It’s hard to believe it’s been a full 10 years since the first Halo debuted. But if you were to pop in that game now, it’s not hard to imagine a Combat Evolved first-timer or anyone who hasn’t played the game since the Xbox days pausing at its creaky, decade-old visuals. And why bother doing that to yourself when 343 Industries has you covered? Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary serves up the original game’s groundbreaking gameplay intact, but the developers have gone the extra mile to wrap it all up with a fancy bow.
Thankfully, Anniversary skips any revisionist horrors — you’ll find no Star Wars special editions “Greedo-shot-first” moments here. 343 instead focused on upgrading the graphics and audio while folding in the control improvements that’ve made their way into the series over the years. The remastered visuals and audio make the 10-year-old game feel surprisingly fresh: the level of detail in everything from the opening cinematic of the Pillar of Autumn’s crew preparing for the Covenant attack, all the way to Master Chief’s final escape, looks fantastic. Even the problematic Library and Flood levels are improved by the retooled, bright color palette and clear differentiation between areas. (The Flood will still murder you more than a few times, but hey — at least you’ll know where you are.)
Ultimately, these upgrades help sell the story’s epic, cinematic scale in a way that — in retrospect — just wasn’t possible on the first Xbox. This boon is especially evident in Anniversary’s new-fangled 3D mode, which does a good job of immersing folks with compatible TVs in the game’s world. For those who’d rather keep it real, you can toggle off the graphics upgrades at any time by hitting the Back button, and also select the original score at any time while playing. The same freedom of choice extends to the game’s control options, which let you use the classic layout mapped to the 360 controller, or Halo: Reach’s controls. We appreciate the suite of options Anniversary offers up, but the compare/contrast approach serves only to highlight how far the series (and by extension, we as gamers) has come since Combat Evolved’s fledgling first steps on the then-new system. Most likely, you’ll stick with the prettified graphics and more modern control scheme.
The only bit of true revision comes packaged in the form of skulls and terminals — collectibles that debuted in later Halo games. Skulls simply modify your experience as they’ve done in the past (affecting ammo use and enemy strength, for instance), but it’s the terminals that truly add something new to the experience by presenting cinematics that pull in bits of lore from the larger Halo universe.
Anniversary shoehorns in two flavors of Kinect support. In-game, voice recognition reacts to almost two dozen words, including “reload” and “grenade.” Moreover, an Extras menu lets you access a Library mode, unlockable only with Kinect, where you’ll examine 3D models of items and adversaries you’ve scanned in the game. You can also use voice commands to review the terminal cinematics you’ve found. We commend the effort the devs put into Kinect support, but ultimately, it’s an unnecessary addition.
Anniversary’s multiplayer options didn’t get as extensive a makeover as the single-player game does — and they probably won’t sate longtime Halo fans. You can now play the campaign cooperatively with a buddy over Xbox Live; it’s raucous fun despite some seriously choppy framerate chug in crowded fights with the Flood. Competitive multiplayer, on the other hand, is significantly different than its classic incarnation. The mode uses the system from Halo: Reach, which adds parties, stat tracking on Halo Waypoint, emblems, and customizable characters and weapon loadouts.
This core multiplayer experience offers six main maps (each with a variant) — “Beaver Creek,” “Hang ’Em High,” “Damnation,” “Timberland,” “Prisoner,” and “Headlong” — that are all remasters of Halo and Halo 2 maps. Including the variants was a good idea, as their layouts offer more gameplay options during matches thanks to additional routes and places to hide/ambush/camp. More recent multiplayer features like custom game, Forge, and theater modes also join the party. Though Anniversary is short some maps from the classic game, you’ll find squad, big team battle, free for all, and classic match types in which to test your skills. As an added perk, Anniversary includes an all-new Firefight mission for two to four players.
It’s safe to say, the shiny new features of Reach being layered over a select number of remixed CE maps won’t matter a whit to gamers who didn’t spend countless hours at LAN parties sniping fools with the gleefully lethal M6D pistol. If you did, though, know this: a truly faithful upgrade to the original’s multiplayer experience isn’t what you get here. For those yearning to relive those glory days, the omission will sting smartly. But it doesn’t necessarily detract from what Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary celebrates. This feature-rich ode to the classic that started it all is an impressive upgrade — one that deserves a place in any fan’s library.
Publisher: Microsoft • DEVELOPER: 343 Industries (with Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity) • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: 2 cooperative; 2–16 competitive (System Link or Xbox Live) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Easy 250G • COST: $40
+ Beautiful facelift to the classic game.
+ Impressive array of extra features.
– No full multiplayer overhaul; the Kinect “support” is a bit pointless.
? How did we play games with no sprint, regenerating health or cover mechanic?
gkicker2
November 18, 2011 at 11:23am
I haven't seen 'Easy 250G' in an achievements description before... does that mean the other 750 are stingy? #OXMHaloContest
xBluepearlx11
November 18, 2011 at 10:25am
I agree with stealth202, it would be nice to see the mutiplayer get an old school mode. #OXMHaloContest
T101
November 17, 2011 at 11:07pm
I still have some copies of Combat Evolved, Anniversery will be goig right beside them :) #OXMHaloContest
alee
November 17, 2011 at 9:02pm
It sounds like they did a pretty good job with this remake, and stuck mainly to upgrading things to take advantage of current hardware, and resisted the temptation to make other changes. Thanks for the review. #OXMHaloContest
kingmii21
November 17, 2011 at 4:05pm
I still have my old xbox, even though it doesn't work as well now, so every now and then I play Halo and I have a blast every time. The fact that the graphics have been kicked up is always a plus. So like they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it. But you can always tweak it once in a while. #OXMHaloContest
stealth202
November 17, 2011 at 2:49pm
It is sad to me that we may never be able to relive the halo and halo 2 multiplayer experiences over xbox live. Halo's campaign is great, but i don't think anyone would argue that it was the multiplayer that truly revolutionized the genre. I have nothing against the new 'reach' system, I just wish I could go back because playing halo and halo 2 over xbox live was some of the best and most memorable times in my video game playing life. I understand how much gaming has evolved but I wish we could go back even if it was only on a few maps. #OXMHaloContest
WarrenTrouble
November 17, 2011 at 1:33pm
Halo Anniversary, excellent game! It's amazing how the original Halo still holds up today, the improved graphics was an added bonus. Still though I crave a full remake of this game. One built from the ground up completely implementing what was used in Reach, with a re-written story that is a true successor to Reach and ties in much closer to what has been written in the books. But I expected to at least get credits, daily/weekly challenges, and the ability to play as my custom spartan would have added a whole level of play and re-playability! #OXMHaloContest
captawesome
November 17, 2011 at 12:28pm
I've been waiting for this game to come out so I can replay all the halo's in a row starting with reach and ending with Halo 3. As far as the multiplayer in this game I'm fine with it being in Reach and not a true to form classic remake. I was 17 when halo came out. I got the xbox and halo for Christmas. It was my last big present from my parents. As I was turing 18 and graduating from High School the next year. I do remember playing with all my cousins co-op and 4 player split screen deathmatches and ctf on my small 19in tv. It holds great memories but they were really the only ones I played with. Nobody else I knew had an xbox so I never got to experience the LAN parties. Maybe that's why it doesn't matter to me so much about the multiplayer features for Halo Anniversary. I've always been a story first kind of guy. #OXMHaloContest
gkicker2
November 16, 2011 at 5:08pm
In the finishing comments about the score, the only negative is a diss on the multiplayer, which I agree with. When viewed in a vacuum, it is very reasonable for that to bring down the score to an 8.5. My issue is this: Battlefield and MW3 each had negatives that were directed at single player, not multiplayer, and received higher scores, so I think the conclusion has to be made that reviewers now put more weight on multiplayer than they do single player. You could easily argue that the single player score is a 10 and the multiplayer is a 7. I think OXM and other reviewers would do gamers a great service by publishing seperate scores... one for single and one for multiplayer. #OXMHaloContest
FAST 420
November 18, 2011 at 3:54pm
8.5 really? how did u play 343's glitchy version of what was a gr8 game and come up with 8,5?maybe a 6.0 would be more inline with what it should be. oxm remove the 8.5 trade it with the number 6 to correct your mistake!i found lots o glitches in a game that didnt have any when it was first released 10 years ago.oooo where is classic slayer w/out objective game type. sorry 2 say if they could mess up a perfect game{Halo} Halo 4 will not be any good. #oxmhalocontest
WorldContainer
November 16, 2011 at 4:43pm
#OXMHaloContest I especially love the fact that you can choose your control scheme. With the original Halo combat Evolved download for Games on Demand, I was fumbling a bit, but with the more familiar Reach controls, I'm alot more comfortable
louiedog
November 16, 2011 at 4:34pm
I loved this game. I played countless hours on my roommate's Xbox but never picked it up myself. I own every single other game in the series and this version seems like the way to complete my collection. It sounds like they nailed it and the improvements work in its favor. #OXMHaloContest
rogXue
November 16, 2011 at 4:20pm
#OXMHaloContest I barely remember the game as I played it on PC years ago so I'm looking forward to playing it again for the 1st time.
JDHarbs19
November 15, 2011 at 10:18pm
Why doesn't this game support standard 4:3 televisions? I know this is supposed to be an HD remake, but this may be the first game in history that forces 16:9 widescreen on every tv. Can't enjoy all of the beautiful work 343 did remastering this classic when I've got black bars taking up 30% of my screen.Should we expect this to be an industry norm from now on?
Gamer83
November 15, 2011 at 3:12am
I guess an 8.5 is a reasonable score considering this is just an HD update of a 10-year old game but I'd still bump it up to a 9, which is a AAA score and this game deserves nothing less. Ten years ago this was my favorite FPS and playing through it again now after about 4 years since the last time I played it it's still by far my favorite shooter. I don't care what anyone says, the campaign is brilliant and I'm thrilled MS and 343i didn't mess with it a bit. Like any game it has its minor issues but for me this is what a shooter campaign should be and the best of map pack thrown in there for Reach is a nice bonus. Everybody else can enjoy their Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3 this holiday. Me? I'll take Halo: Combat Evolved, now with beautiful HD visuals, overy any other shooter. Thank you MS and 343i, this is a great way to celebrate 10 years of the best shooter ever made.
Doomzdae
November 14, 2011 at 7:16pm
I agree. It's a crime that OXM didn't give the original game a 10. It's nice that OXM is anti-biased but I would rather see someone who loves halo review it.
FAST 420
November 16, 2011 at 5:34pm
i love halo check my stats you will see how much love there is. my review gives 343's Halo CE 6.0
vangoghwannabe
November 14, 2011 at 7:38pm
The thing I found really odd with this review is that it wasn't just a single reviewer it was everybody! How could their combined opinions bring this game to an 8.5?
vangoghwannabe
November 14, 2011 at 6:19pm
In my opinion, you should have rated it as good as you did ten years ago and if there was any better features then you can just add to that score? I mean is this game missing something from the original? You guys give games like BF3 and MW3 9-9.5 scores but when the grandaddy of shooters that started it ALL comes around you guys give it a worse score than REACH and ODST? I mean CE is way better than those titles AND many more. Ps 8.5 IS still a good score but in this case I have to bicker.
SuperSpartan
November 14, 2011 at 6:48pm
I Second your notion goodsir! Aye a 10! If ocarina of time can get a 10 and so can the coming skyward sword. Then Halo CE gets a 10 then so will the Upgraded, better looking, better playing, online capabilites and yea might be useless kinect feature but its there ;)
vangoghwannabe
November 14, 2011 at 7:03pm
Im not asking for a 10 persay but atLEAST a 9. And when I say 9 that would be a COMPLETE understatement.
MaxxSwan13
November 16, 2011 at 5:13am
LET ME MAKE THIS SHORT AND SIMPLE! IF METACRITIC GAVE IT A 95 OXM WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT A 9.5 OR A 10! DO U UNDERSTAND!?!?
