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      Halo: Combat Evolved

      Gaming's Defining Moments - Halo: Combat Evolved

      It's time for one of Gaming's Defining Moments.

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      As the second part of our trip down memory lane that is Gaming's Defining Moments I chose a game that is closing up on its tenth anniversary - and picked a level that convinced me I needed to by a console back in the day.

      Halo: Combat Evolved

      Back in 2002 when Xbox launched in Europe I wasn't immediately convinced of the prowess of the console. Sure I had tried Halo before, and a friend had imported the console to play Dead or Alive 3. But it wasn't until I play the fourth level of Halo, that I was fully converted. The Silent Cartographer.

      With the release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary a new generation is given the chance to experience the game and get an idea of what set the wheels in motion for one of the most successful franchises in the history of video games. So I thought it prudent to take a walk down memory lane and have a look at the level that convinced me that getting an Xbox would be a good idea.

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      Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved

      To set the mood for The Silent Cartographer let's first try and remember how the game kicks off. Master Chief wakes up on board The Pillar of Autumn as Covenant troops are boarding the ship - you're mission is to escape to the mysterious ring world below. As you land on Installation 04, your objective is to regroup with marines on the ground, a first glimpse of the ringworld, but once this level is over you're heading out to a Covenant ship called Truth and Reconciliation in order to try and rescue Captain Keyes from imprisonment. As you rescue Keyes you find out more about Halo and why the Covenant are interested in it. Now it's a race to find the control room, and apparently, the Silent Cartographer is a key location with which to find the control room.

      Master Chief, Cortana and a bunch of marines head out with drop ships to an island believed to lie on top of the map room. The start of the level is simply epic. I know this is an overused word in video game reviews, but as the score is ramped up and the scale of the attack becomes evident it just blew me away. The fact that you're also given a small introduction to warthogs in this level was also memorable in its own right, but the strong storytelling, the sense of urgency and the impeccable pacing of the level is something that should have as powerful an impact on today's players as it had back then.

      Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved
      Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (new and old graphics).
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      Once you've managed to gain access to the interior of the structure on the island, you're treated to a very dense atmosphere where intense firefights with the score pumping through the loudspeakers and alien chatter, as you take out the Covenant tasked with the same mission as you - finding the Silent Cartographer. But it's the quiet moments when you were given time to marvel at the architecture and the weird designs that really helped immerse you in the experience.

      The Silent Cartographer is a very controlled experience, and even though you're not really covering a great amount of ground, it still stands out as very powerful. Mixing up warthog gameplay, with sneaky almost stealth like portions inside the structure, the intense firefight as the dropships touched down, and there is a lot of diversity as you're faced with several types of Elite, Jackals, Grunts and Hunters. The narrative is strong and to the point, and the moment when you hear how the marines are about to make one last stand to hold off the Covenant landing on the beach adds emotional depth to your mission.

      Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved
      Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (new and old graphics).

      It wasn't a coincidence that 343 Industries used The Silent Cartographer to show off Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary at E3 this past summer, and hopefully, those of you who never experienced back in the day will get a chance to do so next week.

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