What is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary?
It is a direct updated port of 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved being developed for the Xbox 360 console by 343 Industries in collaboration with Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity.
When will the game be released and for what price?
November 15, 2011 for $39.99.
What’s different from the 2001 original?
Mainly just the graphics and audio. The teams developing the game tried to re-imagine it in a certain way, asking questions such as, “What would Halo: Combat Evolved look like if it came out today?” So the graphics look more like Halo: Reach than Halo: Combat Evolved, but the game still plays and handles the exact same way it did in 2001. The audio soundtrack has been remastered, though it is still the same music from 2001. It’s just been rerecorded by the Skywalker Orchestra. This includes the ambient tracks from the game. Further, voice acting will remain identical while sound effects, such as the sounds of the guns firing, are being updated. Essentially, almost all of the audio in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will be identical or similar to the 2001 original, only bolder, clearer, and more polished. Keep in mind that the project itself is an attempt to modernize Halo: Combat Evolved, while staying extremely faithful to the original game - not much will be changed beyond cosmetics.
How is the game being modernized?
In various ways. For example, the graphics are being updated to 2011 standard, and the audio is being remastered to sound more full. However, small details are important to note, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is set to have things such as subtitles, which weren’t in the original game. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary also features support for 3D TVs. Just as well, skulls, which have featured in every Halo game since Halo 2 (but were absent in Halo: Combat Evolved) are being added to the game. These are optional features that alter the way the game plays, typically in small ways. The game will also feature terminals (similar to those in Halo 3) which are set to expand Halo fiction and hint at the events of Halo 4.
So all of the weapons, vehicles, and enemies are still there?
Yes, everything is returning in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in its original capacity, and nothing that changes the way the game plays is being added. Elites will still have the same passive-aggressive AI, the Assault Rifle will still have sixty bullets per clip, and the Spiker will not feature; everything is like it was ten years ago.
Are there any cool new features to note?
There are a few additions. As far as gameplay goes, the most-lauded feature that’s been announced so far is called “classic mode”. This is activated by pressing the “Back” button on the Xbox 360 controller, and causes the game will switch between the 2001 and 2011 versions in real time. This can be done an unlimited amount of times; any time the player wants to see the difference between the old and the new versions. This is possible because the campaign actually runs two engines simultaneously: The original Halo: Combat Evolved engine runs all the gameplay, but a brand new graphics engine allows for 2011 visuals to be featured on top of that. The classic mode tool was originally used by the team developing the game to make sure the remake is as accurate to the original as possible, but after they played around with it a bit, they realized it would be a cool feature to have as an actual function, so they added it. Prior to this, however, the disc was going to offer both the classic and updated campaigns as separate menu items. This would obviously mean switching between them would not be seamless. There has also been talk from various 343 people (specifically Frank O’Connor) that there will be a few other new features that will add replay value to the package. What this entails has yet to be revealed.
Will the Halo: Combat Evolved multiplayer be making a triumphant arrival to consoles?
No. Instead, the game will feature seven multiplayer maps to play in the Halo: Reach engine via the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary disc; one of these maps being a brand new Firefight map, and the other six being classic remade multiplayer maps. Five maps have been officially unveiled thus far:
-Battle Canyon (Beaver Creek remake)
-Penance (Damnation remake)
-Solitary (Prisoner remake)
-Ridgeline (Timberland remake)
-Installation 04 (Firefight)
Also of note is that 343 Industries is currently working on a fix to Halo: Reach that will allow players to play on these maps in a more classic way. This will be done using a Title Update on Xbox LIVE that will alter the way Halo: Reach plays in certain playlists to emulate the experience featured in Halo: Combat Evolved. It has also been confirmed that armor abilities will not be included in these playlists. In addition to these classic remakes, each map features a brand new variation modified to use Halo: Reach’s armor abilities. The new variants add things such as gravity lifts in certain places, additional tunnels, as well as a completely different weapon layout.
