Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

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“Ten years ago, Halo introduced millions of fans to an incredible new universe, and delivered billions of hours of entertainment. That was ten years ago, this is now!”

— E3 Trailer Announcer

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (also referred to as Halo: Anniversary) is a first-person shooter video game set in the Halo universe and is a remake of 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo: Anniversary was announced at Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference. 343 Industries, collaborating with Saber Interactive, are to release this remake on November 15, 2011. The ten year anniversary of the original titles launch.

The game will feature 7 classic multiplayer maps, support for Xbox Live multiplayer matchmaking, and a complete visual overhaul.^[1] In Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, 343 Industries will be graphically revamping the entire game. For example, Master Chief's armor will be redone and enhanced to modern graphics standards, while still retaining the Halo: Combat Evolved look by keeping the Master Chief's MJOLNIR Mark V armor. Also, the level design in the campaign will be enhanced. This means that everything will be more detailed and include more things to fill in the blank space that Halo: CE left behind. This can be likened to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn being upgraded in Halo: Reach to include more detail and visual appeal. In addition, in 343's ViDoc on Anniversary, they stated that the player will have the option to switch between old graphics and revamped graphics/art with the push of a button.

However, the developers will not be sacrificing the original feel of the graphics. Anniversary is simply adding an additional layer of graphics on top of the original game graphics, so new textures, hence being able to switch between the old and revamped graphics, and thus keeping the original gameplay and physics of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved intact. In addition, they will be keeping some of the original audio from Halo: Combat Evolved to contribute to the general nostalgic feeling of the game. The music has been changed from Martin O'Donnell's original soundtrack and replaced with brand new "re-orchestration" from Skywalker Orchestra. Some other additions to the game will be achievements, Terminals, and other hidden easter egg type goodies. Finally, it also has been announced that the game will include the ability to play co-op campaign over Xbox Live. The campaign will run on the original engine, whereas multiplayer will be powered by the Reach engine.^[2] It is currently in debate whether multiplayer and campaign will ship on the same disk, or the full Reach multiplayer will appear on a second disk with the seven new maps, similar to Halo 3: ODST.

Campaign

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's campaign will be the same story fans remember from the original. It will fallow Master Chief as he crash lands on an ancient ring world, fights through waves of covenant troops, battles the flood outbreak, and ultimately saves the entire galaxy.

Multiplayer

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will support cooperative campaign and competitive multiplayer modes.

Multiplayer Maps

Seven maps will be updated and re-released utilizing the Reach engine. Announced multiplayer maps in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary include:

Firefight maps

An unknown Firefight map (" a Firefight map unlike any you’ve ever seen before. One thing I can tell you is that this one is particularly appropriate to Halo: Combat Evolved but will do things that no Firefight map has done."[1]) This might mean that the map may feature The Flood, the infectious species that made its first debut in Halo: CE and has never been previously seen in any Firefight map.