I think the reviews being so high has to do with the overral package. Basically for $60 are you getting your moneys worth. With 4 player co-op and a proven multiplayer mode as well as videos unless the gameplay was bad then it should get 9+ in my opinion. It seems the main bad thing from most of the reviews I read or seen are the marines or arbitror AI which quite frankly doesn't seem to be a big issue since we all know is up to Master Chief anyways. I guess the other main issue is graphics which again as long as it runs smoothly especially when playing co-op with 4 people is what really matters. To me the best thing about this and other games like gears, bioshock etc is that they push future games to have more.

craig, Dallinor is not trolling, he's just bringing up a valid question.

I've learned after a long time that reviews end up with a final score based on the whole package...if it's worth it for the consumer, etc. So a 9.8, while maybe a little too high in my opinion, is fine with me.

I'm debating wether or not I should just dive into forge first

Its honestly the most interesting thing Ive seen about the game

Im diving into 4 player co-op campaign first
Then I will do Mulitplayer

GOTY is going to be a battle between Bioshock, Halo 3, and Mario Galaxy

i've always thought of Gametrailers as one of the better reviewers, but not for the score they give.. i hardly even care about that.. i just listen to what they say about the game, if the criticisms are more important to me than the praises, then that is what determines the review score for me

Btw, does anyone else think it is odd that MP3 got marked down because it didn't look as good as 360 and PS3 games (even though it is impossible), yet fps games on 360 and PS3 aren't marked down because the controls are nowhere near as good as the wiis (even though it is impossible)?

@tabsina, the controls you praise on the wii are not liked by all. While better graphics are always something to look forward to. I would much rather play with the 360/PS3 controller then the wii-mote.

yes GT is right, you cant say universally that the wii mote is liked more, some will like analog better.

But same goes with graphics soome will like 360 and ps3, others will like the wiis art style

IGN's video review is better

IGN AU gave the game an 8.9 and Dailygame gave it an 8.8

They say it suffers from the same thing that Halo 2 does. Which is more of the same and nothing really innovative and new to the game. I'll have to agree with that statement. Sure, they have awesome multiplayer and forge is a nice little addition but it's still basically the same game from 6 years ago but with a shiny new suit of armor.