There may still be seven weeks to go before Bungie's final (allegedly) outing into the sci-fi adventure universe of Halo, but Microsoft are keen to rack up the anticipation factor, which is why we now have a shiny new HD trailer.
September 14 will come around quickly once the summer weather wears off and people quickly retreat inside from their barbecues to shelter in the warmth given off by the whirr of their Xbox 360s - unless you can afford a glossy black one of course.
Halo is the backbone of the Xbox legacy, so you can understand why MS are pushing it so hard, but what can we get out of this latest trailer?
With a lot of exposure for the multiplayer aspect of the game through the Beta test, this trailer focuses on the campaign mode, which will see you take command of Noble Six. No rookie this time around, unlike the slightly lacklustre ODST, this squad are hardened Spartan IIIs, but not the tough cookies Master Chief and his pals are, so things should be a little tougher this time around.
The trailer opens with the planet Reach, the fall of which is well known by veteran Halo players, suggesting the ending of the game won't be too happy. Proceedings take a distinctly Avatar-like turn as we see numerous flying transports (the pre-cursor to the Hornets seen in later games) crossing mountainous forests, so there may be levels similar to Halo 3's opening trek.
Soon Spartan troops are being briefed, including glimpses of the skull-faceplate-painted character known as 'Ghost', alongside humans, meaning the days of stealing human characters' Shotguns will soon be here again.
Next an armoured convoy with air support speeding across a sandy plain before being attacked by The Covenant, which should be exciting since the series has been aching for an out and out mass vehicle battle for years, hence the popularity of the 'Heavy' multiplayer modes in Halo 3.
The Elites rear their head as the enemies once again, but this time around you have the advantage of armour upgrades (or downgrades?) to give you a helping hand, and The Covenant forces begin to overwhelm the backgrounds just as they did in New Mombasa.
A quick glimpse of what looks like a fighter jet we'd recognise from an American war film stirs up some questions before soon revealing it's attached to a space rocket, which leads us to a Star Wars-esque space battle, but there is little time to absorb it as Bungie snatches Reach away from us again to keep us wanting more. As it should be.
With all their pedigree Bungie have every reason to make this an unforgettable title to see out the series on, with people growing tired of modern warfare once again it's time to return to sci-fi, so everyone will be too engrossed by the time Call of Duty wants to fight back.
James Michael Parry
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