Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary embargo is finally up. It’s scoring well but nostalgia fails to evoke a better response from the critics as the reviews are quite mixed. Halo: Combat Evolved was a genre defining game on consoles, and the quality of the HD port by 343 is finally under scrutiny.
You can check out the review round up below.
Planet Xbox 360 – 96
If you have never played Halo: CE before or just want to Pistol 3-Shot your friends once again, Halo: CE Anniversary is a must buy for all Xbox 360 owners, especially those that are fans of Master Chief in any way.
Gaming Age – 91
343 have done a fantastic job updating a 10 year old game into something that feels entirely modern.
Eurogamer Sweden – 90
An ambitious remake. One of the most memorable campaigns in the history of first person shooters can now be relived with wonderful HD graphics. And six of the best multiplayer maps from the original rounds off what is a fantastic package with great value.
EDGE – 90
Halo exhibits a single-minded focus that the modern FPS, with its choreographed set-pieces and thrilling scripted sequences, largely disregards. This is a game about the arc of a perfectly thrown grenade, a game about tense games of cat-and-mouse with foes as powerful as you, a game about constant improvisation with the tools at your disposal. It’s a game that always feels tactical, and a game that – even now – has the capacity to surprise.
Destructoid – 90
At the end of the day, I think Halo: Anniversary is primarily designed for hardcore Halo fans. If you don’t already own Halo: Combat Evolved or are still addicted to Halo: Reach, then I highly recommend getting Anniversary.
Meristation – 85
A good remake for one of the most important FPS in the last decade, with good Saber3D engine, but not like Halo 3 or Reach. Multiplayer has seven new maps, not enough in comparision with ODST, and online co-op is only for two players, but it’s a great experience in general.
Official Xbox Magazine – 85
This feature-rich ode to the classic that started it all is an impressive upgrade – one that deserves a place in any fan’s library.
Metro GameCentral – 80
Halo’s 10th anniversary certainly deserves celebrating but a HD remake only serves to underline how little the series has moved forward over the years.
Videogamer – 80
Bungie’s iconic title was clearly an ambitious project, and this modern remastering sufficiently highlights what it was that made the original Halo: Combat Evolved such a landmark gaming moment to begin with.
IGN – 80
If you can approach the experience with an open mind and are willing to take a few frustrating old-school design choices, and you’re fine with a ‘best of’ map pack versus a full redo, then this is a great way to bide the time before Halo 4.
CVG – 80
Take Halo’s combat model and place it in the worst spaces imaginable and you can still have fun with it – it’s that good.
Eurogamer – 80
It’s an awkward reinvention that manages to be at once faithful and a little wide of the mark. But such is the strength of Combat Evolved, this is still an Anniversary that’s worth celebrating.
1UP – 75
Anniversary edition is a collection of some of the best pieces of Halo. It revives a classic campaign that sports a fresh look. The multiplayer package adds classic maps into Reach’s larger framework and re-enables classic CE behaviors for multiplayer fans to revisit the original, and even Kinect brings something unique to the table.
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