 ©Valve Corporation Say you have a high-end gaming PC, but you enjoy playing games on your couch in the living room. It's simply more comfortable and convenient for you, but you're stuck getting a lower-end gaming console instead. Wouldn't it be cool to have a Chromecast-like device, but for video games instead? That's exactly what the Steam Link strives to accomplish. The Steam Link is a small box that you connect to your TV via HDMI, that allows you to use the feature of In-Home Streaming (built into the Steam client) to play your Steam library on your TV at 1080p and 60fps. The concept sounds amazing, but how does it actually hold up?  ©Valve Corporation After having plenty of time to curl up with the Steam Link, I can confidently say that it works really well. Before I get into the full details of how good it is, let me clarify a few points. Officially, the only requirements to use the Steam Link are a computer running Steam or Steam OS on the same network (as the Steam Link), an HDTV and some kind of input device. Officially supported input devices are the following: the Xbox 360 controller using the Wireless Adapter, the Xbox 360 controller plugged in via USB, the Xbox One controller plugged in via USB, the Steam Controller, the Logitech Wireless Gamepad F710, and most mouse and keyboards on the market. That being said, people have been discovering that other controllers are sometimes compatible, so if you own a different controller you'll have to test it to see if it works. Keep in mind the Steam Link is only going to be able to display at the quality and efficiency that your computer can. If your computer can only handle displaying a game at 720p and 30fps smoothly, then that's what you'll see on your TV. Your computer is the limiting factor for the quality of the display. The last point involves the internet and in extension your home network. Steam strongly recommends that you have both the computer and the Steam Link plugged in via Ethernet for optimal performance. While wireless isn't recommended, you can still get a smooth experience if your network is strong enough. Using the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router in a two bedroom apartment along with a 50 /50 down/up fiber optic internet connection, I was able to get an equally good experience using a wired or wireless connection. Ultimately, your experience is going to be defined by your network. I've read horror stories of people trying to run wirelessly or even wired with lag or other issues. If you don't have a strong network, you may want to reconsider even purchasing the device. The first thing I noticed when I opened the item up was that it was really sleek. I know looks don't define function, but it's nice that they chose such a minimalist design that looks nice, but still blends in with your electronics seamlessly. It has 3 USB ports on it, which means you can effectively keep a keyboard, mouse and controller all plugged in simultaneously without the need to get up whenever you want to switch inputs. There is an HDMI port, network port and of course a port for the power adapter. When you first plug it in, it walks you through a simple process and lets you jump in quickly. All you need to do is connect to your network (if you are using Wi-Fi), select your PC (which needs to be on and running Steam), input a special code onto your PC to verify the connection and you're done.  ©Valve Corporation You can run Steam in desktop mode or in Big Picture mode. Unless you are using a mouse and keyboard, I recommend using Big Picture, because the controllers don't offer as much precision for navigation and thus can be irritating to use. Keep in mind, my whole entire testing process has been with my Xbox One controller thus far. I began my adventure with something simple: The Walking Dead: Season Two. The entire experience was very pleasant. Navigating the menus in Big Picture was a cinch with the controller. The first thing I noticed was this annoying list of stats overlayed on the bottom of the screen as I was playing. It was displaying information such as network stability and frames per second. This was driving me crazy, but after a quick Google search I discovered that you could turn this off in Steam Link's settings. This requires exiting the active stream, and toggling the option called "Performance Overlay" (found in the advanced options under "Streaming"). Once I got rid of that, I fell in love. I couldn't notice any lag or any other issues. It ran flawlessly. Knowing that the Steam Link was working well, I decided to up the ante, by trying out Batman: Arkham Knight. I played this for a couple hours, and it ran smoothly at 1080p and 60fps without a single hiccup the entire time I played. Putting this into perspective, the game runs at a steady 1080p and 80fps when on my computer. I loved how I could press the Xbox Guide button and it would open up a Steam overlay with some options. Holding down the Guide button brings up the Steam Link options, allowing me to do things such as end the stream or exit Big Picture mode. In order to have more data, I also tested things out with Shadow of Mordor, Dreamfall Chapters and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Everything was consistently smooth. Next up, I decided to see how the device would work with older games, most of which have no controller support. Interestingly, when playing games that don't have controller support, the controller doubles as a pseudo mouse and keyboard. Both analog sticks function as mouse cursor movement, the right trigger functions as left click, the left trigger functions as right click, the A button as the Enter key and the B button as the Escape key. This means that the only games you can realistically play with the controller are point-and-click adventure games. I tested this out with The Longest Journey and Myst. It could be a little wonky getting the game to start, since it wasn't designed with Big Picture in mind, but I was ultimately able to make both of them work. As far as the actual experience goes, they ran without a hitch as well. I finally tried out Knights of the Old Republic 2, which is an old game but was recently updated with achievements and controller support. Like Dragon Age: Inquisition, the game's HUD actually changes to match the controller, which is very cool. This made it really easy to play using the Steam Link. As a little side note, with some tinkering, you can actually re-map buttons with the controllers if you run Steam in desktop mode. It can be a pain to do this though.  ©Valve Corporation If you want a more universally streamlined experience, you can purchase the Steam Controller. I haven't had a chance to demo the controller myself, but it has a lot of positive feedback. One of its most defining features is the ability to map the buttons. Since it's a proprietary controller designed by Steam, using it with any steam device is easy and very flexible. You have the ability to re-map all the buttons and functions to your needs, thus allowing you to overcome the disparity between controller enabled games and keyboard/mouse exclusive games. I'll have to pick one up to actually formulate an opinion, but I've seen very positive feedback regarding its functionality even with first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. What if the game you want to play isn't available on Steam (or maybe you purchased it through another service)? You can actually add almost any game (or oftentimes even programs and apps) to your Steam Library in order to play them in Big Picture mode, and thus on your Steam Link device. This raises the issue of input compatibility though. If you are not using a keyboard and mouse, then that means the game better be controller-enabled otherwise you'll have to do a bit of tweaking to make everything work seamlessly. Still, having that flexibility is a very welcome feature. I had the opportunity to test this feature out with Titanfall and Hearthstone. In both cases, only minor tweaking was necessary to make the games work. I imagine these external games would be easy to use if you're using the Steam Controller, but at least there are ways to make things work using other controllers. As always, the keyboard and mouse will always be fine with games external or internal to Steam.  ©Valve Corporation Ultimately, my experience with the Steam Link has been almost flawless thus far. It's easy to setup, easy to use and allows me to get away from my desk to play the games I want to play. I've been particularly impressed with the smooth gameplay. I've always been wary of streaming gameplay, being fearful of potential latency issues. The Steam Link helped make me a believer. Granted, I have a really good network and I also have a very high-end computer, so my experience may not mirror the average consumer. Still, at a nice price of $49.99 ($99.98 if you purchase it with the Steam Controller), it's a wonderful way to extend your gaming experience to other parts of your home.
- Teepu (Bowser05)  ©Hudson Soft Co., Ltd ©Atlus Co., Ltd. After the critical failure of Bomberman: Act Zero, I seriously thought that Hudson was losing its touch with a series that shouldn't be too hard to make fun. Luckily, Bomberman Land Touch! proved that Act Zero was a one-time failure. Instead of going the classic route of making a single-player adventure that revolves around the same simple concepts that the multiplayer involves, this game actually adds quite a bit of variety. The single-player is essentially a collection of 37 mini-games. You are sent to an amusement park island where you have to go around solving simple puzzles to get to the attractions (which are the mini-games). You then beat the mini-game for an item that you will use to move on. It is fairly simple and as far as 100% completion goes you will likely not have much of a problem finding everything you need to. With that being said, that does not mean the game is not challenging and is not fun. The mini-games themselves are overall very well thought out and are quite creative and fun. One mini-game will have you sliding the stylus back and forth on the screen as you try to make Bomberman run as fast as he can, while another might require you to draw a line from a certain fuse to its matching bomb. There is enough variety here to keep you entertained and luckily exploring the world isn't dull thanks to a certain level of variety in environments and a relatively simple layout.  ©Hudson Soft Co., Ltd ©Atlus Co., Ltd. The single-player is played only with the stylus and it works perfectly. The game is fun just for the mini-games itself, but Hudson didn't stop there. As expected, the multiplayer is where these games tend to shine the most. Not only can you play all the mini-games in multiplayer with others, but you also have the classic 'run around and try to blow your opponent up' mode for up to 8 players locally. A good majority of the multiplayer features can be accessed via Download Play, which certainly adds value to the game. There are a good amount of options for the classic mode and the stages are pretty well in order to keep things interesting. Moving on, let's talk about the aesthetics. In all modes, the designs are done simplistically and get the job done quite well. You will find nothing amazing or jaw-dropping here, but due to the simplicity everything is crisp and very vibrant. For this type of a game, this works quite well.  ©Hudson Soft Co., Ltd ©Atlus Co., Ltd. The music, on the other hand, isn't the best out there. It gets the job done and nothing more. It is not memorable but it is not painful to the ears either. If they had at least made a larger variety of themes it would be nice. Sadly, I ended up playing this game on mute quite often, which is very unlike me. The sound effects aren't that great either. They are very basic and nothing to write home about. Once again, not painful to the ears, but don't be surprised if you find yourself playing this without sound sometimes. Completing the 'campaign' will likely take you 10-12 hours at the most. As you play the mini-games you unlock the ability to play them separately for high-scores. Also, after you beat the game you gain access to an intensive version of one of the mini-games which will likely seem impossible to complete (I currently have a score of 52 out of 999). Not only that though, there is a hard mode to unlock after you beat it. Since the mini-games are fun, this added challenge is appreciated. They also streamline the process so that your second play through isn't too cumbersome (since you will already know how to find everything). The multiplayer is one of the main things that ultimately makes this a lasting gem, especially with up to 8 players locally. Keep in mind that all Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection functionality has long since been shut down for the original DS games. Since this game’s online play had shaky stability at best, that isn’t much of a loss.  ©Hudson Soft Co., Ltd ©Atlus Co., Ltd. Overall this is a very fun game and if you like mini-games and hectic but simple fun out of your multiplayer, this game is most definitely worth a purchase. This is one of the best of its kind on the DS and is worth the money for both casual gamers and hardcore gamers.
Graphics: GREAT Sound: GOOD Gameplay: AMAZING Value: AMAZING OVERALL: GREAT - Teepu  ©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC Welcome Home! Bethesda's newest entry into the Fallout series delivers in lots of ways. Playing through the previous Fallout games was a lot of fun and after spending about a week and a half playing Fallout 4 I can honestly say it’s one of the best in the series. There is just so much to discover and explore that after beating the main missions it only makes me want to go back and complete them in as many different ways as I can. You can easily get lost in this world and if you aren't careful you can blink and suddenly realize that you’ve lost a lot of time doing side quests. There were a few issues I had with the game however that do warrant a mention. First of all, the music. As much as I loved Fallout 3 and its soundtrack I do wonder why Bethesda decided to keep much of the same music in this new title. Don't get me wrong I love the music but after only hearing a few new songs things quickly start to get repetitive. The new songs are a welcome addition though and do a fantastic job keeping me entertained. Second, the building mode is a little difficult to get used to. Now this one could just be me but I really didn't like the building mode too much. It’s fun to build your own community and have a place you can call your own in the wasteland but making sure everything fits perfectly is a bit of a challenge. Often I found myself accidentally picking up walls and moving them or making duplicates of an item I didn’t intend to.  ©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC Next up are the graphics. The game looks amazing especially on a monitor running it at 1080p. There are instances though where textures won’t load properly and things don’t always look as sharp as they should. Frame rate also takes a dive when multiple enemies spawn in a room or in an enclosed space. Also, when an explosion happens there are moments where the screen goes choppy. Overall there weren’t many issues I had running it on my PlayStation 4, but these are worth mentioning.  ©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC Missions randomly start depending on what you do. One moment you’re walking past someone and, after overhearing a conversation they are having, a quest starts. Others require finding a note or a hidden holo-log in order for it to begin. Characters can sometimes go up to you and ask for help and that’s a really great way to progress the stories within the game. In one instance I found a random note on the ground and suddenly found myself looking for weapons. While doing that I encountered an old man who wanted me to turn on some turrets for him while fighting off mirelurks which rewarded me with a very powerful sniper rifle. Leveling up feels natural and there are tons of ways to earn xp as well as bonus xp. Your companions give you perks to help you along your way and make your gameplay easier. Once your relationships with certain companions reach their highest point, you have an opportunity to romance them and get addition bonus xp with the perk “lover’s embrace”. There are plenty of perks to cater to different play styles. If you want to be a brawler and beat up the creatures of the wasteland try maxing out the Iron Fist perk. Combine it with the Blacksmith perk to add more upgrades to your melee weapons. If you want to be stealthy try maxing out Sneak and combining it with Ninja to add more accuracy and damage to your sneak attacks.  ©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC One of the things I enjoyed a lot was being able to see the world before the bombs fell. Walking around a perfect house and seeing everything shiny and new made me appreciate the art style of the game. All of a sudden you hear the announcement that bombs are beginning to fall and you get to walk out of your home and see the bright colors. Running to the shelter you see the beautiful colors of fall and how clean the water is and in that slow decent into the vault you know the world will never be the same again. The contrast between the living world and the cold dead wasteland is an amazing thing to experience and starts the game off very well. The story is a little slow at first and really tries its best to drag you along, but once you emerge from the vault things get interesting. You are immediately thrown into a fire fight all leading up to an epic battle with a vicious Deathclaw. If anything, this battle is a painful reminder as to why the Deathclaw is one of the deadliest enemies in the game. Eventually a few deaths later I found myself wanting more and so began my adventure in the wasteland.  ©BETHESDA SOFTWORKS LLC After about 100 or so hours into the game it is safe to say that I still have not even scratched the surface of all this game has to offer and it’s still proving to be a very enjoyable experience. I can’t wait to keep playing and exploring every single area that I’m able to go. There are a lot of ways I can play this game and I have no shame in pouring so many more hours into this game. In the end I would say that this game is an amazing one and is just shy of being perfect. Bethesda took the greatest parts of their previous entries and expanded on them and I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for an amazing single player experience.
Note: This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version of Fallout 4. I have also played it on Xbox One and could not find any differences between the console versions. Feel free to play it on any platform you choose and have fun! -Nestor Graphics: Great Sound: Great Gameplay: Amazing Value: Great Overall: Amazing  ©Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. ©Ubisoft Montpellier There is just something about the Rabbids in this game that makes it an instant classic. They are cute, adorable, insane, and absolutely nonsensical. This combination leads to all sorts of fun mini-games that make very good use of the Wii Remote. The game itself has about 70 mini-games, though this is fairly misleading. Many of the games are repeated at least once in a more difficult version, therefore leaving the true mini-game count at about 50 or so. Still, that is a fairly good amount, and there is nothing wrong with that. Due to the insanity of the Rabbids, most every mini-game is unique, funny and genuinely enjoyable. You have games such as forcing a Rabbid to remain in a toilet, plucking worms out of a Rabbid's teeth or delivering an explosive present to a hapless Rabbid as soon as possible. These normally quirky games, along with the very fun DDR-style rhythm games and the rail-shooter (similar to games like Time Crisis and House of the Dead) games, make this set of minigames very solid.  ©Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. ©Ubisoft Montpellier The main problem that arises from these minigames is what defines a party game: multiplayer. The majority of minigames must be played in turns. The rail-shooters must be played with 1 or 2 people only; there are only a handful of games that can be played simultaneously. This is a major flaw, because being able to play at the same time as others in zany games is what makes a party game most fun (like Mario Party for example). On the bright side, the games are over-the-top funny, meaning the waiting players will be having a good laugh watching. Another seemingly minor point is that you don't need 4 remotes and Nunchuk to play this game. You can get away with having just one pair, since most of the games will merely be played by turns. The games control absolutely fine, and in fact, use the Wii Remote in more ways than I could have every thought of (at the time). You will find wonderful variety here in controls, and all of them are very intuitive and generally very responsive, which is impressive out of a console launch game.  ©Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. ©Ubisoft Montpellier The story is utterly lame, but gets the job done and also at least makes the single-player make some sense. Basically Rayman gets kidnapped by Rabbids while he is on a picnic and then is thrown into a colosseum. Rayman then needs to complete events to gain the favor of the Rabbids while finding a way to escape. Simple as that. The events are of course your minigames. The game can range from looking great, to looking kind of bland. Overall the graphics don't ever exceed the looks of an Xbox game, sometimes looking like a decent GCN game. That isn't very good coming out of the Wii, a more powerful console. When a game has bad graphics like that, it can usually make up for it in artistic direction. Well this game does and doesn't do that at the same time. At times the game will look absolutely wonderful, with varied Rabbid designs and fun environments. More often than not, you will find the game to have wonderful artistic ideas, but to be implemented in extremely bland ways. At least the animations are fairly fluid, though rarely you will notice a stutter in framerate (usually during cut scenes, not gameplay). Sometimes I wonder whether this game was rushed near the end, which is why some of these issues exist that could have been polished otherwise.  ©Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. ©Ubisoft Montpellier As for the sound, well this is a mixed bag as well. The sound effects overall are fantastic, especially with any sounds involving the Rabbids. The music is generally easily forgettable, with a notable exception. The rhythm game has fun songs to play to, and that is the only exception. The rhythm game contains songs you’ll likely be familiar with, but with the silly blabbering language of the Rabbids in place of singing in English. The main question here is whether the game is fun and will last you an acceptable amount of time. Well the story-mode will likely take you anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on your skill, adaptive capabilities and speed. That's not bad, considering that's how you unlock the minigames for multiplayer. The multiplayer is very fun, and this is one of those games where you will want to pull out every once in a while with friends just for the sake of mad fun. Regarding extras, there are some Challenges you can unlock, which usually consist of playing 3 different minigames in a row. Nothing big, but more ways to score points in multiplayer (known as score mode). These points unlock all sorts of quirky bonus stuff, like random promo videos (that are funny) and artwork. These unlockables are a definite bonus to a game that doesn't need an incentive of bonus features in order to be fun.  ©Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. ©Ubisoft Montpellier Overall, this game is a solid party game that is a worthy purchase for your Wii. Be warned though, as amusing as this game is, it will likely not be worth your time unless you have at least one person to play with, unless you are the type of person who is addicted to getting high scores. Considering the extremely low price point you’ll likely find the game now, it’ll make a solid addition to almost any Wii collection.
Note: This game was released on Game Boy Advance, Wii, PlayStation 2, Windows, DS and Xbox 360. The portable versions are almost entirely different games. The other versions were released later and so I never got a chance to play them. Based on research, they look to provide similar experiences, but I recommend the Wii version the most due to the creative use of the Wii’s motion technology. Graphics: GREAT Sound: GOOD Gameplay: GREAT Value: AMAZING OVERALL: GREAT - Teepu 
©Telltale Games, Inc ©Skybound Entertainment
What happens when you take some of the best storytellers in the world of video games and combine them with one of the most beloved survival dramas of modern time? Tears. Tears are what you get. Those of you who are already familiar with The Walking Dead franchise are probably already aware of stories and characters which involve a lot of difficult decisions and heart-wrenching moments. Season One of this Telltale adventure brings that thematic pacing and feeling into the adventure game genre in this original tale which serves as a prequel to the television series (in the sense of story placement, not character introduction). Telltale’s distinctive formula is front and center in this game. The gameplay essentially revolves around having conversations, choosing dialogue options, doing some exploration, solving simple puzzles and reacting to button sequences involving tense action scenes. It’s more of a glorified interactive movie, which is how the genre normally operates. The most enticing thing is being able to choose options that determine how your journey plays out. The ending and beginning are pretty much set in stone and the main journey itself is set in stone, but you can make many choices that will determine how the details play out. This includes making decisions on which characters live or die, how your character builds relationships and even how certain plot points will play out. 
©Telltale Games, Inc ©Skybound Entertainment
Most of the time you’ll be controlling a cursor as well as the movement of Lee. You use the cursor to select objects or people for interaction. With the controls being so simple, you would think there would be nothing to complain about here, but there is. It may not seem like much, but the game does not give the option to invert the X or Y axis. It’s a very simple tool to include, and equally simple to patch in, but they never included the option. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue because the cursor you control acts like a mouse cursor. There are times when you are controlling a gun though, which has a variety of control styles for different types of people. These are usually timed sequences so getting to grips with a type of control scheme which your brain isn’t trained for usually ends in disaster for you. I’m an inverted Y-axis player so this was especially distressing to me during these sequences. Besides that, the game controls well and simply. One of the most outstanding parts of this game is its audio. The sound effects can sometimes get repetitive, but the music is spot-on and the voice acting is mostly immaculate. The game doesn’t break any records in the graphics department, but the accentuated cel-shaded style helps to make everything look good without being extremely complex or intense. 
©Telltale Games, Inc ©Skybound Entertainment
These aesthetic points help to complement the most important and best part of the game: the story. As you play through the five chapters as Lee, forming bonds with various characters and doing your best to keep alive, there is one constant that brings the whole story together emotionally: Clementine. Clementine is a child you meet about halfway through the first chapter. She is the driving force behind how you decide to make most your decisions, since she quickly turns into your responsibility. Her development and what eventually happen in the story are the most heart-wrenching parts of the game. While you play the game as Lee, Clementine is the real star of the story. While each character in the game represents a relatively rigid archetype, the way they all interact and act is what makes the storytelling so grand. It helps to present how different people would live in a world that revolves around death and misery. You see points of horror, death and destruction. At the same time, you’ll see points of hope, love and compassion. It’s this intertwined web of thematic development that makes the scenarios in The Walking Dead so compelling, and ultimately far more interesting than the average zombie romp. Choosing to focus on character development and humanity rather than zombies and action is what makes this story stand out. You get a whole new perspective on the human psyche as you play. While the story isn’t entirely gut-wrenching in the way of other games, it has a certain grounded feeling that will keep you hooked all the way to the very sad end. Each chapter also does a good job of feeling independent yet connected to the whole. They each tell their own entire story but help to continue the overarching story as well. It’s a wonderful approach that helps give a sense of unique variety to each story arc within the game. It’s a little disappointing that the bonus chapter 400 Days is so short. This bonus chapter tells the story in the same kind of way, but condenses it all into one chapter, so it all feels rushed and you’re not given enough time to emotionally invest in what’s happening. This is a minor gripe though, since it’s not exactly a part of the main story and serves more as a sort of transition into Season Two. That being said, once you play the game once, there is hardly any replayability, since the mystery and suspense are diminished. To top it off, the achievements are mostly acquired simply by playing the game, so there isn’t even incentive to replay the game for that reason. 
©Telltale Games, Inc ©Skybound Entertainment
This game won’t pull at your heart-strings in the same way that games such as Life Is Strange or Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons; or give you thoughtful puzzles in the same way as Myst; or offer a grand story in the same way as The Longest Journey. What it does do is offer a well-made human story that makes you evaluate life around you. If you’re aching for a low-skill but high reward game that provides a compelling and interesting story about relationships and survival, then you can’t get much better than The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season.
NOTE: This review was made for the Xbox One re-release. There were no additional details or improvements I noticed while playing through it. I also have played this on the PC and have played the first episode on the Xbox 360. All versions seemed identical to me, so choose your platform of choice and run with it. Graphics: GREAT Sound: AMAZING Gameplay: GREAT Value: GOOD OVERALL: GREAT - Teepu (Bowser05) 
©Microsoft Studios ©343 Industries ©Saber Interactive ©Certain Affinity
In a world where HD remasters were becoming a dime a dozen, where they revolved around simply upscaling old games for new consoles, new company 343 Industries decided to try their hand at the concept. As their first entry as a company, replacing Bungie as the new Halo developer, they created this enhanced remake of the original Halo. In order to make this game stand out as something special rather than ‘just another remaster’, 343 decided to completely redo the graphics for the game. The whole entire game is rebuilt in a new engine in order to take advantage of the improved hardware of the Xbox 360. The effort shows, with a beautiful new look at the (then) 10 year old game. The environments look better, the effects have more pizzazz, the models are more detailed and the textures are more intricate. Something to keep in mind is that this graphical overhaul works essentially like an overlay. What this means is that ultimately, the game hasn’t changed a bit. The game controls the same, the levels are the same, the enemy AI is the same, and the game is functionally identical to the original Xbox version. This ends up being good and bad. 
©Microsoft Studios ©343 Industries ©Saber Interactive ©Certain Affinity
First, let’s address the bad. The controls are the most glaring problem. The fact is, the original Xbox controller was not as sensitive and articulate as the 360’s controller. For example, the original Xbox’s analog stick has a certain range of movement and thus a certain limited range of X and Y inputs. The original game was designed with that range in mind, and specifically tweaked to reflect on this. This remake doesn’t take into account the increased range of inputs and thus you get a somewhat clunky control scheme that is difficult to get used to. This is especially difficult to get used to considering the extremely refined and precise controls of Halo: Reach (the previously released Halo game). On the other hand, with the lack of updates to any of the other functionality, the game is still playable. The AI reacts the same as it did in 2001, enemy placement is the same and Z-axis movement is the same as far as level design goes. The good, as mentioned above, is that the game is preserved. The core game is the same, and hasn’t been tampered with at all. Besides some repetitive level design and sometimes bland environmental structure, the game holds up really well. It flows nicely, has a low-key story that screams of greater things to come but keeps things extremely grounded and most importantly: it is fun. The core themes of survival, mystery and wonder still feel right by today’s standards, and that’s testament to the craftsmanship of this almost 15 year old game. As another point of positivity, they remastered the audio and music in the game. The coolest part of all this is that you can press the Back button in order to switch back and forth between the classic game and the updated game. It takes a moment to load between the versions but it’s really cool to try it out throughout the game to see how much it’s been improved. 
©Microsoft Studios ©343 Industries ©Saber Interactive ©Certain Affinity
Another great addition is the ability to play the co-op on Xbox Live, a feature not available in the original. All the couch co-op and multiplayer is intact, but the ability to play co-op online is a blessing in this day of online connectivity. Unfortunately, this same blessing doesn’t transfer over to the multiplayer. 6 maps are beautifully remade using the Halo: Reach multiplayer engine and are playable here (4 maps from the original Halo, 1 map from the PC version of Halo and 1 map from Halo 2). While this is really fun and neat, you’re forced to play it in the Reach engine. This isn’t inherently bad, but it’s disappointing that we can’t play the multiplayer in its original state in a game that is designed to be a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved. Besides those 6 maps, none of the other Halo maps are available in the game. On the bright side, a single new Firefight map (a wave defense mode) was designed for this remaster specifically using Halo 1’s concepts and themes. The new remastered maps and the Firefight map are ultimately fun, but they should have included the original multiplayer. 
©Microsoft Studios ©343 Industries ©Saber Interactive ©Certain Affinity
As a result of all these tweaks and updates, implemented with respect to the original vision, the game is ultimately a beautiful trip down memory lane. Even with the disappointing implementation of the multiplayer, the campaign holds up very well. The ability to unlock Terminals in the campaign which help elaborate the story and the addition of some fun and creative achievements help top off the package. As far as remasters go, this is definitely one of the better ones to be released that I can think of. If you are a Halo fan, or simply want to experience some of gaming history, this is definitely worth picking up.
Graphics: PERFECT Sound: AMAZING Gameplay: GREAT Value: GOOD OVERALL: GREAT - Teepu (Bowser05) |
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