When the dust settles after Halo 3's monstrous hype machine powers down, what is ultimately left is the first true sequel for the franchise with all the multi-player bells and whistles you dreamt up in your late nights with the last iteration.

The single-player campaign is more of a quick fix compared to the original's slow build. Not a second is spared transporting the Chief from terrain to terrain and set-piece to set-piece. What will jar with the purist here is the almost over-saturation of options open to the player. Each second of Halo 3 is laden with the choice of weapon/shield/grenade combination and as such the drive to the finish can feel more like an egg and spoon race than a leisurely jog.

One of the most interesting aspects of Halo's oeuvre since its inception – aside from its ability to find hosts both in the mainstream and hardcore communities – is the art design. With neither a full allegiance to the real, nor the overtly fantastical, Bungie's take on the realm of warring worlds sci-fi is as fresh as it ever was. The addition of new vehicles, whilst some not quite as useful and relevant as others, along with the tightened screws of the weapon balancing leads to an experience at its best when open ground presents DIY set-pieces and at its worst when repeated corridors present the worst kind of nostalgia.

What shocks most about Halo 3, however, is how rounded the package is. The map-making “forge”, the ability to record your favourite milestones and share online, the tightness of the multi-player maps, the four-player co-op all equate to a bundle that pushes the console FPS the furthest its travelled since Rare translated James Bond into cartridge gold.

Fears that Halo 3 would repeat the minor mistakes of the original prove to be as well-founded as the cynics would hope. The realisation that the franchise has gotten a farewell equal to its entrance, however, proves to be a much more satisfying revelation.

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