If you haven't played "Halo" or "Halo 2" on Microsoft's Xbox gaming console, a quick recap is in order.

In the year 2552, humans have ventured into space and discovered a conglomerate of hostile alien species with advanced weapons called "The Covenant." They see mankind as a religious abomination.

The same religion holds sacred a series of ancient, planetary-size rings (hence the name "Halo"), complete with Earth-like surface terrain around their interiors.

The player takes on the role of an enhanced soldier, Master Chief, complete with battle armor and energy shield. With the support of regular space marines and a female artificial intelligence, players lead Master Chief against hordes of aliens and ancient technology — as well as the biological nightmare that lurks inside the long-abandoned rings.

As the true destructive nature of the rings was revealed in the first two games, The Covenant develops warring factions, one side being friendly to humanity. In addition, a hidden, long-dormant threat inside the halos could decimate all life in the galaxy.

With humanity hanging in the balance and Master Chief standing virtually alone against three sources of destruction, "Halo 3" urges players to "finish the fight."

Adding to the appeal of game play was the linking system that allowed players to compete in various combat scenarios against up to three other players on one Xbox, and which allowed up to four consoles to be linked, creating massive contests involving as many as 16 combatants, with such options as "king of the hill" and "steal the flag" — but with big guns and vehicles.

Massive gaming parties and tournaments grew out of this and almost single-handedly legitimized the Xbox against Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's Game Cube.

"Halo 2" extended the story of the original's single-player campaign (some say unsatisfactorily) but carried the player-against-player feature to Microsoft's "Xbox Live," which meant a player could enter big team battles or custom-made "friends-only" matches at will, 24 hours a day, with players worldwide.

In the three years since "Halo 2," Microsoft launched its next-generation console (Xbox 360) and beat Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 to the punch a year earlier.

The Wii has been a runaway hit, but the PS3, with its hefty price, has struggled to get a toe-hold in the market.

And now Microsoft has Bungie Studios releasing its exclusive title, which is expected to soak up gaming dollars for the holiday season and push more buyers to invest in its console.

While the in-game stakes are life and death, the real-world financial standing of Sony and Microsoft will wax or wane with their respective gaming platforms, and with this title in particular.

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—Larry D. Curtis