 Reviewers disagreed on how the core gameplay of Combat Evolved , unaltered in Anniversary , had aged over ten years . Writing for GameSpot , editor Chris Watters opined that " the fundamental mechanics of the game have ... endured well " , with responsive controls and challenging enemies . PALGN writer Adam <unk> agreed , praising " rock solid " controls and tight gameplay , while Mike Wilcox of The Sydney Morning Herald argued the anniversary edition " [ proves ] a game with a winning formula doesn 't wither with age " . IGN 's Steven Hopper felt that the level design was dated , the repetitious environments making it easy for players to lose their bearings , and that vehicles handled poorly . Giant Bomb 's Brad Shoemaker wrote that while the best aspects of the game remained , other aspects — such as the level design and fighting the Flood — were no less frustrating after ten years ; Digital Spy 's Matthew Reynolds echoed the sentiment , praising the game for presenting situations unsurpassed in later titles while faulting irregular checkpoints with increasing frustration . 
