Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

"Heroes never die."

- Official tagline Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, commonly referred to as Halo: Anniversary, is a first-person shooter video game and a graphical remake of 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved. It was developed by 343 Industries in collaboration with Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity as part of 343 Industries' celebration of the original game's tenth anniversary. The game features remastered graphics and audio, using assets from Halo: Reach. Available with the game are six multiplayer maps from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo PC and Halo 2, along with a Firefight map based on the level Halo for Halo: Reach multiplayer.

Features
The game will feature a graphics layer running on top of the exact Halo: Combat Evolved physics and gameplay engine. As such, gameplay mechanics from the original game, such as the M6D pistol's three-shot kill, will all be present. The game also features an online campaign cooperative mode over Xbox LIVE. Pressing the Back button allows the player to switch seamlessly between the graphics of the original 2001 title and the 2011 remake.

The game will integrate the Kinect to further enhance the gameplay experience for the single-player component. For example, players can reload their weapon, throw grenades, and switch between "legacy" and "remastered" graphics via voice commands. A new feature to this integration is the Library. When the command "analyze" is given, specific characters, vehicles and objects can be scanned. The Library is essentially an index for detailed information on the scanned items. The remastered graphics are also available in 3D, provided that the player has a 3D television.

The game will feature skulls, including at least five that never appeared in previous Halo games. Achievements will also be available.

Terminals will be found throughout the game, which, unlike the text-based terminals of Halo 3, contain full-motion video narrated by monitor 343 Guilty Spark. These terminals will link the game's story to that of Halo 4. Anniversary will also have subtitles available for in-game and combat dialogue.

Theater mode will be available for multiplayer, but not for the remastered single-player.

Multiplayer
Anniversary will include Halo Reach 's multiplayer component, (similar to the Halo 3: Mythic disc that accompanies Halo 3: ODST), and will include six competitive maps and one Firefight map. These competitive maps are remakes of maps from earlier games; each has both an exact remake and a modified version that utilizes the new features of Halo: Reach. These maps will feature Forge support. The M6G magnum can be modified to function like the M6D magnum from the campaign.

Default
 * Multiplayer
 * Battle Canyon
 * Beaver Creek
 * Penance
 * Damnation
 * High Noon
 * Hang 'Em High
 * Ridgeline
 * Timberland
 * Solitary
 * Prisoner
 * Breakneck
 * Headlong


 * Firefight
 * Installation 04

Audio
All non-vocal audio for the game will be re-recorded by Skywalker Sound, while the original voice-acting will remain untouched. The soundtrack will have both a normal CD release and a 5,000-edition vinyl limited release. Both editions will be released on November 15, 2011.

Design
The game's ability to alternate between legacy and remastered graphics in the Campaign was made possible thanks to a rendering engine developed by Saber Interative. The technology allowed the developers to both update the Halo: Combat Evolved ' s visuals while preserving the original gameplay at the same time.

Because of their previous contributions to the series - the Blastacular and Defiant map packs - Certain Affinity was approached once more by 343 Industries to streamline the multiplayer maps to take Reach ' s gameplay options into account.

Announcement trailer
The Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary announcement trailer was released on June 6, 2011. It showcases the differences between the original Halo: Combat Evolved and Anniversary.

Waypoint Exclusive
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Exclusive is a video documentary, in which various 343 Industries employees comment on the development and features of the game.

Pre-order bonuses
Customers who pre-order the game will receive a code to download John-117's Mark V MJOLNIR armor for their Avatars. Pre-ordering the game also gives access to the Grunt Funeral skull, which causes Unggoy to explode like plasma grenades when killed.

Terminals teaser
A short trailer which originally debuted during the Halo Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2011. It showcases the animation used in the terminals with a narration by 04-343 Guilty Spark.

Trivia

 * The game was internally referred to as "Spark" during development.
 * The Marathon logo is removed from the original Halo: Combat Evolved logo and is replaced by the outline of a Forerunner monitor. This is because the Marathon intellectual property is owned by Bungie, not by Microsoft Studios or 343 Industries.
 * According to Frank O'Connor, John-117's abnormally proportioned helmet from the announcement trailer was being fixed prior to the trailer's release, though it was not completed in time to appear in the final E3 trailer.