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Halo Anniversary |OT| It All Comes Full Circle

H

Hypertrooper

Member
OuterWorldVoice said:
It's a ten year old game with ten years of people working on it. Every single person in those credits deserved toe be there, except Obidiah Dongblain.
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Where are the names of the people, who made it even possible that we have Anniversary now? I meant the fans. :p
 
ToyMachine228

ToyMachine228

Member
I'm more excited for this than most games that have come out this year. And it's actually a remake of a 10-year old game. The irony. Can't wait for tomorrow! I've been reading Glasslands to get me deep in the Halo universe. I absolutely love that there's stuff coming out that's pointing us in the direction of Halo 4.

EDIT: I always type Grasslands instead of Glasslands on my first try.
 
T

TheOddOne

Member
BladeRunner12 said:
6/10 from Strategy Informer

Lowest I've seen so far.
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This part sounds weird:
In the end, Combat Evolved Anniversary is a strange package. Its campaign feels half hearted, neither fully remaking nor preserving the original game. The Reach multiplayer maps, while excellent, feel tacked on to the package to attempt to justify this being a full disc-based release. It is retailing for less than the price of a full retail game (it's less than £30 at most online U.K. retailers) but unless you really can’t stomach the original’s dated graphics, I’d strongly suggest skipping this and simply downloading the Anniversary map pack instead. Save that extra £20 for something more worthwhile.
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Its the same campaign from 2001, nothing has been changed.
 
D

Diablohead

Member
Sainsbury's posted my copy on sunday, dunno how that is possible but it's not here today, so tomorrow fingers crossed.

Halo 1 campaign with cheese mints is enough for me, only paying £24 for it anyway.
 
Unity2012

Unity2012

Member
Deadly Cyclone said:
Destructoid - 9.0
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Great review.

They talk about the remake aspects of the game which is what I care about.

In my opinion, reviews giving low scores because they did not like the campaign, or compare it to newer titles, are missing the point... it is a remake; a tribute to the franchise, not a new game.

All I needed to hear is that it looks great and it runs fine; that is more than I can say about most HD remake collections pumped into the market lately which look the same as they did minus a few jaggies and the rare addition of decent textures.

I think 343 did a good job on Halo CE: Anniversary, it looks like what I expect a remake to be and it all comes at a good price.
 
K

Ken

Member
If I want to play in the Anniversary playlists, I can just play off the Anniversary disc and not use up my map pack DLC code, right?
 
K

Ken

Member
Letters said:
Correct.
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Thanks. Pre-ordered the game for the third or fourth time since I figured it would be better picking up the game tomorrow than downloading the maps now and then inevitably pick up the game later this year.

I am also weak to nice slipcases.
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
TheOddOne said:
This part sounds weird:

Its the same campaign from 2001, nothing has been changed.
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First off who the hell is Strategy informer? I've honestly never heard of them. And second to me that review reads of someone who doesn't have a clue what Halo Anniversary really is and who hasn't played it and just judged it off what they've seen played at press showings.

And woot woot my copy from Amazon is in processing. Can't wait for the delivery guy tomorrow.
 
D

Detox

Member
Metro / Gamecentral:
In Short: 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.

Pros: An excellent remake with a loving attention to detail and a useful range of extras, including full online multiplayer. Classic gameplay and levels for a very reasonable price.

Cons: Too much of the game looks indistinguishable from later sequels. New graphics are not top flight and the loading waits for them to cache are annoying.

Score: 8/10
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T

TheOddOne

Member
PsychoRaven said:
First off who the hell is Strategy informer? I've honestly never heard of them. And second to me that review reads of someone who doesn't have a clue what Halo Anniversary really is and who hasn't played it and just judged it off what they've seen played at press showings.

And woot woot my copy from Amazon is in processing. Can't wait for the delivery guy tomorrow.
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Pretty much.

Parts of the review are puzzeling:
The remastered graphics for the most part are really nice. Textures and models have been completely recreated and some excellent lighting and graphical effects have been implemented. However, there are several inconsistencies when it comes to series continuity. Though Cortana maintains her post-Combat Evolved redesign, in other areas it seems like the developers went out of their way to conflict with the rest of the series.
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Most glaringly obvious is the new look of the Halo structure itself which now has huge glowing sections exposed on its hull and odd looking borders around its edges. In general, the visual tone is a lot brighter and more colourful than the original. These might sound like nitpicks only a hardcore Halo fan would care about but the fact is they clash with series continuity and seem to go against the point of this remake - recapturing the spirit of the original.
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New elements aside, Combat Evolved’s campaign is definitely showing its age. In stark contrast the immaculately paced shooters of today CE is slow going, forcing you to slog through dozens of repetitive enemies, which often keep respawning through monster closets or the use of drop ships, before allowing you to move on. Level design is often confusing due to repeating geometry, often lacking guidance and occasionally requiring you to backtrack through lengthy areas. These elements come to a head in the Library level which was notorious even back in the day for its agonisingly drawn out design
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And again his conclusion is the most baffeling off them all:
In the end, Combat Evolved Anniversary is a strange package. Its campaign feels half hearted, neither fully remaking nor preserving the original game. The Reach multiplayer maps, while excellent, feel tacked on to the package to attempt to justify this being a full disc-based release. It is retailing for less than the price of a full retail game (it's less than £30 at most online U.K. retailers) but unless you really can’t stomach the original’s dated graphics, I’d strongly suggest skipping this and simply downloading the Anniversary map pack instead. Save that extra £20 for something more worthwhile.
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Wait... wat?
 
F

Feindflug

Member
TheOddOne said:
Pretty much.

Parts of the review are puzzeling:

And again his conclusion is the most baffeling off them all:

Wait... wat?
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The part of how the SP campaign is showing it's age is hilarious, all I have to say is that CE feels more fresh and plays better than 99% of today's FPS games...the flow of the combat and the reactions of the enemy AI are still amazing...and this is a game that came out 10 years ago.

Fuck the "feels dated when compared to the modern FPS games" BS that Rage and now CE are getting, if new and fresh means MW3 and BF3 alike single player campaigns with nonexistent enemy AI and level design, scripted events, return back to the combat messages and stupid QTE's then I'm honestly glad we're still seeing "dated" games.
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
TheOddOne said:
Pretty much.

Parts of the review are puzzeling:



"In stark contrast the immaculately paced shooters of today CE is slow going, forcing you to slog through dozens of repetitive enemies, which often keep respawning through monster closets or the use of drop ships, before allowing you to move on."
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That's a blatant lie there. They don't keep respawning though monster closets or drop ships. You have a set amount of enemies. There is only one point in the game that it comes close to endless respawning enemies and that's the point where you have to jump into the coolant. Even then they eventually stop coming.

And yea I agree. As someone who plays all the main games once a month except for recently so that it would be fresh for me I can say the original holds up every bit to anything released today. Sure there are a couple of things missing they've added over the years that I wouldn't mind but Halo without a doubt holds up gameplay and story wise.
 
E

ElzarTheBam

Member
If you really must read reviews or even like to read them, than please read this one.

Edge, one of the few publications that really 'get' Halo both critically and positively.
 
T

TheOddOne

Member
I'm usually not the guy to complain about about bad grades, but do when the review indept is just lousy, I will complain. This is the case, it's a bizar review that really isn't a review.

ElzarTheBam said:
If you really must read reviews or even like to read them, than please read this one.

Edge, one of the few publications that really 'get' Halo both critically and positively.
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Fantastic review!
Indeed, heading back to Halo is enough to make you realise that all the additions to series over the last ten years - dual wielding, new vehicles, new weapons, Halo 3’s equipment, Reach’s armour abilities, and yes, even the Brutes – were necessary. Not to make better games, but to make different ones. Every tweak to the balanced combat at Halo’s core gave us new tactics to learn, and new skills to master. Halo’s combat might have been nigh perfect, but this was also its problem: without changes it had nowhere else to go.

Famously imperfect, however, is Halo’s level design. The overall structure, which sees levels reused as the Master Chief journeys to the Library and then fights his way back through the Flood-infested ring, is still effective. But the repetition within individual levels irks even more than it did then. Assault On The Control Room is an epic fight through and across the ring, but it’s also a repetitive slog through reused rooms and across repeated bridges that – despite the still exhilarating combat – quickly starts to fatigue.

But perhaps that’s the point. 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. Allegedly, Bungie resisted the subtitle, but it’s as true now as it was then. It might be older, it might look younger, but this is still Combat Evolved.
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F

Feindflug

Member
ElzarTheBam said:
If you really must read reviews or even like to read them, than please read this one.

Edge, one of the few publications that really 'get' Halo both critically and positively.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

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. Allegedly, Bungie resisted the subtitle, but it’s as true now as it was then. It might be older, it might look younger, but this is still Combat Evolved.
Click to expand...
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
TheOddOne said:
I'm usually not the guy to complain about about bad grades, but do when the review indept is just lousy. This is the case, it's a bizar review that really isn't a review.
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Same here. I don't give a damn at the end of the day. It just irks me though when a review is just factually wrong and it's complaints are cosmetic bullshit. Take me. I know I've been hard on Halo 4 so far just based off the design of the Warthog, Chiefs armor, and Cortana's design etc. Now let's say those things carry over to retail and are every bit as awful as I think they currently are. If I was reviewing the game I sure as hell would not base my score on that. I would judge how the game plays, if it's story is coherent and interesting, the feature set it has, and if it's technically sound. I would not go OMG they changed the Warthog design, it sux.

At the same time I would play the game and actually judge the game. This review obviously didn't. It just makes it obvious by what they did complain about and by how generic their complaints are. The blatant lie of respawning enemies didn't help either.
 
R

Reagan's BR

Banned
This would release during the busiest week of school. Oh well those papers can wait (not if I want to pass). Is Best Buy doing a midnight release so I can pick up my preorder?
 
T

TheOddOne

Member
wwm0nkey said:
Another pretty shitty written "review"

clickonline - 2/5
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For us, as big Halo fans, Combat Evolved Anniversary fails to rekindle the magic we felt a decade ago even if it does set out to do exactly what was intended, however it has been enough to whet our appetites for the next bona fide Halo title, also to be developed by 343 Studios. It would certainly be unfair to make any judgements on the developers given the constraints they faced here, and they have pretty much done everything they set out to do with this Anniversary edition despite the fact that the source material doesn't really stand up against contemporary competition, so we are excited to see what they can do with a little bit more scope to make the world their own...
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...because it's not meant to.

I'm really scratching my head here.

fts.gif
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
derFeef said:
You can stop reading there, as this is not the point of Anniversary.
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I wish I could. I'm trying to continue reading but that review is utter shit. I think it's worse then the other. They're actually bitching that it's the same game. Durr it's a remake of Halo but it's not totally different......duuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrr.

Aye Aye Aye. Really bitching about the controls too. It's a FPS. There isn't much you can do to change up the controls.
 
R

Reagan's BR

Banned
From Strategy informer:

While pressing a button switches between the original ‘classic’ graphics and revamped ‘remastered’ graphics, the campaign plays identically to the 2001 Xbox launch game.
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Isn't that the point of a remake? Don't all of the current HD releases play the same as the original? Actually they are just upscaled to look good in HD. They didn't even redo the graphics did they? You know what I think all of those remakes are great and I welcome them. So when a game actually does all of that and more apparently its a bad thing.

Also,
Sadly, my dream of playing through CE’s story with all the improvements of its subsequent sequels wasn’t realised.
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But more importantly,
all the improvements of sequels.
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Bwahahahahaha. Has this person even played Reach?

I'd like to see how these "critics" are reviewing the other HD remakes. I don't they understand the whole concept.
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
Awesome Barlow said:
From Strategy informer:

Isn't that the point of a remake? Don't all of the current HD releases play the same as the original? Actually they are just upscaled to look good in HD. They didn't even redo the graphics did they? You know what I think all of those remakes are great and I welcome them. So when a game actually does all of that and more apparently its a bad thing.

Also,

But more importantly,
Bwahahahahaha. Has this person even played Reach?
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In Reach's defense it's campaign is pretty damn good. While you may hate the armor abilities in multiplayer which I do with a passion mind you, you can't deny that they were fun to use in singleplayer. Also note they said all the sequels. Not just reach. Halo 2 did add vehicle jacking and weapon swaping with NPCs which really did add a ton to the series.
 
N

nofi

Member
wwm0nkey said:
Another pretty shitty written "review"

clickonline - 2/5
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AI, or lack of it

One thing that many shooters' campaigns live or die on, is artificial intelligence. Not many of us want to play a game where you know exactly what every on screen enemy is going to do at any given time, but that's the way things were with console shooters ten years ago. We have always thought it curious that the likes of Quake 2 and 3 seemed to make real steps on the AI front, only for us to hit a bizarrely inexplicable trough in enemy intelligence and routines in the early part of the 2000s. Unfortunately, Halo was one such title. We might not have noticed it as much in 2001, but it's painfully obvious now.​

Wut?
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
nofi said:
AI, or lack of it

One thing that many shooters' campaigns live or die on, is artificial intelligence. Not many of us want to play a game where you know exactly what every on screen enemy is going to do at any given time, but that's the way things were with console shooters ten years ago. We have always thought it curious that the likes of Quake 2 and 3 seemed to make real steps on the AI front, only for us to hit a bizarrely inexplicable trough in enemy intelligence and routines in the early part of the 2000s. Unfortunately, Halo was one such title. We might not have noticed it as much in 2001, but it's painfully obvious now.​

Wut?
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Yea. The original's AI still holds up against most games today. The only time the AI is really lacking is on Easy or Normal. Then yes it's braindead and that's cause those modes are designed to be easy as hell. And did they really say that Quake 2 & 3 made great strides in AI? REALLY? MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
Z

Zeouterlimits

Member
Eh, the review is pretty poor but that statement itself seems okay.
Intention isn't necessarily something the reviewer should be concerned with, IN THAT if a person is confronted with the option of playing this or MW3 that they may have more fun with MW3 as MW3 has some modern design philosophies that Anniv might not have. The intention isn't key in this case because either way the person has the option of playing this "2011" campaign or this 2001 (superior in discerning eyes) campaign.
 
R

Reagan's BR

Banned
Oh gosh this is GOLD!

Even at the time of release the repetitive corridors were a real point of contention, and a splash of HD paint doesn't change the fact that there are parts of the single player campaign that simply feel dull and uninspired.
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One thing that the Halo serious has always caused divides over has been its use of vehicles. While the later games really managed to get that side of things right, the use of the Warthog in the original was never anything other than frustrating. Handling like a wet bar of soap on a sheet of ice, you'll spend almost all your time smashing into walls, bouncing off trees and driving past your enemies - and that's when you're used to it.
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Hahaha.
 
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