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• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - Review

  Ten year itch...

  Ten years is a long time in any business, but in video games it's an absolute age. Since 2001 we've seen the rise of online gaming, the increasing domination of the console shooter and the ascension of the Xbox as one of the premiere gaming brands.

  There's one game that's been instrumental in all three of those things, of course, and Bungie's 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved has helped usher in and define an entire generation of gaming. And ten years on, it's perfect timing for Microsoft to celebrate the franchise that's helped it get to where it is today.

  Ringing in the changes

  Going back to Halo: Combat Evolved's world was always going to be a tricky business, but to the credit of Saber Interactive - the developer that's largely responsible for this remake - it's been handled delicately.

  Graphics in 2001 weren't quite what they are today, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's biggest change comes to the visuals. The strange alien world of Installation 04 pops with a clarity not possible on the last Xbox, and the game looks and feels as good as any shooter that's been released on the 360 in the past year.

  There's still a brilliant sense of wonder when stepping from the wreckage of an escape pod early on in the game's campaign, and Halo itself remains one of the great sci-fi creations conjured up by video games. Lavish purples mix with vibrant greens to create a backdrop that's much more colourful than the monochrome shooters that dominate today, and as such it's a refreshing place to explore.

  Remaster Chief

  One of Anniversary's neatest touches is how the visual update can be washed away with the press of a single button, swapping out the bold new visuals for those of the 2001 original. The difference is striking - in stark contrast, the original Halo can look shockingly primitive, though we'd be lying if we said that some of the magic hasn't been lost in the new version.

  What hasn't been lost is the thrill of playing the original Halo, as Anniversary wisely doesn't tinker with the core mechanics of Combat Evolved at all. What's really incredible is how Halo's mechanics haven't aged a jot - playing around in this sandbox shooter is as fun now as it was back in 2001.

  There's a freedom to Halo's shooting that's been lost in many of the games that followed it, and the game's strong AI and brilliant set of weapons allow you to engage with it in a thrillingly vast number of ways. As ever with Halo, it's best played with a friend by your side, and Anniversary adds online co-op to the split-screen option of the original.

  Multiplayer Madness

  And as it's Halo, there's a generous helping of multiplayer too. The original maps from the 2001 game are re-purposed, re-imagined, and thrown into the Reach engine so they can benefit from all the perks that last year's definitive take on the series brought with it. Admittedly, it's a shame that you can't play with the four player split-screen on which the original was based, but it's a disappointment that's washed away in one headshot kill, pulled off with the brilliantly overpowered Magnum that makes a return.

  It all makes for a superb celebration of the game that started it all, and Halo Anniversary manages to do justice to the original while freshening it up for a whole new audience to enjoy. Ten years on and it remains one of the best first-person shooters ever made - and here's hoping that Halo can enjoy another decade of brilliance.

   

  

  Halo to the King:
  + Looks as good as any modern shooter.
  + Plays as good as any modern shooter.
  + It's the original Halo, and arguably still the best one.

  Missing the Mark:
  - Original MP modes are missed.
  - New visuals lose some of the original magic.
  

• Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Review

  
  

  Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Review
  

  Ten years on

  
  Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary is a full recreation of the game that launched the Xbox brand, warts and all, brought up to date with a lovely visual makeover, plus optional 3D and Kinect support. The game focus is on the player bid to bring down a range of highly intelligent alien enemies, and while ten years have passed since it first wowed gamers, this is still one of the best shooters around.

  Offering a diversity of action and freedom of movement that rivals its modern competition, Combat Evolved Anniversary gameplay remains unchanged from the original. While there may be a fair few tight linear corridors to blast your way through, there are also a number of impressive open battlefields in which to fight, fly, and commandeer a tank or an alien turret. Single missions flow seamlessly from one extreme to the other, taking you from a bright spacious beach to a claustrophobic underground base and back again with no loading.

  Legendary difficulty

  
  The Halo games are renowned for their smart artificial intelligence, and tackling Combat Evolved Anniversary enemies proves extremely challenging and satisfyingly, particularly on Legendary difficulty. Not only can they handle themselves in a fire fight, foes are equally capable of tactical retreats and surprising flanking manoeuvres. If you haven played a Halo game before itl take a little time and experimentation to hone your battle skills, working out the best way to mix up grenades, melee attacks and dual weapons, but the combat is almost perfect.

  Fresh coat of paint

  
  Combat Evolved Anniversary has been given a lovely high definition makeover, plus there an optional 3D mode that does a decent job of immersing players with compatible TVs in the game richly designed world. In a lovely touch, a single button press enables you to switch between the original visuals and the updated ones at any point in the game. The original score can also be accessed, and this freedom of choice extends to the control options, which let you use the classic layout mapped to the Xbox 360 controller, or the controls from more recent series releases.

  Combat Evolved Anniversary also offers two types of Kinect support. In-game, Kinect voice recognition reacts to almost two dozen words including eloadand renade.Elsewhere, a Library mode unlockable only with Kinect allows you to examine 3D models of items and enemies youe scanned in-game, while voice commands can be used to review cinematics.

  Online battles

  
  The game multiplayer component is a largely excellent offering, even if it could have been expanded further. It features a mixture of six Halo and Halo 2 maps, each with classic and Halo Reach-style variants, and offers squad, big team battle, free for all and other familiar match types in which to test your skills.

  There also a new Firefight mission for two to four players, which tasks you with fighting off increasingly tough waves of enemies, while more recent multiplayer features like custom game, Forge and theatre modes are also included. On top all that, you can now play the campaign cooperatively with a friend over Xbox Live.

  Combat evolved

  
  The quality of the source material and the love that's gone into this HD remake make Combat Evolved Anniversary more than worth the price of admission, both for those who played the original and newer shooter fans alike. A challenging game about a big bloke shooting cool guns at cool aliens in cool places, it still has the capacity to surprise and remains worthy of its Combat Evolved subtitle ten years after release.

  GAME Verdict

  + Some of the best shooter action in history.
  + Lovely visual and audio upgrade.
  + Some fantastic level design.

  - Kinect is required to access all the bonus features.
  - A few too many tight corridors in some sections.
  - Multiplayer could be more expansive.

  Review by: Tom 'Master ChiefIvan
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 02.11.11
  

  Published: 02/12/2011

• GAME : Essential Xbox 360 games from 2011

  2011 was full of big releases for Xbox 360, including sequels to some of this generation's best franchises, high definition remakes of classic games and innovative motion control offerings. Here, GAME rounds up five of the must-own 360 titles that no Xbox 360 owner should be without.

  Brothers 'til the end

  Sci-fi third person shooter Gears of War 3 is the explosive finale to the current story arc of one of the biggest and best series in Xbox history. With mankind on the verge of annihilation at the hands of nightmarish monsters, players step into the boots of a military force battling to preserve humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. A tale of brotherhood, harsh realities, sacrifice and redemption, it features an engaging story, breathtaking visuals, meaty gunplay and tactical, cover-based action. The epic story campaign supports four-player cooperative play, and is complemented by a host of cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes for veteran players and rookies alike.

  Get in the race

  Offering traditional controller-based racing as well as the freedom and accessibility of Kinect motion controls, Forza Motorsport 4 is one of the most ambitious takes on the genre to date. With top supercars from over 80 manufacturers and a selection of the world's finest real and fictional tracks, the game features silky smooth racing, realistic physics and effects, gorgeous graphics and stereoscopic 3D support. Community features allow players to create auto clubs with like-minded car nuts, customise and trade rides with fellow collectors, and head out on to the track for adrenaline-soaked showdowns against up to 15 other online racers.

  Global warfare

  Accessible, highly polished and perhaps best described as the gaming equivalent of a Michael Bay Hollywood blockbuster, Modern Warfare 3 is the latest entry in the world's biggest first person shooter franchise. Featuring a globe-trotting campaign that sees players attempting to avert World War 3, it offers access to a range of high tech weaponry and military hardware including remote turrets, predator drones and gunships. The same tools of destruction also feature in the series' deepest yet most accessible multiplayer offering yet, which features competitive online battles across a range of fan favourite and innovative new game modes, plus co-operative challenge and survival missions for two players.

  A classic reborn

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a spectacularly remastered version of the game that launched the Xbox brand ten years ago. Offering a diversity of action, a freedom of movement and enemy artificial intelligence that rivals its modern day competitors, the title's stellar gameplay remains unchanged from the original, but the alien blasting action is supercharged with a lovely high definition makeover, stereoscopic 3D support, Kinect voice control and new multiplayer maps and features. Widely regarded as one of the first great first person shooters on consoles, Combat Evolved lives up to its subtitle even a decade after its initial release.

  Choose your own destiny

  Action RPG Fable III puts the fate of fictional world Albion in your hands as you rally the oppressed, start a revolution and eventually take the throne. The choices and sacrifices you make on the path to greatness create an ever-evolving world of consequences that will be felt across the entire land. Will you play as a hero, villain or someone between, and once you assume power, will you rule with kindness or an iron fist? Playable co-operatively with a friend, the game is brought to life by an all star cast featuring the voice talent of John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Ben Kingsley and Zoe Wanamaker.

  Published: 14/12/2011

• Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  David Ellis of 343 Industries, the studio which inherited the Halo series from Bungie, has taken to Twitter to warn fans that offers to take part in a beta trial for the upcoming Halo 4 are not to be trusted.

  If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT'S A FAKE, he posted, which is pretty conclusive. It seems fans had been lured in by unscrupulous phishing sites which requested personal account details in return for access to the hotly anticipated FPS sequel.

  Halo 4 sees the return of Master Chief, having sat out both Halo ODST and Halo: Reach, and marks the start of a new trilogy for the award-winning series. The game is expected later this year, exclusively for Xbox 360 of course, but Microsoft has yet to announce any further details.