For those of you who’ve been living in a proverbial cave for the past few months, you may have missed the change-over going on in the Halo franchise. Having finished their final title in the series, Halo: Reach, Bungie have since handed over development of the series to 343 Industries. 343 have some pretty large boots to fill and are starting off their tentative steps into the franchise with a remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved. With a remake of this magnitude there is a lot to consider, so without further ado here are five reasons the game will be awesome and five relevant counterarguments for all the nay sayers out there.
Why it could be awesome
Halo:CE was good
It seems like a fairly obvious point, but it needs to be said. The original Halo was a great game. The multiplayer was a breath of fresh air and the campaign mode (a few repetitive levels aside) had a great atmosphere and pace to it. If they’re remaking the game with enough respect to the source material, it will be hard for them to stray too far from the beaten and enjoyable path of the original Halo.
Halo Reach was also good
In the clear attempt to play safe, 343 industries are supposedly building the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved using the engine from last year’s fantastic Halo:Reach. Reach was an incredible title that we enjoyed enough to award a perfect score last September, and this excellence was achieved largely due to the game’s brilliantly crafted engine. With an already well refined engine to look forward to, we can say for sure that the action in the Halo remake will be as sharp as ever
With the Halo: Reach engine in tow, what could possibly go wrong?
Bringing online multiplayer to the masses
Though it began its life as an Xbox exclusive, Halo soon found its way to the PC. Among the new features included in the port the BIG addition was the inclusion of online multiplayer that the console counterparts of the series would not see until the release of Halo 2. Though console playing Halo fans now have their multiplayer fix from the extensive online modes in the subsequent Halo games, a remake of CE will be able to bring the great maps and online experience of the original Halo to an entirely new online audience.
A fresh set of eyes
We all trust Bungie when it comes to the Halo series. They spent many a year crafting the Halo universe and its subsequent labyrinth of folklore, and have an undeniable understanding of what the franchise is about. That said, a little bit of change can go a long way. Though 343 might not have the same in depth knowledge and investment in the worlds of Halo, a fresh set of eyes upon the established conventions of the series could potentially bring something new and interesting to the table.
Atoning for past mistakes
The original Halo was a genre defining title that has shaped the FPS as we know it in countless ways. Despite its undeniable legacy though, it was not perfect. Repetitive level layouts and textures, along with one of the worst levels in shooter history in the form of “The Library” really kick start a potential list of problems with the game. Though some may consider it blasphemy for the remake to deviate from the original in any way, tuning up and improving some of these problematic areas of the original could really push a Halo remake up to the next level.
