Hey all, so if you didn’t know already I wanted you all to know that the reason Halo CE on original graphics looks bad, isn’t because it’s aged poorly but because it’s a really, really bad port of the original Xbox edition. How Combat Evolved was downgraded on MCC | How the original is being lost to time (THEY FIXED IT) - YouTube
Late-night Gaming made an excellent video showing this, and although it’s unlikely that Halo CE will be fixed on MCC (as in the original Xbox edition being used), it’s important to realise the visual history of games and how art direction can be lost resulting in an inferior looking game. If you don’t want to watch the video (but really you should because it’s only 8 minutes) the main differences between the PC port (which MCC is based on) and the original version, is lighting, effects and textures. Please watch the video to understand what I’m referring to. I’ve summarised some of his main points with comparison images in the google document below but you seriously shouldn’t go there unless you’re at work and if you’re at work save the video link and watch it at home.
Hopefully, somehow, in the future, Halo MCC will receive a rerelease or something, that restores Halo CE back to its original glory.