Despite minor complaints about framerate issues, and the lack of bots, GS liked Halo plenty. Interesting, in fact, that most of the other reviews haven't carped about the missing bots that much.

But aside from that, the review gushes from the get-go and doesn't stop:

Even if you bear in mind the company's well-earned reputation for creating excellent games for the Mac and PC, Bungie's epic Xbox first-person shooter is of such a staggeringly high level of quality that you can't help but be surprised. Halo is a complete thrill ride from beginning to end, an experience perhaps best described as a 16-hour-plus version of the siege scene from the film Terminator 2. Those who've spent the last few years looking for a first-person shooter as good as Rare's GoldenEye 007 or Valve's Half-Life will be happy to hear they need look no longer.

Of course, nobody ever praised Half Life for unseating the king of story shooters, Marathon, but then again not everybody has the benefit of perspective.

Thanks to Louis Wu at HBO who spotted the item.