Can I talk about this one yet? It seems that CompUSA has been selling it early and Major Nelson is talking about it so I’ll take some liberty since I also got my copy a couple of days early. And while there’s been a lot of hoopla about the invite to the Halo 3 beta via the game, something needs to be said about the game itself…

Wait, lemme put on my flame proof suit…

I like Crackdown better than Gears of War.

Whoo! What a post already.

One of things about working for Microsoft Game Studios is that you get to interact with a number of titles before they hit the street. It’s pretty awesome watching titles go from “raw cut” to “finished product” – now that I’ve been there for just about a year, I’ve witnessed this process over a couple of different games… before I joined MGS I watched the process from afar. For example, I was on the Halo 2 beta and that kept me entertained for about four months – when the finished product came out, though, I was totally blown away.

I watched Gears of War as one of these games – the finished product was visual stunning and a lot of fun to play.

I watched Crackdown as well. Totally different game visually but it’s an absolute blast to play. You get guns. You get cars. Funky cars that can either run over other cars or a sports model that will flip other cars off the road. You get missions – you’re a cop. You’re an uber cop, actually. The missions? Some part puzzle, some part shooter. Either way, it’s been fun – rather than annoying like some games can be.

And I haven’t even tried the Co-Op or online mode yet.

What about the Halo 3 Beta invite? What can I say about this… I’ll say that if you want to know anything about Halo 3, go to the source: Bungie.net. In fact, there’s a Halo 3 FAQ there – read it. That’s all I’m willing, able, and going to say about Halo 3 – fanboys are fine and all, but I’ll be damned before I risk my career for them.

What I will say is that this game has been more fun for me than I thought it was going to. I’ve been impressed, and that’s not an easy thing to do, these days…

Even if you get this for the beta invite, I honestly think you’ll keep it for the game play.