The Evolution of Halo

A decade has past and the development of Halo continues to grow with more fans getting on board and into the action. For those who are just getting in, an understanding of the history behind the trilogy will help you fully appreciate the game and how it has evolved into the success it is today.

The first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved, was released on November 15th, 2001 on the original Xbox. It had broke various sales records and established a whole new meaning to First Person Shooters. Halo was released before Xbox Live, online multiplayer support were not officially supported. The game, however did utilize a local- Ethernet “system-link” that supports a maximum of 16 players, unfortunately this feature was not commonly used.

The second game in the trilogy is Halo 2, released on November 9th, 2004, also on the original xbox, and again, has set new industry standards and records. Halo 2 was the most popular game on Xbox Live for nearly 2 years and with over 8.5 million copies sold worldwide. The successor is a story-driven action-shooter in a first person perspective with an expanded range of vehicles. There were many significant changes in the gameplay; dual-wielding weapons, health bar replaced with a regeneration shield while not taking damage, ability to board enemy vehicles and much more. The “Campaign” mode offered options for both single and multiplayer with 4 levels of difficulty and hidden content throughout the game. Halo 2 allows for online multiplayer via Xbox Live in addition to the split-screen and system link multiplayer.

The last in the trilogy is Halo 3, released on September 25th, 2007 on a newer console, Xbox 360. Halo 3 has also sold over 8.5 million copies and was the best-selling game of 2007 in the U.S. with the multiplayer features noticed as a strongest aspect of the game. One of the key changes of Halo 3 was the balance in the combat system between weapons, grenades and melee – in addition, a new class of usable items was also introduced, known as “Equipment.” Many new features were also added that did not involve directly with gameplay; Forge map editor, file sharing for saved gameplay videos and screenshots. Halo 3’s “Campaign” offered options for single, split-screen multiplayer and up to 3 players on Xbox Live. Unlike Halo 2, you will be able to choose between Master Chief, the Arbiter, and 2 other Elites; N’tho ‘Sraom and Usze ‘Taham. Halo 3 introduced an advanced match making system for multiplayer options via Xbox Live using a customized version of TureSkill ranking system based on a linear measure of a player’s experience.

The fourth installment in the series is Halo Wars, a real-time strategy game, released February 26th, 2009 for the Xbox 360 takes us back 21 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved (which takes place in 2552). Halo Wars utilizes many elements found in many popular RTS games on the PC but exclusively on the 360 and has been the best selling RTS on a console to date. It was designed specifically for the 360 controller and allows the player to command armies from a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield. Halo Wars features a story-based campaign mode that can be played as a single player or cooperatively over Xbox Live as well as a skirmish mode which allows the player to compete against a computer-controlled opponent.

The fifth release is Halo 3: ODST, a first-person shooter released on September 22, 2009 on the Xbox 360 is a prequel which takes us back to the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. Bungie initially conceived ODST as a smalls side project between Halo 3’s completion and Halo: Reach but grew in scope to a full-sized game. ODST is another top-selling Xbox 360 game and received generally positive reviews but the relatively short campaign has caused some hiccups due to the $60 price tag. Master Chief is not ODST, instead the player assumes the roles of elite human human UNSC soldier known as “Orbital Drop Shock Troopers” or ODSTs set in the environment in the fictional African city of New Mombasa. ODST bears a strong resemblance to previous Halo titles but there were several major changes. Instead of the damage regeneration shield, the player utilizes a stamina health mechanic in which if a player receives damage past their stamina threshold, their health takes a permanent hit and will require medipacks to restore. The weapon system brings back a taste of the original Halo in the series. The campaign mode can be played as a single player or multiplayer supporting up to 3 on Xbox Live. A new cooperate game mode called Firefight is introduced which allows the players to take on an increasingly difficult waves of enemies as a timed survival game.

Halo: Reach is an upcoming first-person shooter slated for release during Autumn of 2010 on the Xbox 360 as a prequel and will take us to the year 2552, days before the events of the 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved. Similar to the previous prequel, you will not be playing as Master Chief, instead you will be taking the assuming the roles of Spartan IIIs. Although what will be installed on the latest release is still uncertain, some notable talked about changes and features include; stealth gameplay, civilian vehicles, sprinting, health bar with energy shield, and all features from Halo 3 (Forge, Theatre, Co-op) will make a comeback along with several new ones.

The Storyline
The store centers on the experiences of the main character known as Master Chief, a cybernetically-enhanced human soldier with an artificial intelligence companion, Cortana. Master Chief aids in the human battle against the Covenant, an alien race that worships an ancient civilization known as the Forerunners, and a parasitic organism, known as the Flood.

The story begins in a distant past with the Forunners controlling the entire galaxy with their advanced weapons and technology. Their goal was to protect their civilization, but was caught off guard by an alien parasite, the Flood. The Flood spreaded their infestation of sentient life and over ran many worlds in the galaxy before the Forerunners found a solution to contain the threat. Using an installation known as the Ark, they built seven large ring-shaped megastructures known as Halos which would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, depriving the Flood of their food. The Halo was activated, and the Forerunners have disappeared as well.

Thousands of years later, humanity–under the United Nation Space Command aka UNSC have colonized many worlds with the development of faster-than-light “slipstream” travel. In the year 2525, an alliance of alien races known as the Covenant launched attacks against a human colony in religious beliefs that humans are an affront to their gods, the Forerunners. After the humans’ crushing defeat, one by one, hundreds of the outer human colonies were picked off. By 2535, virtually all have been destroyed.

In 2552, the Covenants learned of the humans last stronghold, Reach, through a spy bot implanted onto a human ship. It was not long before the Covenants learn of all the information necessary to launch an invasion. The UNSC made a great effort to defend their military fortress, for it was their second most important colony after Earth – however, the fall was inevitable.

Master Chief, one of the last survivors, manages to escape on the Pillar of Autumn, a UNSC cruiser and coincidently blind jumps near a mysterious ring-shaped space station known as Halo. The Convenant follows and a battle is forged on the ring’s surface and the Covenants accidentally released the Flood. The Covenants were soon defeated, but the Flood still holds a great threat to all sentient life. The Autumn’s engines was detonated to destroy the halo as result of preventing the Flood’s escape. The few remaining human survivors return to Earth, after learning of a Covenant invasion on the way.

Most of the fleet has been destroyed, all but a single ship led by one of Covenant’s triumvirates, the Prophet of Regret. Regret managed to invade a city before fleeing through a slipspace portal, pursued by Master Chief, Regret was later killed near another Halo installation. The Covenants learning of the Halo Array would lead to their extinction has caused a turmoil in the various races of the alliance. A Covenant warrior, Arbiter and his Elite brethren joins the humanity to stop the rings from being activated.

A full-scale invasion is on route to Earth to excavate an artifact which creates a slipspace portal to the Ark, which can remotely activate the Halo. Master Chief and arbiter travels through the portal to kill the last High Prophet, Truth, and discovers a new ring is in development to replace the previously destroyed. Master Chief activates the incomplete ring, destroying the Flood and sparing the galaxy – as a result, the pulse destroys the ring and damages the Ark. The Arbiter manages to escape, but Master Chief and Cortana are left drifting in space, trapped in the rear half of their ship. Master Chief cryonically freezes himself in hopes of a rescue team. In the end, the ship is seen drifting off towards a mysterious planet.

Halo Franchises
In addition to the video games, the franchise had a huge cultural impact which has led to many adaptations through novels, comics, film and in its newest form, an anime. If we first take a look at Halo novels, there are currently 7 in the series titled: The Flood, First Strike, The Fall of Reach, Contact Harvest, Ghosts of Onyx, Uprising, and currently the latest addition, a collection of graphic novels that was collaborated with Marvel. The Halo film is still in development; which is definitely good news for fans since the Halo movie was dropped in 2006 due to financial issues and script problems. As of now, the film is scheduled for a 2012 release, but we have yet to receive any news on it nor a trailer. Besides the novels, comics, and film, the newest addition to the Halo franchise is an anime take on Halo.

Halo Legends
The newest medium to be added into the already established Halo franchise is Halo Legends. A seven part fully animated series that uses the popular Japanese ‘Anime’ genre style, with each story created by five different Japanese studios; Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4°C, and Toei Animation. The whole project was under the supervision of an internal studio that Microsoft set up called 343 studio, which is to manage where the direction of these stories go in the Halo universe. The first six of the stories will follow closely to the Halo universe and the last story will be a parody of Halo made by Toei Animation. The full release on the Halo Legends DVD will be distributed by Warner Bros. on Feb 16, 2010.

In closing, Halo came a very long way to becoming the giant franchise it is today. New adaptations and mediums are constantly being added to the franchise. Halo has became a popular household brand to every gamer out there, even if you had not played Halo at all, you have most certainly heard about it from one place or another. In the end, we all must remember that it all started with a first person shooter that came out of no where and just revolutionized the FPS genre on our consoles.

Related posts:

1. Bungie Done with Halo on the 360 After Halo: Reach
2. Multiplayer Beta for Halo: Reach Coming in May
3. The Hunt for Details on Halo: Reach
4. Another New Halo Game on the Horizon
5. Farewell & Goodbye ‘Xbox Live’ Sincerly, Halo 2