WHAT I SAW:

Halo: Anniversary, the celebratory remake of the decade-old Halo: Combat Evolved, featuring new visuals in the campaign and Halo: Reach-powered multiplayer.

WHAT I EXPECTED:

I got to see the single-player element of Anniversary at E3 and fell in love with that element of the game all over again. However, my lack of experience with Reach's multiplayer made me worry that it would feel dramatically different than the LAN-fueled Halo I enjoyed a decade ago. Beyond that, I expected a few surprises out of the showcase for the first-ever Halo Fest.

WHAT THEY SHOWED:

There were plenty of cool new surprises in store for the attendees of Halo Fest. I was able to check out the game's 3D mode, which should add another element of newness to the game's visual overhaul. The level shown in 3D, 343 Guilty Spark, was an excellent choice, as the vibrant new fauna (replacing the dense fog on the Xbox version) provided a nice backdrop while the bright silver pistol shone in the foreground. I was given an up-close look at the more detailed Jackals as Master Chief's arm extended into the scene to breach their shield defense with a brutal melee attack. If anything, the 3D should increase adoption of the Needler, as the weapon is a marvel in this mode, with the gun's spikes pointing out at you while shooting the purple projectiles provided a nice depth of field effect.

I was able to try out a few classic stages in multiplayer, featuring a major new addition that will be coming in a Halo: Reach title update due upon Anniversary's release. The multiplayer will include an option to restore the pistol to its original overpowered glory, which made my matches feel like my classic system-link battles of lore. My first match was a Free For All in an update of Halo 2's Beaver Creek, which still had the same exciting chaos as players sprinted out of caves and bases into the outside areas and the creek soon filled with Spartan corpses. After that, I played a more tactical match of Slayer on the Prisoner map, with the vibrant neon purple structures making navigation within the tight confines a bit more manageable. My final multiplayer experience was a more modern one, as I played a round of the co-operative Firefight mode, taking on waves of enemies in a new map called "Installation 4." Inspired by the second level of Combat Evolved, the level included combat elements of later games, like Mongoose vehicles and Spartan Lasers, but still managed to feel like the same great co-op action I'd taken part in via split-screen back in 2001.

Beyond Halo: Anniversary, the celebration will be spreading to other major Xbox 360 releases this holiday season. Turn 10 was in attendance at Halo Fest to show off the most detailed version of the Warthog ever included in a video game. While you won't be tearing through tracks with Halo's signature vehicle, Forza 4 will allow you to get closer than ever to the 'hog as you'll be able to examine it thoroughly in the game's Vista mode. Using either the Kinect or the standard controller, players will be able to open the hood, get in the driver's seat, turn on the engine, and even scope out the mounted turret. As you do this, you'll be given a lovely narration of the Warthog's sweet specs by Cortana herself. The vista mode's Warthog will be an unlockable in Forza 4, and Turn 10 assured us it won't be easy to procure.

WHAT I THOUGHT:

The one trepidation I had with Halo: Anniversary has been dispelled. Thanks to the title update that returns the pistol to its former multiplayer glory, I was able to become accustomed to the new weapons and abilities introduced in the most recent games. The 3D isn't groundbreaking, but it's a nice new addition that should sweeten the visual overhaul for those with capable televisions. If I had to pin down one disappointment, it's that the inclusion of the Warthog in Forza 4's Kinect-enabled Vista mode doesn't count as Anniversary's still-unknown motion-controlled element. That, and it would've been nice to take it on a few racecourses, even if it is comparatively slower than Forza's luxury car lineup. All things considered, these new additions were definitely worth celebrating at Halo Fest.