What if we got a remake of Halo 2 like CEA, but we had the option of using the halo 1 weapon sandbox?
So you want a remake, that's not a remake at all?
At this point, just remake the Halo 2 campaign with the same 'exactly as it was' mantra as this game, and release map packs that bring the final map count for Reach up to EVERY SINGLE MAP ever released for EVER Halo game.
I disagree.
Some textures look like they are straight photographs, much of the content was produced for other games in the series, awkward intrusions of new styles for no apparent reason, illogical additions of detail, and completely lost the character of the original.
These are just a few of the things I have to say about it with my limited time with it.
I don't think the game holds up compared to Reach, but it's better than you're making it out to be.
The 'character' of the original was stark and minimalist due to hardware limitations and lack of experience with the original Xbox hardware.
The 'plastic' look of Halo 2 was a result of trying to force normal maps on hardware that wasn't designed for it. See Riddick and Doom 3. Chaos Theory was better.
Halo 3 is gorgeous on all fronts, stylistically and technically. Likewise for Reach, albeit it's much murkier than any of the other Halo games.
In other news, the playlists with 85% bloom, bleed-through damage, revised armor-lock and the rest of the AAs are fucking fantastic. The 'Anniversary' named playlists are fucking garbage.