There's a big difference between CGI, scripted in-game cutscene, and gameplay. That gif from the trailer is the 2nd of those, and very well-made. A scripted in-game cutscene can still display things that couldn't normally be run while playing the game though, so don't confuse the two. 

Too much CGI is very annoying, and distracts from the actual aesthetic of the game. I think Reach looks great as it is, even if it's not shattering graphical barriers. It'll be a blast to play, and the AI adjustments and customization for multiplayer, plus the great maps (Blood Gultch 2 w00t) ensure I'll be playing it for years to come. Hell I may never buy another Halo game with Bungie gone.

PS: This isn't actually a new engine, but rather a gutted and refitted Halo 3 engine. There's not some "Reach" engine tool-set floating around for Xbox developers to use. This is just heavy stripping and reworking done by Bungie on their own established tools.

Hell yeah!  Halo Reach is setting to astound many a people!

It wasnt someone it was good old GameTrailers themselves. They put it up as a CGI Trailer. 

They had to rewrite there entire engine. So in essence it's a new engine. They realised very quickly to achieve what they wanted they had to throw out all there existing systems. Bungie said so themselves.

I'm so getting this.

Can't wait to make Helms Deep in forge 2.0

Did they say it was CGI or simply put it up in the CGI section?

In the description of the trailer GT initially wrote "A beautifully rendered CG trailer for Halo: Reach packed with action and drama" and later changed "CG" to "in-game" when Bungie responded to the description.

This game is gonna crap on all FPS games that has ever cometh Out !!!!!

Quoted for truth!

If the graphics on the commercial are in game, then it's the best looking game I've seen on consoles except for maybe Uncharted 2 and Killzone.

There is a lot of efficiency to get graphics this level as well as actual draw distances and fast paced gameplay, so as a technical achievement, it probably rivals any game thus far released, considering it is on the Xbox 360, assuming the trailers and the scale are to be believed. However, Gears 3 might give it a run for its money, knowing Cliffy.

Yes, for what it achieves, with what it has to work with, this game has very good graphics. The graphics will score perfect for the game at a lot of review websites.