I will start with a little background information. I have been an avid Halo player since Halo: Combat Evolved. I have played both in competitive events and casually throughout the past 10 years. I have gone through my ups and downs with the Halo Franchise, but right now my opinion is at an all time low.
My Halo career started a few months after the release of the original. I played mainly on LAN and at a few local tournaments. With the release of Halo2 I was slightly skeptical due to the duel wielding, swords, etc, but after a few patches none of my worries ended up manifesting into anything that would deter me from playing. The addition of XBL to games was great, minus the modding, stand-bying, host-booting, etc, but these issues were outside the control of the developers. Glitches such as BxR and double shots ended up being an integral part of strategy. Upon playing the Beta for Halo3 I decided to stop playing competitively due to some of the things that were added ( bubble shield, power drain, and general ease of weapon use). However, none of these issues would deter me from at least playing recreationally for enjoyment. When Halo: Reach came out I thought it was a step in the right direction, but not enough so to where I would come back and play competitively. The weapon skill was getting back to where it should be, but the maps lacked originality and there was still the power-up issue.
Now we come to the Halo: Anniversary edition. I can honestly say that I have never been more disappointed after purchasing a game in my entire life. I originally thought my disappointment was stemming from my false hope of this being a Halo: Combat Evolved that I could finally play over XBL, and not XBC. After a few games I gave it the benefit of the doubt and said, “Well, it is technically a re-make, not a re-do, so it will have its own dynamics and play-style, which will be different from the original.” I then proceeded to play a few more games, giving my beloved Halo the benefit of the doubt, but it was just too unbearable. To start, the first map I played on was Beaver Creek, which was a re-make of Halo:CE’s Battle Creek. The map wasn’t even named correctly, or re-made after the correct game. I then switched to BTB hoping to play a re-make of Sidewinder, Boarding Action, or Blood Gulch, which to my disbelief I was placed in a Headlong game (also, another Halo 2 map). After playing 10 or so games I never encountered, or even saw as an option Derelict, Sidewinder, Rat Race, Chill Out, Boarding Action, Chrion, Wizard, Longest, or Blood Gulch. It was almost as though there were more Halo 2 maps than Halo 1.
In accordance with my disappointment with the maps, the weapon mechanics was entirely wrong. To make the rest of my issues quick: The pistol shot entirely too fast to get in a legitimate battle. The zoom wasn’t accurate on the pistol. Why is there a DMR/BR? Why is there a carbine? Why do I only start with 1 grenade, as opposed to 4? Why can vehicles be destroyed? Why can I play as an elite? The list can actually go on and on and on.
In conclusion, I understand the concept of what you were trying to do, which was keep the new aspects to the game that newer players have become accustomed too over the more recent Halo’s. However, you should not call something a Halo: Combat Evolved remake when there are more elements from every other Halo than there were Halo 1. It was by far my most disappointing experience in my long gaming history.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Enjoy your Holidays.
I would believe an avid Halo fan and player to know that almost all of your expectations were wrong.
You thought CE was a remake and not a re-do?
You also thought we would get the CE over XBL in a different way than what XBC offers.
Halo was boasted from the beginning to be the same game. The 2 differences, always 16:9 aspect ratio and the ability to switch between classic and anniversary modes. The visuals on cue with select, the sound from the main menu options.
Also, we were told from the beginning that we wouldn’t have CE’s MP over live.
How Halo: CE plays over XBC, how CE plays on the PC over the Internet, and how Halo2 plays over XBL is why we don’t have CE over XBL for anniversary.
None of those ways to play Halo over the net come close to the LAN experience of CE. It’s not possible.
LAN is near instantaneous information transfer, how do you expect the net to compare to that? How do you expect game-play to remain the same when all evidence given is that CE WON’T play like it does when it’s played over the net. Therefore you don’t need it net-capable.
Dude, we knew everything that was gonna be in the game for a long time. We knew that there was 7 maps, 5 CE and 2 Halo 2. Each map was renamed, as they always are. And everything in it is in Reach, because the multiplayer is Reach. You are not playing CEA multiplayer. You are playing the Halo Reach Anniversary Map Pack.
Halo CE- Timberland/Ridgeline (PC Map), Prisoner/Solitary, Damnation/Penance, Installation 04 (Firefight, from the level Halo), Hang 'Em High/High Noon.
Halo 2- Headlong/Breakneck, Beaver Creek/Battle Canyon.
We knew these were the only maps coming to Reach in the Anniversary Map Pack for a long time.
You did remember that 343i had a very specific time limit, right? They had to be completely ready before Nov. 15, 2011. Making every map would require a lot of time and personel, something they didn’t have both. Most of the personel was focused on Halo 4. Would you rather have Halo 4 released soon, or a few more shiny maps to Halo Reach?
And CEA is NOT a remake, it is a remaster, with 7 new maps for Halo Reach. Released on the 10 year anniversary of Halo CE, for $40 (which is a very good price for everything in there), with some fun gameplay changing skulls, and some Terminals that tell 343 Guilty Spark’s story and gives some little hints to Halo 4.
You shouldn’t complaing about multiplayer here, because CEA doesn’t have multiplayer. You should re-post this in the Reach forums, and say how the Anniversary Map Pack doesn’t really feel like CE multiplayer in your opinion.
You were merely misinformed, or failed to take in what 343i has been saying about the game for several months.
Yet another story of someone not doing their research. Pretty much all the maps that would be in anniversary were revealed before the game even came out so its your fault your disappointed with them. Besides, I don’t see the problem with them also remastering halo 2 maps, considering headlong is amazing.
> I would believe an avid Halo fan and player to know that almost all of your expectations were wrong.
>
> You thought CE was a remake and not a re-do?
> You also thought we would get the CE over XBL in a different way than what XBC offers.
>
> Halo was boasted from the beginning to be the same game. The 2 differences, always 16:9 aspect ratio and the ability to switch between classic and anniversary modes. The visuals on cue with select, the sound from the main menu options.
>
> Also, we were told from the beginning that we wouldn’t have CE’s MP over live.
> How Halo: CE plays over XBC, how CE plays on the PC over the Internet, and how Halo2 plays over XBL is why we don’t have CE over XBL for anniversary.
> None of those ways to play Halo over the net come close to the LAN experience of CE. It’s not possible.
> LAN is near instantaneous information transfer, how do you expect the net to compare to that? How do you expect game-play to remain the same when all evidence given is that CE WON’T play like it does when it’s played over the net. Therefore you don’t need it net-capable.
I would agree that I didn’t research the game enough before purchasing, but to my defense it is a game, I shouldn’t have to research it, and it is only a $40.00 purchase, so it is not anything that I am breaking my budget over.
My main issues were not with the connectivity, I know that it is impossible to simulate a LAN experience over the net in any way. Yes, I did briefly mention it but that was only a minor issue.
The main issue was that I went into purchasing the game with only mediocre expectations, and it still was extremely disappointing. Let me see if I can explain from my perspective.
- Friend shares E3 announcement of Anniversary game with me via e-mail/text ( I forget which and it is really insignificant).
- My mindset is hoping for an actual Halo 1 remake. Since I don’t play competitively anymore I am not doing any additional research into and I will just buy it whenever I happen to come across it while shopping.
- Friends share gameplay links via same method as before.
- My mindset switches from, okay, well its not going to be Halo:CE, but I will still get to play some of my favorite CE maps online again. The graphics look like Reach, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I am not overly thrilled with the powerups still being in there, but I can adapt and play and will just have fun with it.
- I see the game in the store and read the back of the box: "“Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary is a spectacular remastering of the very first Halo game’s… including: Six classic multilayer maps re imagined.”
- I see this and it only reassures my previous mindset, that I will get to play Halo 1 maps on Xbox Live.
Now, I understand more research could have been done, but you can at least envision where my disappointment is coming from. I would never expect the sensation of playing Halo CE to be transposed onto the internet. That was a once and a lifetime experience playing with friends, but imagine my disappointment when I log on and see Battle Creek referred to as Beaver Creek. Then I play approximately 10 games and continually get Beaver Creek or Headlong (I was switching between BTB, Classic, and Squad). I never so much as saw Derelict, Chill Out, Chiron, Boarding Action, Sidewinder, etc even come up as a potential option.
I hope that helped express my viewpoint slightly.
> Dude, we knew everything that was gonna be in the game for a long time. We knew that there was 7 maps, 5 CE and 2 Halo 2. Each map was renamed, as they always are. And everything in it is in Reach, because the multiplayer is Reach. You are not playing CEA multiplayer. You are playing the Halo Reach Anniversary Map Pack.
>
> Halo CE- Timberland/Ridgeline (PC Map), Prisoner/Solitary, Damnation/Penance, Installation 04 (Firefight, from the level Halo), Hang 'Em High/High Noon.
>
> Halo 2- Headlong/Breakneck, Beaver Creek/Battle Canyon.
>
> We knew these were the only maps coming to Reach in the Anniversary Map Pack for a long time.
>
> You did remember that 343i had a very specific time limit, right? They had to be completely ready before Nov. 15, 2011. Making every map would require a lot of time and personel, something they didn’t have both. Most of the personel was focused on Halo 4. Would you rather have Halo 4 released soon, or a few more shiny maps to Halo Reach?
>
> And CEA is NOT a remake, it is a remaster, with 7 new maps for Halo Reach. Released on the 10 year anniversary of Halo CE, for $40 (which is a very good price for everything in there), with some fun gameplay changing skulls, and some Terminals that tell 343 Guilty Spark’s story and gives some little hints to Halo 4.
>
> You shouldn’t complaing about multiplayer here, because CEA doesn’t have multiplayer. You should re-post this in the Reach forums, and say how the Anniversary Map Pack doesn’t really feel like CE multiplayer in your opinion.
>
> You were merely misinformed, or failed to take in what 343i has been saying about the game for several months.
Misinformed and lack of research is correct. I explained in a previous reply just now that indeed was the case. However, there is still a significant amount of misinformation present.
However, thank you for your reply, it was very helpful and the type of reply and explanation I was looking for. So I appreciate your time in reading and replying in a polite and coherent way.
I understand the disappointment, I really do. But. It was CLEARLY stated over and over again that CEA would have 7 maps, not all of the originals. They were all announced before release, nothing was held back.
http://www.halopedian.com/Halo:_Combat_Evolved_Anniversary
Hope this helps inform you of anything you may have missed.
(as for the whole Beaver/Battle thing,
> The model of Beaver Creek is the exact same one that was used for Battle Creek with the only difference being the team base colors and the removal of the ladders that led to the sniper spawn points.
We can’t have Battle Creek with the unusable ladders now can we?)
> Yet another story of someone not doing their research. Pretty much all the maps that would be in anniversary were revealed before the game even came out so its your fault your disappointed with them. Besides, I don’t see the problem with them also remastering halo 2 maps, considering headlong is amazing.
I don’t have a problem with them remastering Halo 2 maps at all. Just doing that and calling it a Halo: CE remaster is what I have the problem with. There was a significant lack of research on my part, however, I do not have the time to significantly research video games I am going to purchase, it was just a huge let down for me. I personally think for a Halo:CE remastering they should’ve chosen all Halo:CE maps, if for no other reason than that makes sense.
If they wanted to do a map pack I think it would’ve been a great idea to do a Reach expansion with the best of Halo’s past 10 years and include maps from all the previous games. However, in a previous post someone stated that their time restraints were a factor, which makes sense as to why that wasn’t a possibility. However, there are plenty of ways around that too, forging contests for members, build off previous designs, etc. It’s not like every single map had to be remade.
> I understand the disappointment, I really do. But. It was CLEARLY stated over and over again that CEA would have 7 maps, not all of the originals. They were all announced before release, nothing was held back.
I understand that it was clearly stated. I guess one of my major qualms was with labeling it a CE remastering when most of the elements are from other games (Halo 2 maps, Halo 3 weapons, Halo Reach powerups). Once again, not completely blaming this on 343 studios and I am partially to blame for lack of research, but with all that said and done it is still called “Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.” It should have felt, or looked, or anything a little more like CE to me.
> NameBright - Coming Soon
> Hope this helps inform you of anything you may have missed.
>
> (as for the whole Beaver/Battle thing,
>
> > The model of Beaver Creek is the exact same one that was used for Battle Creek with the only difference being the team base colors and the removal of the ladders that led to the sniper spawn points.
>
> We can’t have Battle Creek with the unusable ladders now can we?)
Yes, it was nice reading that article just now and it did clear up some things. To someone like me that is to busy with work, school, girlfriend, sports, etc to do extensive research on a video game before purchasing is unreasonable. I just wish they would’ve just titled it different or advertised it as a map pack. Either way I have played Halo for many years and have remained loyal so I would’ve purchased it anyway. All I am saying is that for a Halo:CE anniversary, it should’ve felt, played, looked, or anything a little bit more like a Halo:CE anniversary. A nice alternative would have been to make a conglomerate of all the games and called it something in reference to 10 years of Halo, as opposed to Halo:CE.
> I can honestly say that I have never been more disappointed after purchasing a game in my entire life. I originally thought my disappointment was stemming from my false hope of this being a Halo: Combat Evolved that I could finally play over XBL, and not XBC.
WoW. So basically you tell me that you did not manage to read a single test of the game or inform you otherwise about it, before you purchased it?
Well, I feel sorry for you that you have been disappointed, but you can easily avoid this in the future by informing yourself about a game before you buy it.
It was well known quite a long time before release of the game, that there will be no original Halo: CE multiplayer in Halo CEA, and that there will be the Reach MP instead, so that the community does not get split.
The campaign is the original Halo CE campaign, with enhanced graphics, terminals and skulls if one likes to use them, while the MP part is an addition to Halo Reach: MP. That was made very clear from before the launch.
I see your point about calling it CE Anniversary, it could be misleading to someone who just picked it up off the shelf without following the stream of announcements, videos and articles that were released over the past year. I know others have already clarified this, but you are essentially getting this…A direct gameplay accurate campaign with some new goodies (co-op play over live, 2 viewing modes classic and remastered, skulls, terminals and achievements) and a Halo Reach Anniversary map pack which has some CE, Halo2 maps remastered to fit Reach MM. The decision to integrate it with Reach was made to not segment the Reach multiplayer population mid-cycle, essentially the same thing they did with ODST for Halo 3 multiplayer.
This next part is better suited for a Reach multiplayer forum, but if your opinion is based on the Playlists offered and the ones you played 10ish games on I totally understand your frustration!! The anniversary game types do not play like CE at all, the pistol zoom is way too inaccurate and the games seem heavily dictated on who has the better connection (I know this is true in all online play, but seems especially detrimental to anniversary play). It is my personal opinion that Title Update gametypes play way better than Anniversary gametypes and vanilla Reach, I know this isn’t everyone’s opinion but it does feel like the best version of Reach we have seen yet. The new maps are visually stunning and play mostly well, except for Prisoner/Solitary which has AWFUL SPAWNS!!!
In the end I think 343 did the best with the time they had and weren’t greedy when it came to price, $40.00 is a huge value for what you get. I am also a Halo Vet, purchased Halo CE day one with my XBOX and haven’t stopped since, some games I didn’t enjoy that much and others I really did, but it’s still an entertaining option and I hope you stick with it.
This post has been edited by a moderator. Please do not flame or attack other members.
As many have already said, Seems to me like you didn’t do your homework too well…
PeacE
ShadEO9
> Yet another story of someone not doing their research. Pretty much all the maps that would be in anniversary were revealed before the game even came out so its your fault your disappointed with them. Besides, I don’t see the problem with them also remastering halo 2 maps, considering headlong is amazing.
Yeah I just don’t understand how people miss out on aspects of new releases with all the info and resources we have at our disposal.
Edited by a moderator. Please refrain from flaming or attacking other members.
when you started playing cea’s mm, HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE YOU WERE PLAYING REACH??? ITS EVEN GOT REACHES MENU AND ACHIEVEMENTS.
> when you started playing cea’s mm, HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE YOU WERE PLAYING REACH??? ITS EVEN GOT REACHES MENU AND ACHIEVEMENTS.
For god’s sake, he knows. He said he made a simple mistake of not informing himself. It’s neither his fault or 343’s fault.
He doesn’t need you breathing down his neck as some kind of “high and mighty” Halo player, people make mistakes, get over it.
Edited by a moderator. Please do not attack other members.
I am like you. I played Halo CE a few months after it came out. Went to a few MLG outings and played with the big boys. Whoever says all the Halo games are the same game are quite wrong. Each new game has a different feel, completely different weapons, different power-ups etc. The only thing that stayed the same is the story. I wasn’t a fan of Halo 2 or 3. Reach was much better.
I got excited when the Anniversary came out. I too thought it would be like Halo CE. Like you stated it even says Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Heck look above you at this forum title. But I looked into it and saw that it would be a re-make. But I bought it anyway. Unlike you, I like the Anniversary. I has given me a bit of the Halo CE feeling back. Controlling power-ups, power-weapons, and position on the map. And dont forget the pistol!!!
Just be patient. They always just give you a taste so you want more. They will probably come out with some map update with they other maps you loved.
The people you are flaming you probably never played Halo CE and dont realize how great a game it was.