Which is utterly fascinating – a bit like like archaeology on your console. And, just to emphasise that it's all about adding a new visual gloss to the precise experience that Halo Combat Evolved provided, you can hit the back button at any time (except during cut-scenes) and revert to the original graphics. Microsoft has gone out of its way to be faithful to the Xbox original: it contains the same levels, plot and enemies – operated by the same artificial intelligence, so that they behave identically.īut this time around, it's viewed through the filter of the graphics engine from Halo Reach, so while it feels exactly the same as the first game, it looks an awful lot more magnificent. There's no doubt that Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary is a labour of love. But once you sit down to play them, doubts rapidly evaporate. First came GoldenEye, and now the game that kicked off the Halo legend and put the original Xbox on the map.Īt first glance, taking old (if classic) titles and giving them makeovers that bring the full force of modern console technology sounds like an exercise that occupies a point somewhere between pointless and cynical.

2011 is becoming the games industry's Year of the Remake.