With huge aniticipation surrounding what is expected to be one of the most important video game releases of the year, eyes and ears were glued to the door of Microsoft's HQ on Friday after the publisher offered a preview of Halo 3 to a few selected guests.

Nicholas Puelo of games site Evilavatar said: "The graphics could use some work.They're not much different than the previous Halo. They've got five, six months until release, so they'll add some polish. When I compare it to other things in the platform, it's not standout."

Microsoft's head of Game Studios Shane Kim said: "I definitely believe that Halo 3 is going to be bigger than Halo 2. Retailers know what Halo 2 did and they are not going to want to be caught out of stock."

Kim added: "I believe this is going to be one of the three biggest consumer entertainment events of the year, along with Spider-Man 3 and the new Harry Potter book."

Halo 2 sold 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale and industry insiders believe the next incarnation could be even more successful.