Halo: Combat Evolved: Difference between revisions

{{Title|''Halo: Combat Evolved''}}

|name= ''Halo: Combat Evolved''

|image= [[File:Halo Combat Evolved cover.png|250px]]

|composer=[[Martin O'Donnell]]<br>[[Michael Salvatori]]

|publisher= [[Microsoft Game Studios]]<br> [[Gearbox Software]] (PC)<br> MacSoft (Mac)

'''UK''': March 14, 2002<br>'''PC:'''<br> '''US''': September 30, 2003<br />

'''UK''': October 10, 2003<br>'''Mac:'''<br> '''US''': December 3, 2003

|modes= [[Campaign]]<br>[[Multiplayer]]

|rating= [[Wikipedia:Entertainment Software Ratings Board|ESRB]]: Mature (M) for Blood, Gore, and Violence<br>

}}

{{Quote|Halo: Combat Evolved! Buy one! Heck, buy two! That's an order, soldier!|[[Avery Junior Johnson|Sergeant Johnson]] upon completion of the [[Halo: Combat Evolved Trial|''Halo: Combat Evolved'' demo]]}}

== Synopsis ==

=== Plot synopsis ===

<!-- Synopsis means keeping the minor details out and just focus on the big picture! Don't elaborate! -->

''Halo: Combat Evolved'' begins with the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} emerging out of [[slipstream space|slipspace]] after the [[Fall of Reach]], only to find [[Installation 04|a huge ring world]]—a "[[Halo Array|Halo]]"—floating in space. [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] (although his name is never mentioned throughout the game), a [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]], is aboard the ''Pillar of Autumn'' when the ship comes under attack by the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]], a religious alliance of aliens and the archenemy of humanity.

The Flood is a parasitic species which received their name due to the way they assimilate all resistance with overwhelming numbers. Free for the first time in a hundred thousand years, the Flood sweeps across Halo, devastating Human and Covenant forces alike. The release of the Flood prompts [[343 Guilty Spark]], the eccentric AI [[Monitor]] of the ring, to activate Halo's defense systems. The AI instructs the SPARTAN-II to activate Halo by obtaining the [[Activation Index]] from the Installation's [[Library]]. The Chief does so, battling hordes of Flood along the way, and returns to the control room. Before Halo initiates its systems, Cortana intervenes and tells John the truth about the Forerunner structure and its purpose- Halo was designed to eliminate the Flood threat by starving the Flood of any life source large enough to sustain them; when fired, it would essentially wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy. Realizing the threat of Halo, Cortana instructs John-117 to detonate the ''Autumn''<nowiki />'s fusion reactor. This detonation would result in the destruction of Halo, which was against 343 Guilty Spark's protocol.  

*[[Lat 'Ravamee]] {{1st}}

*[[Zuka 'Zamamee]] {{1st}}

;Forerunner

**[[Flood combat form]] {{1st}}

**[[Flood carrier form]] {{1st}}

*[[Human]]

**[[UNSC Marine Corps]]

**[[Stealth Sangheili|Stealth]] {{1st}}

**[[Sangheili Zealot|Zealot]] {{1st}}

*[[Unggoy]]

**[[Special Operations Unggoy|SpecOps]] {{1st}}

|title-3=Organizations|

**[[United Nations Space Command]]

***[[UNSC Marine Corps]]

***[[UNSC Navy]]

*****[[SPARTAN-II program]]

|title-4=Locations|

*[[Epsilon Eridani system]]

**[[Reach]] {{Mo}}

**[[Threshold]]

***[[Installation 04]]

*[[M512 smooth-bore high-velocity cannon]]

*[[M6D magnum]]

*[[M9 fragmentation grenade]]

*[[M90 shotgun]]

;Usable

*[[Class-2 directed energy cannon]]

;Unusable

*[[Plasma cannon (starship)|Plasma cannon]]

*[[Pulse laser turret]]

*[[Plasma mortar#Type-26 35cm Directed-Energy Mortar|Type-26 Directed-Energy Mortar]]

====Forerunner====

|title-7=Vehicles|

;Usable

*[[M12 Warthog]]

**[[M12 Chaingun Warthog]]

*[[M808B Scorpion]]

====Covenant====

;Usable

;Unusable

|title-8=Technology and equipment|

**[[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V|Mark V]]

*[[Sangheili harness]]

**[[Sangheili Zealot#Ceremonial battle harness|Ceremonial battle harness]]

*[[Unggoy combat harness]]

**[[Aggressor Sentinel]] {{1st}}

*[[Spoofer]] {{1st}}

*[[Methane tank]]

*[[Data crystal chip]]

''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki />'s gameplay was characterized by several features which set it apart from less acclaimed first-person shooter games of its time.

* '''Storyline execution:''' ''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki />'s gameplay and storyline are tightly interwoven, delivered in a convincing manner consistent with the flow of the game.

* '''Weapons system:''' ''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki />'s new weapons system is unique in two major respects. The first is only allowing players to carry two weapons at a time, thus forcing the player to make trade-offs as they progress throughout the game. The second is a single, separate button for throwing grenades, making them much more significant in both campaign and multiplayer games.

* '''Artificial intelligence:''' ''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki />'s AI is quite sophisticated for its era. With a brand new advanced AI system, actions performed by the AI such as panicking after the death of a superior, diving out of the way of an oncoming vehicle, or taking cover from explosives and suppressive fire, helped ''Halo'' stand out from the rest of the first-person shooters being released at the time.

=== Environment ===

=== Multiplayer ===

A total of 13 multiplayer maps are available:

=== Design ===

{{Main|Pre-Xbox Halo}}

On July 21, 1999, during the Macworld Conference & Expo, Steve Jobs announced that ''Halo'' would be released for Mac OS and Windows simultaneously.<ref>[http://pc.ign.com/articles/068/068975p1.html '''IGN''': ''Heavenly "Halo"'']</ref> Before this public announcement, game industry journalists under a non-disclosure agreement had previewed the game in a private showing during [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3 1999]], and were reportedly amazed.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.org/pressscans/display.html?scan=pcgamerusoct99 '''PC Gamer''': ''Your first look at... "Halo"'']</ref> Bungie Studios later stated an even earlier development build of the game centered on [[real-time strategy]] and was "basically ''[[Myth]]'' in a sci-fi universe."<ref>[http://bungie.net/Inside/CustomPage.aspx?section=History&subsection=Main&page=6 '''Bungie.net''': ''Inside Bungie: History'']</ref>

=== Audio ===

''Halo''<nowiki />'s soundtrack was created by [[Bungie Studios]]' audio director, [[Martin O'Donnell]], and received a large amount of praise from many critics. Martin O'Donnell has stated that his goal was to provide "a feeling of importance, weight, and sense of the 'ancient'."<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070301150741/http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo/themakers3.htm '''Xbox.com''': ''Just the Right Sense of Ancient'']</ref> He designed the music so that it "could be dissembled and remixed in such a way that would give [him] multiple, interchangeable loops that could be randomly recombined in order to keep the piece interesting as well as a variable length". Development involved the creation of "alternative middle sections that could be transitioned to if the game called for such a change (i.e. less or more intense)."<ref>[http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=24 '''Music4Games''': ''The Use and Effectiveness of Audio in "Halo": Game Music Evolved'']</ref>

=== Package ===

=== Reception ===

*'''2004''' - Rereleased as part of Action Double Pack which included ''Brute Force'' and ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.<ref>[http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/04/call-it-halo-force '''IGN''' - ''Call it Halo Force'']</ref>

*'''2005''' - Rereleased as part of the ''Halo Triple Pack'' which contained ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', ''Halo 2'', and ''[[Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack]]''.

*'''2011''' - Remade as ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'' to tie in with ''Halo''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> tenth anniversary.

*'''2014''' - Rerelease of ''Anniversary'' as part of ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'' on [[Xbox One]], with the original ''Halo'' multiplayer compatible for the first time ever with console [[matchmaking]].

*The ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' box art shows the Banshees in the background in their pilotless stance, yet they are still flying. Similarly, they are shown firing thin beams, rather than the bolts that they actually fire in-game.

*''Halo: Combat Evolved ''was originally going to have most of the weapons that were introduced in ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', but due to time constraint, most of the weapons were cut from the final version.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dydfehQBaGE '''Youtube''': ''Evolution of Halo Part 2: Pre-Xbox 1999 Version to 2000 Demo '']</ref>

*''Halo'' was originally planned to have a changing weather system which was mentioned in the August 2000 issue of ''PC Gamer'' magazine.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.org/pressscans/display.html?scan=pcgamer.0800 '''halo.bungie.org''': ''PC Gamer August 2000'']</ref>

<gallery>

File:Halo - Combat Evolved Logo Huge.png|Title art.

File:HCE Japan cover.jpg|The "Japan" cover for the game.

File:Halo_Combat_Evolved_(Xbox)_Platinum_Hits_box_art.JPG|The "Platinum Hits" cover for the game.

File:Halo-combat-evolved.jpg|A promotional image for the game.

File:HCE ControlRoom_Concept_1.png|Concept art for the ring's control room.

File:HCE Elite Concept 2.png|Sangheili concept art.

File:HCE RingSurface Concept 9.jpg|Installation 04 concept art.

File:HCE RingSurface Concept 10.jpg|Installation 04 concept art.

File:HCE Promotional image.gif|Image used to promote the game.

</gallery>

{{Ref/Sources|2}}

*[[Blam!]]

*[[Halo: Combat Evolved credits|Halo: Combat Evolved Credits]]

{{Navbox/Media/Games}}

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