Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Publisher: Microsoft Developer: 343 Industries / Saber Interactive Platform: Xbox 360 Players: 1-2 (Campaign), 2-16 (System Link / Online) Release: 2011 Genre: First-Person Shooter Rating: 9.0 \ 10.0: Excellent
Above is a comparison of the new graphics and the original graphics.
In 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved was released alongside the original Xbox and was very well received by consumers and critics alike. Before this game, people doubted there could ever be a truly great shooter on a console. Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark are two notable exceptions, but been they suffered from awkward and control schemes due Nintendo 64 controller having only one analog stick. Bungie proved the doubters wrong, hence the astounding 95.54% average score on GameRankings.com. However, I think this massive praise was mainly due to how revolutionary the game was at the time. I still very much enjoy it, but I'll explain later why I think Combat Evolved is slightly overrated.
When I finally became a Halo fan, I went on to play nearly the whole main series in mixed-up order. In the end, the first game in the series is the last one I played... the anniversary version, at least. When Bungie ceased developing the Halo franchise, Microsoft-owned developer 343 Industries kicked off their company with a remake of Combat Evolved. The story is incredibly fresh and original: The year is 2552, and a military space vessel called the Pillar of Autumn has just escaped the planet Reach, which was destroyed by a alien alliance known as the Covenant. They believe that the destruction of humankind is the will of their gods (later games reveal that these "gods" want quite the opposite). The ship is carrying extremely valuable cargo: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, the seemingly last supersoldier left in the SPARTAN-II program. Covenant forces board the Autumn, and the Master Chief is woken from cryo-sleep to evacuate the ship. They then land on a strange ring-shaped world, a Halo. This game has some of the best universe building of any series debut, and the story was further explored when the novel The Fall of Reach was released soon after the game.
The game plays almost exactly the same as before, and even starts off with original visuals. A notable feature is that you can press the Back button at any time to switch from the classic graphics to the beautiful (albeit a little cartoonish) remade high-def visuals. The lip-syncing is a bit off and there are occasional framerate drops and texture pop in, but the truly breathtaking sights of the Halo ring make up for this. Having both graphical styles is made technically possible by overlapping the original game engine and a modified version of the Halo: Reach engine. This feature allows you to see how much visuals advanced over the course of a decade. My only problem with this feature is that it takes several seconds to switch visuals, and you can easily be killed while doing this in the presence of enemies. I believe that the old graphics, although primitive by modern standards, look great by 2001 standards. You are also able to switch to the remastered soundtrack primarily composed by Tom Salta. The new tunes perfectly match Marty O'Donnell's brilliant arrangements, but the orchestra is more powerful and moving than ever.
After playing this game, I learned that it has some nifty features that haven't been present in the series since. For example, when operating a vehicle with marine passengers, your allies' health will be shown. Alongside your shield meter is your health meter, which has only appeared in Halo: Reach since, and is a feature that I think adds a touch of realism, and requires you to be more careful. It prevents you from being able to simply hide in a corner when your shields are down and be in perfect condition seconds later if you've been shot while unshielded. However, it can be frustrating to be stuck on checkpoint with your body health critically low.
The main draw of this remaster is that the gameplay has been left untouched, and given this game's age, this doesn't always work in the favor of the game or the player. For example, the grenade fuses are still unreasonably long, there's still copious amounts of backtracking, and I would have liked to see upgraded AI and proper ragdoll physics added to the game. When in remastered mode, it's laughable to Elites dive off ledges to avoid grenades or see bodies fly through the air flailing their arms and curling up when they hit the ground. 343 had the right idea leaving the game be-- everything from taking cover to let your shield recharge then reemerging to mow down Covies with an assault rifle to storming a beachfront with a squad of marines feels every bit as good now as it did in 2001; it just takes away from the experience to suddenly think "Man, this game really is old". The campaign, although excellent, can be frustrating very frustrating at times due to the health system as well as the not-so-fondly-remembered missions in which you must battle the deformed victims of the parasitic Flood infection. There have been two new additions to the main game: Skulls and terminals. Skulls alter the gameplay just as they have as before, and must be tracked down like in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
Additionally, one or more terminals are hidden in each mission. They come in the form of objects, such as computers and control panels that are hidden in plain sight and have always been part of the game. When activated, terminals show a beautifully painted animated cut-scene that explores the backstory of Halo. The terminals depict events that Master Chief didn't witness, such as 343 Guilty Spark's reaction to the crash of the Pillar of Autumn, (minor spoiler alert) the transformation of Captain Keyes into a Flood, and some even hint at the plot of the then-unreleased Halo 4. Both these features can only be accessed when the new visuals are being used, and are welcome additions. Another improvement over the original is the addition of glowing panels on the floor. While the copy-pasted hallways and rooms are lazy as ever, the folks at 343 Industries at least have the decency to make the the infamous mission "The Library" a bit more tolerable. When you crack open the case of Combat Evolved Aniversary, you'll notice the game comes with a free download card for Halo: Reach DLC. By entering the code on the back, you get the Anniversary Map Pack and a new Firefight mission. It's a shame that only seven of CE's maps have been remade, leaving a lot of fan favorites such as Death Island excluded It's a good thing Blood Gulch was remade in Reach, or the fanbase might have started petition. While the maps are few, the Anniversary Classic matchmaking mode really does feel like the online component Combat Evolved couldn't have. In this game type, the gameplay has been tweaked to be as similar to the original game as possible; The gravity has been increased, melee attacks are weaker, and the magnum is ridiculously powerful and seems to miraculously target heads -- it's the same experience, but with fancy high-def graphics and Reach's stellar customization and leveling systems. Overall, Halo: CE Anniversary is an incredible remake that no series fan, new or old, should miss, but it will do nothing to convert those that dislike the series.
When I finally became a Halo fan, I went on to play nearly the whole main series in mixed-up order. In the end, the first game in the series is the last one I played... the anniversary version, at least. When Bungie ceased developing the Halo franchise, Microsoft-owned developer 343 Industries kicked off their company with a remake of Combat Evolved. The story is incredibly fresh and original: The year is 2552, and a military space vessel called the Pillar of Autumn has just escaped the planet Reach, which was destroyed by a alien alliance known as the Covenant. They believe that the destruction of humankind is the will of their gods (later games reveal that these "gods" want quite the opposite). The ship is carrying extremely valuable cargo: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, the seemingly last supersoldier left in the SPARTAN-II program. Covenant forces board the Autumn, and the Master Chief is woken from cryo-sleep to evacuate the ship. They then land on a strange ring-shaped world, a Halo. This game has some of the best universe building of any series debut, and the story was further explored when the novel The Fall of Reach was released soon after the game.
The game plays almost exactly the same as before, and even starts off with original visuals. A notable feature is that you can press the Back button at any time to switch from the classic graphics to the beautiful (albeit a little cartoonish) remade high-def visuals. The lip-syncing is a bit off and there are occasional framerate drops and texture pop in, but the truly breathtaking sights of the Halo ring make up for this. Having both graphical styles is made technically possible by overlapping the original game engine and a modified version of the Halo: Reach engine. This feature allows you to see how much visuals advanced over the course of a decade. My only problem with this feature is that it takes several seconds to switch visuals, and you can easily be killed while doing this in the presence of enemies. I believe that the old graphics, although primitive by modern standards, look great by 2001 standards. You are also able to switch to the remastered soundtrack primarily composed by Tom Salta. The new tunes perfectly match Marty O'Donnell's brilliant arrangements, but the orchestra is more powerful and moving than ever.
After playing this game, I learned that it has some nifty features that haven't been present in the series since. For example, when operating a vehicle with marine passengers, your allies' health will be shown. Alongside your shield meter is your health meter, which has only appeared in Halo: Reach since, and is a feature that I think adds a touch of realism, and requires you to be more careful. It prevents you from being able to simply hide in a corner when your shields are down and be in perfect condition seconds later if you've been shot while unshielded. However, it can be frustrating to be stuck on checkpoint with your body health critically low.
The main draw of this remaster is that the gameplay has been left untouched, and given this game's age, this doesn't always work in the favor of the game or the player. For example, the grenade fuses are still unreasonably long, there's still copious amounts of backtracking, and I would have liked to see upgraded AI and proper ragdoll physics added to the game. When in remastered mode, it's laughable to Elites dive off ledges to avoid grenades or see bodies fly through the air flailing their arms and curling up when they hit the ground. 343 had the right idea leaving the game be-- everything from taking cover to let your shield recharge then reemerging to mow down Covies with an assault rifle to storming a beachfront with a squad of marines feels every bit as good now as it did in 2001; it just takes away from the experience to suddenly think "Man, this game really is old". The campaign, although excellent, can be frustrating very frustrating at times due to the health system as well as the not-so-fondly-remembered missions in which you must battle the deformed victims of the parasitic Flood infection. There have been two new additions to the main game: Skulls and terminals. Skulls alter the gameplay just as they have as before, and must be tracked down like in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
Additionally, one or more terminals are hidden in each mission. They come in the form of objects, such as computers and control panels that are hidden in plain sight and have always been part of the game. When activated, terminals show a beautifully painted animated cut-scene that explores the backstory of Halo. The terminals depict events that Master Chief didn't witness, such as 343 Guilty Spark's reaction to the crash of the Pillar of Autumn, (minor spoiler alert) the transformation of Captain Keyes into a Flood, and some even hint at the plot of the then-unreleased Halo 4. Both these features can only be accessed when the new visuals are being used, and are welcome additions. Another improvement over the original is the addition of glowing panels on the floor. While the copy-pasted hallways and rooms are lazy as ever, the folks at 343 Industries at least have the decency to make the the infamous mission "The Library" a bit more tolerable. When you crack open the case of Combat Evolved Aniversary, you'll notice the game comes with a free download card for Halo: Reach DLC. By entering the code on the back, you get the Anniversary Map Pack and a new Firefight mission. It's a shame that only seven of CE's maps have been remade, leaving a lot of fan favorites such as Death Island excluded It's a good thing Blood Gulch was remade in Reach, or the fanbase might have started petition. While the maps are few, the Anniversary Classic matchmaking mode really does feel like the online component Combat Evolved couldn't have. In this game type, the gameplay has been tweaked to be as similar to the original game as possible; The gravity has been increased, melee attacks are weaker, and the magnum is ridiculously powerful and seems to miraculously target heads -- it's the same experience, but with fancy high-def graphics and Reach's stellar customization and leveling systems. Overall, Halo: CE Anniversary is an incredible remake that no series fan, new or old, should miss, but it will do nothing to convert those that dislike the series.
Ups
New HD visuals
You can easily switch between new and old visuals
Old features return
Very fun campaign
Includes free Halo: Reach DLC
Downs
Game feels as old as it really is
Sometimes frustrating
Long visual-switch time
Long visual-switch time
ESRB: M (DISCLAIMER: I disagree with the Mature rating, as there are just as violent games and movies with lower age ratings) (PARENTAL WARNING: This game contains intense violence, large amounts of realistic blood, bad language, and frightening scenes) Content: Blood & Gore, Mild Language, and Violence Price: $19.99 (Retail)
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