Microsoft’s freshly-formed internal Halo studio, 343 Industries, is working on a Halo: Combat Evolved remake.
That’s according to “industry chatter” reported in the new Games Master magazine, which writes that the updated game could run on the Halo: Reach engine and arrive ahead of a full Halo 3 sequel in late 2012.
Anyway I decided to make a new thread about this to make it more visible, than just a comment.
Read the full article from Computer and Videogames here
Word of advice, never trust industry chatter. Half of it is the hopeful wishes of fans misinterpreted as someone important.
Especially when Microsoft has already been quoted as saying things like:
Never trust them, okay, but still have hope! I still consider Halo CE remake as one of the possible options for the next halo project, even if microsoft has said they don’t need remakes.
Anyway, to create a remake based on the Reach engine, is a good try-out for 343i.
If Microsoft has said they’re not doing remakes, then it’s not an option. End of story. Besides, why does everyone want to retread old ground? Are we that afraid of new things?
I wouldn’t buy a HD remake of any game. It’s a waste of resources, time and money.
I’m quite glad that MS is taking a stance on not remaking old titles. I see it as them wanting to push forward the industry and not hold onto the past like Sony is doing with all the remakes for the PS3.
Besides, you can buy the original Xbox Halo through the dashboard, used or even new still. Want the graphics to look awesome? Play on a 4:3 13" television set. Anything on a tv that small looks HD anyway.
> Word of advice, never trust industry chatter. Half of it is the hopeful wishes of fans misinterpreted as someone important.
>
> Especially when Microsoft has already been quoted as saying things like:
>
> Microsoft Game Studios Not That Interested In HD Remakes
I bet you tell little kids that there is no Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy is their parents and Santa doesn’t exist too!
> > Word of advice, never trust industry chatter. Half of it is the hopeful wishes of fans misinterpreted as someone important.
> >
> > Especially when Microsoft has already been quoted as saying things like:
> >
> > Microsoft Game Studios Not That Interested In HD Remakes
>
> I bet you tell little kids that there is no Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy is their parents and Santa doesn’t exist too!
>
>
There’s no Santa?! :’(
> > Word of advice, never trust industry chatter. Half of it is the hopeful wishes of fans misinterpreted as someone important.
> >
> > Especially when Microsoft has already been quoted as saying things like:
> >
> > Microsoft Game Studios Not That Interested In HD Remakes
>
> I bet you tell little kids that there is no Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy is their parents and Santa doesn’t exist too!
>
>
Drat! You have discovered my foul secret!
If 343 does an HD remake, they should be careful on how they implement the wider field of view. When Freeverse ported Bungie’s Marathon Durandal to XBLA, they increased the field of view on widescreen TV’s. However, it led to an unnatural point of view which caused headaches and motion sickness in many people. A later patch gave a Classic View option which fixed the problem for the most part. It still isn’t as easy for me to play Marathon for as long as I can play H3 or Reach.
I do hope 343 makes this. I certainly enjoyed the Marathon port and I’m sure I’d enjoy Halo CE as well.
> why does everyone want to retread old ground? Are we that afraid of new things?
mmhmm, in the game industry we have enough unoriginal sequels without having to deal with tons of remakes. Generally speaking the word “remake” should be met with dissatisfaction and a side of rage.
Still, I won’t be remotely surprised by a remake, it will greatly benefit 343 and in Halo CE’s case it could prove to be really enjoyable. In fact the reason I joined up Waypoint initially was after hearing about the rumour last time so I could offer my thoughts.
Just make sure you preserve the CE staples 343 and yes, that includes the pistol - and while it could be reskinned to look like a rifle I think this should be avoided, to preserve the original’s spirit.
[(http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/113/1130329p1.html)]Microsoft: HD Remakes not a focus]([http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/113/1130329p1.html)
This is sort of a debunk, but
[(http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-01-ms-responds-to-halo-1-hd-remake-rumour)]This, however…]([http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-01-ms-responds-to-halo-1-hd-remake-rumour)
…Gives me at least a little faith, as it seems more “shush shush”, than confirming that they’re not making it. I mean it’s the second time they actually respond to this rumour, why can’t they just say it: “Halo: CE remake is not in the making”
But yeah, I kinda doubt there will be a remake… but I love Halo: CE, and I don’t like Reach… not the way it went. And I don’t want 343 to make Halo 4 as their first game either… They can just make a game based on what happens to the Elites after the trilogy or something.
> > why does everyone want to retread old ground? Are we that afraid of new things?
>
> mmhmm, in the game industry we have enough unoriginal sequels without having to deal with tons of remakes. Generally speaking the word “remake” should be met with dissatisfaction and a side of rage.
>
> Still, I won’t be remotely surprised by a remake, it will greatly benefit 343 and in Halo CE’s case it could prove to be really enjoyable. In fact the reason I joined up Waypoint initially was after hearing about the rumour last time so I could offer my thoughts.
>
> Just make sure you preserve the CE staples 343 and yes, that includes the pistol - and while it could be reskinned to look like a rifle I think this should be avoided, to preserve the original’s spirit.
The field of view changes don’t matter much, FPS games from that generation gave people motion sickness anyways. And some people just have that effect. Those older games had a different viewpoint and moved much faster.
A remake would be sweet, but it won’t happen because it’s not very profitable.
> Microsoft: HD Remakes not a focus
>
> This is sort of a debunk, but
>
> This, however…
links didn’t work=(
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/113/1130329p1.html
that’s the "Microsoft: HD Remakes not a focus
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-01-ms-responds-to-halo-1-hd-remake-rumour
This is the other one, supposed to be where “This, however…” is :S
> but it won’t happen because it’s not very profitable.
Not profitable? That’s crazy talk. The popularity of Halo makes its overall market value difficult to comprehend.
An updated CE would be a sturdy heavyweight even today, especially as 343 would be able to rely on the frankly brilliant Halo Reach netcode and Bungie’s foundations.
The only slightly depressing thing is that it would make the Halo franchise a step closer to turning into another annual cash cow - which already virtually happened thanks to Microsoft taking the initiative with a Halo RTS and an expansion turning into a full game: Halo 3, 2007; Halo Wars, 2008; Halo 3: ODST, 2009; Halo Reach 2010- the release of a new Halo so soon may subsequently undermine Halo Reach.
The game industry should stop undervaluing the benefits of a long development process by churning out so many sequels and remakes
I don’t know if I’ve really done this before, but I’m going to do it now, mostly because I’m sick of all these rumors of a Halo CE remake, as a fan.
You cannot do an exact remake of Halo CE in HD. I’m basing this assumption entirely on game design. You cannot simply copy Halo CE in HD and call it good for a remake. You are going to have to make major changes to the story and the level design before that can happen.
The first reason I have that you can’t remake it lies in the levels. For starters, The Library. Did any of you have fun retreading those copy-pasted environments over and over again in that level, broken up by only more Flood shambling out from the shadows? Do you really think that a graphical updated is going to make that any better? If you do, you need to really sit down for a moment before you hurt yourself.
The second reason is the fact that a good portion of the levels in the latter part of the game are earlier levels played in reverse. This is a poor choice in game design, and incredibly lazy. A graphical remake is not going to redeem those design choices one single bit. If anything, it will only make them more glaring and obvious. A remake, if it happened, would have to fix it. Two Betrayals, Keyes, and The Maw would have to be redone in order to circumvent this flaw.
The story also needs to be improved. Gone are the days when a shooter like Halo can skimp a little on the storyline that its campaign presents. If it goes with something as barebones as it has, and with a character as abysmal as the Chief, then nothing it does will make it stand out. And yes, the Chief is an abysmal character in the games. He has no emotion, no reason for me to care about a single thing he does. He just shoots stuff and speaks in a cool voice. He’s not a character, he’s a player vehicle, and that doesn’t work anymore for a shooter like Halo, not if the franchise wants to stand out in the crowd.
And if someone comes along and says “Oh, the campaign doesn’t really matter, it’s the multiplayer that we want,” then I advise you to kindly stop and think about what you are saying. Halo has always had campaign and multiplayer go hand in hand with each other. It’s all always been about the package deal. Together they have been, at the very least, a solid combination that has managed to sell millions of copies. And you want to take away a half of that equation that has served it well, and that a good portion of the Halo fanbase such as myself enjoy, just so that you can have the handful of multiplayer maps that came with CE? Are you kidding me? Because I really hope that you are, and that you’re not so thoughtless as to exclude the importance of campaign in the Halo package. And lets not even forget that those maps would not work in the Reach engine. The physics are different. These maps would not play like they did back in CE. And all these Halo CE remake threads would be replaced by ones filled with lament, decrying the remake as the worst idea that 343 ever had and asking why they ever wanted to remake it, forgetting that you were the ones who begged for the remake.
That is surely what would happen. A Halo CE HD remake would not work. You would have to change the game significantly in order to make it work by modern standards. And yes, it would have to work by modern standards. Because when people sit down and play games, they don’t go, “Ah, a classic return to a simpler time, with improved graphics.” They go, "Holy crap this thing feels like it was made ten years ago! I’m going to go play Black Ops!"Game reviewers would roast this game in hellfire if it was not remade to fit to modern standards of both game design and story-telling, because a lot of people are sick of the Halo game release formula that seems to be coming about. A Halo CE HD remake is all that they would need to point out how the franchise is incapable of moving forward, and it would be an irrefutable point. And, if the game was remade to fit to modern design standards, and it worked very well, do you know what they would say? “Well, if they went to all that trouble, why didn’t they just make a new game?” This is not a sign of people hating Halo and wanting to bash it. All of this is a sign of how the franchise needs to move forward, to stay at the very least fresh. I’m not begging for innovation, just fresh things that we can try out and have fun with. Halo Wars is an excellent example of that. Sure, it may not have succeeded as much as we hoped. But judging by the very large fanbase it has here on this site I think its safe to say it did something right. I am glad to see it if only for the fact that it was an attempt at something new. Halo Legends is the same way. I don’t like all of it, but I applaud them for at least trying something new.
But go ahead. Keep begging and hoping for a Halo CE remake. But if it is made, I predict that it will not be as well received as everyone wants. If it’s remade to modern standards of game design and story-telling, it will have lukewarm reception at best. If it is not remade that way, and instead only receives a graphical HD update, then it will be the worst game every released in the Halo franchise. Game reviewers will call it “archaic” and “a giant step backwards”. The slight surge of hope it will generate upon release will turn into a horrendous backlash when people actually begin playing it. And we the fans will suffer. We will be seen as people desperate to cling to the past, afraid to try out new things and holding tightly to the kiddie blanket of nostalgia. And all the fanboys who begged for the remake will look up and shout, “Pity us!” And I will whisper, “No.”
So Ninja Oreca apparently isn’t on board…
Anyway, forget him. He may have a lot to say, but in short he’s saying “Forget it…It’s not possible to preserve what we love and evolve the game”
Not true.
If anyone remembers (And I doubt you will), there was a project for Halo CE (Custom Edition) called CMT. CMT aimed to expand the campaign playspace, add new enemies, without cutting out any original content. They basically wanted to make different version of the campaign, and keep the original story and classic settings in place.
For instance, TPoA was re-made in full, with all the original cinematics, except they added tons more geometry within the level itself. They used the tunnel sequence to transition to the new BSPs, and the gameplay was phenomenal. It took a good 2 hours to beat that level, instead of the normal half an hour or so. At the end of their new ideas, they transitioned to the end of the level, and the level was complete.
Unfortunately, v2 of the project never got finished, but it is EXACTLY what 343 needs to do to re-vitalize Halo 1:
-Update the graphics.
-Add new content, but do not subtract old content. This means add new weapons, but do not take the old weapons away, etc.
-Expand the levels to add a more modern feel to it, incorporating new ideas and gameplay elements that have evolved since Halo 1 was released. However, integrate them into the old levels…Going back to “Add new, but don’t subtract old” mentality.
This game is very possible. Very, very possible. 343 just needs to do it RIGHT.
I already tried SPV2. If that was an official halo release, canon would be ripped to shreds and tossed to the winds.
A Halo CE remake would be good as long as they kept to the original story line. and that means don’t change anything! Halo CE still has the best storyline out of all of them. Halo Reach had the worst storyline out of all the halo games, the book the fall of reach had put everything in place for what could be a truly epic story, and no it was all messed up! it didnt even fit in with any of the existing games or books
Admitedly in Halo CE they were some bits of level design that left a lot to be desired. and while I wouldnt mind them changing a few bits like that, I think if they started changing them, then they would change other things, and eventually you would be left with this big pile of crap that bared no relation to the first game at all.
so really a remake would be a bad idea
I know! I know! I think…
Let me guess:
"We are not in the liberty of discusing rumors"?
Edit: If I’m right, I win for being right, if I’m wrong, I win for for an actual confirmation.