Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

When Halo: Combat Evolved came out in 2001 it was one of the flagship products for a brand new gaming console from an already large company: Microsoft. The Xbox took off in large part because of the massive success of Halo and the subsequent games in the first-person shooter series. Now, ten years later, 343 Industries is taking over the reins of the series from Bungie and looking to reinvigorate the decade-old franchise. 343’s first entry into the Halo series is a remake of the first game, but does it work? Let’s take a look by diving into Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

Story

Being that the game is ten years old, most gamers that are picking up this title already know the story back and forth. You play as the Master Chief, the last survivor of a group of elite cyborgs made for the purpose of protecting humanity from the evil Covenant.

The story holds up well and it still flows very well; there are not superfluous elements in the story and you understand why events are unfolding. The story is one of the stronger elements of the Halo franchise and this game set that bar very high for the remainder of the series.

Outside of the story we all know and love, 343 has also added in a terminal system that allows gamers to find terminals spread throughout the game. These terminals unlock a short video that gives some background information on the story and mostly follows the monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, and his account of the events leading up to and during the original Halo.

The terminal system is well done and many of the videos are of a decent length, so a lot of exposition can be added. Adding onto the story in the actual gameplay would have been a big mistake; 343 knew to add its own interjections as more of an “Easter egg” and because of this sensitivity for the original fans these additions works very well. Finding the terminals is always a welcome surprise and is one of the unique elements that will keep players engaged in a story they have already heard.

Gameplay

343 Industries did its best to basically recreate the gameplay from the original Halo title and that is basically what this game is. The weapons are all the same (including the 60-round assault rifle clip) the vehicles are the same and it feels just like you are playing the classic shooter game all over again,

Whether you are firing the overpowered pistol, driving the Warthog or hijacking a Banshee, the game will feel just as fun to play as it did ten years ago. Some things could have been improved but weren’t (like the Warthog controls) but this was the right choice by 343. As much as people may want to see the game in a better light, no one wants the game to feel any different.

At about 7 hours on normal difficulty, the game still has a lot of content story-wise for a game that was made ten years ago. The fact that this game took me 2 ½ more hours to beat than Modern Warfare 3 and it is the exact same genre should tell you something about how campaigns in shooter games have become way too short.

343 Industries did add some Kinect functionality to the game in the form of voice commands and scanning technology. The voice commands allow a player to do things like throw a grenade, reload weapons, make the screen brighter or darker, change the graphics from old to new and a few more things along that vein. While the voice commands work pretty well, it seems like an unnecessary addition. It is much easier, quicker and more reliable to just press the left trigger for a grenade, so why would you want to say “grenade” and have the whole process delayed? The thought is appreciated but it really didn’t need to be there.

Graphics

This is where a lot of the value in the game comes from and 343 really did a fantastic job of reimagining Halo with more modern graphics. Walls have more patterns, characters have more color, blood from downed enemies is more copious and dynamic lighting is present; the original game definitely looks plain by comparison.

343 added the ability to switch back and forth between the new graphics and the old graphics and this feature truly makes you appreciate what has been done with the game. At first, the game seems decent by modern standards but it doesn’t seem that much different than the original. I guess a gamer like me looks at a classic like Halo with rose-colored glasses; the new version didn’t seem much better until I actually pressed the back button and saw how bland the original title is in comparison.

The revised graphics add a ton of color, lighting, character and ambiance to the experience that just weren’t possible at the time of the original’s release. But as much as the new graphics add a lot to the game, none of it feels alien to the experience. Added patterns on walls, different colors in environments and even some completely redesigned doors all feel like they belong in the original Halo and seem a step closer to what was originally envisioned.

Part of what makes this feel authentic is that it still has that kind of cartoonish comic book feel to it, not being really gritty and realistic like Battlefield 3 of Gears of War 3. The Halo series has always had graphics that were intentionally cartoony and Anniversary keeps everything in that vein. This contributes to the overall authenticity of the title and makes you feel like this rendition, while new and improved, is still in keeping with the original title.

Not everything is perfect however; lip synching in certain cut scenes and environmental “hiccups” keep the game’s graphics from being perfect. Clipping errors are almost non-existent but frame rate issues are actually fairly common. These issues aren’t a huge problem, but they are there enough to warrant comment. The lip synching problems are more apparent when watching a character talking in-game but the problem spills over into cut scenes and it pulls you out of the otherwise engrossing experience.

Another issue with the game is the repetitive level design, but this is more of the game showing its age than a fault on 343 Industries’ part. Playing through levels like “The Library” or “Assault on the Control Room” still makes you feel like you’re seeing the same two corridors repeated over and over and over again. 343 tried to add in as much variety as possible but it is hard not to sacrifice the original feel when things are changed, so not much could be done about this without compromising the original feel.

Sound

The sounds in the game have been improved quite a bit and many of the weapon sounds have more of a punch to them. The bass for weapons like machine gun turrets and bazookas has been upped significantly and it makes you feel the power of the weaponry much more than in the original game.

The voice acting is the exact same as the original but the new terminal stories have new voice acting that is just as well done. The same voice actors returned for the terminal stories and it feels like ten years hasn’t passed.  Enemies still sound the same; Elites still gurgle and Grunts still sound like either children or like Cartman from South Park saying “pie” (listen to it and tell me it doesn’t sound like that).

One issue with the sound design is that a random assortment of sounds will come into the game out of nowhere, run for about five seconds and then go away. The sound is kind of mechanic and seems like a definite glitch and not an intentional sound, but other than that the sound is quite impressive and adds a lot of flavor to the experience.

Multiplayer

While Anniversary really hits the ball out of the park in the campaign experience, the multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired. It is basically an expansion pack for the Halo: Reach multiplayer experience and it is treated as such. Six maps have been added to the experience and one firefight mission. The six maps are remakes of some of the original Halo multiplayer maps and the firefight mission is an area taken directly from the campaign.

The remakes are nice to play through and allow gamers to finally compete against others online in those locations, but it would have been nice if 343 had added in the original layout along with the remake. Instead, we get the same basic map but totally re-imagined, with no real allusion to the original other than the name. Maps like “Hang ‘em High” are great for multiplayer and still have the basic structure and feel to them, but I can’t help but wish I could also play the original online with friends.

Another problem with the multiplayer is that the weapons are the same as in Halo: Reach. The redesigned assault rifle is there instead of the 60-round assault rifle from the story and unless you are playing “anniversary” game modes, the new perk system is there too.

This isn't quite the Hang em High map I remember

The whole mentality for the multiplayer experience can be seen in what the main title screen calls the multiplayer: Halo: Reach Anniversary Multiplayer. It is clear that the multiplayer experience is meant to be an add-on to the Reach experience and not its own standalone experience. This makes it fall a little flat and feel less like a celebration of the original classic (like the campaign is) and more like an exploitation of nostalgia to draw players back to Halo: Reach.

The one additional firefight level is nice, but there should have been a ton more based on locations from the campaign. Instead of adding in unnecessary Kinect functionality and 3D support, why didn’t 343 add in a fully fleshed-out multiplayer experience; the one we have all been waiting to play online for ten years?

The final insult to Anniversary’s multiplayer is the code that comes with the game that allows you to download the multiplayer maps and the firefight mission to your copy of Halo: Reach so you don’t need the Anniversary disc to play the multiplayer. This just cements the fact that the multiplayer is only meant to add onto Reach and not be its own experience.

While all of that is disappointing, it would be unfair to omit the fact that the actual multiplayer experience is still a ton of fun. Playing capture the flag, oddball or straight up team slayer is still plenty of fun online; you’ll be equally pleased to hear that the same volatile people are still online (after playing but two matches I received my first “you’re a noob” message). All of these things make up the awesome Halo multiplayer experience and are still present, even if Anniversary’s addition is only an expansion to Reach.

Final Thoughts

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is very much the story of two games: the campaign and the multiplayer. The huge dissonance in quality and depth between the two experiences holds this game back from being incredible, but the amount of detail and  love put into the campaign that we all love makes up for much of the issues with the multiplayer.

Halo: Combat Evolved was all about the campaign and local multiplayer; Anniversary is about the campaign and local multiplayer, with online being reserved for Reach. It makes sense in a way, but is still a disappointment. What the game does very well is bring a game that is so beloved to the new generation of consoles; now the original Halo is truly playable on the Microsoft Xbox 360. While gamers could have popped in the Halo: Combat Evolved disc and played it on their 360, the graphical improvements allow the solid gameplay and story of the first game to be viewed in the same light as the current generation of games.

If Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary hadn’t treated the multiplayer like a Reach advertisement then this game could have been worthy of a 9 or higher but the lack of a true multiplayer experience hurts the game a lot. However, at $40 (2/3 the cost of the average game) and the amount of love, content and impressive features added to the campaign, this game is definitely worthy of a good score. It is an absolute must for fans of the Halo series and is a very fun shooter experience for fans of the genre.