EDIT: Alrighty, it's been a another year, Steam is telling me I've played an "additional 400 hours", and they finally got around to fixing the issues. As much as I had a horrible time with support, ultimately it's how the game you're thinking about plays when you buy it (now, today) than the trouble the community's had with 343 in the past. I've turned the original review into comments below.

Halo, all the good'ns at least, has finally been brought to PC. It plays amazing. It looks amazing. And even now there's an active online multiplayer seen. Is it thriving? Not really YES ; even if it's a rarer game type specifically you wanna play like 8 v 8 or Competitive, so long as it's the near the weekend/afternoon for your local time. No server list, no dedicated , 343 have done an amazing job making this [set of] game[s] not only worth it for those interested, but for everyone, we now not only have custom games but a custom game browser outside of matchmaking, social or competitive. But wait, there's more: FREE OFFICIAL MOD TOOLS IN STEAM. The only thing we're missing is for these mods to be given support in Workshop. You can choose from any of the games to play from in multiplayer, this includes BOTH old and new halo2!

It's excellent bang for buck, especially if you've never played them before, but that's standard for a [set of games] that has been released [and even rereleased] a number of years ago (rockstar and bethesda could learn something from this..) EDIT: <-- wow that has aged really well :| . I'd get it here on steam if you were comparing with the windows store version; you can easily mod here, it's easier to sort out issues, the platform has better community, support, and install/update features. This will crossplay with Windows Store/GamePass PC AND XBOX one players, controller AND keyboard.

For veterans it plays how you expect (amazing in a remaster, no changes to gameplay at all, all original engines/physics), but have amazing PC controls and controller support, not to mention a plethora of modern advanced graphics settings. For Halo 1 ("CE", Combat Evolved) I sincerely recommend playing in original graphics (that's right, you can live switch between old and remastered graphics) as Anniversary CE really bungles the tone of the game and the art direction almost completely, and what's more is 343 have finally fixed and improved the original's graphics for new hardware, so I'm sincerely not speaking from behind nostalgia-spectacles. For Halo 2 (the only other game to receive a remaster) the new graphics are breathtaking in both their beauty AND faithfulness. DO go for the remastered graphics for Halo 2, and switch only if you want to remember what it looked like (Halo 2 was a rushed mess back in the day, really).

I've almost forgot to mention, because I thought it went without saying, but this has a SERIES of EPIC singleplayer campaigns that you would honestly get your money's worth alone. I shouldn't need to emphasise the impact these groundbreaking FPS campaigns had on the industry, and are still a joy today. But with the equally famous multiplayer action, the addition of ODST AND Reach's firefight/s (online wave-mode PvE), online dailies/weeklies and seasonal experience unlocks (these cosmetic unlocks, including past seasons' ones, remain available to grab even after they're over and can be used in campaign too depending on the game)... there really is something here for everyone if you're into the FPS genre.

Given Infinite just released, and its multiplayer is free, this is a harder sell now, but if you're ever wanting to play campaign, or this goes on sale, it's the better deal. Infinite is definitely a modern shooter, where players all have glowing outlines, huds are big, & voiceovers are everywhere. If that's for you, go for it. I don't think the community will disappear, especially with mods and custom browsers now :) In MCC you'll find the option to play old school almost- (I mean, you can go play Quake or DOOM for real reflex) reflex-shooters with Halo CE/2, all the way through to xbox360 CoD4/blops2-era with halo 3 & 4. Halo 2 Anniversary is a real treat, both old and new players.

Get. Enjoy. It's good.

EDIT: Alrighty, it's been [strike] a [/strike] [i] another [/i] year, Steam is telling me I've played an "additional 400 hours", and they finally got around to fixing the issues. As much as I had a horrible time with support, ultimately it's how the game you're thinking about plays when you buy it (now, today) than the trouble the community's had with 343 in the past. I've turned the original review into comments below. Halo, all the good'ns at least, has finally been brought to PC. It plays amazing. It looks amazing. And even now there's an active online multiplayer seen. Is it thriving? [strike] Not really [/strike] [b] YES [/b]; even if it's a rarer game type specifically you wanna play like 8 v 8 or Competitive, so long as it's the near the weekend/afternoon for your local time. [strike] No server list, no dedicated [/strike], 343 have done an amazing job making this [set of] game[s] not only worth it for those interested, but for [i] everyone[/i], we now not only have custom games but a custom game [i] browser [/i] outside of matchmaking, social or competitive. But wait, there's more: FREE OFFICIAL MOD TOOLS IN STEAM. The only thing we're missing is for these mods to be given support in Workshop. You can choose from any of the games to play from in multiplayer, this includes BOTH old and new halo2! It's excellent bang for buck, especially if you've never played them before, but that's standard for a [set of games] that has been released [and even rereleased] a number of years ago (rockstar and bethesda could learn something from this..) [b] EDIT: <-- wow that has aged really well :| [/b]. I'd get it here on steam if you were comparing with the windows store version; you can easily mod here, it's easier to sort out issues, the platform has better community, support, and install/update features. This will crossplay with Windows Store/GamePass PC AND XBOX one players, controller AND keyboard. For veterans it plays how you expect (amazing in a remaster, [i] no changes [/i] to gameplay at all, all original engines/physics), but have amazing PC controls and controller support, not to mention a plethora of [b] modern [/b] advanced graphics settings. For Halo 1 ("CE", Combat Evolved) I sincerely recommend playing in original graphics (that's right, you can [i] live switch [/i] between old and remastered graphics) as Anniversary CE really bungles the tone of the game and the art direction almost completely, and what's more is 343 have finally fixed and improved the [i] original[/i]'s graphics for new hardware, so I'm sincerely not speaking from behind nostalgia-spectacles. For Halo 2 (the only other game to receive a remaster) the new graphics are breathtaking in both their beauty AND faithfulness. DO go for the remastered graphics for Halo 2, and switch only if you want to remember what it looked like (Halo 2 was a rushed mess back in the day, really). I've almost forgot to mention, because I thought it went without saying, but this has a SERIES of EPIC singleplayer campaigns that you would honestly get your money's worth alone. I shouldn't need to emphasise the impact these groundbreaking FPS campaigns had on the industry, and are still a joy today. But with the equally famous multiplayer action, the addition of ODST AND Reach's firefight/s (online wave-mode PvE), [i] online dailies/weeklies and seasonal experience unlocks [/i] (these cosmetic unlocks, including past seasons' ones, remain available to grab even after they're over [b] and can be used in campaign too [/b] depending on the game)... there really is something here for everyone if you're into the FPS genre. Given Infinite just released, and its multiplayer is free, this is a harder sell now, but if you're ever wanting to play campaign, or this goes on sale, it's the better deal. Infinite is definitely a modern shooter, where players all have glowing outlines, huds are big, & voiceovers are everywhere. If that's for you, go for it. I don't think the community will disappear, especially with mods and custom browsers now :) In MCC you'll find the option to play old school almost- (I mean, you can go play Quake or DOOM for [i] real [/i] reflex) reflex-shooters with Halo CE/2, all the way through to xbox360 CoD4/blops2-era with halo 3 & 4. Halo 2 Anniversary is a real treat, both old and new players. Get. Enjoy. It's good.