When Bonnie Ross, Studio Head of 343 Industries, took the stage at E3 this past June, global emotions were mixed. Were fans of the Halo series finally going to hear about the reveal for the inevitable Halo 2 Anniversary? Were we to expect Halo 5: Guardians to be discussed? Most importantly, were the rumors of a remastered compilation of the series’ most significant titles going to be squashed? It seems all three of these questions were answered at once.
As the lights in the convention center shun down on Bonnie Ross, nerves were heightening and it only took five words to put all the speculation, the rumors, and the doubts to rest. Upon hearing these five words, mouths gaped open, eyes widened, pores perspired, and hearts palpitated with the speed of a thousand racehorses. The rumors were confirmed that hot summer day; that on November 11th, fans of the epic sci-fi series would have a newfound reason to rejoice.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection had become a reality.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is, without a doubt, a grand package for both long-time fans of the series and newcomers who are curious in dipping their toes in the Master Chief’s story. Set to include the full experiences of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4, this compilation is generously and strategically priced at the standard rate of a single retail game. That’s right, gamers can nab this entire collection for $59.99.
In focusing on bringing one of Microsoft’s biggest series to the Xbox One, with an emphasis on celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Halo 2, significant technical improvements have been made to all four games while Halo 2 will be receiving the full anniversary treatment that Halo: Combat Evolved received in 2011. This includes remastered graphics and audio, a selection of remastered Multiplayer maps, new collectibles, and of course, achievements.
We would be lying if that were all we had to say about this amazing collection. In fact, here are the top five reasons why the folks here at The Game Fanatics are looking forward to Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
5. A Single, Unified Experience
One of the greatest aspects about Halo: The Master Chief Collection is that all four games will share a unified user interface. This essentially allows for seamless navigation through the Main Menu and further, the Campaign lobbies and Multiplayer lobbies as well.
With the entire collection running of a single disc, the need to swap between games based upon your current preference has been eradicated. Maybe you’d like to hop into a Team Objective playlist for a CTF match Blood Gulch? Well, go right ahead. In fact, the next match could very well be on Halo 3’s The Pit or even Halo 2’s remastered Zanzibar, which is now called Stonetown. In essence, the playlists crafted for the Multiplayer aspect of this collection allow gamers to pick and choose between dedicated playlists for a single game, or crossover playlists that cover a specific gametype across all four all titles.
Perhaps you grow tired of online matchmaking. Don’t worry, with a few simple button clicks back to the Main Menu, you can hop into the Campaign lobby and load up Halo 2’s Campaign on a Co-Op Legendary difficulty. Is Delta Halo treating you too unkindly? Does your Co-Op buddy have to split? Go ahead and return the Campaign lobby, where you can jump straight into Halo 4’s final mission by yourself and witness the tragic loss of Master Chief’s AI companion, Cortana.
With every single mission unlocked from the start, players can jump in and out of their favorite moments of the Campaign without needing to start from the beginning. Moreover, Campaign playlists make their debut in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. These playlists are the developers attempt of stringing together missions that share a common thread, either through a single Campaign or across all four Campaigns. Playlists like “The Flooded” will see players face off against the parasite in every single mission that includes the Flood.
Overall, the unified interface is a fantastic way of allowing players to jump between games without ever needing to worry about switching discs or breaking the immersion of a straight run through The Master Chief Saga playlist.
4. Rotational Multiplayer Playlists
Contrary to popular opinions, rotational playlists serve as a great tool in helping the developer gauge the online community’s interests when it comes to a specific playlist that houses a significant amount of popular or unpopular gametypes. Such an example of a playlist that hosts more than one gametype is Team Objective. Under this, there exists 1-Flag CTF, Multi-Flag CTF, Team Oddball, Neutral Bomb Assault, and more. In fact, check this page for a breakdown of all the playlists in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
That is to say, if Team Snipers is featured as the rotational playlist for a set amount of weeks, but gamers are not gravitating towards said playlist, 343 Industries will know that Team Snipers is unpopular at the moment. To rectify this issue, the developer can then swap Team Snipers out with Multi-Team. If Multi-Team does well for a single week or two, the developer can further decide to keep it for a while longer, or even bring it back in the near future as a permanent playlist.
Overall, when Halo: The Master Chief Collection launches, the first rotational playlist will be Team SWAT. Long-time Halo veterans have voiced complaints about Team Doubles missing from launch-day playlists, however 343 Industries assures players not to worry just yet, as “a lot of fan favorite playlists will be appearing in the rotation as featured playlists, so those of you who love Multi-Team, Team Snipers, Team Doubles and others need not worry even though you don’t see them listed here.” Remember, as made evident in Halo 4, if a rotational playlist does well enough during its set time, 343 Industries holds the ability to make that playlist permanent. With that said, make sure to play a lot of Team Doubles when it arrives!
3. Exclusive Access to Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta
With Halo 5: Guardians launching in late 2015, developer 343 Industries is demanding a high level of focus on executing the best experience for the Multiplayer aspect of their upcoming game. With an unfortunate understanding that Halo 4’s Multiplayer experience was not entirely well received by the general online community, the developer knows what’s at stake with the future of the Multiplayer within the series.
Owners of Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be granted exclusive access to the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta, which will be held from December 29th until January 18th. This three-week beta, taking place nearly ten months before the launch of Halo 5: Guardians, speaks volumes to the confidence and determination of 343 Industries in respecting the demands and interests of the fans.
As of late, it seems a common trend exists for developers to release betas of their games just a month before launch. This gesture is genuinely concerning, providing the fact that four weeks for server testing and community feedback is, by no means, enough time for the developer to tweak significant aspects of their game.
Aware of this trend, 343 Industries understands the importance in releasing a beta ten months before the launch of Halo 5: Guardians. The three-week beta will allow players to test various weapons, maps, and game types, and thus provide the developer with necessary feedback in how to further improve the experience.
2. Overhauled Halo 2 Cutscenes
As a means of further pampering Halo 2 with the generous anniversary treatment, 343 Industries is working hand-in-hand with none other than Blur Studios in recreating nearly sixty minutes of cinematic cutscenes for the Halo 2 Campaign. Let us take the image below as a standard of what to expect.
One more couldn’t hurt. Right?
Surely you want to another?
Still not sure who Blur Studios is? Check out their official website here. The team is well-known for their impressively stunning animation, design and VFX work on dozens of video game trailers and other commercial products.
In short, their work nearly leaves us breathless. The fact that Halo 2’s cutscenes will be entirely overhauled is an incredible feat that only Blur Studios could pull off. We’re not really sure our words and emotions can justify their work, so take a peek at the trailer below. It’s genuinely some fantastic stuff.
Stunning, isn’t it?
1. There’s Four Thousand Gamerscore!
Last but not least, Halo: The Master Collection will be offering players, for the first time, four hundred unique achievements for a grand total of four thousand gamerscore. Achievement hunter or not, this is an incredible feat that speaks volumes of 343 Industries attempt to reward players with the satisfaction of winning five hundred multiplayer matches, finding all the new terminals in Halo 2, and even completing al four Campaigns on the LASO difficulty setting. For those unfamiliar with the aforementioned term, that means completing the Campaign on Legendary, with every single skull gameplay modifier activated.
Even for seasoned Halo veterans, such a task is no easy feat. With certain skulls removing your HUD, permanently cloaking enemies, removing the ability to pick up Covenant weapons, and even making it so that you only regain shields by melee attacking enemies, it soon becomes evident that you will need a team of highly skilled and highly motivated individuals in tackling the collection’s LASO achievements.
For more information on the game’s list, you can click here. We’re excited that 343 Industries has crafted such a brilliantly tasking achievement list, ensuring longevity to one this year’s greatest titles.
There you have it.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is grand. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is ambitious. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is perfect.
Bringing the entire Master Chief experience to eighth-generation consoles next month, Xbox One owners now have a worthwhile exclusive worth playing. Generously priced, with heaps of content and additional features, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a perfect title for any long-time fan of the series. Even those who have yet to experience the sci-fi story will not have the perfect opportunity to play catch up before Halo 5: Guardians launches next year.
