Bungie had a big bang planned for the rollout of the Halo 3 beta this week, starting with press events last week to let gamer journalists try out the multiplayer goodies before the unwashed masses.

But the feedback from the bloggers and reviewers who attended the events has been pretty mixed. In fact, I'd say this is a bad sign for Microsoft, given that the game is less than six months away from its full retail release and the Xbox boys really need a system-selling hit to deflect the ongoing national obsession with the Wii.

Granted, Halo 3 will sell a bajillion copies just because it's Halo. But Halo 2 (particularly the single-player campaign) was seen as -- and in fact was -- a letdown from the first game. If Halo 3 proves to be a disappointment in any way, the franchise could begin to lose some of luster.

I think the problem might be simply that Bungie is taking way too long to make this game, a problem I touched on in my column this week.

After all, Halo 2 came out in 2004, and the three-year gap has led gamers to expect something revolutionary from the third entry.

Here's hoping Bungie can deliver.