Halo 2 lands in Europe

Although we feel sure you need little reminder, for the sake of absolute clarity we'd like to point out that a certain Xbox game called Halo 2 is officially released across the UK and most of Europe today, November 11th, having been released in the US and certain sections of continental Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

By now you've probably already read our review of the single-player component of the game - Microsoft didn't make Xbox Live functionality available to anyone, including reviewers, until the day of the game's US release - and just to reiterate we hope to have a look at the multiplayer aspect in some detail soon.

In the meantime, Halo fans: consider this thread a prime place for posting your early impressions of the game. We're interested to hear what you think. Judging by all the fanfare it's going to be the biggest and most successful Xbox game in the history of the console. But does it live up to your expectations? Try to keep it spoiler-free if possible for the sake of those playing it, but otherwise feel free to let rip...

Finally, for those of you who haven't already relented, you can get hold of the regular Halo 2 package from Simply Games here, or you can opt for the Limited Edition version featuring Making Of footage and more, or Live virgins could even pick up the Halo 2/Live Starter Kit bundle. There's almost no point resisting.