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Activision boss Bobby Kotick - no stranger to pissing everyone off - has said he believes that Halo developer Bungie is the "last remaining high-quality independent developer".

Ouch.

"Bungie are a very unusual company," Kotick told the America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications, and Entertainment conference. "They're probably the last remaining high-quality independent developer...that has sort of has institutional skills and capabilities. And they're a real company."

Companies such as Valve and Gearbox may have a thing or two to say about that Bobby.

Source: CVG

Over on the Bungie forum there's a discussion of disc load problems with Halo Reach.

It seems many owners of original Xbox 360 consoles are having problems loading the game - even when trying replacement discs.

Microsoft is aware of the issue and has posted the following advisory:

"If you are experiencing disc read errors with Halo: Reach, please contact customer support at 1-800-4-MY-XBOX and report the issue. As soon as we have more concrete information, we'll update this thread with the next steps."

The review sites have gone live with their thoughts on Halo Reach this morning. As you can see there is universal acclaim with only a few dissenters willing to go a point or two against the current orthodoxy.

• 1UP A+
• GameZone 8.5/10
• The Telegraph 10/10
• MTV Multiplayer No score given
• CVG 9.2/10
• IGN UK 10/10
• The Guardian 5/5
• Kotaku No score given
• Made2Game 9/10
• GamesRadar 8/10
• Joystiq 5/5
• PlanetXbox360 10/10
• GamePro 5/5
• D’Toid 10/10
• NowGamer 9.4/10
• Xbox360Achivements 94/100
• Shacknews No score given
• Giant Bomb 4/5
• IGN 9.5/10
• G4 5/5
• Machinima 9.5/10
• Videogamer 9/10
• GameTrailers 9.3/10

I suspect the next Halo game - which won't be developed by Bungie - will be the best in the series. Check back to see whether I have to eat my hat in a couple of years.

As we start the Christmas countdown things are hotting up at retail. We're starting to see the release of some of the games that we've heard so much about at the various trade shows in the first half of the year.

This week's biggest release is of course Halo Reach - though that doesn't actually arrive until Tuesday, but there are other games worth your time.

By the way I've had review code for UFC Undisputed 2010 in the PSP for the last few days and I'd say it's pretty good, the code just arrived a bit too late for me to have a review ready for you today.

Any road up, check out today's releases after the jump:

Plenty of UK stores will be opening at Midnight on Monday to satiate the eager hoards wanting to get their hands on Reach.

“Halo is the biggest video game series in history and as a pop culture icon it’s been called the ‘Star Wars’ for the joypad generation,” says Stephen McGill, Director of Xbox and Entertainment, UK & Ireland. “Halo: Reach, developed exclusively for Xbox 360, is the blockbuster prequel to the franchise - truly Halo 4 in all but name.”

“We’re delighted be welcoming Noble Team to our Westfield store for the official launch of Halo: Reach and can’t wait to see all the Halo fans, it’s going to be a great night. Even if you can’t get to Westfield, the majority of our stores will also be open at midnight to make sure that customers can get their hands on the game as soon as possible.”, says Neil Ashurst, Head of UK PR, GAME and gamestation.

Some stores will even see an appearance by some of the game's Spartan soldiers.

Find out where you can meet a Spartan after the jump:

BradyGames has announced that the Halo Reach Strategy Guide will be released on September 14th.

The guide will feature a choice of six different covers including Noble Team leader Carter-A259, the bionic arm-wielding Kat-B320, heavy weapons specialist Jorge-052, or marksman Jun-A266.

Check out the covers and the guide features after the jump:

As the name suggests, the hardcore armour effects really are something you'll see hardcore Halo: Reach players being able to earn.

After all - you have to be pretty hardcore to sit through hundreds of hours of ignorant racist smack talk by pre-pubescent mid-westerners.

There will be four hardcore armour effects at the game's launch, with more to follow later.

Check out the details from Bungie after the jump:

Microsoft and Bungie have just released a new live-action promo video for Halo: Reach.

You can check it out over at Bungie.net.