Halo Combat Evolved manual
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
The Halo Combat Evolved manual is a guide to Halo Combat Evolved that comes in the basic package. A slightly updated version came with the PC port of the game holding new info on the multiplayer exclusive weapons and vehicles, and relevant changes regarding it being on PC.
Sections of the manual[edit]
Safety information[edit]
This section went over the important safety information about playing video games.
Using the Xbox Video Game System[edit]
This section holds info on using the Xbox video game system and how to avoid damaging your disks.
Using the Xbox Controller[edit]
This section holds info on using the Xbox Controller.
The story so far[edit]
This section holds what has happened previously in the Halo Universe.
Story so far[edit]
The year is 2552. Planet Earth still exists, but overpopulation has forced many of her former residents to colonize other worlds. Faster-than-light travel is now a reality, and Earth’s unified government, through the United Nations Space Command, has put its full weight behind the colonization effort—millions of humans now live on habitable planets in other solar systems. A keystone of humanity’s colonization efforts is the planet Reach, an interstellar naval yard that builds colony ships for civilians and warships for the UNSC’s armed forces. Conveniently close to Earth, Reach is also a hub of scientific and military activity.
Thirty-two years ago, contact with the outer colony Harvest was lost. A battlegroup sent to investigate was almost completely destroyed; only one badly damaged ship returned to Reach. Its crew told of a seemingly unstoppable alien warship that had effortlessly annihilated their forces.
This was humankind’s first encounter with a group of aliens they eventually came to know as the Covenant, a collective of alien races united in their fanatical religious devotion. Covenant religious elders declared humanity an affront to the gods, and the Covenant warrior caste waged a holy war upon humanity with gruesome diligence.
After a series of crushing defeats and obliterated colonies, UNSC Admiral Preston Cole established the Cole Protocol: no vessel may inadvertently lead the Covenant to Earth. When forced to withdraw, ships must avoid Earth-bound vectors—even if that means jumping without proper navigational calculations. Vessels in danger of capture must self-destruct.
On Reach, a secret military project to create cyborg super-soldiers takes on newfound importance. The soldiers of the SPARTAN-II project rack up an impressive record against the Covenant in test deployments, but there are too few of them to turn the tide of the war.
Existing SPARTAN-II soldiers are recalled to Reach for further augmentation. The plan: board a Covenant vessel with the improved SPARTAN-IIs and learn the location of the Covenant home world. Two days before the mission begins, Covenant forces strike Reach and annihilate the colony. The Covenant are now on Earth’s doorstep. One ship, the Pillar of Autumn, escapes with the last SPARTAN-II and makes a blind jump into deep space, hoping to lead the Covenant away from Earth.
The Main Screen[edit]
This section tells you about the menu. It tells you about the Campaign, multiplayer, and settings sections of the menu. Interestingly, this section of the manual also mentions a section of the menu regarding Game Demos. This feature was not present in the final build of the game.
Loading and Saving Games[edit]
This section goes though how to save and load a game.
The Pillar of Autumn and its Crew[edit]
This section goes though information on the Pillar of Autumn, and the cast of Human and AI companions you come across in this game.
The Pillar of Autumn is a Halcyon-class warship that has seen decades of service. An aging but sturdy vessel, and one of the smallest cruisers in the human fleet, the military High Command chose it specifically as an inconspicuous launch pad for a covert offensive against the Covenant. Genetically-engineered cyborg soldiers in state-of-the-art battle suits were supposed to board a Covenant vessel and locate the Covenant home world. A surprise Covenant attack on the human military base on the planet Reach annihilated all but one of the SPARTAN-II soldiers. Known only by his rank of Master Chief, this SPARTAN-II was stored in a cryosleep chamber on the Pillar of Autumn shortly before the ship made a blind jump across the galaxy in a desperate effort to lead the Covenant away from Earth. The Master Chief is easily the best soldier aboard the Pillar of Autumn, but many of the human military’s finest also call the ship home.
Twenty-six years into his military career, Captain Keyes commands respect as a keen strategist and inspirational leader of his men. He became a minor hero early in his career, when he led a small group of security troops against a Covenant ambush of the colony ship Meriwether Lewis and held them off long enough for the ship to escape. His many decorations and years of combat experience against the Covenant made him a natural choice to command the Pillar of Autumn and its secret cargo.
A rugged and diverse assortment of soldiers, the Marines on the Pillar of Autumn are fighting a losing battle against the Covenant’s superior weaponry and numbers. Under the leadership of Captain Keyes they continue to wage a furious struggle against the Covenant, even as their numbers dwindle. They’re the best of the best—but they’re only human.
Cortana is the highly advanced AI at the heart of the Pillar of Autumn. Her design allows her to be uploaded into an appropriately configured battle suit for increased mobility. She is capable of hacking into alien computer systems, and has used this skill to intercept Covenant communications during combat. She interprets this data to provide her caretakers with directional waypoints and the best available information about troop movement and strategy.
The Covenant[edit]
This section goes over the Covenant enemies you will face during the course of the game.
The Covenant forces have spent more than thirty years trying to wipe out humankind. Because their efforts have been so successful, and because few Covenant troops have ever been captured alive, little is definitively known about their origins, society, or motivations. Intercepted communications and battlefield reports indicate a religious underpinning to their genocidal campaign. What follows are brief descriptions of the alien races known to belong to the Covenant collective, gathered mostly from encounters on the battlefield.
Approximately 5’ tall and relatively weak, Grunts tend to travel in packs and stick close to more powerful allies. Individually they are easy to defeat, but in groups they can overwhelm careless Marines. Their armor seems to house some sort of lifesupport mechanism. They are known to use a variety of weapons including the plasma pistol, plasma rifle and plasma grenades.
With superior senses of sight, hearing and smell, Jackals serve as scouts and assassins for the Covenant forces. They use plasma pistols and carry a strong energy shield to compensate for their physical weakness; a well positioned Jackal can hold his own against several Marines, though grenades are effective against them. They stand approximately 5’ 8” tall.
There are a few varieties of the Elite, but all are roughly 8’ 6” tall and incredibly strong. Their strength allows them to rely on brute force when necessary, but they’re quite capable of brilliant battlefield tactics as well. Their natural resilience is augmented with full-body energy shielding which recharges when depleted. They wield plasma pistols, plasma rifles, grenades and needlers.
Hunters stand 12’ tall, though in their combat state they contract to approximately eight feet. Hunters fight with a Fuel Rod Gun integrated directly into their armor. They carry an enormous and nearly-impervious metal shield made of an unknown alloy, which they sometimes use as a melee weapon.
Fighting the Enemy[edit]
This section goes over the Master Chief, the character you control.
Text[edit]
You are the Master Chief—all that remains of a classified military project to build a series of genetically enhanced super-soldiers. You are humanity’s last and best hope against the Covenant—but you’re woefully outmatched, and survival is not guaranteed.
Your Armor[edit]
Human soldiers have used performance-enhancing equipment for hundreds of years, and your MJOLNIR battle suit represents the current pinnacle of military technology. As a product of the SPARTAN-II project where you were bio-engineered and technologically enhanced for better reflexes, eyesight, and coordination, the addition of your MJOLNIR armor makes you nearly invincible.
The battle suit utilizes a neural interface implanted in your brain. Your armor’s movements and weapons are controlled at the speed of your thoughts. The battle suit also contains a layer of crystal that forms a network capable of supporting starship-grade AI so you can overpower alien computer systems if necessary. The suit’s shell is comprised of many layers of strong alloy and a refractive coating to disperse energy weapon hits. Internally, the suit regulates temperature and can reactively change in density as necessary.
Your HUD[edit]
This section goes over how the HUD works, going into every part of it in detail.
Melee fighting[edit]
This section goes over how to use the melee.
Human Weapons[edit]
This section goes over how several human weapons work.
The M9 high explosive, dual purpose grenade is a thrown fragmentation device. Use it to suppress or disable vehicles, except tanks. It can be thrown, rolled, bounced or ricocheted into places direct fire weapons can’t reach. Increase the angle of the th