Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary product reviews

The flagship game of the Xbox, Halo has a legion of fans, that would crawl all over this game. While I very much enjoyed the first Halo game, I never got too much of a chance to play the original, as I did not own an Xbox. However, when I got to play the game at friends houses, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So when this remastered version came out, I gave it a go. The graphics had drastically improved, and that was made more evident by adding the ability to switch between the remastered and the classic graphics. Whilst impressive, playing through the entire game, I found it still very repetitive, getting lost among a number of rooms that looked the same. Clearly, the fact that the first Xbox that I purchased was the Xbox 360 console, and the first Halo game I bought was the fourth story in the series Halo: Reach, meant that I was used to hugely expansive and diverse environments.

It was a fun game, and I was able to appreciate how far the game was evolved over the years. but without that history of playing the original Halo at it's release, the nostalgia is lost on me. If you have been a Halo fan from the beginning, then this game is an essential part of your collection. But if you are like me, and started later in the series, but may not be able to hold your interest.

Halo: Combat Evolved was in mine and many others is the best Xbox Original Game of all time. to learn of this re-release I was very hyped due to being a huge Halo fan. The one thing I was hesitant about was the new studio 343 industries and Bungie has stepped away from the Halo series. Thankfully I was wrong!

Being back in to the helmet of Master Chief in his 1st adventure was surly exciting as everything was exactly the same as the original but with updated graphics using the Halo Reach Engine. the best feature of this is if you are not a fan of the new graphics or you are feeling nostalgic with the old graphics, hit the back button and there you have it! its is a flawless transition between the two.

one of my favourite features is the split screen co-op campaign, playing together with your friends does not get any better than this! it also includes the anniversary map pack for Halo Reach, a mix of Map packs from the the 1st Game. it is another nostalgic trip which is very welcome.

Over all Halo is one of the greatest game franchises and this is where it all began. If you enjoy 1st person shooters than this is a must have!

I first played Halo when it was first released on the original Xbox back in 2001, and I have just loved the immersiveness of it, the large enviroments, and the wonderful tactial AI. In fact all the subsequent games (all 5 of them) have continued to improve and expand the ever growing Halo universe into one that I almost liken to that of George Lucas's Star Wars. And this addition even though it is essentially a remake of the original is no exception.

Back in 2001 the graphics used on the original Xbox were hugely impressive and of course the game was the flagship game for Microsofts first foray into the game console market, and is also undenyibly one of the main reasons for microsofts continued success in this arena. Of course with the 10 year anniversary of the original game having just passed, it made sense to revisit thist masterpiece and give it a bit of a touch-up, a restoration if you will, of what I think is the digital equivalent to say a piece of art by Monet, Van Gough, or even Picasso. Now I know I may get some abuse for that comparison, but i'm a digital person, my family and friends have always said they didn't know how I would survive if I had been born any earlier that I was, and so to me things like this as works of art.

The graphical revamp has been given life by using the Halo Reach engine, and of course it's brilliant AI engine as well. One of the best features of this new version is the ability to quickly switch between the original and new graphics system, this gives you a real sense in how far the graphics engines have come since 2001. The other great feature is the inclusion of information terminals scattered about the game, withc each successive terminal unlocking some extra information that will help tie in to the recently announced and eagerly awaited Halo 4.

Also given a bit of extra life is the multiplayer system now using the new Xbox live system, and having the original multiplayer maps as well as a few new ones as well.

I loved the orignal game, and since my original Xbox has been having trouble reading discs of late, having this revamp available on my 360 is absolutely brilliant, now if only they will revamp Halo 2 in 2014?????