Let's face it, if you've ever played on an Xbox console, you've most likely played a "Halo" game. The first installment in the series, "Halo: Combat Evolved" was arguably one of the original Xbox's most important titles, and it's often considered one of the most revolutionary first-person shooter games of all time. Now, I personally didn't get to really play a "Halo" game until I got my Xbox One, which came with "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" right out of the box, but I'm pretty glad I finally got to play this game after so much time because it's pretty great!
It's honestly a wonder that "Halo: Combat Evolved" still generally plays pretty well after so many years: the shooting controls are still fluid, the campaign as a whole is very thrilling and exciting, and the enemy AI remains very smart. Hell, I played the game on the "Easy" difficulty (because I enjoy taking it easy on myself every once in a while), and it still provided plenty of challenge. That's a sign the game is doing something right. On top of that, the game's very grand, epic story and memorable characters like Master Chief and Cortana serve as proof that a first-person shooter can really have a rich, beautiful story, which is something I can appreciate. And from a visual/sonic perspective, this "Anniversary Edition" gives the game a pretty gorgeous HD facelift, the music remains very beautiful, and getting to toggle the graphics between the remastered and original design is pretty great as well.
All of this said, however, I don't think I can say with a straight face in 2020 that this game would stand as one of the greatest games I've ever played. There are several elements of it that haven't aged very well and are therefore frustrating. For starters, the level design starts to get a bit bland after a while, and in fact, there were several points where I felt like I was playing the same level again and again. On top of that, many of the levels are very big without giving extremely clear instructions as to where to go, so it's a bit too easy to get lost amidst these vast landscapes. Furthermore, the game's vehicles don't really control so well, which makes the final mission in the game (where you control the Warthog, a ground vehicle that is very bulky and easy to flip) feel damn near impossible to complete. All of these seemingly minor annoyances only add up to hold the game back from really being one of my personal favorites.
Flaws and all, however, "Halo: Combat Evolved" still remains a pretty great FPS game. Even playing it now on the Xbox One, 19 years after its initial release, it's plain to see that it still has plenty of great things to offer. Even with the warts that come from its age, it's still a game you should certainly play.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"