[Scarlett.]

Joystiq has learned that the previously rumored remake of Halo: Combat Evolved will indeed launch this holiday season for Xbox 360 with a full visual overhaul. Sources explain that the re-release is not Bungie's 2001 Xbox game simply running at a higher resolution -- it's being remade with new art assets. While Halo's audio will likely remain unaltered, the controls will allow for more recent Halo configurations.

The Halo: Combat Evolved remake is allegedly being developed by New Jersey-based Saber Interactive, the company behind TimeShift and Namco's upcoming Inversion, but we've been unable to confirm the nature of the engine powering it. We understand that it's something other than the Reach engine.

The Halo: Combat Evolved update, one of two Halo games currently in development under the watchful eye of 343 Industries, is expected to support 1080p resolution and 3D televisions. Details on multiplayer are supposedly still being worked out, but we understand the remake will likely feature online co-op (the original game supported two-player split-screen co-op).

The game is expected to re-evolve on November 15, 2011, ten years after Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the Xbox. Our sources didn't know of any plans to similarly upgrade the recently disconnected Halo 2, but it's hard to imagine Microsoft playing favorites with its biggest franchise.

[Stu]

The game will have aged horribly and this remake will expose that. The second half of the game is complete garbage. The first half in reverse and upside down, pretty much.

That said I'll still buy and enjoy it like the complete fanboy I am for most things, being the unrepentantly positive old bastard that I am.

[Tom4784]

I hate Halo, I find it very boring and I never really got how it became so successful although it's never brought anything interesting to the table.

[Stu]

It popularized vehicle combat, outdoor environments, melee attacks, recharging health and the two weapon system in first person shooters. It was easily as influential as GoldenEye and made the Xbox.

They are fun, fluid, well made and slick games that are well designed, hit the right length and difficulty curves and bring the multiplayer and customization options on very, very nicely.

[Tom4784]

I played Halo 1 and thought it was decent at the time and then I played Halo 3 years later and thought it horrific. It just felt so....old. I don't get the appeal of it at all really.