At 12:00 this morning Halo 3 was unleashed to the masses with an anticipation rivaled only by the biggest big-budget movies.

Being a relative newbie to the series - I had to play a lot of catch-up, as I only recently purchased an Xbox 360 - the Halo experience I have denied for so long has taken me in, hook and sinker.

While I’m only a few hours into this FPS masterwork I can say with the utmost confidence that fans and novices alike can rest easy: it’s exactly what you hoped for and more.

To ensure convenience I have broken down this quick article into two parts, one for veterans of the series and one for newcomers.

Story:

Veterans: Master Chief’s saga is (finally) brought to its (possible) final chapter, with the Covenant touching down on Earth.

Novices: you play Master Chief, a space captain with some scores to settle. Armed with an arsenal of weapons (and his Marine allies in tow) Master Chief battles the Covenant, a radical alliance of aliens hell-bent on wiping out humankind for political and religious gain…

Basically, kill the aliens before they kill you, ok?

Graphics/Sound:

Veterans: Pushing its more-than-capable hardware to the limits, Halo 3 runs laps around the competition (barring the mighty Gears of War), with every environment reacting to physics in the most realistic manner possible…for a sci-fi game.

Novices: WTF…this is a game? Impossible! The visor on my guy’s helmet looks really rad.

Online/Multiplayer:

Veterans: Somehow, Halo 3’s multiplayer options are even more robust than Halo 2’s gold standard. The all-new “Forge” option enables players to fully edit their own campaigns with ease, and the competitive co-op online is total perfection.

Novices: It’s like Goldeneye on the N64, bro - but even better. It’s unbelievable how many gamers are already logged in and experts online…it’s hard to keep up with these hardcore types.

Overall Gameplay:

Veterans: Once again, the Halo series effectively raises the bar for FPS shooters. There isn’t a more immersive and captivating game on the Xbox 360.

Novices: This shit is niiiiiiiiiice!