Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Developer(s)	343 Industries (Campaign) Certain Affinity (Multiplayer) Bungie (Original)
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Studios
Composer(s)	Martin O'Donnell Michael Salvatori
Series	Halo
Engine	Saber3D
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release date(s)	November 15, 2011 JP November 17, 2011
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, cooperative, Campaign, Forge, Theater
Rating(s)	ACB: MA15+ BBFC: 15 ESRB: M PEGI: 16+
Media/distribution	DVD

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.^[1] 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.^[2][3][4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6][7]

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Campaign 1.2 Multiplayer 1.3 Firefight 2 Development 3 Soundtrack 4 Marketing 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links

Gameplay

Campaign

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's campaign has the same story as Halo: Combat Evolved, with the addition of achievements, online co-op, and "terminals," a concept introduced in Halo 3 that gives players a glimpse into the Halo expanded universe via a sub-plot of hidden messages in-game. The player has the ability to switch between the updated graphics engine to the original, by pressing the back button on the Xbox 360 controller.^[8] 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.^[9] The remastered graphics are also available in 3D for 3D televisions.^[10]

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: Reach's engine. The multiplayer beta was released on October 4, 2011.^[11] Seven of the available maps have been updated and re-released using Halo: Reach's 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,^[12] Hang 'Em High / High Noon and Headlong / Breakneck.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's 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.^[13]

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: Combat Evolved's 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.^[12] Despite being previously rumored, the Flood does not appear in Firefight.

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: Reach's engine for multiplayer.^[1] The development began under the codename Spark.^[14] 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 Evolved's visuals and preserve the original gameplay at the same time. ^[15] 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.^[13]

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: Reach's gameplay options into account. The campaign runs on the original engine with the help of Saber3d, whereas multiplayer is powered by the Halo: Reach's engine which was worked on by Certain Affinity. ^[16] 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: ODST's terminals and data pads; extra backstory is also included, with Guilty Spark as the subject.^[17]

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.^[18] All non-vocal audio for the game was re-recorded by Skywalker Sound.^[19] The soundtrack had both a normal CD release and a vinyl release limited to 5000 copies.^[20] 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.^[21]

In addition to original music from Halo: CE, additional tracks are as below.

Marketing

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's 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-ordered the game would receive a code to download John-117's Mark V MJOLNIR armor for their avatars. Pre-ordering the game also gave access to the Grunt Funeral skull, which causes Unggoy to explode like plasma grenades when killed.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24][25]

Among the tie-ups for the marketing, Pizza Hut ran a Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary promotion in the United Kingdom from November 7 to December 19, 2011, during which anyone who ordered a Halo pizza received two free days of Xbox Live Gold membership.^[26]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	81.85%[27]
Metacritic	82/100[28]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B[29]
Computer and Video Games	8/10 (UK)[30]
Edge	9/10[31]
Eurogamer	8/10[32]
GamePro	[33]
IGN	8/10 (US)[34]
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	9/10[35]
The Guardian	[36]

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary received many 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."^[37]

Halo: CEA was released worldwide on November 15, 2011 and was universally acclaimed by critics and gaming community. It currently holds a rating of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, a game reviewing website.^[28]

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."^[36]

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."^[34]

References

External links

• Halo: Anniversary at Xbox.com
• Halo: Anniversary on Halopedia: The Halo Wiki

Halo series Video games Original trilogy Halo: Combat Evolved Soundtrack Anniversary Halo 2 Soundtrack Halo 3 Soundtrack Marketing Reclaimer trilogy Halo 4 Other Halo Wars Halo 3: ODST Halo: Reach I Love Bees Novels The Fall of Reach The Flood First Strike Ghosts of Onyx Contact Harvest The Cole Protocol Cryptum Universe Characters Master Chief Cortana Arbiter Gravemind Factions Forerunners Covenant Flood Halo Array Other media Graphic Novel Uprising Legends Red vs. Blue The Life Faith Book:Halo series Category:Halo series Portal:Video games

343 Industries Video games Halo Waypoint Halo: Reach Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Halo 4