Halo: Combat Evolved was the game that sold the Xbox. Ten years have gone by and Halo has made its mark on console gaming by becoming an absolute juggernaut in the market and a series worth billions of dollars. So it should come as no surprise that the game that started it all has already been remade in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. We dive into the remastered game, its co-op and multiplayer, and come out with only a few plasma burns to show.

It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today, Microsoft launched the Xbox console.  At the time I was a college student and I remember thinking - there's no way Microsoft can compete with Sony or Nintendo.  Yet, there I was on launch day with my college roomate picking up the big black and green box with a copy of Halo.  That weekend we spent the entire time playing through the game in co-op.

A new trailer for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary debuted this morning. The video is heavy on story scenes and light on actual gameplay. Actually, it doesn’t show any gameplay at all. Then again, the story sequences in Halo games are always rendered in-engine, so we can still get a good feel for how pretty the remake is.

Yelling "ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCK" at your Kinect sadly won't unlock achievements for you in Halo Combat Evolved: Anniversary, but it will allow you to chuck a grenade.  Well, you have to say "grenade" for you to throw a grenade.  Other voice commands include the ability to reload or switch between the HD and Classic graphic options.  Sadly it seems my dreams of turning you into an in-game Cortana are not realized with the power of Kinect.

Are you put to sleep by the gentle sound of shell casings hitting the concrete floor?  Is the boom of a shotgun your alarm clock wake up call in the morning?  Do you just like the sound of guns?  We've got good news for you today at 343 have revealed brand new remastered sound effects for many of Halo: Anniversary's guns.  

This new video from 343 Industries doesn't have much hard information.  It's so much fluff.  It does have the Halo music going for it, which means fanboys will get a chill.  The Terminals will provide a little backstory for players in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, as well as offer hints of what to expect in Halo 4 .  You can see some intense animated cut scenes, as well as a flaming Spartan.  Out of all the jokes that just entered my mind, not one of them is fit to print here.

343 Industries have released a brand new trailer for the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which hits the Xbox 360 this November for the game's 10 year anniversary.  The game is a graphical upgrade to the original and 343 is emphasizing that the original gameplay remains in tact.  The video walks us through some of the sights and sounds of The Silent Cartographer level in the game.

    Halo Waypoint has introduced a pair of bonuses for those gamers inclined to pre-order Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.  If you put your money down early, you will recieve and set of Master Cheif's MJOLNIR Armor for your Xbox LIVE avatar and a special skull for in-game use.  The "Grunt Funeral&q...

343 Industries - the official executor of the Halo franchise - is hard at work on two games of interest. First is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, complete with Firefight and campaign co-op and set for a November 15th, 2011 release. Following a year later will be Halo 4, a true sequel with no public gameplay or plot information known.

One thing every Halo game has had besides kick ass co-op play, is an equally satisfying soundtrack.  The Halo theme might be famous, but the entire score for every title stands out on its own as a great pieces of music.  The scores created by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori are truly some of my favorite all time game music.  

Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Games Studios, recently confirmed Kinect support for the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary edition.  (Which begs the question: Did anyone, anywhere, ever, call the original Halo, "Halo: Combat Evolved?")  Cue all of the rousing support and "Hurrahs" which hardcore gamers are known for!  The Halo Waypoint forums erupted in jovial adulation.  Everyone loves the Kinect, right?

Here's a bit of awesome information that Microsoft just confirmed to us - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will include the popular four player co-op Firefight mode found in Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach.  As the anniversary edition is rumored to be built on the Reach engine, we imagine that Firefight will be fairly similar to it with all of the customization options.

After numerous rumors (and even some denials) it finally came to see the light of day, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the Halo HD remake and its coming November 15th with two player online co-op, remastered multiplayer maps, and lots of good tweaks.

Microsoft's E3 briefing has just been completed, and there was, as expected, lots of co-op news included.  Perhaps the biggest story is the fact that not one, but TWO Halo games were announced.