Halo 3 [X360]

Multiplayer modes (both cooperative and competitive) give players a reason to come back again and again. Here, Halo 3 more than atones for its single-player sins. The game's simple brilliance comes from its ability to bring people together and give them the means with which to tear things up real good; multiplayer simply expands on this in the grandest, and most fun, ways.

This time around, air cannons can shoot combatants over huge stretches of terrain, anti-gravity lifts propel characters upward, and elements such as a huge, rusted out troop carrier can be manned and driven by an entire team of players. New weapons such as flamethrowers, spike grenades, and two-handed support weapons greatly augment the destruction Chief can wreak on his foes.

Vehicles have been similarly fleshed out, with Earth forces zipping along on Mongoose ATVs and the Covenant foes utilizing powerful choppers complete with what looks like a buzzsaw blade on the front. More is certainly better here. Especially when players use these new tools in delightful ways; say, grabbing hold of a machine gun turret, freeing it from its base, and using it to lay down some serious hurting on anyone or anything nearby.

Brilliant bits of game design allow for players to live out their Dawn/Day/Night of the Living Dead fantasies, with zombie players seeking to "infect" others while their human counterparts seek to stave off the undead horde. Microsoft has long pushed the mantra "it's good to play together." Halo 3, then, is the game to play together.

There's more. Bungie has created a map editor of sorts in Forge, allowing players to modify maps as they see fit. Already, players are exercising their creativity; a few game critics took time out of their review sessions to play Halo baseball. Their stadium was a map redesigned for the Mudville Nine; it featured an air cannon pitcher that shot a ball (in this case, an unfortunate Spartan soldier) toward a batter armed with a brute hammer. Play ball, indeed.

In-game events and mayhem can be captured, replayed, clipped, and made into gorgeous screen shots or wallpapers with 3's saved films option. Each brutal kill, explosion, and epic triumph can be relived ad nauseam here, making the saved films feature possibly the best new addition to a game series -- ever.

Yes, the third time is the charm. And it would be belaboring the point to say anything else: Microsoft has itself one hell of a game in Halo 3. Hail to the Chief.