Halo Anniversary 3D Experience

10 years ago, today, Microsoft released the original Xbox – while the console was late to the game, and in the end could not amass the same popularity as the Playstation 2, it did give birth to some of the best franchises we have today.

The most notable – is Halo.

Halo: Combat Evolved was the Bungie-developed, Microsoft-published launch title for the Xbox, which has gone on to cross generations and genres into a whole bunch of different games.

The critically acclaimed first-person shooter introduced us to Master Chief – who is now a memetic legend in his own right – and brought gameplay and intense shooting action never before seen on consoles.

That’s not just PR speak, either – the game broke sales records on release, and managed to get a 97% Metacritic score, as game reviewers everywhere were pretty much blown away.

Now, 10 years on, Microsoft is celebrating a decade of Halo, by remastering the original – and releasing the HD remake, Halo Anniversary.

MyGaming was fortunate enough to get hands on time with Halo Anniversary at Microsoft HQ in Bryanston, Johannesburg – where the game was on display in stereoscopic 3D.

We got to play through some of the campaign as well as a quick multiplayer session – and as expected, I died quite a bit (I’m not called fragbait for nothing); switching between the old textures and the new textures really highlights how far we have come since Halo landed a decade ago.

While the game looks much sexier than its aged counterpart, it’s not going to blow you away – but the gameplay just might, keeping to the true action-packed formula the Halo series has become known for.

Halo Anniversary will likely feel like more than just a trip down memory lane for many, especially with the multiplayer to explore with your friends – but all in all, it’s a great way to say happy birthday to one of gaming’s best franchises.

Tags: combat evolved, halo, halo anniversay, HD, headline, Microsoft, remake