We live in a day and age where remakes and upgrades to existing classics is the norm. The music industry does it with their constant re-releasing of albums calling them “re-mastered”. Hollywood took the idea and ran with it, and the video game industry has been following suit for awhile now. I’ve always had a “don’t mess with the classics” take on theses types of projects. If more people held to this line of thinking Han would still shoot first, instead I’m haunted by the awkward head tilt to the right as Greedo’s blaster bolt zips by. The chance to do more harm than good is always a looming threat, and if a mistake is made it can ruin a fans memories of a beloved IP forever. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it works out great, other times it just goes horribly, horribly wrong. So where does Halo: Combat Evolved 10th Anniversary fit in?

It’s actually not bad (Halo fans rejoice)! With a new coat of paint, some additional cut scene footage, and a few other tweaks here and there Halo CE ends up being a familiar but still entertaining ride.

Graphics:

While I wouldn’t say the game is up to current gen standards by any stretch of the imagination, what Halo game is? Nevertheless, 343 Industries did an amazing job of updating the graphics engine. For proof on how much work went in to bringing this game as much in line with today’s standards as possible, go into the setting and enable Classic View. It is a sobering realization of not only how much work was put in to the graphical presentation of Halo CE 10th Anniversary, but how far we have come these past ten years as well. With Classic View enabled you will get to experience the game in all it’s 2001 glory, I thought to myself “God, I actually played this game and enjoyed it?”.

Environments are where the game truly shows off it’s new shine and polish as traveling around the Halo Ring brings with it some pretty awe inspiring locales. While credit is due to 343 for the update, all praise Bungie for the amazing world design that still holds up.

Gameplay:

It was good in 2001 and it’s still good now. Not only that, but it’s amazing how little things have changed in the last 10 years. Unloading on Elites and Grunts alike, then moving in close for a melee kill is still as satisfying as it was the first time around. Driving the Warthog with any level of competency still requires the reflexes of a pro drift racer. Things like bullet deviation, and weapon kick are still virtually non existent. And yes the game still has players feeling like the true, except no substitute, baddest of the badasses, uber space marine.

While I don’t remember if the Covenant AI was as dumb as a box of rocks in the original Halo (I’m pretty sure I didn’t even know what AI was at that time outside of what James Cameron taught me about how they want to destroy humanity), they are absolutely short bus in 10th Anniversary. There were times when Grunts and Elites would turn tale and run before I had even fired a shot, which was kind of flattering to be honest. Or other times where they would stare right at me and just not make the connection that impending doom was upon them, and they might want to do something about it.

Your friendly AI is not much better and will have you honking the horn of the Warthog for five minutes before they figure out you want them to man the turret. Seriously though, how come the Covenant can figure out to jump out of the way when I’m bearing down on them full speed, but my marines can not seem to handle the concept of not walking behind the Warthog as I’m backing up? Can someone explain that to me….Bungie….343…..anyone?

While I am seeming to harp a bit on nit picky stuff which might be a bit unfair for a ten year old game. I did truly have a blast playing through Halo CE again, it was a nostalgia filled romp with just enough tweaks as to not push familiar into the realm of regret.

May I just finish this section by saying that Kinect support is a joke, and actually saying grenade into the mic makes me feel silly. I’d rather just hit the button.

Story:

Remember the good old days when a shooter game’s story actually mattered? You know, before the days of mass market multiplayer. Well neither do I, but once again Halo CE 10 slapped me upside the head with the balls of video games past. While the game’s story was never all that deep, aliens and humans at war with each other, super weapons, and only one marine with his hot chick AI can save the day. I think that the reason most people became fans of the Halo franchise was due to the way the story was told, and not based on it’s specifics.

There are no dialogue options, or morality choices, or any other such nonsense. It’s just a marine, his rifle, and a shit load of baddies that need to be ventilated. Sure there is some plot and foreshadowing sprinkled around for good measure through the use of terminals and what not, and it’s kind of cool when certain lines of dialogue become clearer due to the player presumably playing Halo Reach. Simplicity in story, and there in lies the appeal. There aren’t any twists or turns, betrayals, or media stirring controversial moments. When put up against convoluted storytelling the likes of Black Ops, MW3, or hell even Halo 2 for that matter, I’ll take Halo CE 10 all week and twice on Sunday.

I had completely forgotten how “dudebro” the dialogue of random NPC’s in Halo CE was, before it’s time in every regard and had me giggling on more than one occasion.

Replayability:

While I did enjoy re-visiting amazing gaming experiences from my past. I doubt the campaign will garner a second play through…, well maybe in another ten years. On the multiplayer side of things Halo CE 10 is sporting Halo Reach’s multiplayer with a few updated maps from the the original Halo CE’s and Halo 2′s multiplayer.

While it’s nice to see player’s favorite maps from previous installments make an appearance, at the end of the day it’s still Reach multiplayer at it’s core and I wasn’t a big fan last year. A few new maps isn’t going to make a believer out of me now.

Conclusion:

Even with all the graphical upgrades, hints at what we may see in Halo 4, and last years multiplayer component I still can’t recommend Halo CE 10 at it’s current $40 price point. Well not to those of us who have played all the Halo games already. While I did enjoy re-visiting, I have always been a “eyes on the horizon” kind of guy at heart. While 343 absolutely did no damage to the Halo franchise with this updated iteration, it’s still a ten year old game at it’s core.

To those of you who have yet to experience the Halo games, I would absolutely recommend picking this up along with a copy of Reach. I’m sure there is a “re-mastering” of Halo 2 going on as we speak, so by the time Halo 4 releases you may be all caught up. Seriously though, it’s a great jumping on point for those new to the franchise but may be an unnecessary investment for all but the most hard core Halo fanatics.