Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary review

Modern shooter enthusiasts might miss sprinting, with the Chief capable of moving at a constant high speed while shooting. He can’t go prone either, so it’s literally a more stand up fight. Also absent is iron sights aiming, with the majority of the Master Chief’s arsenal being perfectly accurate when shot from the hip, with only two scoped guns requiring the zoom button.

And what an arsenal it is too. Every gun is distinct, from the powerful headshot-capable pistol you start out with, through the more specialised projectile guns such as the awesome shotgun and sniper rifle – all of which are highly effective against unshielded targets. Then there are the alien Covenant’s plasma weapons, which knock down energy shielding quicker. Some can feel underpowered, but only if they’re used incorrectly.

All of these features combine to create combat that still feels special today. Combining plasma and projectile weapons in quick succession allows you to down tough opponents almost instantly. Toss in a few grenades and some brutal melee finishers, and Halo put down the template for Modern Warfare the best part of a decade before it. Better still, like the best console games, it had amazing replayability, from the knockabout shooting of Normal mode, to the full range of skills required for Heroic mode, and the incredibly challenging test of Legendary – where every Covenant Elite becomes a lethal threat.

Last but not least, we come to vehicles and allies. Halo pushed the boundaries in both of these areas for a shooter, with driving and flying neatly integrated into levels that still functioned if you were left on foot. Whizzing across the surface of Halo in your Warthog with a bevy of accompanying marines for company has to rate among the greatest moments in video game history.

The scale of such levels is perfectly epic, switching from tight corridors to massive bridges that span huge canyons, canyons that you later find yourself flying back down in a Covenant aircraft, strafing enemy positions. The Halo itself is a fantastic setting, simple in concept, but awe inspiring to behold, curving away from you overhead. We can’t think of a more brilliantly-executed sky effect in any game.

In terms of production values, Halo was enough ahead of its time to still stand up today. There’s uniformly decent voice acting and a plot that doesn’t get in the way of the action – but which hints at much larger events going on elsewhere (Halo follows the example of Star Wars in this respects, rather than its prequels). The music is simply one of the greatest video game scores of all time, and has now been remastered for additional fidelity (we couldn’t tell, admittedly).