Will White at Cloudchaser Microsoft has reviewed Halo, and while they admitted that the graphics were gorgeous, they found the story less than innovative, the controls sometimes frustrating, and the water effects unrealistic. In addition:

In the end Halo is, without a doubt, the Xbox game to own and will be for quite some time; however, it does have its flaws and therefore is not as wonderful as the hype has made it out to me. Plain and simple, Halo is Perfect Dark taking place on a different world with a slightly modified story. The lack of multiplayer gaming over the internet with Halo makes the title even less desirable.

The review itself is extremely positive in some parts, and extremely negative in others, but overall they gave the game a 9 out of 10. Thanks to Louis Wu at HBO for the heads-up.