Halo 3 dated

HALO 3 has officially been given a release date of September 25. Well, that's if you're in North America, at least - European citizens will have to wait a pointless extra day until September 26. Go figure.

The announcement comes as Halo fans get their grubby little mitts on the multiplayer beta, which opens this week to those looking to do a bit of free labour in exchange for a first look at the game. Initial comments have suggested that, whilst the game now has a date, it's the graphics that are looking dated, with X360 owners familiar with Gears of War lamenting the lack of detail in the uprated Halo engine compared to the Unreal 3 Engine.

Most people expected Halo 3 to arrive in time for Christmas, to be the season's best seller, but we're all in for a treat early, it seems. Of course, the official date is rather a set back from the one originally announced by Bill Gates, who remarkably assured the press that Microsoft would launch Halo 3 on the same day Sony launched the PlayStation 3.

That rash promise was rather quickly rescinded, and we can only hope that the boys at Bungie manage to stick to this one. µ