I bought my Xbox yesterday, and I actually managed to keep my fingers off it until ten thirty, when I could wait no longer.

Four hours later, I had to force myself to turn it off. Not because I didn't want to keep playing Halo - the only game I'd bought - but because I just had to go to bed before I passed out. The console is huge and heavy, with a certain kind of brute, green elegance you'd expect from Microsoft, and the controller is large and chunky, but strangely comfortable in use, but Halo is what makes this a must-have gadget. The game kicks arse. It really, really does. It starts off slow and keeps building, and though it borrows a lot from Half-Life, that doesn't make it any less compelling. It's also one of the best-looking games ever, and eye-candy is important to me. I love to stop and just soak in the beauty of Halo's alien ring-world. Breathtaking. I expect that I'll be spending another four hours playing later tonight, and to hell with my social life. This weekend, I'll embrace the (hidden) geek in me.

If you can afford it, and especially if you live in Europe (with yesterday's price reduction, it's cheaper here than in the US - yay!), buy it, and Halo too. You won't need another game, not for a good while.  ¶ 17:48