Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary - Review

Just over ten years ago millions of people, including me, played "Halo: Combat Evolved" for the first time. It was an incredible experience, one that I will never forget. It was a completely unique and new FPS experience for those who owned an Xbox. Not only was the story absolutely brilliant, but the multiplayer packed a huge punch. This was the first time that I had played multiplayer in a LAN setting. Playing with 4 people on one screen was always a blast, but add 8, or even 16 players to it, and they were the best parties yet.



"Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary" (you know, while some people consider quoting the name proper, some people don't. We could go either way on this as far as I'm concerned. What do you think?) is the perfect opportunity to experience Halo: CE all over again; however this time there are new graphics, and achievements, including re-mastered maps from the original game. When I first heard about Anniversary, I was sort of excited. The ability to play Halo: CE with updated HD graphics sounded cool, but I wasn't blown away when it was first announced at the 2011 E3 ("Electronic Entertainment Expo"). It wasn't until later that I would wet my pants over some of the features in the game.

As I stated above, Halo: CEA is literally Halo: CE with new graphics; but it's also more than that. 343 Studios teamed up with Saber Interactive to use their "Saber3d" engine so they could overlay the new graphics over the old. At any time the player may switch between the original graphics and the new ones by pressing the back button. This turned out to be a really neat experience for me, because of how well CE was designed back in 2001. Switching from the new graphics to old gives you an opportunity to really see how much graphics have evolved. The amount of detail added to Halo's environments is very deep and beautiful. All of this is possible because both the original game engine and the new Saber3d engine are running at the same time.

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary

 Something that was introduced in Halo 3 was "terminals", these give the player the opportunity to do more than just run through the campaign and beat the game. They force the player to look for a "terminal" and activate it. Doing so unlocks a unique look into Halo's past; it is also an achievement to unlock these terminals, which brings me to my next point. Achievements weren't introduced until the release of the Xbox 360. Now we get the opportunity to play through Halo with the idea that there is more than just story here. I am a huge fan of achievements because it makes the replayability extremely valuable.

Even though the story of Halo: CE is a classic, Halo wouldn't be Halo without its award winning multiplayer. Seven of the available maps have been updated and re-released using the engine from "Halo: Reach". Six of these maps are competitive multiplayer maps that are remakes from "Halo: Combat Evolved" and "Halo 2". Each map has two variants, classic and enhanced. The classic mode plays exactly how Halo: CE played, but with the new "Reach" Engine. It's like riding a bike. It felt so natural to pull out the pistol at the beginning of each game, and immediately get a 4-shot-headshot kill. Along with the competitive multiplayer is the ability to play cooperatively in the campaign mode. Something not previously possible is the ability to play Halo: CEA's campaign cooperatively online.

Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary Multiplayer (Damnation remake)

When "Halo: ODST" was released it came with a game type called "Firefight". This is a cooperative mode where up to four players can fight off waves of the Covenant alien race. Firefight was later updated and improved with the release of "Halo: Reach", and has been added to Halo: CEA. Even though there is only one map to play on, it is one of the most entertaining things to do by yourself, or with your friends.

The sound effects and music have been completely remastered for Halo: CEA. My favorite part about Halo: CE is the music. Not only is it iconic, but it goes along perfectly with the story, and helps provoke different emotions for each situation you find yourself in. The soundtrack for Halo: CEA was re-recorded with the "Skywalker Symphony" and is just as incredible as it was 10 years ago.

In closing, Halo: CEA helped me relive what I cherished so much in 2001. I love going back and playing the game with the new graphics, and find myself stopping once I have moved onto a new area and switching back and forth between the new graphics and the old. It's amazing to see how things have changed. One thing I worried about when this game was announced was that it would change too much. I was completely wrong. 343 Industries is currently working on "Halo 4", and will continue making Halo games from this point forward, and I have all of the faith in the world that they will keep the Halo experience I have come to love. I am giving "Halo: Combat Evolved - Anniversary" 4.5 out of 5 stars. The game is only $40.00, and is worth every penny!

Until next time, keep on gamin' on!