Halo: Combat Evolved
Producer: Microsoft
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person Shooter
A Decade of Action
Written by Ronnie Shroeder
When it comes to video games, classics do indeed go out of style. I no longer enjoy the sluggish controls and largely pixilated worlds of some games I once called favorites. Still, Halo’s first entry holds up surprisingly well by today’s standards, even before the face-lift it received here.
Halo: CE provides a great amount of nostalgia. If you have ever played the original before, and chances are you have, you’ll remember fondly the first time you set about this universe; the room you sat in, the friends you played with. Yes, that was all a decade ago. If that doesn’t trip you out enough, the amount of entertainment this game still provides with little demand for improvements will. The demand for a visual overhaul to reintroduce this classic did exist and it has been implemented beautifully. Players are given the option to revert to the classic version’s graphics on the fly and it becomes stunning at times to see how much they improved upon the classic’s landscapes and skylines. Additionally, this makes the Covenant appear fiercer and the Flood more wicked then they once had. This revamp also breathes new life into the audio, making weapons sound more destructive and the score more triumphant. The other major additions here are terminals to seek out that will give you more information on the Halo universe and lore from our old friend 343 Guilty Spark, in addition to those punishingly hidden skulls that we have grown fond of.
Nothing else in the campaign has been altered. The combat has not been refined because there is no need for it. The range of weapons is excellent for approaching firefights in different manners, and the powerful and satisfying pistol makes its welcomed return. All will be needed to counter the agility of the Covenant and the overwhelming Flood that continue to fight with pure tenacity. The jumping might divide players as to whether they prefer the more gravity-defying jumping here, but it shouldn’t be too off-putting to anybody. The vehicles still prove to be a blast as well. Whether you’re manning the tanks brutal cannon, leaping off rocks in your Warthog, or swiftly maneuvering in the Banshees and Ghosts; you’ll be in no rush to walk to resume walking.
There is, however, disappointment to be found in this package. We are not given all of the original multiplayer maps. Only six of these have been recreated, though just as well as the campaign’s refinement. Reach’s addictive system of leveling and customization has been injected here along with a new Firefight map and players are given an Anniversary Map Pack code to be used with their Reach disc. If you for some reason want to dismiss the campaign entirely and only wish to play these updated classic maps, users can download the pack via Xbox Live for $15.
It’s interesting to revisit this classic as it is both a look back to the birthing of such a terrific franchise, and a direct sequel to our previous adventures in Reach. If you have never played a Halo game before, this is as great of a start as any. Halo: CEstands the test of time as a solid-shooter that both the unacquainted and the purists will be proud of.