With the much anticipated return of Master chief in Halo 4 I should get back up to speed and check out the enhanced version of Halo: Combat Evolved, developed by Certain Infinity, Saber Interactive and lead by 343 Industries.

I remember when I first played the original Halo, it was in a Virgin Megastore and at that time Halo had all of the elements I wanted from a sci-fi shooter. I purchased the original Xbox inspired by the game play and storyline of the original game.

A feature that is very cool but at the same time makes it very hard to review this game is the ability to switch between the original and the new version.When the original was released I absolutely loved it, so that’s my review for the original game mode. This is what the enhanced version has to live up to.

First of all I’m really impressed that 343 Industries kept the game play exactly as it was, it would have been too easy to include some of the power up’s that the Halo franchise evolved from Halo 3 onwards. Sometimes keeping it simple is best, I’d take an over powered pistol and relentless machine gun over a damn bubble shield any day.
Just like playing the original Halo I still prefer the human weapons over the aliens, they kill Flood good!

It’s funny seeing how the way I play games has changed over the years, when I played the original I use to peek tentatively around the corners and try to snipe as much as possible. Nowadays I just run up to an Elite like an old buddy and repeatedly shoot him in the face. Still a bit twitchy around Hunters though.
The game play of the enhanced version is as good as the original with the added benefit of updated graphics and some nice weather effects.

 The one criticism I have about the revamped graphics is at times the atmosphere of original game is slightly diminished.
A good example of this is 343 Guilty Spark, though it is a beautiful looking remake, I feel that the decrease in fog and increase of draw distance loses the swampy atmosphere.
But this is only a small criticism.

Overall the levels benefit from the graphics overhaul and add to the atmosphere of the game, the beach sections look stunning.

Halo is still a great game to play, so I definitely recommend Halo Anniversary to be added to your collection.