Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Encyclopedia
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, also referred to as Halo: Anniversary, or Halo: CEA, is a first-person shooter
video game set in the Halo
universe and is an enhanced remake of Halo: Combat Evolved
. Microsoft
announced the game along with Halo 4
at their Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
press conference. The game reached gold status on October 15, 2011, and was released a month later, on November 15, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the original title's launch.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the first game in the Halo series to be developed by 343 Industries
. The game features several updates to the original title, including a complete visual overhaul, support for cooperative and multiplayer gameplay on the Xbox Live
online service, remakes of several multiplayer maps from previous Halo games, and extras that do not affect gameplay such as achievements, terminals, and other hidden easter eggs
. The original game engine
was replaced by the Saber3d engine in campaign mode and the Halo: Reach engine in multiplayer. The game is the first in the series to include Kinect support.
. The player has the ability to switch from the updated graphics engine to the original, and vice versa, by pressing the back button on the Xbox 360
controller. The Anniversary edition also has subtitles available for in-game and combat dialogue. A new feature to this integration is the Library. When the command analyze is given, specific characters, vehicles and objects can be scanned and an index for detailed information on them is made available. The remastered graphics are also available in 3D for 3D televisions.
s engine. The multiplayer beta was released on October 4, 2011.
Seven of the available maps have been updated and re-released using Halo: Reachs engine. Six of these maps are competitive multiplayer maps that are remakes from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2
. Each map has two variants, classic and enhanced.
The enhanced and classic versions available in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary are Beaver Creek / Battle Canyon / Battle Creek, Damnation / Penance, Timberland / Ridgeline, Prisoner / Solitary, Hang 'Em High / High Noon and Headlong / Breakneck.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversarys mulitplayer brings all the options from the more current games, like emblems, weapon loadouts, customizable armor, and selectable genders all on updated versions of original Halo maps.
s engine for multiplayer. The development began under the codename Spark. The game's ability to alternate between the legacy and remastered graphics engines in the campaign was made possible by the rendering engine developed by Saber Interactive
. The technology allowed the developers to both update Halo: Combat Evolveds visuals and preserve the original gameplay at the same time. Since the ability to switch between classic version and remastered version was provided to players, both engines were designed to work simultaneously to retain the spontaneity of game.
Because of their previous contributions to the series - the Blastacular and Defiant map packs - Certain Affinity was approached by 343 Industries to streamline the multiplayer maps to take Halo: Reachs gameplay options into account. The campaign runs on the original engine with the help of Saber3d, whereas multiplayer is powered by the Halo: Reachs engine which was worked on by Certain Affinity. Since 343 developed Halo 4 concurrently with the Anniversary edition, they decided to use Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to link the original trilogy's story with the Reclaimer trilogy's, using game mechanics similar to Halo 3: ODSTs terminals and data pads; extra backstory is also included, with Guilty Spark as the subject.
In addition to original music from Halo: CE, additional tracks are as below.
's Mark V MJOLNIR armor for their avatars. Pre-ordering the game also gives access to the Grunt Funeral skull, which causes Unggoy to explode like plasma grenades when killed. During the Halo Universe panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, a short trailer showcasing the animation used in the terminals with a narration by 04-343 Guilty Spark was shown to the fans. Microsoft launched Halo Living Monument campaign consisting of a live-action short and video and Halolivingmonument.com website to celebrate the ten years of completion of original Halo. Website was activated on November 13, 2011, for the players and fans.
Among the tie-ups for the marketing Pizza Hut
will be running a Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary promotion in the United Kingdom
from November 7 to December 19, 2011, during which anyone who orders a Halo pizza would receive two free days of Xbox Live Gold membership.
Halo: CEA was released worldwide on November 15, 2011 and was universally acclaimed by critics and gaming community. It currently holds a rating of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic, a game reviewing website.
The Guardian gave the positive comment by saying, "It's a mighty fine game – for my money, the best in the Halo franchise – that deserves to accumulate a cult following. Microsoft should be applauded for having the balls (and the money) to exhume it in such a magnificent manner."
Steven Hopper of IGN
gave a slightly mixed review although giving a good score overall and praising the game for its graphics, saying "If you can approach the experience with an open mind and are willing to take a few frustrating old-school design choices, and you're fine with a "best of" map pack versus a full redo, then this is a great way to bide the time before Halo 4."
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game set in the Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
universe and is an enhanced remake of Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
announced the game along with Halo 4
Halo 4
Halo 4 is an upcoming video game and the eighth installment in the Halo franchise. Halo 4 is intended to be the first of a new trilogy of Halo series games, named the "Reclaimer Trilogy". Whereas the previous Halo games were developed by Bungie, Halo 4 will be developed by 343 Industries...
at their Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, commonly known as E3 2011, was the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association . The event took place June 7–9, 2011 at the Los Angeles...
press conference. The game reached gold status on October 15, 2011, and was released a month later, on November 15, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the original title's launch.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the first game in the Halo series to be developed by 343 Industries
343 Industries
343 Industries, usually shortened to 343i, is an American video game developer located in Kirkland, Washington. It was established in 2007 by Microsoft Game Studios to oversee development of the Halo science fiction media franchise, which includes video games, novels, comics, and other multimedia...
. The game features several updates to the original title, including a complete visual overhaul, support for cooperative and multiplayer gameplay on the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
online service, remakes of several multiplayer maps from previous Halo games, and extras that do not affect gameplay such as achievements, terminals, and other hidden easter eggs
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
. The original game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
was replaced by the Saber3d engine in campaign mode and the Halo: Reach engine in multiplayer. The game is the first in the series to include Kinect support.
Campaign
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversarys campaign has the same story as Halo: Combat Evolved, with the addition of achievements, terminals, and online co-opCooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
. The player has the ability to switch from the updated graphics engine to the original, and vice versa, by pressing the back button on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
controller. The Anniversary edition also has subtitles available for in-game and combat dialogue. A new feature to this integration is the Library. When the command analyze is given, specific characters, vehicles and objects can be scanned and an index for detailed information on them is made available. The remastered graphics are also available in 3D for 3D televisions.
Multiplayer
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary supports cooperative campaign and competitive multiplayer modes. The campaign mode uses a remastered version of the original Halo: Combat Evolved engine. The multiplayer mode will use Halo: ReachHalo: Reach
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...
s engine. The multiplayer beta was released on October 4, 2011.
Seven of the available maps have been updated and re-released using Halo: Reachs engine. Six of these maps are competitive multiplayer maps that are remakes from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
. Each map has two variants, classic and enhanced.
The enhanced and classic versions available in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary are Beaver Creek / Battle Canyon / Battle Creek, Damnation / Penance, Timberland / Ridgeline, Prisoner / Solitary, Hang 'Em High / High Noon and Headlong / Breakneck.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversarys mulitplayer brings all the options from the more current games, like emblems, weapon loadouts, customizable armor, and selectable genders all on updated versions of original Halo maps.
Firefight
The map used in the Firefight mode is set at the cliff-side beam emitter encounter in one of the last three encounters of Halo: Combar Evolveds second level, Halo. The map is vehicle-based, and unlike previous Firefight maps it contains friendly ODSTs and Marines that help out the players against the Covenant. Despite being previously rumored, the Flood does not appear in Firefight.Development
343 Industries started developing the original Halo: Combat Evolved to achieve the gold status, which correlates to complete development. To make the original Halo: Combat Evolved look and feel like a greatly-enhanced game, 343 used the Halo: Combat Evolved and Saber3d engines for the campaign and Halo: ReachHalo: Reach
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...
s engine for multiplayer. The development began under the codename Spark. The game's ability to alternate between the legacy and remastered graphics engines in the campaign was made possible by the rendering engine developed by Saber Interactive
Saber Interactive
Saber Interactive is a video game developer headquartered in Millburn, New Jersey, with development offices in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They primarily develop action games. The studio released the game Will Rock in 2003, and released another game called TimeShift for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360...
. The technology allowed the developers to both update Halo: Combat Evolveds visuals and preserve the original gameplay at the same time. Since the ability to switch between classic version and remastered version was provided to players, both engines were designed to work simultaneously to retain the spontaneity of game.
Because of their previous contributions to the series - the Blastacular and Defiant map packs - Certain Affinity was approached by 343 Industries to streamline the multiplayer maps to take Halo: Reachs gameplay options into account. The campaign runs on the original engine with the help of Saber3d, whereas multiplayer is powered by the Halo: Reachs engine which was worked on by Certain Affinity. Since 343 developed Halo 4 concurrently with the Anniversary edition, they decided to use Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to link the original trilogy's story with the Reclaimer trilogy's, using game mechanics similar to Halo 3: ODSTs terminals and data pads; extra backstory is also included, with Guilty Spark as the subject.
Soundtrack
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary retains some of the original audio from Halo: Combat Evolved, though it is remastered to sound clearer, allowing it to work seamlessly in 5.1 surround sound. For this HD remake of the soundtrack, 343 partnered with Pyramind Studios to remake the original game soundtrack, using the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and the Chanticleer vocal ensemble. All non-vocal audio for the game was re-recorded by Skywalker Sound. The soundtrack had both a normal CD release and a vinyl release limited to 5000 copies. Thirty-nine tracks are featured on two discs and most of the song titles are derived from the song titles of the Halo: Combat Evolved soundtrack.In addition to original music from Halo: CE, additional tracks are as below.
Marketing
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversarys trailer was released on June 6, 2011, at E3 which was later followed up with the teaser trailer for Halo 4. A 343 Industries video documentary was released shortly after the unveiling of the Halo 4 teaser, which contained some extra footage and additional information on anniversary edition. Those who pre-order the game would receive a code to download John-117Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
's Mark V MJOLNIR armor for their avatars. Pre-ordering the game also gives access to the Grunt Funeral skull, which causes Unggoy to explode like plasma grenades when killed. During the Halo Universe panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, a short trailer showcasing the animation used in the terminals with a narration by 04-343 Guilty Spark was shown to the fans. Microsoft launched Halo Living Monument campaign consisting of a live-action short and video and Halolivingmonument.com website to celebrate the ten years of completion of original Halo. Website was activated on November 13, 2011, for the players and fans.
Among the tie-ups for the marketing Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
will be running a Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary promotion in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from November 7 to December 19, 2011, during which anyone who orders a Halo pizza would receive two free days of Xbox Live Gold membership.
Reception
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary received positive reviews. With the launch of first beta versions of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary many critics praised the overall gaming performance which it brought compare to classic version. The Inquirer praised the graphics and the use of 3D saying, "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a must have for Halo fans and if you never played the original then this is a great way of playing a classic title as it was and re-mastered."Halo: CEA was released worldwide on November 15, 2011 and was universally acclaimed by critics and gaming community. It currently holds a rating of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic, a game reviewing website.
The Guardian gave the positive comment by saying, "It's a mighty fine game – for my money, the best in the Halo franchise – that deserves to accumulate a cult following. Microsoft should be applauded for having the balls (and the money) to exhume it in such a magnificent manner."
Steven Hopper of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave a slightly mixed review although giving a good score overall and praising the game for its graphics, saying "If you can approach the experience with an open mind and are willing to take a few frustrating old-school design choices, and you're fine with a "best of" map pack versus a full redo, then this is a great way to bide the time before Halo 4."
External links
- Halo: Anniversary at Xbox.com