Shortly before introducing Neill Blomkamp’s phenomenal live action short of Halo 3 last week at E3, Peter Moore talked about the passion and community that surrounds Halo. He spoke about being immersed in the wonderful story and I have to admit that I sat there transfixed.

Halo emerged triumphantly from E3 as something much more than a videogame; it now boasts a universe to rival the best in science fiction and with the greatest creative minds in the world making sure this happens. Of course we’d all like to own a set of full Spartan body armour from the effects guys at Weta, but a special edition Halo 3 console will do nicely on 26 September.

Speaking of getting things done and finishing the fight, did you know that all the gameplay footage shown so far of Grand Theft Auto IV, Resident Evil 5 and Assassin’s Creed has been running on Xbox 360? The upshot is that yes, these great games will look exactly like their incredible promotional clips when they arrive, and in terms of GTAIV and Assassin’s Creed this means before Christmas as part of the greatest line-up in videogame history. It’s coming if you’re ready or not!

Actually we shouldn’t make this sound too daunting because the whole family is headed for a treat this year too. Viva Piñata is one of my favourite games from last year, so Viva Piñata Party Animals is at the top of my personal wish list. However the movie trivia quiz ‘Scene It?’ is also a must for everyone else at home – those buzzer controllers are just too cool.

Well, it’s not long to wait for all this. So, for once, I don’t mind counting the days…

By Mark Eveleigh, Xbox.com Editor, Gamertag: Making Sparks