Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary

Developer: 343 Industries

System: Xbox 360

Players: Single, Co-op, Multiplayer

Ten years ago, Bungie Studios created Halo: Combat Evolved, the first-person shooter which redefined the genre on consoles. The studio said their final farewell to the series last year, and Microsoft’s own 343 Industries has picked up the series by going back to where it all began.

343 Industries’ first release is Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, an update and port of the original Halo to the current gaming generation.

Fans can rest assured that Anniversary is a faithful update of the original game that manages to remake the title, while leaving the original material unchanged.

The environmental graphics in Halo Anniversary are absolutely beautiful. The memorable moment when players first set foot on the massive ring-world and see the superstructure rising into the skyline appears better than ever, thanks to the HD graphics.

The ability to switch between the original and new updated visuals at the touch of a button is a brilliant inclusion, allowing players to compare what the game was to what it is now. However, the transition takes a second or two, so it’s inadvisable to do so in the middle of a combat scenario.

The stark contrast between the classic visuals, complete with nostalgia value, and the updated graphics is breathtaking at times. The modernized HD look is brighter, sharper, and much shinier than the original.

Some of the feel of the original is lost with the new graphics, though. Levels that used to be darker, most notably the dank foggy swamps in the 343 Guilty Spark level, are a bit less ominous and eerie.

Character animations in cutscenes are still aged and somewhat stiff at times, namely Captain Keyes, but in-game animations work well with the Marine and Elite visual models ported directly from Halo: Reach. The Master Chief himself has never looked better in his classic Mark V MJOLNIR armor, which looks just like it did in the original game.

Halo Anniversary‘s updated look is essentially an HD filter laid over the original game’s engine. The old graphics and gameplay are running underneath it all, which means the game is a true and exact port of the original.

The gameplay in Halo Annivesary is therefore identical to Halo: Combat Evolved from 10 years ago, showing just how robust the game really was when it was first released.

Although the game holds up in today’s day and age, some features haven’t aged as well. Certain levels are repetitive, and backtracking is quite prevalent in the second half of the game. Thankfully, the infamous Library level, where players must battle the endless hordes of the parasitic Flood, is easier to navigate with new visual clues, but is certainly no less brutal.

All in all, the gameplay remains fun and balanced. It can be easy to sometimes forget that the new visuals are there once deep into the campaign, whether playing alone or with a friend.

The addition of hidden terminals in Halo Anniversary is a nice touch, and the stories told in them are well animated and far more interesting than the text adventures offered in Halo 3.

Fans should definitely look for small touches in the updated graphics, such as the bulletin board in the Pillar of Autumn, and a little Easter egg in the Cryo Chamber for fans who have read the Fall of Reach novel, which covers events preceding the game’s storyline.

Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment in an otherwise seamless package in Halo Anniversary is the multiplayer. Instead of porting the original gameplay, 343 Industries chose to simply recreate classic Halo maps that run on a modified Halo: Reach playlist.

Veteran fans of the original Halo will be disappointed that the multiplayer runs on the Reach engine, and although 343 tried to recreate the experience from Halo: Combat Evolved, the gameplay rarely captures the true feel of the original multiplayer mode.

Despite the disappointing multiplayer component, the game is still worth a purchase for any Halo fan, and especially so at a budget price of only $40. The campaign in Halo: Combat Evolved is still a landmark in gaming history, and is perfectly captured and beautifully preserved in Anniversary.