Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
For: Xbox 360
From: 343 Industries, Microsoft Studios
It was the game that virtually single-handedly launched multiplayer first-person shooters. Its place in gaming history is assured.
Ten years later, this anniversary edition is a tribute to the original and a sort of thank-you to the diehard Halo fans.
It's really two separate games; a remake of the original single-player game and a Halo: Reach-based multiplayer game which features some classic Halo multiplayer maps.
The developers have tried to keep the campaign as faithful to the original as possible and in classic mode the single player campaign is not just similar, it's identical. I mean exactly the same, down to each individual blade of grass.
Even the original bugs have been replicated - the Warthog still handles like a boat and the pistol is still as deadly.
Alongside the classic mode is the all new, singing and dancing remastered version featuring high def graphics, 3D and Kinect.
Graphically, although it looks excellent and the new score is epic, the new version is not quite up to the standard of some of the latest blockbuster games. But you won't notice after a while as the gameplay is the same as the original - i.e.
brilliant, although you may find yourself lost, wandering round looking for the right direction more than in most modern games with waypoint markers and directional arrows.
Kinect features are limited to voice commands (grenade, reload) and enabling Analyse mode, which lets you gather information on the Halo universe. But these have been left as non-essential additions so as not to change gameplay.
Oddly enough with all the modern tweaks and flash graphics, the rabbit in the hat of the anniversary edition is the humble back button. This switches you from classic mode to remastered version in the blink of an eye. Well, not exactly a blink - it's pretty quick but don't try it in the middle of a firefight.
I initially thought it would be a bit of a gimmick you'd use a couple of times and forget, but I found myself constantly flicking between the two modes to remind myself of the original and then to see how the new version looked. It's addictive, believe me.
It's difficult to put into words, but the campaign sort of feels like an older game. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just different.
The other part of the game, the Reach-based multiplayer has classic and enhanced versions of maps from the Halo archive. All of Reach's features, XP, customisation etc are used to their full potential, meaning this is probably the best online Halo experience yet - the best maps on the best engine.
You've got to remember that it's a remake of a 10-year-old game, and the fact that it stands up next to the Modern Warfares and Battlefields of the current age is a tribute to the greatness of the original.
Who's the daddy?
I think you'll find it's Master Chief!
