Halo will illuminate and cast shadows on the environment with amazing accuracy. Your flashlight, sunshine, the flash from your weapons muzzle, headlights from vehicles and other glowing stuff all light up Halo unlike anything you've seen before. If you flash a light through a transparent floor down into an endless abyss, you won't see anything. If the headlights of your tank are shining on a wall, enemies around the corner --who can't see you-- will see the light reflecting off the wall and come running. The Covenant plasma grenades, glowing with sizzling blue energy, make for some of the prettiest fireworks in the game. Throw one into a darkened area and it acts as a flare illuminating everything around it until it explodes --eliminating everything around it.

Bungie keeps everything fairly confined in Halo so there's no outstanding depth of field. Even the outdoor areas have the natural boundaries of a mountain, canyon walls or the ocean to keep things nice and close. The beach section has water and you can go into it, but the H2O isn't very impressive and the blue sky texture is actually closer than you'd think. But while outside you can always look up and see the rest of Halo climbing up, over and all the way around to where you're standing.

The animation is best part of the game that's easiest to overlook because it's so natural. Marines, enemies and vehicles move with intricate articulation and fluidity. Rather than simply moving arms and legs, Bungie gives the illusion of weight to each individual character with proper hip and leg movements that would go along with weight transfer. Put another way, I've never seen a Covenant alien, but I'd expect them to scurry away, hop around and chase after me like they do in Halo if I ever met one because those buggers look real.

Sound
The sound in Halo actually ties in so closely to the gameplay that it had no choice but to be excellent. There's no map in Halo to tell you about new objectives and where you've been. You've got a motion detector to help you find enemies but if they're still it's useless. Nearly all of the info you need to progress is told to you by Cortana throughout the game. If you miss what she says you're missing a big part of the story but you will still be able to move forward thanks to the great event trigger placement.

The very first level of Halo teaches you to listen and listen well. You'll have to find a certain marine in the middle of a firefight and let him tell you where you're supposed to go to advance. Even in basic stereo there's enough separation and sound balancing for you to hear what you need to hear from your comrades. In 5.1 surround sound, you're gong to be fully immersed.

If you've got 5.1 you will appreciate the voice acting and sound effects even more than your two-channel Halo-loving brethren. The Covenant speak English (like all good aliens) and you'll hear them say things like "Go look over there!", "He's HERE!" or "They're everywhere!" when you encounter them. Brilliant. You're marines are from all over the Earth and come complete with Australian and Spanish accents. But voices are only half the story.

The sound effects help you through the game since you'll be able to hear if enemies are around and where they're coming from. You'll even be able to identify them by sound after just a few rounds of play. This way, you can equip that rocket launcher if you know there's an ass-kicking coming your way. But engine noises, reloading sounds, shield recharging, firing echoes and even footsteps are all top notch and only get better. Great stereo equipment is going to be a must have for the Xbox with games like Halo out there.

And the original music sets the mood for the epic storyline. The Gregorian Chant-style harmonizing on the main menu screen will become and instant classic and you may find yourself humming right along with it. String arrangments are heavy throughout but that doesn't mean it's all slow and heavy all the time. When the pace is picked up you get the bass-heavy part of the orchestra kicking in to keep you on edge.

In the game itself, music can fade in to ease you into a new area or it can hit with a bang to let you know there's something significant coming up. Whatever the case, it's clear that the pace of Halo and the music blend beautifully to create one overall mood that changes several times throughout the game.

Graphics: 9/10

Controls: 9/10

Sound: 10/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Overall: 10/10 (not an average score)

-Matt