Some ten years ago now, the original, chunk black Xbox launched to massive public fanfare. With it, came a cracking line-up of games - the stylish drifting of Project Gotham Racing, the beat 'em up bliss of Dead or Alive 3, and one game that changed the way the world looked at first person shooters - Halo: Combat Evolved. Bringing with it an incredible, split-screen co-op campaign, Halo: Combat Evolved was about as much fun as it's legal for a first person shooter to get - and by letting you take a friend through the story with you, it revolutionised the genre.
Now coming up to its 10th Anniversary, Microsoft announced at their E3 press conference that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will be making its way to the 360 on November 15th this year - ten years to the day after the launch of Halo on the original Xbox. Games, and indeed the Xbox have come a long way since then, but Microsoft maintain that it's "the campaign (eurgh) of a decade", which almost seems like a clouded admission that the last three Halo games have failed to live up to the lofty standards set by the predecessor.
Ah, memories.
Halo: Combat Evolved puts you into the strapping space boots of Master Chief - the last of the Spartans, an experimental genetic project that attempted to create a race of super soldiers to ensure humanity's survival. Deep in the midst of a war with the Covenant, the game opens with the human fleet's flagship, the Pillar of Autumn coming under fire by Covenant forces, who're desperate to learn the location of Earth, to wipe out humanity for good. As the flagship succumbs to the enemy forces, the Master Chief, and his AI companion, Cortana, evacuate the ship, and land on a mysterious ring world called Halo - a world that the Covenant seem strangely interested in, and that holds plenty of secrets of its own...
With co-op sections that saw you driving a giant jeep called a Warthog down a beach, with your friend driving while you manned the car's giant turret on the back, and a heavy bent on creating levels that specifically lent themselves to split-screen co-operative play, Halo is a game that's every bit as fun to play today as it was back then. And now, the whole thing's getting a nice graphical overhaul, along with a number of new, unannounced features. It's all very exciting.
If you missed out on playing the original the first time round, this is a game you should be excited about. If you were lucky enough to play the original, you'll likely need no convincing. All that's left to say now is - please, Microsoft. Don't botch it up.
