When I sat down to check out Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary with Kevin Grace, Franchise Manager at 343 Industries, most of what he had to show was stuff we already covered back at E3. Things like the nifty on-the-fly switching between classic Halo visuals and the enhanced modern graphics, the completely remastered soundtrack, and the enhanced terminal that adds a graphical flare to the backstory. Then he reached down and lifted up a tiny Master Chief helmet sitting in the middle of a coffee table. The helmet was hiding a few pairs of glasses.

Yes, the remake of Halo will be in 3D.

"This is just one more thing we wanted to add, one more thing that we couldn't have done in the original Xbox version," Grace told Ars, gushing about the new mode. "Being a science fiction shooter with all of the plasma blasts coming your way, you can see them in ways you wouldn't see bullets coming at you."

And he's right. Something about the sci-fi setting makes the 3D really pop, much more so than what you're used to seeing in games like Call of Duty. This is especially evident when you use the needler weapon, which shoots out giant spikes that look rather imposing in 3D. As you'd imagine, the 3D mode will only work with the new, updated visuals. But Grace said that if you do switch back to the classic graphics while playing in 3D, the effect won't be jarring. I wasn't able to see the switch in action.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is coming to the Xbox 360 on November 15.