Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Early in a gaming console's life, there is a long list of remakes of old favourites released, usually to fill the time in between proper, next generation titles.

 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
For: Xbox One
From: 343 Industries
Four and a half stars (out of five)

 

A lot of these promise loads - updated graphics, sound, multiplayer etc - but, more often than not, are a massive disappointment. Sometimes, the classics of old do not age well - there is only so much gilding some lilies can take.

So it was with more than a bit of trepidation I started Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 Industries' pre-Halo 5 best-of compilation. I say start, but it took a while. My pre-release copy is, in effect, the same as the digital download version - all 55+GB of it! So if you want a quick start you may want to get the physical disc, but even with that there is still a huge update to download before you can actually play.

Halo 2 was one of the all-time greats and the first great online mutiplayer game for Xbox, so is messing with it a good idea? I was concerned it would not match today's Battlefield or Call of Duty standards.

But I was wrong to be worried. Once everything is downloaded and ready, you will have in your hands one of the greatest video games collections made.

The original Xbox Halo and Halo 2 along with the Xbox 360's 3 and 4 are all here - completely remastered (to use a music term). There are new graphics and sound - especially in the first two games - but the further you go in you see that gaps in the story (and if you have played Halo 2 and 3 you will know there were loads) have been filled in with new cut scenes to complete the story. You can access any point in the game from the start, so no need to start everything from the beginning if you do not want to.

All of this is wrapped up in a brand-new front end which brilliantly combines not only each game, but also the single and multiplayer within each one.

You can even make your own custom Halo game by making a playlist of any of the games' levels.

There are more extras and features than you can shake a stick at: I have been playing it for a fortnight and I am still finding new things.

If you are a Halo fan you have probably got this, but even if you have not played as Master Chief you owe it to yourself to give this a go.

In terms of gameplay there is, literally, nothing new, but what you do get is pretty close to gaming perfection.