Monday, December 29, 2014

Game #2: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Halo: CE Anniversary
Platform: XB1
Total Playtime: 7 Hours

This was kinda cool. I had never actually beaten Halo 1 before this so it was good to finally check this one off.

Playing through, I couldn't help but notice so many design decisions that would land you in a lot of trouble if they were done today. Multiple levels that are just previous levels but backwards. Lots of cut and paste rooms. Big maps without any objective indicators pointing you to exactly where you need to be. I'm not saying these choices were bad, only that we've learned a lot as an industry since the original Xbox days.

Of course Halo 1 did a lot of things right too. That regenerating shield mechanic that made total sense in this game would of course go on to basically be mandatory in shooters, even where it doesn't make sense. Multiple different vehicle segments to break up the pace were also a lot of fun, even though the Warthog treats every terrain like a frozen lake. Guns all felt unique and you could already see Bungie had a great understanding of fun gunplay.


No comments:

Post a Comment