On the 15th November 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved changed the way we looked at shooters forever. It made the console the definitive platform for a FPS and imprinted the beginning of perhaps the best virtual universe ever created. Bungie pulled out all the stops for it, cutting edge graphics, responsive and smart A.I, smooth gunplay and environments that blew the mind of everyone who explored them.
10 years on with the Halo universe having grown from a singular 20 man team game into the behemoth of the gaming universe that it is. Master Chief being the most iconic space marine ever, the deluded Covenant and of course the zombie like Flood parasite. The game spawned 2 direct sequels, a tie-in game and 2 prequels and now the original game is back in all its former glory and bringing with it some nice little presents too.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary takes you back to the Pillar of Autumn, to the Halo and unfortunately back to the Library. The games original developers Bungie went into reform after Halo: Reach and handed the series over with complete faith to 343 Industries (the creators of Halo Waypoint) and relinquished all they had worked hard to achieve over the past decade.343 were given the original game and all the files used to create the game....and they stripped the graphics.....ripped the audio and went completely mental on what was left. They then made new graphical layers over the models of the levels making them look like they were created....well now, they then re-dubbed the audio and made it sound new, fresh and crisp making the game worth of a re-release. This made the game pretty much entirely new, new graphics, better audio and extras (inclusion of skulls and terminals) means that this is essentially a full game. Reach multiplayer was included but on maps selected by the Halo fanbase to be 'redecorated' and slightly redesigned for the new decade.
The gameplay is just as slick, fast and smooth as before, not to mention the fact that the A.I is still as great as ever all hold up against big shooters of today and surpasses them. 343 truly made the game as good as it could be by making the game exactly as it was before. The guns are back and that includes the pistol, Hunters here I come.
To appreciate the game you need to have loved the original, if you weren’t keen on it then it would be a waste of your money but for those who want a little more than before you get a fair bit.
The game is packaged with a sleeve (black, silver and gold) whilst also including 4 Xbox live codes. These codes are: 2 days Xbox live (as standard), Master Chief avatar armour, Grunt funeral skull (in game item) and the Anniversary map pack for Reach. The grunt funeral skull is an entirely new skull, it causes grunts to explode on death and cause damage to living entities in the blast radius, this can be a help by taking out major enemies or a hindrance by exploding too close to you. The Anniversary map pack for Reach would normally cost 1200MS points and allows access to the Anniversary maps in Halo: Reach and to the exclusive playlists bundled with them. All of these are welcome additions and are welcome from 343, you get all of this for a mere £30 as well, that's £10 less than your average game. This means you get your great Halo campaign with a complete touch up, multiplayer and lots more in game extras for a bargain price which is well worth the dip into your pockets and unload some hard earned cash.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – 8/10
+Still The Best Halo
+Looks Awesome
+Combat Evolved Pistol
-Gameplay Starting To Show Its Age
