Halo: Combat Evolved pretty much revolutionised the console first-person shooter when it released for Xbox - as in, the original Xbox, that big ugly thing with the big ugly pads - back in 2001. You know a game's a big deal when games of the same genre that come after it are referred to as "clones", or if they're any good, hyped up to be "killers" of said precursor. And Halo, oh boy, did it ever precede a raft of clones and killers.
Halo did release for PC and Mac in 2003 - but now an all-bells-and-whistles version of the iconic shooter has slipped onto Steam in something of a stealth drop from developers, 343 Industries. By bells-and-whistles version, we mean this is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the 2011 remake that's also a part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection, um, collection, which is releasing in stages for PC (and in chronological order) after arriving on Xbox in 2014.
The debut of Master Chief, aka Spartan-117, is one of those all-timers that still stands up wonderfully today, especially with the added spit and polish of the Anniversary remake. Its campaign is a blast, and the Steam listing also reveals some of the added bonuses of playing this version, on PC:
"Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now available with MCC for PC. Become legendary Spartan-117, the Master Chief, and join Cortana in a spectacularly remastered edition of the original Halo campaign. Experience the beginning of an epic saga that looks and plays better than ever with customizable mouse and keyboard support, 60+ FPS, and other PC-specific settings."
Combat Evolved is the second MCC title to come to PC, after the December release of Halo: Reach. Unlike the old PC release of Halo, which enjoys a modding community to this day, this new version won't immediately have a server browser, according to PC Gamer. But it's not closed to mods, either.
Michael Fahrny, senior producer at 343, said that "we're very much still dipping our toes in the water" when it comes to modding the new PC version of Combat Evolved. He added: "I have some long-term goals to empower the modding community more than they already are, but I'm not quite ready to go into details yet, on that."
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If you have Xbox Game Pass for PC, you can play Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary right now, for no extra cost. On Steam, it'll cost you £6.99/$9.99 on its own, or you can buy the MCC for £29.99/$39.99, and await the next Halo game - which will be 2, obviously. Right? Right.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft / 343 IndustriesTopics: Halo, 343 Industries, Steam, PC