Revisiting Halo 2 on original Xbox was a much better experience than revisiting Halo 1 in the form of the Anniversary version. There's a reason this was the premier game for the console at the end of it's short but strong life. It's the perfect blend of single player and multiplayer content with online options.

Outside of a few blind spots in my memory at the 60-80% mark of the campaign, playing through this was like revisiting an old friend. It's also made me very excited to get to Halo 3. Kind of crazy to think that this game was one year away from the launch of the Xbox 360, but it also speaks volumes in how much Microsoft knew Halo was important at the time that this game was functional with Xbox 360 backwards compatibility on day 1. Not every game was able to say that but Halo 2, was it.

Halo Anniversary is a serviceable way to play the original campaign of Halo Combat Evolved that overall left me wishing I was just playing the original version. Not bad and probably the only thing available to those getting in on the Master Chief Collection but still decent.

When this remaster of the game released in 2011 on the 360 it was the sunset years of the console. Halo was a juggernaut series still but Bungie had left the Xbox nest and a lot had changed over the, then, 7 year old 7th generation of consoles. As such, this was now 343s first effort with the Halo series. They got a separate dev to assist with the campaign and added on a multiplayer experience that was much more like Halo Reach than just a straight 1 to 1 of the original Halos maps and modes. Overall the results feel like a mixed bag to me. I can't even comment on the multiplayer because I only played the campaign. The original Halo and it's lore are always fun to revisit. The story is fast paced and the missions are all memorable. The ability to swap between graphical styles is fascinating and quite unique, especially for a console game. The sounds and sights of Halo are all there no matter how you want to look at it.

That being said, I don't quite feel like the "remastered" visuals are for me. They feel a bit too "loud" at certain points and it doesn't quite evoke the same tones the original game did. Switching back to the original graphics style is nice but even then, some things feel like they aren't as nice looking as the original Xbox version. I know this version is based off the Gearbox PC port but it still feels off to me in little uncanny ways. This would have been ok if not for the fact that these small weird feelings of "being off" in a certain way carry over to gameplay and perhaps even difficulty in the game.

I don't ever recall the normal mode of Halo being such a rough time, but, I died a lot more than I would have expected. I even popped the original Halo back in after my playthrough to make sure I wasn't going crazy and it felt exactly how I remember.

Overall, Halo Anniversary is a fine way to experience the game but it's not a perfect 1 to 1 copy of the original. If you choose this as your way to try this game and have a lot of experience with the original Xbox version be prepared for a few bumps in the road.

After 18 years Metroid Prime makes a (mostly) solid return. I'd describe this as the most 80/20 game ever. I like being back in the trigger of a Prime game, I like the world and its different environments, when its good the music feels right up there with some of the best from the old prime games, I like the concepts/groundwork that seems to have been laid for future Prime games. What lost me a bit was how underutilized the desert hub world was, the bike is fun to ride, finding the few puzzle caves that did exist was always exciting, same for the GalFed wreckage, I just wish there was more of it, feels like they could have let that cook more. I don't hate it, having the bike doesn't make navigating it feel tedious, just a wish it was a bit more packed with things to do. Also not a fan of the primary antagonist at all, worst in the prime subseries by a long shot. Otherwise the game is solid and I look forward to hopefully Prime 5 in less than 18 years