After its initial release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live,^[4] holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later.^[5] By June 20, 2006, more than 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live;^[6] by May 9, 2007, this number had risen to more than five million unique players on Xbox Live^[7] As of November 2008, Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game^[8] with 8.46 million copies sold worldwide,^[9] with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the US alone.^[10] Critical reception of the game was generally positive, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component; at the same time, the campaign was the focus of criticism for its cliffhanger ending.

//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>

Gameplay

In-game screenshot of Halo 2 for Xbox.

Halo 2 is a story-driven action-shooter game with a first-person perspective.^[11] The game features an expanded range of vehicles, as well as other gameplay changes compared to its predecessor. The original Halo featured separate health and shield bars. In Halo 2, the health bar is no longer visible; instead, the player’s shield regenerates quickly when the player is not taking damage.^[3]

Certain weapons can be dual-wielded, which allows the player to trade accuracy and the ability to use grenades and melee for raw firepower.^[3] The player can carry two weapons at a time (or three if dual-wielding; one weapon remains holstered), with each weapon having advantages and disadvantages in different combat situations. For example, most Covenant weapons eschew disposable ammo clips for a contained battery, which cannot be replaced if depleted. However, these weapons can overheat if fired continuously for prolonged periods.^[3] Human weapons are less effective at penetrating shields and require reloading, but cannot overheat due to prolonged fire. The player can carry a total of eight grenades to dislodge and disrupt enemies. A new ability found in Halo 2 is the ability to board enemy vehicles that are near the player and traveling at low speeds. The player or AI latches onto the vehicle and forcibly ejects the other driver from the vehicle.

Campaign

The game’s “Campaign” mode offers options for both single-player and cooperative multiplayer participation. In campaign mode, the player must complete a series of levels that encompass Halo 2‘s storyline. These levels alternate between the Master Chief and a Covenant Elite called the Arbiter, who occupy diametrically opposed roles in the story’s conflict. Aside from variations in storyline, the Arbiter differs from Master Chief only in that his armor lacks a flashlight; instead, it is equipped with a short duration rechargeable form of active camouflage that disappears when the player attacks or takes damage.

There are four levels of difficulty in campaign mode: Easy, Normal, Heroic, and Legendary. An increase in difficulty will result in an increase in the number, rank, health, damage, and accuracy of enemies; a reduction of duration and an increase in recharge time for the Arbiter‘s active camouflage; a decrease in the player’s health and shields; and occasional changes in dialogue.^[12]

There is hidden content within the game, including easter eggs, messages, hidden objects, and weapons. The most well-known of the hidden content are the skulls hidden on every level. The skulls, which can be picked up like a weapon, are located in hard-to-reach places. Many are exclusive to the Legendary mode of difficulty. Once activated, each skull has a specific effect on gameplay. For example, the “Sputnik” skull found on the Quarantine Zone level alters the mass of objects in the game; thus resulting in explosions being able to launch these objects across larger distances. Skull effects can be combined to provide various new levels of difficulty and/or novelty.^[13]

Multiplayer

Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 allows players to compete with each other via Xbox Live, in addition to support for split-screen and system link multiplayer.^[3] Halo 2′s multiplayer mode offers changes from earlier online first-person shooters. Traditionally, one player sets his or her computer or console up as a game server or host, specifying the game type, map, and configuring other settings. The game software then uses a service such as GameSpy to advertise the game to the world at large; other players choose which game to join based upon criteria such as the map and game options each host is offering, as well as the ping times they are able to receive. In Halo 2, however, Xbox Live players do not choose to host public games, and they do not specify individual maps and options to search for. Instead, players select playlists that are geared to different styles of play.^[3] For fairness and balance reasons, certain gameplay aspects from the campaign mode are disabled or missing in multiplayer; for example, the Fuel Rod weapon is missing from vehicles and maps.^[11]

Technical lead designer, Chris Butcher, commented on the development of Halo 2‘s multiplayer in Edge, a British gaming magazine, in January 2007.^[14] Responding to a rash of subsequent news articles, Butcher clarified his position on Halo 2 multiplayer. He noted his original intent with the game, but he also reiterated disappointment. “For Halo 2 we had our sights set very high on networking,” Butcher said. “We thought about the great LAN parties you can have with Halo 1 and decided to try [to] recreate that awesome experience of having all your buddies over to play, but using Xbox Live instead of having to lug consoles and televisions around. Going from having no Internet multiplayer to developing a completely new online model was a big challenge to tackle all at once, and as a result we had to leave a lot of things undone in order to meet the ship date commitment that we made to our fans.”^[15]

Synopsis

Setting

See also: Halo: Combat Evolved and Characters of Halo

Halo 2 takes place in a futuristic science fiction setting, where humans, under the auspices of the United Nations Space Command or UNSC, have developed faster-than-light slipspace travel and colonized numerous worlds.^[3] According to the game’s backstory, in 2525 the outer colony world of Harvest was decimated by a collective of alien races known as the Covenant. Declaring humanity an affront to their gods, the Forerunners, the UNSC wages an increasingly desperate struggle against the technologically superior aliens. After the human bastion at Reach is destroyed, a single ship, The Pillar of Autumn, follows protocol and initiates a random slipspace jump to lead the Covenant away from Earth. The crew discovers a Forerunner ringworld called Halo. Leading a guerilla insurgency on the ring’s surface, the humans discover that the rings are weapons of last resort built to contain a terrifying parasite called the Flood. Rather than activate Halo and destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, the human supersoldier Master Chief detonates the Pillar of Autumn‘s engines, destroying the ring and preventing the escape of the Flood. The Master Chief, his artificially intelligent companion Cortana, and a handful of survivors race back to Earth to warn of an impending invasion by Covenant forces.^[16]

Plot

Taking place shortly after the events of the novel Halo: First Strike, Halo 2 opens with the trial of an Elite commander aboard the mobile city of High Charity, the seat of the Covenant. The Elite is stripped of his rank and branded a heretic for failing to stop a ship of humans from destroying Halo. It is revealed that the Covenant’s interest in Halo lies in the religious belief that the activation of the rings would bring about a “Great Journey”, sweeping loyal Covenant to salvation.^[17] At the same time as the Elite Commander is tortured by Tartarus, the Chieftain of the Brutes, the Master Chief and Sergeant Avery Johnson are being commended for their actions at Halo during a recognition ceremony aboard a coilgun platform orbiting Earth. Lord Hood awards the soldiers alongside Commander Miranda Keyes, who accepts an award on behalf of her deceased father, Captain Jacob Keyes.^[18]

Shortly after the commencement of the ceremony, a Covenant fleet appears outside Earth’s defensive perimeter. The Covenant send boarding parties carrying bombs towards the orbital platforms, near Earth. After repelling the Covenant assault, the Master Chief, Cortana, and the crew of Keyes’ ship In Amber Clad proceed to Earth’s surface and the city of New Mombasa, Kenya, where the Covenant flagship has anchored. Cortana learns the ship carries an immensely important member of the Covenant hierarchy, a High Prophet known as Regret. With his small fleet destroyed, Regret makes a hasty slipspace jump; In Amber Clad, Johnson, Cortana and the Master Chief follow just as the slipspace rupture destroys much of the city. In Amber Clad arrives at Regret’s destination to find another Halo; realizing the danger the ring presents, the Master Chief is sent to kill Regret while Keyes and Johnson find Halo’s key to activation, the Index.

The disgraced Covenant commander is presented before the Prophet Hierarchs, who acknowledge that though the destruction of Halo was his fault, he is no heretic. Branded as he is, the Elite can no longer lead troops into battle as he is, but the Prophets offer him the honored position of Arbiter. Realizing that he is expected to die in service to the Prophets, the Elite accepts the mantle of Arbiter and in his first mission assassinates an Elite professing heretical beliefs, in the process discovering what the Prophets refer to as an “Oracle”, a Forerunner artificial intelligence known as Guilty Spark. Responding to Regret’s distress call, High Charity and the Covenant fleet arrive at the new Halo, Installation 05, where the Chief kills the Prophet. Bombarded from space, the Chief falls into a lake and is rescued by a mysterious tentacled creature.

The death of Regret sows seeds of discord among the races of the Covenant, as the Brutes are given the Elite’s traditional job of protecting the Hierarchs. The Arbiter is sent to find Halo’s Index and captures Johnson and Keyes before being confronted by Tartarus. The Brute reveals that the Prophets have ordered the annihilation of the Elites, and sends the Arbiter falling down a deep chasm. The Arbiter is saved by the tentacled creature and along with the Master Chief brought before it. The creature, Gravemind, is a intelligence which controls the Flood on Installation 05. Gravemind reveals to the Arbiter that the Great Journey would destroy Flood, humans, and Covenant together, and professing friendship sends the Arbiter and Master Chief to different places to stop Halo’s activation. The Master Chief is teleported to High Charity, where a civil war has broken out between the member races. At the same time In Amber Clad crashes into High Charity, and Cortana realizes that Gravemind used them as a distraction to infest the Covenant city with Flood. As the Flood overrun the city, the Master Chief follows the Prophet of Truth aboard a Forerunner ship leaving the city; Cortana remains behind to destroy High Charity and Halo if the Brute Tartarus succeeds in activating the ring.^[19]

The Arbiter is sent to the surface of Halo, where he rallies his allies to assault the Brute’s position. With the help of Johnson, he confronts Tartarus in Halo’s control room. When the Arbiter tries to convince Tartarus that the Prophets have betrayed them both, Tartarus angrily activates the ring, and a battle ensues. The Arbiter and Johnson manage to kill Tartarus while Keyes removes the Index. Instead of shutting down the ring entirely, the unexpected shutdown of the ring triggers a system-wide failsafe, putting Installation 05 and all the other rings on standby for activation from a remote location, which Guilty Spark refers to as “the Ark“.^[20] As Truth’s ship arrives amidst a raging battle on Earth, Hood asks the Master Chief what he is doing aboard the ship. The Chief replies he is “finishing this fight”. In a postcredits sequence, Gravemind is seen arriving on High Charity telling Cortana he has many questions to ask, and the A.I. agrees to answer them.

Development

Halo 2 was officially announced in September 2002 with a cinematic trailer. The trailer was subsequently packaged with later Halo: Combat Evolved DVDs. A real-time gameplay video was shown at E3 2003, which was the first actual gameplay seen by the public; it showcased new features such as dual-wielding and improved graphics. Bungie informed the public on development with weekly Halo 2 development updates which started on January 16, 2004 and ended June 25, 2004; the weekly updates became standard on the Bungie website even after the release of Halo 2.^[21] With only a year to go until release, Bungie went into the “mother of all crunches” in order to finish the game. The cliffhanger ending of the game was not originally intended, and resulted from the frenzy to ship on time.^[22]

Audio

Main article: Halo 2 Original Soundtrack

Halo 2‘s soundtrack was composed primarily by Martin O’Donnell and his musical partner Michael Salvatori, the team that had previously composed the critically-acclaimed music of Halo. O’Donnell noted in composing the music for Halo 2 that “Making a sequel is never a simple proposition. You want to make everything that was cool even better, and leave out all the stuff that was weak.”^[23] O’Donnell made sure that no part of the game would be completely silent, noting “Ambient sound is one of the main ways to immerse people psychologically. A dark room is spooky, but add a creaking floorboard and rats skittering in the walls and it becomes really creepy. “^[23] Halo 2, unlike its predecessor, was mixed to take full advantage of Dolby 5.1 Digital surround sound.^[24]

In the summer of 2004, Producer Nile Rodgers and O’Donnell decided to release the music from Halo 2 on two separate CDs; the first (Volume One) would contain all the themes present in the game as well as music “inspired” by the game; the second would contain the rest of the music from the game, much of which was incomplete, as the first CD was shipped before the game was released.^[25] The first CD was released on November 9, 2004, and featured guitar backing by Steve Vai. Additional tracks included various outside musicians, including Joe Satriani, Incubus, Breaking Benjamin, and Hoobastank. The Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume Two CD, containing the game music organized in suite form, was released on April 25, 2006.

Release

Contents of the Limited Collector’s Edition.

The release of Halo 2 was preceded with numerous promotions, product tie-ins, and movie trailer-like commercials. There was a Halo 2 Celebrity Pre-Release Party at E3 2004, in which a private home was transformed to replicate the world of Halo, complete with camouflaged marines and roaming Cortanas.^[26]

In addition to more traditional forms of promotion, Halo 2 was also part of an elaborate Alternate Reality Game project titled “I Love Bees” which cost an estimated one million dollars. This ‘game’ centered around a hacked website, supposedly a site about beekeeping, where an AI from the future was residing. The project garnered significant attention from sites including Slashdot and Wired News;^[27] Wired noted that the game was drawing attention away from the 2004 Presidential Election.^[28] The game won an award for creativity at the 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards^[29] and was nominated for a Webby award.^[30] On the morning of October 14, 2004, a leak of the French version of the game was posted on the Internet, and circulated widely.^[31]

Halo 2 was sold in both a standard and “Limited Collector’s Edition”. The Collector’s Edition features the regular edition and includes several promotional offers, a special cover and a special DVD of the making of Halo 2. The instructional booklet is also written from the Covenant point of view rather than from the UNSC point of view used in the regular edition. Also enclosed is the “Conversations from the Universe” booklet that contains additional information from both the human and the Covenant side of the Halo storyline; transcripts are available online. The game is enclosed in an aluminum case with the Halo 2 logo.

The first official release of Halo 2 was in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States on November 9, 2004. Anticipation for the game was high; three weeks before this release, a record 1.5 million copies had already been pre-ordered.^[32] Massive lines formed at midnight releases of the game; the event garnered significant media attention.^[33] This was followed by releases on November 10, 2004 in France and other European countries, and November 11 in the UK. The game sold 2.4 million copies and earned up to US$125 million in its first 24 hours on store shelves, thus out-grossing the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest as the highest grossing release in entertainment history.^[34] The game sold 260,000 units in the United Kingdom in its first week, making it the third fastest-selling title of all time in the UK. On June 20, 2006, Xbox.com reported that more than a half-billion games of Halo 2 have been played on Xbox Live since its debut. Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game^[8] with 8.46 million copies sold by November 2008. As of September 25, 2007, Halo 2 was the fifth best-selling video game in the United States with 6.3 million copies sold, according to the NPD Group.^[10] From the day of its initial release and up until mid-November 2006, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, even after the release of the Xbox 360; its position was eventually surpassed in 2006 by the 360-exclusive Gears of War. Halo and Halo 2 are still some of the most played games for the Xbox console.^[4]

Windows version

The PC version with fixed widescreen ratio.

See also: List of Games for Windows titles

On February 9 2006, Nick Baron announced that a version of Halo 2 would be released on PC, but exclusively for the Windows Vista operating system (though this limitation can be removed by an (unofficial) crack).^[35] The game was ported by a small team at Microsoft Game Studios (codenamed Hired Gun) who worked closely with Bungie.

Halo 2 for Windows^[36] was originally scheduled for release on May 8, 2007, but the release was pushed back to May 29. This delay was due to the appearance of nudity in the game.^[37] Microsoft will be offering patches to remove the nude content and is revising the boxes to reflect this. The nudity was a photograph of a man mooning the camera (presumably a Microsoft or Bungie employee) which appeared as a “.ass” error when using the map editor in Halo 2 for Windows Vista.^[38]

Downloadable content

A common complaint regarding Halo 2′s online play was widespread cheating, which began occurring almost immediately after the game’s release. Users exploited bugs in the game and vulnerabilities of the network to win ranked games and thus increase their matchmaking rank.^[39]

Some players used “standbying” to cheat, in which the player hosting the game intentionally presses the standby button on his or her modem; this results in all players except the cheaters freezing in place. This way, the cheater would be given time to accomplish an objective in the game. “Dummying” involves using an Elite character and a vehicle, exploiting a glitch which would cause a doppelganger of the player to appear. Cheating also includes softmodding, in which a player uses devices such as Action Replay and computer programs to gain unfair advantages, and bridging, which uses computer programs to give a player ‘host’ status, and therefore the ability to disconnect other players from the game session. A game exploitation called “superbouncing” or “superjumping” is labeled cheating by many in the Xbox Live community, and Bungie employees have described it as cheating when used in Matchmaking.^[40] Another group of glitches, which involve the use of certain button combinations, has similarly been described as cheating by both fans and Bungie employees.^[41] Halo 2 updates have been used to balance multiplayer and fix bugs, as well as release new maps and content.

Bungie released several map packs for Halo 2, both over Xbox Live and on game discs. The Multiplayer Map Pack is an expansion pack intended to make Xbox Live content and updates available to offline players, and was released on July 5, 2005. The disk contains the game’s automatic update, all nine new multiplayer maps, a documentary about the making of the maps, and a bonus cinematic called “Another Day on the Beach”, amongst other features.^[42]

On March 30, 2007, Bungie announced that two new maps would be available on April 17, 2007 for US$4. Bungie’s own Frank O’Connor confirmed that both Xbox and Xbox 360 users would have access to the content.^[43] The two new maps were remakes of maps from the original Halo: Combat Evolved, “Hang em’ High” and “Derelict”.^[44] Due to issues with distribution of the maps, the updates which made the maps mandatory was released on May 9, 2007, later than planned. Bungie also reset all ranks for Halo 2 at the same time.^[45] On July 7, also known as “Bungie Day”, Bungie released the map pack called the “Blastacular Map Pack” for free.^[46]

Reception

Halo 2 was well-received by critics. The game has a 95% average critic score on review aggregate sites Metacritic and Game Rankings.

Many reviewers praised the audio for being especially vivid.^[52][47] Multiplayer especially was noted in being the best on Xbox Live at the time. Game Informer, along with numerous other publications, rated it higher than Halo: Combat Evolved, citing enhanced multiplayer and less repetitive gameplay, however on one occasion Halo 2 was beaten by its predecessor in IGN’s Top 25 Xbox Games of All Time where Halo: Combat Evolved secured #1 with Halo 2 following in #2. Halo 2 received multiple awards, including Best Console game and Best Sound Design from the Interactive Achievement Awards. Most critics noted that Halo 2 stuck with the formula that made its predecessor successful, and was alternatively praised and faulted for this decision. Edge noted in its review, “It’s fitting that we’re able to steal a line from the script to sum everything up. No spoilers here, just an epitaph, from the moment Cortana turns to Master Chief and says this: ‘It’s not a new plan. But we know it’ll work.’ “^[52] According to Xbox.com, the game has received more than 38 individual awards.^[53] The game’s campaign mode has received some criticism for being too short,^[54] in addition to some dissatisfaction with the abrupt, cliffhanger ending that sets up the sequel, Halo 3.^[48] GameSpot noted that the story switching between the Covenant and Human factions made the plot more intricate, but distracted the player from Earth’s survival and the main point of the game.^[48] There is also some criticism of the game’s on-the-fly streaming and level of detail adjustment, which can sometimes result in textures loading erroneously and “popping in” when the camera changes in cutscenes. Bungie has stated that this issue has been fixed for Halo 3 and the Windows Vista port.

In an interview with Edge magazine in January 2007, Jamie Griesemer, one of Halo‘s design leads, said that the main reason for Halo 2‘s shortcomings was a lack of “polish” period near the end of the development cycle. Staff member Frank O’Connor admitted the cliffhanger ending was abrupt, noting “we drove off ‘Thelma & Louise‘ style”. Nonetheless, in the interview Griesemer promised that they would make Halo 3 a more than worthy successor.^[14]

References

In Halo‘s twenty-sixth century setting, the player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced “SPARTAN” super-soldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence who occupies the Master Chief’s neural interface. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles as they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo, a ring-shaped structure. The game has been called “easy to learn”,^[8] and has been praised for its “engaging story”.^[9]

Many game magazines have praised Halo as one of the best^[10] and most important^[11] games of all time. The game’s popularity has led to labels such as “Halo clone”^[12] and “Halo killer”, applied respectively to games either similar to or anticipated to be better than it.^[13][14] In addition, the game inspired and was used in the fan-created Red vs. Blue video series, which is credited as the “first big success” of machinima^[15] — the technique of using real-time 3D engines, often from video games, to create animated films.

//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>

Gameplay

The Master Chief fires his Assault Rifle at a pack of Grunts. Weapon, health and motion sensor displays are visible in the corners of the screen

As a first-person shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved has a gameplay fundamentally similar to that of its peers, focusing on combat in a 3D environment, and taking place almost entirely from a character’s eye view. The player can move around and look up, down, left or right.^[16] The game features vehicles, ranging from armored jeeps (Warthog) to tanks (Scorpion), alien hovercraft (Ghost) and even an aircraft (Banshee), all of which can be controlled by the player. The game switches to the third-person perspective during vehicle use for pilots and mounted gun operators; passengers maintain a first-person view.^[17]

The player character is equipped with a damage-absorbing energy shield, in addition to hit points. The shield’s charge appears as a blue bar in the upper-right hand corner of the game’s heads-up display. When the shield is fully depleted, the player is highly vulnerable, and further damage reduces the character’s health level.^[9] Critically, however, the shield will recharge if no further damage is sustained for a brief period.^[18]

Halo‘s arsenal consists of weapons from science fiction. The game has been praised for giving each weapon a unique purpose, thus making them useful in different scenarios.^[19] For example, plasma weapons need time to cool if fired too rapidly, but require no reloading. Instead, players are forced to discard them after depleting their batteries. In contrast, conventional firearms cannot overheat, but require reloading and ammunition. All weapons may be used to bludgeon enemies,^[18] which allows a player to silently kill opponents without alerting other nearby enemies.^[20] Players may carry only two weapons at once; thus, a strategy is required when using and selecting firearms.^[21]

The player can carry up to eight grenades at a time: four fragmentation and four plasma grenades each.^[2] Like the game’s other weapons, the two types of grenades differ; the fragmentation grenade bounces and detonates quickly,^[22] whereas the plasma grenade adheres to targets and takes longer to detonate.^[23] A controller button assigned to grenades eliminates the need to holster firearms before throwing.^[18]

Combatants

The game’s main enemy force is the Covenant, an alliance of alien species. Their forces include Elites, fierce warriors protected by recharging energy shields much like the player’s own; Grunts, which are short, cowardly creatures, usually led by Elites, and who often flee in terror instead of fighting unless an Elite is present; Jackals, which have highly durable energy shields attached to their arms; and Hunters, large, powerful creatures with thick armor plates that cover the majority of their bodies.^[24]

A secondary enemy is The Flood, a parasitic alien life form that appears in three main variants.^[25] Infection Forms, the true form of the Flood, are fragile, but often travel in swarms; they do little damage individually, but the swarms often number in the hundreds. Combat Forms result from humans and Covenant Elites who are infected by Infection Forms, and have hideously deformed bodies. Bloated Carrier Forms serve as incubators for new Infection Forms, and when wounded or near a potential victim, they explode to damage other nearby life forms and to release their spores. Battling the Flood, Covenant and player are the Sentinels, robotic drones designed by an extinct race called the Forerunners. Sentinels lack durability, but use powerful beam weapons and are immune to infection by the Flood.^[25]

The artificial intelligence in Halo has been favorably received.^[26] Enemies take cover and use suppressive fire and grenades.^[19] Some enemies retreat when their superiors are killed.^[27] The player is often aided by United Nations Space Command (UNSC) Marines, who offer ground support, such as manning gun turrets or riding shotgun while the player is driving a vehicle.^[19]

Multiplayer

Because Halo was released before Xbox Live, online multiplayer games were not officially supported.^[28] The game instead uses local Ethernet or “system-link” that supports a maximum of 16 players. This setup was a first for a console game, but was often deemed impractical by critics.^[20][19] As Halo lacks artificially intelligent game bots, LAN parties are needed to reach the game’s 16-player limit. In addition to five customizable competitive multiplayer modes, two players may co-operatively play through the game’s campaign.^[16] Halo‘s multiplayer components were generally well-received by critics and is widely considered one of the best multiplayer games of all time.^[29][30][17]

Although the Xbox version of Halo lacks official support for online multiplayer play, XLink Kai, GameSpy and XBConnect‘s packet tunnelling software provide unofficial ways around this limitation.^[31] The Windows and Macintosh ports of Halo support online matches involving up to 16 players and include multiplayer maps not in the original Xbox release.^[32] However, co-operative play was removed from the ports because it would have required large amounts of recoding to implement.^[33] On March 15, 2004, Gearbox Software released Halo: Custom Edition for Windows, which enabled players to use custom-made maps and game modifications.^[34]

Synopsis

Setting

Halo takes place in a science fiction universe created by Bungie Studios specifically for the game. According to the story, the overpopulation of Earth and the realization of faster-than-light travel have caused the human race to colonize other planets. A keystone of these efforts is the planet Reach, an interstellar naval yard and a hub of scientific and military activity.^[18] A secret military endeavor, dubbed the SPARTAN Project, was established on Reach to create an army of biologically-engineered, cyborg “super-soldiers”. Thirty-two years before the beginning of the game, a technologically advanced collective of alien races, the Covenant, began to attack human settlements, declaring humanity an affront to their gods. The United Nations Space Command experienced a series of crushing defeats, and, although the super-soldiers of the SPARTAN-II Project fought effectively against the Covenant, they were unable to turn the tides of war.^[18]

To prepare for a mission to discover the location of the Covenant’s homeworld, SPARTAN-II soldiers were recalled to Reach for further augmentation. Two days before the mission was to begin, Covenant forces attacked Reach and destroyed the colony.^[18] A starship, the Pillar of Autumn, survived the onslaught with the lead Spartan II, Master Chief, onboard. The ship initiated a random jump to slip space (similar to hyperspace),^[35] hoping to lead the enemy away from Earth.^[36] The game starts with the Pillar of Autumn encountering Halo.

The titular Halo is an enormous, ring-shaped artificial space habitat/planet, which (according to Bungie Studios) has a diameter of ten thousand kilometers.^[37] Halo sits at a Lagrange point between a planet and its moon. Centrifugal force created by the rotation of the station provides the ring’s gravity.^[38]

Characters

Main article: Characters of Halo

The player character is Master Chief Petty Officer John-117,^[39] one of the few (see Halo: The Fall of Reach and its sequels for more information) surviving super-soldiers of the SPARTAN-II project, and the main character of the story. Accompanying the Master Chief is the Pillar of Autumn‘s feminine artificial intelligence construct, Cortana, who resides in a neural implant connected to his battle armor, codenamed MJOLNIR Mark V. The Pillar of Autumn‘s captain, Jacob Keyes, is also a major character. Playing an antagonistic role in the game’s events is 343 Guilty Spark, an eccentric artificial intelligence responsible for monitoring and maintaining Halo’s systems.

Plot

The story is presented through an instruction manual, scripted events and conversations during the game, and in-game cut scenes. The game begins as the Pillar of Autumn exits slip-space near a mysterious ring-shaped space station, called “Halo” by the enemy of the game, The Covenant.^[40] A Covenant fleet attacks and heavily damages the Pillar of Autumn. Jacob Keyes initiates “The Cole Protocol”,^[41] a procedure designed to prevent the Covenant from learning the location of Earth. While Keyes prepares to land the ship on Halo, the Master Chief and Cortana escape via an escape pod, which crash lands on the ring. Cortana and the Chief are the only ones that survived the impact of the escape pod crash.

Keyes survives the Autumn‘s crash landing, but is captured by the Covenant.^[42] In the second and third levels of the game, the Master Chief and Cortana gather human survivors and rescue Captain Keyes, who is imprisoned on the Covenant ship Truth and Reconciliation. Once rescued, Keyes orders the Master Chief to beat the Covenant to Halo’s control center and to discover its purpose.^[43] The Master Chief and Cortana travel to a map room called the Silent Cartographer, which leads them to the control room.^[44] There, Cortana enters the systems and, discovering something urgent, suddenly sends the Master Chief to find Captain Keyes, while she stays behind.^[45] While searching for his commander, the Master Chief learns that the Covenant have accidentally released the Flood, a parasitic alien race capable of spreading itself by overwhelming and infesting other sentient life-forms. Keyes falls victim to them while looking for a cache of weapons. The release of the Flood prompts 343 Guilty Spark to recruit the Master Chief in retrieving the Index, a device that will activate Halo and prevent the Flood from spreading beyond the facility.

After the Master Chief retrieves and begins to use the Index, Cortana re-appears and warns him against the activation. She has discovered that Halo’s defense system is a weapon designed to kill all sentient life in the galaxy, which the Flood need to spread.^[46] When confronted with this information, 343 Guilty Spark states that the installation technically only has a maximum radius of twenty-five thousand light-years, but that its pulse would trigger other similar installations as well, killing all sentient life in the galaxy.^[47]

While fighting the Flood, the Covenant, and Guilty Spark’s Sentinels, the Master Chief and Cortana attempt to destroy Halo before 343 Guilty Spark activates it. Cortana discovers that the best way to destroy Halo is to cause the crashed Pillar of Autumn to self-destruct.^[48] However, Captain Keyes’ authorization is required to destroy the ship.^[49] By the time that they reach Keyes, he has been infected and turned into a Brain Flood. The Master Chief retrieves Keyes’ neural implants directly from his brain, and Cortana activates the Autumn‘s self-destruct sequence. However, 343 Guilty Spark reappears and deactivates the countdown, discovering the record of human history in the process.^[50] The Master Chief manually causes the Pillar of Autumn‘s fusion reactors to begin to melt down, and the Master Chief and Cortana narrowly escape the destruction of the ring via a fighter.

Development

The first official screenshot of Halo.

On July 21, 1999, during the Macworld Conference & Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Halo would be released for Mac OS and Windows simultaneously.^[51] Before this public announcement, game industry journalists under a non-disclosure agreement had previewed the game in a private showing during E3 1999,^[52] and were reportedly amazed.^[51][52] 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.”^[53]

At E3 2000, the first trailer of Halo was well-received.^[54] The version shown there differed greatly from the one exhibited previously, marking the first major overhaul in the game’s development.^[55] At this point, Halo was a third-person action game, in which a transport starship crashlands on a mysterious ring world that orbits a star. Early versions of Covenant aliens appear in great numbers and loot what they can, and war erupts between them and the humans. Unable to match the technologically advanced alien race, the humans on the ring world resort to guerrilla warfare.^[56] This version of the game featured Halo-specific fauna, which were later dropped because of design difficulties and the creatures’ “detract[ion] from the surprise, drama and impact of the Flood.”^[57]

As rumors had predicted,^[58] Microsoft announced on June 19, 2000 that it had acquired Bungie Studios.^[59] Halo became an exclusive game for Microsoft’s Xbox video game console, and Bungie Studios rewrote the game’s engine, heavily altering its presentation and turning it into a first-person shooter.^[60] Originally a key element, the game’s online multiplayer component was dropped because Xbox Live would be unfinished at the time of Halo‘s release. While a playable demonstration of the game at Gamestock 2001 was well-received,^[61] critics had mixed reactions to its exhibition at E3 2001.^[62][63][64] The game was released in North America simultaneously with the Xbox, on November 15, 2001.^[1]

On July 12, 2002, a Halo port for Windows was announced to be under development by Gearbox Software.^[65] Its showing at E3 2003 was positively received by some critics,^[66][67] with skepticism by others.^[68] It was released on September 30, 2003,^[4] and included support for online multiplayer play and featured sharper graphics, but had compatibility issues that caused poor performance.^[69][32] Halo was later released for Mac OS X on December 11, 2003.^[5] On December 4, 2007, the game became available for the Xbox 360 via download from the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft Points.^[70]

Audio

Main article: Halo Original Soundtrack

Halo‘s soundtrack was created by Bungie Studios‘ audio director, Martin O’Donnell, and received enthusiastic praise from many critics.^{[17][19][21][9]} O’Donnell has stated that his goal was to provide “a feeling of importance, weight, and sense of the ‘ancient’.”^[71] 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).”^[72]

O’Donnell has remarked that he “sat with the level designers and ‘spotted’ the level as though it was a movie, with the knowledge that the music would have to be malleable rather than static…. [T]he level designer would tell me what he hoped a player would feel at certain points or after accomplishing certain tasks”. Based on this information, O’Donnell would “go back and develop appropriate music cues, then have the designer script the cues into the level, and then we’d play through it to see if it worked as desired.”^[72] He explained that the use of music in Halo is sparse because he believes that “[music] is best used in a game to quicken the emotional state of the player and it works best when used least”, and that “[if] music is constantly playing it tends to become sonic wallpaper and loses its impact when it is needed to truly enhance some dramatic component of game play.”^[73]

Reception

On its release Halo broke sales records; by April 8, 2002, one million units had been sold: this pace was faster than that of any previous sixth-generation console game.^[77] During the two months following Halo‘s release, the game sold alongside more than fifty percent of Xbox consoles.^[78] Halo‘s retail price remained at US$49.99 until November 30, 2003.^[79] By July 14, 2003, the game had sold three million copies worldwide,^[80] and by January 28, 2004, it had reached four million copies.^[81] As of November 9, 2005, Halo has sold over five million copies worldwide.^[7]

Halo was critically acclaimed and received an overall score of 97% on Metacritic.^[1] Electronic Gaming Monthly observed, “This game has me totally mesmerized … [It] engages your intellect on a whole different level”, and of its multiplayer, “GoldenEye was the multiplayer standard for console first-person shooters… It has been surpassed,” awarding the game a perfect score.^[6] GameSpot claimed that “Halo‘s single-player game is worth picking up an Xbox for alone”, commenting, “Not only is this easily the best of the Xbox launch games, but it’s easily one of the best shooters ever, on any platform.”^[19] IGN remarked similarly, calling Halo a “can’t miss, no-brainer, sure thing, five star, triple A game.”^[17] Edge called it “the most important launch game for any console, ever”, and awarded it a 10 out of 10 score, only the fourth such rating in the magazine’s 12-year history.^[30] The game received numerous Game of the Year awards, including those of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences,^[82] Electronic Gaming Monthly, Edge, and IGN.^[83] The British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded Halo “Best Console Game”, and Rolling Stone presented it with their “Best Original Soundtrack” award. According to Xbox.com, the game received a total of 48 awards.^[83] Among the specific aspects that reviewers praised were the balance of weapons, the role of drivable vehicles,^[17][5] and the artificial intelligence of enemies.^[30][5]

Although Halo‘s overall reception was largely positive, the game received some criticism for its level design. IGN wrote that “the middle third of the game basically has … the same level over again.”^[17] GameSpy gave Halo a considerably lower (abeit still positive) rating than other reviewers, later placing the game tenth on its “Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time” list. The site stated that the levels often “degenerated into recycling the same areas over and over until you were bored to tears” and were one of the few reviewers to complain about the lack of online multiplayer play, though Xbox Live had not yet been launched and GameSpy offered its Tunnel service to enable SystemLink games over the Internet[1].^[31] Noting the level design as a problem, an article on Game Studies.org stated that the game still “triumphs in understanding the anatomy of the FPS,” and is “not so much about ‘combat evolved’ as the subtitle suggests, but about ‘genre evolved’.”^[84]

Halo‘s PC port garnered mixed reactions and received a score of 83% on Metacritic.^[4] GameSpot stated that it was “still an incredible action game … [and] a true classic”, awarding it 9.0 out of 10.^[69] It received a score of 8.2 out of 10 from IGN, who stated, “If you’ve played the game on the Xbox, there’s not much for you here.”^[32] Eurogamer called the game “a missed opportunity”, but stated that the online multiplayer component was “a massive draw … for Halo veterans”.^[33]

Legacy

According to Gamespot, Halo‘s “numerous subtle innovations have been borrowed by countless other games since.”^[85] The game is often cited as the main reason for the Xbox’s success,^[86] and it began what is commonly regarded as the system’s flagship franchise.^[87] Game designer Vox Day credited the game with using science-fiction environments to follow Half-Life in eschewing static levels and a similarity to dungeon crawls, which the FPS genre inherited from Akalabeth. Day further wrote that Halo spurred a sustained trend of many other FPS console games.^[88] On July 29, 2006, using criteria including revenue, average review scores, commentary, spin-offs and other elements, Halo was estimated as the second to top game of the twenty-first century, behind Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.^[89] The game’s popularity sparked the usage of terms like “Halo clone”^[90][91][92] and “Halo killer”;^[13] the game Killzone was billed as the latter.^[93][94] The Halo engine has been used for the game Stubbs the Zombie in “Rebel Without a Pulse”.^[95]

Halo has been featured at both Major League Gaming and the World Cyber Games.^[96][97] In machinima, the game was used as the basis for the popular Red vs. Blue. The game’s sequel, Halo 2, made US$125 million with unit sales of 2.38 million on the first day of its release,^[98] earning it the distinction of the fastest-selling United States media product in history.^[99] Three years later, Halo 3 shattered that record with the biggest opening day in entertainment history, taking in US$170 million in its first 24 hours.^[100]

Adaptations

Further information: Halo (series)#Merchandise and List of Halo media

The story surrounding Halo: Combat Evolved has been adapted into novels, the first of which was Halo: The Fall of Reach, a prequel. Published in October 2001, this novel was written by Eric Nylund, who reportedly completed it in seven weeks.^[101] The novel became a Publishers Weekly bestseller with almost two hundred thousand copies sold.^[102] The following novel, entitled Halo: The Flood, is a tie-in to Halo: Combat Evolved, describing not only the experiences of the Master Chief, but also those of other characters on Installation 04. Written by William C. Dietz, this novel appeared on the Publishers Weekly bestsellers list during May 2003.^[103] Nylund returned to write the third novel, Halo: First Strike, which takes place between the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and those of Halo 2. Written in 16 weeks,^[102] it was published in December 2003.^[104] Later novels, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (written by Nylund and released on October 31, 2006)^[105] and Halo: Contact Harvest (written by Joseph Staten) further extended the Halo storyline.

Another adaptation is the Halo Graphic Novel, a collection of four short stories released in July 2006.^[106] It was written and illustrated by well-known graphic novelists Lee Hammock, Jay Faerber, Tsutomu Nihei, Brett Lewis, Simon Bisley, Ed Lee and Jean Giraud. Bungie Studios regards Halo‘s adaptations as canon.^[107]

References

The trilogy of video games have been praised as being among the best first-person shooters on a video game console, and are considered the Microsoft Xbox‘s “killer app“.^[3] This has led to the term “Halo killer” being used to describe console games that aspire, or are considered, to be better than Halo.^[4] Fuelled by the success of Halo: Combat Evolved, and immense marketing campaigns from publisher Microsoft, both sequels went on to break various sales records. Halo 3 sold more than US $170 million worth of copies in the first twenty-four hours of release, breaking the record set by Halo 2 three years prior.^[5][6] The trilogy of games have sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[7]

Strong sales of the games has led to the franchise’s expansion to other mediums; there are five bestselling novels, two graphic novels, and other licensed products. Beyond the original trilogy, other “Halo” games have branched off into other genres of play, with different developers; including Halo Wars, an upcoming real-time strategy game, Halo: Chronicles, which is being developed by Peter Jackson, and Halo 3: ODST, a prequel to Halo 3. The series’ award-winning music was composed by Bungie’s own in-house musician Martin O’Donnell, and soundtracks have been released for the entire trilogy. The cultural impact of the Halo series has been compared by writer Brian Bendis to that of Star Wars.^[8] The collective group of fans of the series is referred to as the “Halo Nation”.^[9]

//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>

Story

See also: Characters of Halo and Factions of Halo

Halo is set several centuries in the future. After the development of the “Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine“, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) begins a program of interstellar travel and planetary colonization. Over 800 planets are colonized in 200 years, categorized as “Inner Colonies” and “Outer Colonies”. The Inner Colonies, being closer to Earth, are more developed and politically stable. Due to the older planets’ need for the raw materials and supplies the Outer Colonies provide, tensions and outright civil war foments between the colonies and the UNSC. The UNSC creates the SPARTAN-II Project in order to covertly suppress these rebellions. Twenty-seven years before the events of the main game trilogy, UNSC communication with the colony Harvest is lost, and the ship sent to investigate is destroyed by the Covenant, a theocratic collective of aliens bent on exterminating humanity.^[10] The Covenant leadership has declared humanity to be an affront to their Gods, the Forerunner. By 2535, almost all of the Outer Colonies have been destroyed by the Covenant. The Covenant possesses a significant technological advantage, and proves nearly impossible for the UNSC to defeat in space engagements. These events are only alluded to in the video games, but their full descriptions are outlined in the novels Halo: The Fall of Reach and Contact Harvest.

A costume of the main protagonist in the Halo series, the Master Chief.

The story arc of the game trilogy begins with the game Halo: Combat Evolved, set in 2552. The Covenant arrive at Reach, which is the UNSC’s last colonial stronghold; they vitrify the planet, leaving very few survivors. Master Chief, the last SPARTAN thought alive, escapes on the ship Pillar of Autumn. The Pillar of Autumn, in order to avoid leading the Covenant to Earth, proceeds to coordinates selected by the female A.I. Cortana; dropping out of slipspace, the Autumn discovers the titular Halo, and is attacked by the Covenant. Battle damage forces the Autumn to the surface of the ring, where the Flood, a parasitic alien species, are accidentally released by the Covenant. The release of the Flood prompts the ring’s caretaker, 343 Guilty Spark, to convince the Master Chief to activate Halo’s defenses, so that the Flood can be destroyed. The Forerunners created Halo to starve the Flood of their food—sentient life—by exterminating all possible vectors for thousands of light-years in every direction. Upon discovering Halo’s purpose, the Master Chief detonates the fusion reactors in the crashed Pillar of Autumn, destroying the ring; he and Cortana then escape in a fighter spacecraft.^[11]

In Halo: First Strike, the Master Chief returns to Reach, located in the Epsilon Eridani system, and rejoins the survivors of the vitrification. He and other SPARTAN-II’s attack a Covenant space station, where a fleet is massing to attack Earth. The space station is destroyed, giving the humans time to prepare for the invasion.^[12] Soon after in Halo 2 a small Covenant fleet arrives at Earth. Badly beaten by the humans, the Covenant commander, the High Prophet of Regret, flees to another Halo, Installation 05, unwittingly taking the human ship In Amber Clad with him. At Installation 05, the Master Chief kills the High Prophet, leading to the replacement of the Covenant Elites with the Brutes as the preferred soldiers of the Covenant. This changing of the guard causes a schism within the Covenant. The Elites, realizing they have been betrayed, ally with the humans. The Elite warrior known as the Arbiter joins the humans Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson in stopping the activation of Halo. This act inadvertently puts all the Halo installations on standby: the remaining rings can be activated remotely from a location known as “The Ark“.^[13]

The Master Chief stows away on a Forerunner vessel headed to Earth, in the midst of a full-scale invasion by the Covenant. In Halo 3, the Covenant excavate a Forerunner artifact in the African desert;^[14] despite the efforts of the Elites and humans, the High Prophet of Truth activates the artifact, which opens a slipspace portal to the Ark. The Master Chief and the Arbiter travel through the portal and kill Truth; They then activate a new Halo ring under construction in an effort to destroy the local Flood, led by the intelligence known as the Gravemind, while sparing the rest of the galaxy.^[15] Because the ring’s construction is incomplete, the resulting pulse destroys the ring and damages the Ark. The Arbiter escapes the explosion, but the Master Chief and Cortana are left drifting in space, trapped in the severed rear half of their ship. The Master Chief cryonically freezes himself as he and Cortana wait for rescue. In a bonus ending, the ship is seen drifting towards a mysterious planet.

Games

The covers of Halo: Combat Evolved, the Halo 2 Limited Edition and the Halo 3 Legendary Edition

As of 2009, the Halo series includes a main trilogy of games; the games were released in chronological order, with each new installment following the events of the previous title. Two new games are in development. The Halo series features recurring science fiction and action game elements. Ancient structures and alien races appear throughout the series. The games of the main trilogy are first-person shooters, with the player experiencing most action from the protagonist’s perspective.^[16]

Main trilogy

Originally developed as a real-time strategy game for the Apple Macintosh platform, Halo: Combat Evolved went through several iterations before arriving at the console first person shooter for which it is recognised.^[17] When the developer was bought by Microsoft in 2001, the game was rapidly finished and became an Xbox launch title and platform exclusive.^[18]

Released on November 15, 2001, the Xbox version of Halo: Combat Evolved is the first Halo video game.^[19] The game introduced many gameplay and plot themes common to the whole trilogy. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles to complete objectives, while attempting to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo. One concept introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved, is limiting the number of weapons players could carry to two, forcing them to carefully select their preferred armament.^[20] Players fight with ranged and melee attacks, as well as a limited number of grenades. Bungie refers to the “weapons-grenades-melee” format as the “Golden Triangle of Halo“,^[21] which has remained fundamentally unchanged throughout the trilogy. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the player’s health is measured in both hit points and a continually recharging energy shield.^[22] A PC and Mac port was later developed by Gearbox Software, and released on September 30 and November 11, 2003 respectively.^[23][24] A stand-alone expansion, entitled Halo: Custom Edition, was released as a PC exclusive, and allowed players to create custom content for the game.

Its sequel, Halo 2 was released on the Xbox on November 9, 2004 and later for Windows Vista on May 17, 2007. For the first time, the game was released in two different editions: a standard edition with just the game disc and traditional Xbox packaging, and the Collector’s Edition with a specially designed aluminum case, along with an additional bonus DVD, extra booklet, and slightly different user manual. Halo 2 introduced new gameplay elements, chief among them the ability to hold and fire two weapons simultaneously, known as “dual wielding”.^[25] Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 fully supports online multiplayer via Xbox Live. The game uses “matchmaking” to facilitate joining online matches by grouping players looking for certain types of games.^[25] Completely forgoing the more traditional “server list” which was used to find matches in online games almost exclusively prior to this. Upon release, Halo 2 became the game played by the most people on the Xbox Live service that week; regaining this title every week for over two years — the longest streak any game has held the spot.^[26] To this day, Halo 2 is still the game played by the most people each week for the original Xbox.

Halo 3 is the third and final game in the main Halo trilogy, ending the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved.^[27] The game was released on the Xbox 360 on September 25, 2007.^[28] It features several gameplay elements, including vehicles and weapons, that were not present in previous Halo games, such as an entirely new to the series class of usable items known as equipment^[29] The game also included a limited map-editing tool known as the Forge, which allows players to insert game objects, such as weapons and crates, into existing multiplayer map geometry.^[30] Players can also save a recording of their gameplay sessions, and view them as video, from any angle.^[31]

Spin-offs and sequels

Further information: I Love Bees and Marketing for Halo 3

The success of the main Halo trilogy has spurred the creation of spin-offs. Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game being developed by Ensemble Studios for the Xbox 360. Set in the year 2531, the game will take place prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. According to Ensemble, much effort has been expended into developing a control scheme that is simple and does not have issues like those in other console strategy games.^[32] The game was announced at X06, where a pre-rendered trailer was shown; at E3 2007, a montage of gameplay clips featuring many aspects of Halo Wars was shown, followed by a demonstration video on the official site. The game will be released in Spring of 2009. The other in-universe spin-off is Halo: Chronicles, a “new trilogy” of Halo games. Originally announced on September 27, 2006, at X06 as an untitled project, these titles are to be co-written, co-designed, and co-produced by Peter Jackson, with his recently formed development studio, Wingnut Interactive; the series will be episodic.^[33] A Halo-based character, SPARTAN Nicole-458, appeared in Dead or Alive 4, a product of the collaboration between Tecmo‘s Team Ninja and Microsoft‘s Bungie Studios.^[34]

In an interview on MTV on July 16, 2008, Microsoft’s head of Xbox business, Don Mattrick, stated that Bungie is working on a new Halo game for Microsoft, which he stated is independent of Halo Wars and Halo Chronicles. An announcement of the new Halo project was expected at the 2008 E3 game exposition, which Bungie stated “has been building for several months”, but was delayed by their publisher Microsoft.^[35] The Halo announcement was to be part of Microsoft’s 150-minute E3 presentation, and was cut to trim the presentation down to 90 minutes; Microsoft has stated it wants to give the game its own dedicated event.^[36] After the release of an ambiguous teaser trailer on September 25,^[37] Microsoft announced the game as Halo: Recon (which has since been retitled Halo 3: ODST^[38]), a prequel to the events of Halo 3 to be released in 2009.^[39]

Alternate reality games were used to promote the release of the games in the main trilogy. The Cortana Letters, a series of cryptic email messages, were circulated by Bungie prior to Halo: Combat Evolved‘s release.^[40] I Love Bees, an alternate reality game, was used to promote the release of Halo 2. The game focused on a website created by 42 Entertainment, commissioned by Microsoft and endorsed by Bungie. Over the course of the game, audio clips were released that eventually formed a complete five-hour story set on Earth between Halo and Halo 2.^[41][42] Similarly, Iris was used as a viral marketing campaign for the release of Halo 3.^[43] It featured five web servers containing various media files related to the Halo universe.

Canceled projects

Spin-off titles were planned for release on handheld systems, but proved to be either rumors or did not progress far in development. Early rumors of a handheld Halo title began in 2004 about a title for the Game Boy Advance. However, Bungie denied the rumors and commented that such a project between Microsoft and Nintendo would be “very unlikely”.^[44] At a Las Vegas consumer technology convention in January 2005, rumors were spread about a version of Halo for the handheld Gizmondo system. Bungie denied the rumors stating they were not making a game for the system.^[45][46] A former-Gizmondo employee later revealed development only extended to basic story and game structure concepts to obtain funding from investors.^[47] In 2006, a concept video for Microsoft’s portable Ultra-Mobile PC featured footage of Halo and caused speculation for a handheld title. Microsoft later stated the footage was for demonstration purposes only; Halo was included because it was a Microsoft-owned property.^[48] In January 2007, IGN editor-in-chief Matt Casamassina claimed he played a version of Halo for the Nintendo DS.^[49] Due to speculation, on October 2, 2007 he demonstrated on-camera, in-game footage of an early-development style version of Halo DS.^[50] The demonstrated work featured dual-wielding and a version of the Halo 2 map Zanzibar.^[49] On October 5, 2007, Bungie employee Brian Jarrard explained the Halo DS demo was in fact an unsolicited pitch that was never taken on.^[51]

Development

The first Halo game was announced on July 21, 1999, during the Macworld Conference & Expo.^[17] It was originally planned to be a real-time strategy game for the Mac and Windows operating systems, but later changed into a third person action game.^[17][52][53] On June 19, 2000, Microsoft acquired Bungie Studios and Halo: Combat Evolved became a launch title for the Xbox video game console.^[18] After receiving Xbox development kits, Bungie Studios rewrote the game’s engine, heavily altered its presentation, and turned it into a first-person shooter. Though the first Halo was meant to include an online multiplayer mode, it was excluded because Xbox Live was not yet available.^[54] The success of the game led to a sequel, Halo 2, which was announced on August 8, 2002 at the Microsoft’s New York X02 press event.^[55] It featured improved graphics, new weapons, and a multiplayer mode on Xbox Live.^[56][57] Halo 3 was announced at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo.^[58] The initial conception for the third game was done before Halo 2 was released in 2004.^[59] It utilized a proprietary, in-house graphics engine, and employed advanced graphics technologies.^[60][61]

Cultural influences

A report published on IGN explores the literary influences present in the franchise, and notes Halo was influenced by The Culture and Ringworld, written by Iain M. Banks and Larry Niven, respectively. It comments on the similarities between characters in Halo and other science fiction series, most notably Orson Scott Card‘s Ender’s Game: aspects of the SPARTAN Project and the design of the Drone species are perceived as reminiscent of the super soldier program and Buggers found in the novel. Other elements of the games such as Master Chief’s name “John” have been suggested as originating based on a character named Jon 6725416 in Christopher Rowley‘s Starhammer.^[62] Another essay suggests that the name is a homage to the John Spartan character of Demolition Man.^[63] A report written by Roger Travis and published by The Escapist compares Halo with the Latin epic Aeneid, written by classical Roman poet Virgil. Travis posits similarities between the plots of both works and compares the characters present in them, with the Flood and Covenant taking the role performed by the Carthaginians, and Master Chief’s role in the series to that of Aeneas.^[64]

Music

The Halo soundtracks’ composer, Martin O’Donnell.

Main articles: Halo Original Soundtrack, Halo 2 Original Soundtrack, and Halo 3 Original Soundtrack

Four Halo soundtracks, composed by Martin O’Donnell, have been released. The Halo Original Soundtrack contains most of Combat Evolved‘s music. Due to the varying nature of gameplay, the music present was designed to use the game’s dynamic audio playback engine. The engine allows for the mood, theme, and duration of music played to change according to gameplay.^[65] To afford a more enjoyable listening experience, O’Donnell rearranged portions of the music of Halo into standalone suites, which follow the narrative course of the game. The soundtrack also contains music not used in the game, including a variation on the Halo theme that was first played at Halo‘s debut at Macworld 1999.^[66]

For Halo 2‘s soundtrack, producer Nile Rodgers and O’Donnell decided to split the music into two separate volumes. The first, Volume One, was released on November 9, 2004 and contained all the themes as well as the “inspired-by” music present in the game (featuring Incubus, Hoobastank, and Breaking Benjamin). The second release, Volume 2, contained the rest of the music, much of which was incomplete or not included in the first soundtrack, as the first soundtrack was shipped before the game was released;^[67] the second volume was released on April 25, 2006. Halo 2, unlike its predecessor, was mixed to take full advantage of Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Sound.^[68]

The soundtrack for Halo 3 was released on November 20, 2007. O’Donnell noted he wanted to bring back the themes from the original game in order to help tie together the end of the trilogy.^[69] The tracks are presented, similarly to the previous soundtrack for Halo 2,^[67] in a suite form. Unlike previous soundtracks, where much of the music had been synthesized on computer, the soundtrack for Halo 3 was recorded using a 60-piece orchestra, along with a 24-voice chorus.^[70] The final soundtrack was recorded by the Northwest Sinfonia at Studio X in Seattle, Washington.^[71] The five soundtrack discs were released as a box set in December 2008, along with a DVD preview of Halo Wars.^[72]

Adaptations

Books

There have been numerous printed adaptations based on the Halo canon established by the video games. Larry Niven (author of Ringworld) was originally approached to write a Halo novelization, but declined due to unfamiliarity with the subject matter.^[73] The first novel was Halo: The Fall of Reach, a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. It was written by Eric Nylund in seven weeks, and published in October 2001.^[74] William C. Dietz wrote an adaptation of Halo: Combat Evolved called Halo: The Flood, which was released in 2003.^[75] Eric Nylund returned to write the third novel, Halo: First Strike, which takes place between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, and was published in December 2003. Nylund also wrote the fourth adaptation, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, which was published on October 31, 2006.^[76] Bungie employee Joseph Staten wrote the fifth book, Halo: Contact Harvest, which was released on October 30, 2007, while Tobias S. Buckell produced the sixth, Halo: The Cole Protocol, published in November 2008. Bungie considers the Halo novels as additions to the Halo canon.^[77]

The Halo universe was first adapted into the graphic novel format in 2006 with the release of the Halo Graphic Novel, a collection of four short stories.^[78] It was written and illustrated by graphic novelists Lee Hammock, Jay Faerber, Tsutomu Nihei, Brett Lewis, Simon Bisley, Ed Lee and Jean Giraud. At the 2007 New York Comic Con, Marvel Comics announced they would be working on an ongoing Halo series with Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. The limited series, titled Halo: Uprising, bridges the gap between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3.^[8]

Film

In 2005, a script for a film adaptation of Halo was written by Alex Garland^[79]—which D. B. Weiss and Josh Olson rewrote during 2006^[80][81]—for a 2008 release. The movie was to be developed and released by Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox, under the creative oversight of Microsoft.^[82] Peter Jackson was slated to be the executive producer,^[83] with Neill Blomkamp as director. Before Blomkamp signed on, Guillermo del Toro was in negotiations to direct.^[84] The crew has stopped and resumed preproduction of the film several times;^[85] while Blomkamp has declared the project dead,^[86] Jackson says the film will still be made.^[87] Blomkamp commented the Master Chief worked from a video gamer’s perspective, but dramatically does not hold much weight because of his faceless nature. The character as depicted in the film would have been “the most important supporting cast member”. Instead, “other characters around him [...] did most of the emotional heavy lifting”, with their story exploring their perception of the Master Chief.^[88]

After Jackson’s project stalled, Stuart Beattie chose to write an adaptation of Halo: The Fall of Reach. Concept artist Kasra Farahani drew up concept art for Beattie, as part of an eventual presentation to Microsoft.^[89][90] Microsoft requested Latino Review – who discovered the existence of Beattie and Farahani’s presentation – to take the images offline, which the website refused.^[91]

Merchandise

Further information: List of Halo media

The Halo franchise includes various types of merchandise outside of the video games. Currently, this includes five bestselling novels, two series of graphic novels, and other licensed products, from action figures to a packaging tie-in with Mountain Dew. Numerous action figures and vehicles based on Halo have been produced. Joyride Studios created Halo and Halo 2 action figures, while Halo 3 poseable and collectible action figures were produced by McFarlane Toys. Bungie teamed up with WizKids to make Halo ActionClix, a collectible miniatures game.^[92]

Reception and critical response

Launch events such as this one in New York City were held the night of Halo 3‘s release.

The Halo franchise has been highly successful commercially, critically and with its audience. During the two months following Halo: Combat Evolved‘s release, it sold alongside more than fifty percent of Xbox consoles.^[93] By April 8, 2002, it had sold a million units.^[94] Halo 2‘s sales generated US$125 million on its première day, making it the fastest selling United States media product in history.^[95][96] As of May 9, 2006, 8 million units of the game have been sold worldwide.^[97][98] Prior to the release of Halo 3, the first two games of the trilogy had sold a combined 14.8 million copies.^[99] GameSpot reported 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets on September 24, 2007, a day before official release—a world record volume release.^[100][101] Halo 3 broke the previous record for the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history, making US$170 million in its first twenty-four hours.^[101][102] Worldwide, sales exceeded US$300 million the first week, helping to more than double the sales of the Xbox 360 when compared with the weekly average before the Halo 3 launch.^[7][99] At the end of 2007, Halo 2 and Halo: Combat Evolved were the number one and two best-selling Xbox titles, respectively, and Halo 3 was the best-selling Xbox 360 title.^[103] The Halo novels appeared on Publisher Weekly‘s bestseller charts, and the Halo Graphic Novel sold more than 100,000 copies, a “rare hit” for the games-to-comics genre.^[104] Ghosts of Onyx and Contact Harvest appeared on The New York Times bestseller lists as well.^{[75][105][106][107]}

Overall, the Halo series has been well received by critics. Halo: Combat Evolved has received numerous Game of the Year awards.^[114][115] In March 2007, IGN listed it as the top Xbox game of all time, while readers ranked it the fourteenth best game ever on “IGN Readers’ Choice 2006 – The Top 100 Games Ever”.^[116][117] Conversely, GameSpy ranked Halo: Combat Evolved tenth on its list of “Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time”, citing repetitive level design and the lack of an online multiplayer mode.^[118] Halo 2 also received numerous awards,^[119] with IGN listing it as the number two top Xbox game of all time in March 2007.^[116] From its initial release until the launch of Gears of War on the Xbox 360 nearly a year later, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live.^[120] Halo 3 was nominated for and won multiple awards; it won Time magazine’s “Game of the Year” and IGN chose it as the Best Xbox 360 Online Multiplayer Game and Innovative Design of 2007.^{[121][122][123]} Most publications called the multiplayer aspect one of the best features; IGN said the multiplayer map lineup was the strongest of the series, and GameSpy added that the multiplayer offering will greatly please “Halo veterans”.^[124][125] Complaints focused on the game’s plot. The New York Times said the game had a “throwaway” plot and Total Video Games judged the single-player aspect ultimately disappointing.^[126][127] The series’ music and audio has received enthusiastic response from game reviewers.^{[125][128][129]}

The success of the Halo series resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series five world records: Gamer’s Edition 2008. These records include “Best Selling Game on the Xbox”, “Most Successful Machinima Series” for Red vs. Blue, and “Highest Grossing Game (One Day)” for Halo 3 (until Grand Theft Auto IV later claimed that record). Guinness World Records also attributes the “Longest Ban From Xbox Live” to Halo 3, when one gamer downloaded Halo 3 Epsilon, a test version of the game for Microsoft and Bungie employees, and played the game with his console connected to Xbox Live. Playing a pirated game resulted in a ban from the service until December 31, 9999, or roughly 7,992 years.

Cultural impact

The main trilogy, particularly its protagonist, has been declared iconic and a symbol of today’s videogames; a wax replica of the Master Chief was made by Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, where Pete Wentz compared the character to notable characters from previous generations like Spider-Man, Frodo, and Luke Skywalker.^[130] The Escapist author Roger Travis compared Halo‘s story to Virgil’s Aeneid, saying the religious and political struggle described in the games relates to the modern epic tradition.^[64] GamesTM stated Halo: Combat Evolved “changed videogame combat forever”, and Halo 2 showcased Xbox Live as a tool for communities.^[16] GameDaily noted Halo 2‘s launch is “easily comparable to the biggest in other sectors of the entertainment industry”, marking the first time a video game launch has become a major cultural event in America.^[131] Time magazine included the franchise in the “2005 Time 100″, highlighting that in the first ten weeks after the release of Halo 2, players spent 91 million combined hours playing the game online.^[132] A The New York Times report noted the success of Halo 3 was critical for Microsoft, persuading consumers to buy the Xbox 360 console which was experiencing waning sales compared with the Nintendo Wii, as well as helping restore the console’s image. On September 25, 2007, the release date for Halo 3, Microsoft’s shares rose 1.7% based on sales expectations for the game.^[133] Halo has been described as a series that “has reinvented a genre that didn’t know it needed to be reinvented”, with aspects of the main trilogy being duplicated in other FPS games multiple times.^[134]

As a highly popular video game series with a large and active fan base, the Halo trilogy has given rise to a wide array of video productions in an emerging entertainment medium, machinima.^[135] Virtually all machinima footage is taken from the multiplayer modes of the main trilogy games. Most productions are set outside Halo canon, while others are based on fan fiction closely relating to the official story. Halo 3 includes a saved film function that allows camera angles not possible in previous games, and other features that simplify production.

A notable machinima production is the comedy series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, a parody of the Halo universe, created by Rooster Teeth Productions. It has achieved an unparalleled level of success in Halo machinima in specific, and machinima in general; it is credited with bringing attention to the genre.^[101][136] Red vs. Blue generated annual revenues of US$200,000, and special promotional episodes were commissioned by Bungie.^[101] The series ended on June 28, 2007, after 100 regular episodes and numerous promotional videos. Rooster Teeth has resurrected Red vs. Blue with its new Reconstruction series which contains more dramatic elements than its comedic predecessor.^[137] Other machinima series include Fire Team Charlie, The Codex, and the in-game interview show This Spartan Life.

Notes and references

1. ^ Perry, Douglas C. (2006-05-17). “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames” 6. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. ”[Frank O'Connor, Bungie Studios] The idea of a Ringworld, first posited in sci-fi by Larry Niven in his brilliant novel of the same name, is actually a variation of a Dyson Sphere, a fantastically impossible object described by the 20th century physicist, Freeman Dyson…Ring-shaped artificial worlds have also been used by Iain M. Banks and others because they are cool. And that’s why we used one.”
2. ^ Grazier, Kevin R. (2007-05-02). “Halo Science 101“. CMP Media. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
3. ^ Craig Glenday, ed (2008-03-11). “Hardware History II”. Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
4. ^ Sparks, Ryan (2005-02-25). “Making a Halo Killer“. Advanced Media Network. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.
5. ^ Microsoft Game Studios (2007-09-27). “Xbox 360 Exclusive Halo 3 Registers Biggest Day in Us Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
6. ^ Parker, Laura (2007-09-23). “The $300m space invader“. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
7. ^ ^{a b} Hillis, Scott (2007-10-04). “Microsoft says “Halo” 1st-week sales were $300 mln“. Reuters. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
8. ^ ^{a b} George, Richard (2007-05-18). “IGN Exclusive Interview – Halo: Uprising“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
9. ^ Dawson, Brett (2007-09-24). “Halo 3 hype is justified“. Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
10. ^ “Halo Story Timeline“. Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
11. ^ Dietz, William (2003). Halo: The Flood. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 299. ISBN 0-345-45921-0.
12. ^ Nylund, Eric (2003). Halo: First Strike. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 332. ISBN 0-345-46781-7.
13. ^ Bungie Studios. Halo 2. (Microsoft). Xbox. Level/area: The Great Journey.
14. ^ Keyes: Terrestrial casualties from the subsequent bombardment were… extreme. Truth could’ve landed anywhere, but he committed all his forces here. East Africa, The ruins of New Mombasa. Then, they started digging. / Master Chief: What about Halo? / Keyes: We stopped it, but only temporarily. Now, the Prophet of Truth is looking for something called ‘The Ark’, where he’ll be able to fire all the Halo Rings. If he succeeds, Humanity, The Covenant, every sentient being in the Galaxy… – Bungie Studios. Halo 3. (Microsoft). Xbox 360.
15. ^ Arbiter: A replacement. For the ring you destroyed. / Master Chief: When did you know? [...] / 343 Guilty Spark: …What will you do? / Master Chief: Light it. / 343 Guilty Spark: Then we are agreed! A tactical pulse will completely eradicate the local infestation! I will personally oversee the final preparations. Though it will take time to fabricate an activation index, I will see to the letter… – Bungie Studios. Halo 3. (Microsoft). Xbox 360.
16. ^ ^{a b} Staff (September 2007). “Hail to the Chief”. gamesTM (Imagine Publishing) (61): 30–41.
17. ^ ^{a b c} Lopez, Vincent (1999-07-21). “Heavenly Halo Announced from Bungie“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
18. ^ ^{a b} “Microsoft to Acquire Bungie Software“. Microsoft (2000-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
19. ^ “Halo on Metacritic“. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
20. ^ Fielder, Joe (2001-11-09). “Halo: Combat Evolved review at GameSpot“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2006-08-02.
21. ^ Bakken, Lars, et al.. (2007). Is Quisnam Protero Damno!. Washington: Bungie.
22. ^ Accardo, Sal (2001-11-15). “GameSpy’s review of Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox“. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
23. ^ “Halo: Combat Evolved PC version on Metacritic“. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
24. ^ “Halo: Combat Evolved Mac version at GameSpot“. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
25. ^ ^{a b} “Halo Retrospective: Halo 2“. UGO Networks. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
26. ^ “Halo 2 tops Live most-played list“. Eurogamer (2006-02-21). Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
27. ^ Achronos; Bungie (2006-05-09). “Halo 3 Announced” (HTML). Inside Bungie. Bungie.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
28. ^ Luke Smith (2007-05-15). “Finish the Fight on September 25, 2007“. Bungie Software. Retrieved on 2007-05-16. ”On September 25, 2007, players will be able to finish the fight they started in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2. Halo 3 will release in Europe on September 26, 2007″
29. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2007-08-10). “Burn, Baby! Burn!“. IGN 1-2. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
30. ^ Jarrard, Brian; O’Connor, Frank; Smith, Luke. (2007-08-28). Official Bungie Podcast: 08/28/07. Bungie. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
31. ^ “Finish the Fight“. Edge (UK) (179): 66–77. September 2007. ISSN 1350-1593. http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2007/08/edge_179.php. Retrieved on 7 August 2007.
32. ^ “Interview: Ensemble talks up the console RTS“. Computer and Video Games (2007-06-21). Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
33. ^ Carless, Simon (2007-03-07). “GDC: Microsoft Talks Episodic Halo Xbox 360 Series“. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
34. ^ O’Connor, Frank (2005-12-13). “Go Tell the Spartans: The Making of Slugfest“. Bungie. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
35. ^ lukems (2008-07-07). “E3 Announcement Shelved, For Now“. Bungie.net. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
36. ^ Alex Pham (2008-07-16). “Microsoft explains Halo’s no-show at E3 game conference“. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
37. ^ Geddes, Ryan (2008-09-25). “Bungie Video Teases New Game“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-09-25.
38. ^ “Halo 3 : ODST“. Retrieved on 2008-11-25.
39. ^ Staff (2008-10-09). “TGS 2008: Halo 3: Recon Facts“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
40. ^ McLaughlin, Rus (2007-09-20). “IGN Presents The History of Halo“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
41. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2004-10-18). “I Love Bees Game a Surprise Hit“. Wired News. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
42. ^ Shachman, Noah (2004-11-04). “Sci-Fi Fans Are Called Into an Alternate Reality“. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
43. ^ Hein, Kenneth (2007-09-10). “Anatomy Of An Onslaught: How Halo 3 Attacked“. Brandweek. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
44. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2004-06-18). “Rumor Control: Halo GBA and Dirty Harry: The Game“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
45. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2005-01-07). “Rumor Control: Xbox Next Patents and Gizmondo Halo“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
46. ^ Crecente, Brian (2005-01-05). “Halo Going Portable?“. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
47. ^ Grant, Christopher (2006-05-05). “Gizmondo Halo “project” used cam-mouselook“. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
48. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2006-03-09). “Origami officially unveiled“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-06-12.
49. ^ ^{a b} Casamassina, Matt (2007-01-01). “Matt Casamassina claims playing Halo DS“. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
50. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2007-10-02). “Matt Casamassina demonstrates ‘Halo DS’“. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
51. ^ Crecente, Brian (2007-10-05). “Bungie Owns Bungie: The Q&A“. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. ”Brian Jarrard: This rumor has been circulating for a while and as you know we even saw some real life screens and assets this week. Ultimately it’s up to Microsoft to decide if and when they take Halo to a different platform. That particular demo was in fact created and I believe it was an unsolicited pitch a long time ago but nothing ever came of it.”
52. ^ “Inside Bungie: History“. Bungie.net. Archived from the original on 2006-05-02. Retrieved on 2006-06-19.
53. ^ Hiatt, Jesse (November 1999). “Halo The Closest Thing to the Real Thing“. Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis Media): 94–96. http://halo.bungie.org/pressscans/display.html?scan=cgw1199. Retrieved on 11 March 2008.
54. ^ Lopez, Vincent (2001-03-04). “Playable Halo at GameStock“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
55. ^ IGN Staff (2002-08-08). “Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing 2 Announced!“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
56. ^ Blevins, Tal (2004-08-20). “Halo 2 Hands-On“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
57. ^ Mirabella, Fran (2004-05-24). “Halo 2 Multiplayer Hands-On Vol. 4“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
58. ^ Achronos (2006-05-09). “Halo 3 Announced“. Bungie.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
59. ^ O’Donnell, Marty. (2007-09-25). Halo 2 Developer’s Commentary [Halo 3 Legendary Edition]. Bungie Studios. Event occurs at 04:00.— O’Donnell:“I remember when we were doing the Cortana Letters years ago where we had the entire plan from the beginning of the Cortana Letters to the end of the trilogy.”
60. ^ Sanders, Kathleen (2006-05-09). “E3 2k6: Halo 3 Trailer Impressions“. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
61. ^ Klepek, Patrick (2007-03-19). “Bungie Says Halo 3 Graphics are coming Together“. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
62. ^ Douglass C. Perry (2007-03-17). “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames“. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
63. ^ Stover, Matthew (2006). Glenn Yeffeth. ed. Halo Effect. You Are the Master Chief. Dallas, Texas: Benbella Books. ISBN 1-933771-11-9.
64. ^ ^{a b} Roger Travis (2006-10-10). “Bungie’s Epic Achievement: Halo and the Aeneid“. The Escapist. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
65. ^ Marks, Aaron (2002-12-02). “The Use and Effectiveness of Audio in Halo: Game Music Evolved“. Music4Games. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.
66. ^ O’Donnell, Martin (2002). “Introduction”. Album notes for Halo: Original Soundtrack. Sumthing.
67. ^ ^{a b} O’Donnell, Martin (2006). “Introduction”. Album notes for Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume Two. Sumthing.
68. ^ O’Donnell, Martin (2006). “Introduction”. Album notes for Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume One. Sumthing.
69. ^ O’Connor, Frank; O’Donnell, Martin; Smith, Luke; Jarrard, Brian. “Bungie Podcast Ep. 51: With Martin O’Donnell“. Bungie.net. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
70. ^ O’Donnell, Martin (2007). “Introduction”. Album notes for Halo 3 Original Soundtrack. Sumthing.
71. ^ Staff (2007-09-20). “Interview with Halo 3 Composer Marty O’Donnell“. Music4Games. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
72. ^ Traiman, Steve (1 December 2008). ““Halo Trilogy” soundtrack set previews new game”, Reuters. Retrieved on 3 December 2008.
73. ^ “The Halo Author that Wasn’t“. Bungie Sightings (2003-03-05). Retrieved on 2007-10-04. — Condensed version of information found at Niven’s own site: link
74. ^ Longdale, Holly. “Game Worlds in Written Words“. Xbox.com. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
75. ^ ^{a b} Klepek, Patrick (2003-05-05). “Halo novel cracks bestseller“. Gaming Age. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
76. ^ “The Next Halo Novel: Ghosts of Onyx“. Bungie (2006-08-29). Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
77. ^ Wu, Louis (2004-10-22). “Joe Staten Interview“. Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
78. ^ Staff. “Halo Graphic Novel at IGN“. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
79. ^ Linder, Brian (2005-02-03). “Halo Goes Hollywood“. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
80. ^ “GameSetInterview: Halo Screenwriter DB Weiss“, GameSetWatch.com (2006-07-13). Retrieved on 1 October 2006.
81. ^ Fritz, Ben (2006-10-31). “No home for ‘Halo’ pic“. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
82. ^ “Peter Jackson to Executive Produce Halo Movie“. Xbox.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
83. ^ Staten, Joseph. “The Great Hollywood Journey, Part II“. Bungie. Archived from the original on 2005-10-25. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
84. ^ Chris Hewitt (2008-02-08). “Guillermo Del Toro Talks The Hobbit“, Empire. Retrieved on 8 February 2008.
85. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2006-10-31). “Halo movie indefinitely postponed“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
86. ^ Farrell, Nick (2007-10-09). “Halo movie canned“. The Inquirer. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
87. ^ Robinson, Andy (2007-10-29). “Q&A: MS “already in talks” to continue Halo film“. Computer and Video Games. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
88. ^ N’Gai Croal (2008-01-15). “Exclusive: And The Winner For Best Supporting Actor Is…As Master Chief? Bungie Writing Director Joseph Staten Gives Level Up Some Insight Into The Stalled Halo Movie“, Newsweek. Retrieved on 19 January 2008.
89. ^ El Mayimbe (2008-08-04). “Halo Fall Of Reach Concept Art“, Latino Review. Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
90. ^ “All-new Halo movie concept art“, Total Film (2008-09-03). Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
91. ^ “2nd Halo Fall Of Reach Concept Art!“, Latino Review (2008-08-11). Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
92. ^ McFarlane. “Halo Wizkids“. Halo Action Clix.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
93. ^ Patrizio, Andy (2002-01-08). “Xbox Assault Only Starting“. Wired. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
94. ^ ““Halo: Combat Evolved” for Xbox Tops 1 Million Mark In Record Time: Xbox System And Games Are Off to Recording-Setting Start in Just Four Months“. Microsoft (2002-04-08). Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
95. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2004-11-10). “Microsoft raises estimated first-day Halo 2 sales to $125 million-plus“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2006-03-15.
96. ^ “November 9 – By the Numbers”. Official Xbox Magazine (40): 15. January 2005.
97. ^ Chris Morris (2006-05-09). “Grand Theft Auto, Halo 3 headed to Xbox 360“. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
98. ^ Asher Moses (2007-08-30). “Prepare for all-out war“. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
99. ^ ^{a b} Craig Glenday, ed (2008-03-11). “Review of the Year: 2007 Chart”. Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
100. ^ Brendan Sinclair. “Analyst: 4.2M Halo 3s already at retail“. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
101. ^ ^{a b c d} Craig Glenday, ed (2008-03-11). “Record-Breaking Shooting Games: Halo”. Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
102. ^ Blake Snow. “Analyst: Halo 3 shatters retail record; sells $170M in 24 hrs“. GamePro. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
103. ^ Craig Glenday, ed (2008-03-11). “Hardware: Best-Sellers by Platform”. Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
104. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2006-08-16). “HALO GN selling like hotcakes“. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
105. ^ Greene, Marty. “First Strike Author Eric Nylund Q&A“. Xbox.com. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
106. ^ Brightman, James (2007-11-19). “Halo: Contact Harvest Becomes New York Times Bestseller in First Week“. GameDaily.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
107. ^ Berardini, Cesar (2007-08-05). “Halo: Ghosts of Onyx Enjoys Mass Market Debut Today“. Team Xbox. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
108. ^ “Halo: Combat Evolved“. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
109. ^ “Halo: Combat Evolved – XBOX“. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
110. ^ “Halo 2“. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
111. ^ “Halo 2 – XBOX“. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
112. ^ “Halo 3“. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
113. ^ “Halo 3 – X360“. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
114. ^ “The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:: Awards“. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (2002-02-28). Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
115. ^ “Halo: Combat Evolved – Awards“. Xbox.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
116. ^ ^{a b} Douglass C. Perry; Erik Brudvig and Jon Miller (2007-03-17). “The Top 25 Xbox Games of All Time“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
117. ^ “Readers’ Picks Top 100 Games: 11-20“. IGN Readers’ Choice 2006 – The Top 100 Games Ever. IGN (2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
118. ^ “Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time“. GameSpy (2003-09-15). Retrieved on 2006-06-26.
119. ^ “Halo 2 Awards“. Xbox.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
120. ^ “Halo 2 tops Live most-played list“. Eurogamer (2006-02-21). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
121. ^ Grossman, Lev. “50 Top 10 Lists of 2007 – Top 10 Video Games“. Time. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
122. ^ “Best of 2007: Best Online Multiplayer Game (Xbox 360)“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
123. ^ “Best of 2007: Most Innovative Design (Xbox 360)“. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
124. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2007-09-23). “IGN (USA) Halo 3 Review“. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
125. ^ ^{a b} Graziani, Gabe (2007-09-23). “GameSpy Halo 3 Review“. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
126. ^ Herold, Charles (2007-09-27). “Halo 3 Mimics Halo 2, With Some Improved Graphic“. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
127. ^ Wilcox, Jon (2007-09-27). “TVG Review: Halo 3“. Total Video Games. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
128. ^ Boulding, Aaron (2001-11-09). “Halo: Combat Evolved review at IGN“. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-08-31.
129. ^ McNamara, Andy. “Halo 2 review at Game Informer“. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
130. ^ “Master Chief Invades Madame Tussauds“. Microsoft (2007-09-10). Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
131. ^ Brightman, James (2004-11-17). “Halo 2′s Success A Part of Pop Culture“. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
132. ^ Grossman, Lev. “The Halo Trinity: Making Games That Matter“. Time. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
133. ^ Schiesel, Seth (2007-09-26). “Halo 3 Arrives, Rewarding Gamers, and Microsodt“. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
134. ^ Beatty, D’Marcus. “Halo Influence on the Gaming Industry“. cheatcc.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
135. ^ Chong, David (2008-04-15). “Turning video games into movies“. Marketplace. American Public Media. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
136. ^ Thompson, Clive (2005-08-07). “The Xbox Auteurs“. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-01-08.
137. ^ Gallaga, Omar (2007-03-27). “Game Over [Final Edition]“, Austin American-Statesman, p. F1.