Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Xbox 360

Released on 15-Nov-2011

• Halo 4 in secret development for two years already

  The explosion of warm fuzzy nerdlove that is the San Diego Comic Con is now winding down for another year, but games had a higher profile than usual thanks to discussion panels for some of this year's biggest upcoming releases.

  Chief among these (oh ho!) was Halo, which is preparing for all kinds of anniversary shenanigans as well as the launch of an all-new trilogy of games with returning hero Master Chief, the only man who can make bright green space armour look good.

  Although Halo 4 was only announced officially at E3 in June, 343 Industries has been working on the project since 2009. The pressure to keep the game secret was often unbearable, Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor told the assembled fans.

  e know wee going to be under a different spotlight and microscope because wee a new developer as far as the fans are concerned, and that a lot of pressure. But the simplest thing to do is just be confident in the work you are doing and confident in the strengths and talents of the people that work with you and know that they are going to execute on something amazing./p>

  Also revealed at the Con were two new Halo novels. Halo: Grasslands will span the gap between Halo 3 and Halo 4, while Halo: Cryptum (by popular SF novelist Greg Bear) will dip into the distant past to explore the Precursors and the origin of the Halo program.

• Cool Kinect features for Halo Anniversary

  Frank O'Connor, the man who looks after the Halo series for Microsoft, has spoken up to clarify some of the confusion surrounding the Kinect features in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

  Of course, larifydoesn't mean he's explained exactly what the features will be that would be madness, clearly but in an interview with Official Xbox Magazine he has promised that they'll be ooland that they won't interfere with the classic Halo gameplay.

  Having said that, he went on: "I don't think it's going to be something that people need to be hyper-excited about...I don't want to downplay it, but I think of it like this - I use voice on Netflix and it's awesome, and that's what this'll be. Something that enhances you overall experience."

  Anniversary developer 343 Industries backed up O' Connor's assessment, with a posting on their forum declaring he Kinect features we're exploring with Halo: Anniversary are optional and won't affect your core gameplay experience."

  So, voice commands then? The chance to scream at Guilty Spark and tell it to shut up? We'll have to wait and see. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a tweaked and HD-sexy remake of the original 2001 Halo game, rockets onto Xbox 360 on November 15th.

• Xbox fails if Halo flops says Microsoft

  Microsoft has admitted that the performance of its key hardcore game titles, particularly Halo, is their best way of telling how the Xbox 360 console is evolving.

  In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer said quot;I think it's important that our AAA first party titles do help craft and shape how the platform evolves.

  "If we lose our way with Halo, we lose our way with Xbox, because Halo and the importance of games like Call of Duty and other shooters, that state of the art needs to continue to move forward, and our team at 343 need to move forward with that. That's always going to be one of our success criteria."

  The team at 343 Industries inherited the Halo mantle when creator Bungie moved on to develop a top secret new project for Activision. The Washington-based studio now has two Master Chief related projects in the pipeline. Their HD remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved comes out in November to celebrate the series' 10th birthday. Halo 4 will follow in 2012.
  

• Bungie teases Project Tiger

  What, exactly, has Bungie been up to ever since it bequeathed the Halo series to 343 Industries? Lounging around, munching Haribo and watching repeats of Morse? Hanging around shopping centres and drinking Red Bull and cider? Nope, the legendary studio has been hard at work on a mysterious new game for Activision, and details are finally starting to drip out of the news spout. Most notably, that the game is codenamed Tiger.

  ne reason that Tiger is so intriguing to so many people in the studio is that it's reaching players in a way that we haven't beforesays Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, when the question of their post-Halo work comes up near the end of the studio's 20th anniversary documentary, O Brave New World.

  We even get painfully brief glimpses at what the game might look like. What do we see? Deserts, windmills and some people doing motion capture. What does it all mean? Bungie ain't saying.

  What they do say is that the game will be a ame changerin the same way that the original Halo was, way back in 2001, and that they've created a world where razy s***can happen.

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary lands on November 15th, the same day Master Chief blows out ten candles on his birthday cake.

• Halo 4 creative director quits to go indie

  Ryan Payton, lead designer on Halo 4 and a veteran of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4 team, has walked away from his job at Microsoft-owned 343 Industries.

  In an interview with Kotaku, he reassured fans that he wasn't leaving because the game was going badly, just that it wasn't the game he wanted to make. "I had a great run at Microsoft," Payton said "I don't regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project any more."

  Payton relocated back to the US from Japan when his mother became ill with cancer, and he was recently diagnosed with depression. "I think time is the most valuable thing we have," said Payton, "and I've decided that I'm not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn't speak to my values."

  He has now set up his own indie studio, Camoflaj, and aims to create "a game that one billion people play at once...something that hits them harder than a great book or film."

  Halo 4 continues under the guidance of franchise director Frank O'Connor, and will drop into action late in 2012. For those hungry for a taste of Master Chief before then, may we direct you towards Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which remakes the original Xbox game in glorious HD, adding Kinect commands and co-op play to the mix. Look out for that on November 15th.

• Halo: Anniversary to include classic Headlong map

  Fans will be excited to learn that one of Halo 2's most popular multiplayer arenas will be making a return in the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

  At this week's Tokyo Game Show, 343 Industries revealed that the beloved map is to be re-imagined in the forthcoming Xbox 360 game under the new name Breakneck, allowing players to reacquaint themselves with its skyscraper-lined terrain.

  The Headlong map became famous as one of Halo 2's best-loved large-scale arenas, with its ruined city setting providing players with plenty of sniping vantage points, as well as a vast central basin for vehicular combat.

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is coming out this November to mark the tenth birthday of the original Xbox classic Halo: Combat Evolved, the game that launched the blockbuster franchise.

  It will recreate the acclaimed campaign of the 2001 hit with modern-day technology, while its multiplayer mode will feature many of the best maps from Halo and Halo 2.

  Published: 15/09/2011

• Microsoft details Kinect features for Halo: Anniversary

  Microsoft details Kinect features for Halo: Anniversary

  Microsoft has provided Xbox 360 gamers with details of what to expect from the Kinect functionality included in the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

  During a presentation at the New York Comic Convention, it was revealed that the revamped version of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved will feature voice control options across its many modes.

  Players will be able to use spoken commands to reload their weapons and hurl grenades, as well as to toggle between the classic Xbox graphics and the remastered visuals of the Xbox 360 anniversary edition.

  The game will also introduce a new Analyse feature, which allows gamers to use the voice command "scan" to gather data on the different characters, vehicles and environments they will encounter.

  This information will be saved to a comprehensive index called the Library, which can be navigated using gesture controls.

  Halo: Anniversary is coming next month.

  Published: 17/10/2011

• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - Review

  Ten year itch...

  Ten years is a long time in any business, but in video games it's an absolute age. Since 2001 we've seen the rise of online gaming, the increasing domination of the console shooter and the ascension of the Xbox as one of the premiere gaming brands.

  There's one game that's been instrumental in all three of those things, of course, and Bungie's 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved has helped usher in and define an entire generation of gaming. And ten years on, it's perfect timing for Microsoft to celebrate the franchise that's helped it get to where it is today.

  Ringing in the changes

  Going back to Halo: Combat Evolved's world was always going to be a tricky business, but to the credit of Saber Interactive - the developer that's largely responsible for this remake - it's been handled delicately.

  Graphics in 2001 weren't quite what they are today, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's biggest change comes to the visuals. The strange alien world of Installation 04 pops with a clarity not possible on the last Xbox, and the game looks and feels as good as any shooter that's been released on the 360 in the past year.

  There's still a brilliant sense of wonder when stepping from the wreckage of an escape pod early on in the game's campaign, and Halo itself remains one of the great sci-fi creations conjured up by video games. Lavish purples mix with vibrant greens to create a backdrop that's much more colourful than the monochrome shooters that dominate today, and as such it's a refreshing place to explore.

  Remaster Chief

  One of Anniversary's neatest touches is how the visual update can be washed away with the press of a single button, swapping out the bold new visuals for those of the 2001 original. The difference is striking - in stark contrast, the original Halo can look shockingly primitive, though we'd be lying if we said that some of the magic hasn't been lost in the new version.

  What hasn't been lost is the thrill of playing the original Halo, as Anniversary wisely doesn't tinker with the core mechanics of Combat Evolved at all. What's really incredible is how Halo's mechanics haven't aged a jot - playing around in this sandbox shooter is as fun now as it was back in 2001.

  There's a freedom to Halo's shooting that's been lost in many of the games that followed it, and the game's strong AI and brilliant set of weapons allow you to engage with it in a thrillingly vast number of ways. As ever with Halo, it's best played with a friend by your side, and Anniversary adds online co-op to the split-screen option of the original.

  Multiplayer Madness

  And as it's Halo, there's a generous helping of multiplayer too. The original maps from the 2001 game are re-purposed, re-imagined, and thrown into the Reach engine so they can benefit from all the perks that last year's definitive take on the series brought with it. Admittedly, it's a shame that you can't play with the four player split-screen on which the original was based, but it's a disappointment that's washed away in one headshot kill, pulled off with the brilliantly overpowered Magnum that makes a return.

  It all makes for a superb celebration of the game that started it all, and Halo Anniversary manages to do justice to the original while freshening it up for a whole new audience to enjoy. Ten years on and it remains one of the best first-person shooters ever made - and here's hoping that Halo can enjoy another decade of brilliance.

   

  

  Halo to the King:
  + Looks as good as any modern shooter.
  + Plays as good as any modern shooter.
  + It's the original Halo, and arguably still the best one.

  Missing the Mark:
  - Original MP modes are missed.
  - New visuals lose some of the original magic.
  

• Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Review

  
  

  Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Review
  

  Ten years on

  
  Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary is a full recreation of the game that launched the Xbox brand, warts and all, brought up to date with a lovely visual makeover, plus optional 3D and Kinect support. The game focus is on the player bid to bring down a range of highly intelligent alien enemies, and while ten years have passed since it first wowed gamers, this is still one of the best shooters around.

  Offering a diversity of action and freedom of movement that rivals its modern competition, Combat Evolved Anniversary gameplay remains unchanged from the original. While there may be a fair few tight linear corridors to blast your way through, there are also a number of impressive open battlefields in which to fight, fly, and commandeer a tank or an alien turret. Single missions flow seamlessly from one extreme to the other, taking you from a bright spacious beach to a claustrophobic underground base and back again with no loading.

  Legendary difficulty

  
  The Halo games are renowned for their smart artificial intelligence, and tackling Combat Evolved Anniversary enemies proves extremely challenging and satisfyingly, particularly on Legendary difficulty. Not only can they handle themselves in a fire fight, foes are equally capable of tactical retreats and surprising flanking manoeuvres. If you haven played a Halo game before itl take a little time and experimentation to hone your battle skills, working out the best way to mix up grenades, melee attacks and dual weapons, but the combat is almost perfect.

  Fresh coat of paint

  
  Combat Evolved Anniversary has been given a lovely high definition makeover, plus there an optional 3D mode that does a decent job of immersing players with compatible TVs in the game richly designed world. In a lovely touch, a single button press enables you to switch between the original visuals and the updated ones at any point in the game. The original score can also be accessed, and this freedom of choice extends to the control options, which let you use the classic layout mapped to the Xbox 360 controller, or the controls from more recent series releases.

  Combat Evolved Anniversary also offers two types of Kinect support. In-game, Kinect voice recognition reacts to almost two dozen words including eloadand renade.Elsewhere, a Library mode unlockable only with Kinect allows you to examine 3D models of items and enemies youe scanned in-game, while voice commands can be used to review cinematics.

  Online battles

  
  The game multiplayer component is a largely excellent offering, even if it could have been expanded further. It features a mixture of six Halo and Halo 2 maps, each with classic and Halo Reach-style variants, and offers squad, big team battle, free for all and other familiar match types in which to test your skills.

  There also a new Firefight mission for two to four players, which tasks you with fighting off increasingly tough waves of enemies, while more recent multiplayer features like custom game, Forge and theatre modes are also included. On top all that, you can now play the campaign cooperatively with a friend over Xbox Live.

  Combat evolved

  
  The quality of the source material and the love that's gone into this HD remake make Combat Evolved Anniversary more than worth the price of admission, both for those who played the original and newer shooter fans alike. A challenging game about a big bloke shooting cool guns at cool aliens in cool places, it still has the capacity to surprise and remains worthy of its Combat Evolved subtitle ten years after release.

  GAME Verdict

  + Some of the best shooter action in history.
  + Lovely visual and audio upgrade.
  + Some fantastic level design.

  - Kinect is required to access all the bonus features.
  - A few too many tight corridors in some sections.
  - Multiplayer could be more expansive.

  Review by: Tom 'Master ChiefIvan
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 02.11.11
  

  Published: 02/12/2011

• GAME : Essential Xbox 360 games from 2011

  2011 was full of big releases for Xbox 360, including sequels to some of this generation's best franchises, high definition remakes of classic games and innovative motion control offerings. Here, GAME rounds up five of the must-own 360 titles that no Xbox 360 owner should be without.

  Brothers 'til the end

  Sci-fi third person shooter Gears of War 3 is the explosive finale to the current story arc of one of the biggest and best series in Xbox history. With mankind on the verge of annihilation at the hands of nightmarish monsters, players step into the boots of a military force battling to preserve humanity in the face of overwhelming odds. A tale of brotherhood, harsh realities, sacrifice and redemption, it features an engaging story, breathtaking visuals, meaty gunplay and tactical, cover-based action. The epic story campaign supports four-player cooperative play, and is complemented by a host of cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes for veteran players and rookies alike.

  Get in the race

  Offering traditional controller-based racing as well as the freedom and accessibility of Kinect motion controls, Forza Motorsport 4 is one of the most ambitious takes on the genre to date. With top supercars from over 80 manufacturers and a selection of the world's finest real and fictional tracks, the game features silky smooth racing, realistic physics and effects, gorgeous graphics and stereoscopic 3D support. Community features allow players to create auto clubs with like-minded car nuts, customise and trade rides with fellow collectors, and head out on to the track for adrenaline-soaked showdowns against up to 15 other online racers.

  Global warfare

  Accessible, highly polished and perhaps best described as the gaming equivalent of a Michael Bay Hollywood blockbuster, Modern Warfare 3 is the latest entry in the world's biggest first person shooter franchise. Featuring a globe-trotting campaign that sees players attempting to avert World War 3, it offers access to a range of high tech weaponry and military hardware including remote turrets, predator drones and gunships. The same tools of destruction also feature in the series' deepest yet most accessible multiplayer offering yet, which features competitive online battles across a range of fan favourite and innovative new game modes, plus co-operative challenge and survival missions for two players.

  A classic reborn

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a spectacularly remastered version of the game that launched the Xbox brand ten years ago. Offering a diversity of action, a freedom of movement and enemy artificial intelligence that rivals its modern day competitors, the title's stellar gameplay remains unchanged from the original, but the alien blasting action is supercharged with a lovely high definition makeover, stereoscopic 3D support, Kinect voice control and new multiplayer maps and features. Widely regarded as one of the first great first person shooters on consoles, Combat Evolved lives up to its subtitle even a decade after its initial release.

  Choose your own destiny

  Action RPG Fable III puts the fate of fictional world Albion in your hands as you rally the oppressed, start a revolution and eventually take the throne. The choices and sacrifices you make on the path to greatness create an ever-evolving world of consequences that will be felt across the entire land. Will you play as a hero, villain or someone between, and once you assume power, will you rule with kindness or an iron fist? Playable co-operatively with a friend, the game is brought to life by an all star cast featuring the voice talent of John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Ben Kingsley and Zoe Wanamaker.

  Published: 14/12/2011

• Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  David Ellis of 343 Industries, the studio which inherited the Halo series from Bungie, has taken to Twitter to warn fans that offers to take part in a beta trial for the upcoming Halo 4 are not to be trusted.

  If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT'S A FAKE, he posted, which is pretty conclusive. It seems fans had been lured in by unscrupulous phishing sites which requested personal account details in return for access to the hotly anticipated FPS sequel.

  Halo 4 sees the return of Master Chief, having sat out both Halo ODST and Halo: Reach, and marks the start of a new trilogy for the award-winning series. The game is expected later this year, exclusively for Xbox 360 of course, but Microsoft has yet to announce any further details.

• Bungie sets date for official Halo handover

  March 31st. Mark the date in your diary, as that's when legendary developer Bungie finally cuts the cord and officially hands over the Halo baby to its new mummy, 323 Industries.

  343 has already taken over development on the new Halo titles, including last year's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remake and the upcoming Halo 4, but the behind-the-scenes systems powering all those multiplayer matches and stats were Bungie's. That changes at the end of March, and from that date Bungie will have nothing more to do with the franchise it created way back in 2002.

  "Bungie will no longer be able to update game stats and player service records, to host new user generated content, or to operate the Bungie Pro service. All currently supported, Bungie-developed Halo titles will be impacted by this change," the Bungie website explains. "Any replacement functionality, and all future Halo support, will be provided by Microsoft and 343 Industries via Halo Waypoint at http://halo.xbox.com."

  "Thanks for making the Halo-era version of Bungie.net more successful than we could have possibly imagined," the post concluded. "You complete us."

  No, no, we're fine. We've just got something in our eye.

  Halo 4 is set for release later this year on Xbox 360, of course. Bungie's next project is a mysterious new multi-console game, set to be published by Activision.

• Halo's co-creator says Master Chief is in safe hands

  Alex Seropian, co-founder of Bungie and one of the people who helped turn Halo into the Xbox's premiere title, has said he thinks the series is in safe hands now the baton has been passed to 343 Industries.

  The Washington-based studio cut its teeth on last year's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remake, and takes the reins full-time this winter with the long awaited Halo 4. Although admitting he was nervous to see what a new studio would do with the franchise he helped create, Seropian insisted he was confident the game would live up to fan's expectations.

  "They are certainly treating it with a lot of care and respect," he told GameSpot. "And applying the resources you'd like to see applied to a franchise like that. I'm hopeful that it will continue to bring the high production value and cool experiences it's known for."

  "I would be pretty surprised if they wiffed it," he added. "Maybe it will bring a fresh perspective, and that's so hard because there's so many fans that are used to a particular thing that bringing something new is often... it's hard to bring something new to a franchise that's so established. I'm looking forward to it."

  Halo 4 sees the return of iconic hero Master Chief, who sat out both Halo ODST and Halo Reach. It marks the first entry in a new series, ambitiously set over ten years of in-game action, called The Reclaimer Trilogy.

  Halo 4 will be exclusive to Xbox 360, duh, and launches this "holiday season". Which is American for Christmas.

• Halo developer's next game confirmed for 2013

  Bungie, the studio responsible for the massively successful Halo franchise, will return to consoles in 2013, it has been revealed.

  Little is known about the game, other than it is currently code named Destiny, and has been described as "World of Warcraft in space". What we do know is that Bungie is contracted to deliver the game next year, and it will be the start of a new "action shooter" series of at least four games. The confirmation comes as Bungie's contract with new publisher Activision was released as part of a court case.

  Clearly, the revelation caught Bungie by surprise. "So, yeah. While we�e not ready to show you what we�e been working on, we can reconfirm that we are hard at work on our new universe. We can� wait for you to see it," read a post from staff member DeeJ on their official website under the heading "Well, that just happened..."

  "See you starside in 2013," they added, with a cheeky strikethrough on the word "starside".

  While we may have to wait a while for Bungie's next, the series they launched is still going strong. Master Chief has been handed over to Microsoft's 343 Industries with Bungie's blessing, and Halo 4 arrives on Xbox 360 on November 6th this year.
• Bungie gears up for Destiny reveal

  Halo creator Bungie is almost ready to pull back the curtain on Destiny, it's next epic game project. The reveal is expected over the weekend of February 16th - 17th, but the developer has got the ball rolling early with a blog post, a slew of social media channels and an intriguing viral puzzle.

  "So, our game is called Destiny," reads the latest post on the Bungie.net website. "In a matter of days, we're going to give you your first glimpse into the vision and ambition that's driving the creation of our brave new world."

  If you want to stay on top of the announcements, Bungie has set up an official Twitter account - @destinythegame - as well as dedicated pages on Facebook, Instagram and Google+. More fascinating is a spin-off website - alphalupi.bungie.net. Solving the puzzles on the site will apparently unlock images and clues related to the game. As Bungie was one of the first to seize the potential of viral marketing and augmented reality with the infamous "ilovebees" game that tied into Halo 2.

  Destiny has been in development for several years now, and marks Bungie's first game outside the Halo universe in over ten years and its first multiplatform game since becoming independent from Microsoft. Activision will publish Destiny, but whether it will be for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 or next generation consoles remains to be seen.

  Published: 13/02/2013

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