Revealed at E3 2014, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a compilation of the four core Halo games starring Master Chief, all on one disc for Xbox One.
At a high level, it offers improved editions of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 from Xbox 360, a completely remastered version of Halo 2 in time for its tenth anniversary this year, and access to the Halo 5: Guardians beta and live-action show Halo: Nightfall, for around £49.99 / $60.
There's obviously much more to it than that, so we've broken down everything we learned about Halo: The Master Chief Collection from executive producer Dan Ayoub and 343 Industries' Bonnie Ross, from how multiplayer works to playlists and the plan for the Halo 5: Guardians beta.
What is the Halo: The Master Chief Collection?
- Everything in all four games is unlocked from the get go, from multiplayer maps, to campaign missions and the score-modifying skulls.
- Missions can also be accessed through playlists. While each game will have its own playlists, there are also cross-game lists based on specific themes, from Flood and Warthog-only missions. We also spotted a playlist which goes through the last mission in each of the four games.
- There's also the 'Master Chief Saga' playlist for the "die-hards", according to Ayoub, which starts on the first level of Halo: Combat Evolved and ends on the last level of Halo 4. "We can't wait to see the videos... people are going to have some fun on that," he said.
- For now, players won't be able to create their own playlists. "Right now the plan is we're going to have curated playlists created by 343, and we're also looking at ways of working with Halo pros and Halo celebrities to have other playlists," said Ayoub. "Currently, the plan is that players won't be able to create their own playlists, but we've still got some time before launch. We may have other surprises."
- Each game will have 1000 Gamerscore - totalling 4000 points' worth of Achievements for the entire package. The Achievements are based on the original games, as well as some new challenges. "It's a combination [of both]," Ayoub explained. "There will be some of the original Achievements, but we've got some tricks up our sleeve as well."
- While Halo 2 will be the only game to get a complete remastering, the other games - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 - will run at a full 1080p and 60 frames per second.
- Each one has been touched up to look better, with improved lighting, rendering, shadowing and detailing. Ross said: "Back in Kirkland, it was a treat for the Halo 4 team that when you put side-by-side the 360 version and the Xbox One version, even with no touching, the artists said, 'That was what the game was supposed to look like', because of the fidelity... it looks amazing on Xbox One."
What's new in Halo 2: Anniversary Edition
- As with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, every part of the game - from textures to character models, lighting and audio to cinematics - has been completely redone.
- Players can switch back to the classic visuals at the touch of a button. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the process is instant, with no delay, even in the middle of combat.
- The audio remastering is done differently than before, re-recording the music with Skywalker Sound but also adding all-new weapon effects and sounds.
- Terminals will make a return, in the same comic-style as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, this time teasing the story for Halo 5: Guardians. "It's good for the purist, it's good for the completion list, and it's a really fun way to tell the story," Ayoub said.
- All cinematics have also been completely redone by Blur Studios, including a brand new prologue and epilogue with new story details "essentially dropping you off on the door step of Halo 5: Guardians", Ross said.
- If you still want to watch the old cinematics, however, they're in there too - just make sure you switch to the original visual's before they start.
- Halo 2's remastering will look better than Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary because of more powerful hardware. "We've obviously picked up some tricks and technology has come a long way," said Ayoub. "You're going to have a difference of generation, right? The first Halo Anniversary was done on 360, and made for that platform. Halo 2: Anniversary is being made around the power of the Xbox One."
- While Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary supported 3D televisions, Halo 2's remastering will not.
Multiplayer
- Over 100 maps from all four games - whether they were released on console, PC or as downloadable adds-ons - will be available on the disc.
- Each map will run in its own original engines, with its own respective visuals, features and controls.
- Only six of the original Halo 2 maps will be remastered for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
- It'll be the first time Halo: Combat Evolved's maps will be playable in-engine on Xbox Live. ( Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition's maps ran in the Halo: Reach engine. )
- Players can choose to play exclusively on one game's set of maps, but there will also be playlists and game types that feature maps from all four games. Players will vote for a new map each round, with a notice saying which game it'll come from.
- Online profiles and progress from previous games won't carry over into Halo: The Master Chief Collection. "Halo 4 is obviously a 360 title, and we've created this around Xbox One. We're not going to have that cross-generational play," said Ayoub.
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection will continue to feed into online service Halo Waypoint. "We're traditionally tied into Waypoint with all our Halo games, that really turns into the hub where players can go to learn about the franchise, but also for statistics," Ayoub explained.
Halo 5: Guardians beta and Halo: Nightfall
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection will offer access to the Halo 5: Guardians beta, starting December 27 through to January 17 - that's a total of three weeks.
- The beta is focused on arena multiplayer, with the goal to get "active and interactive feedback from the fans", according to Ross.
- The Spartan abilities teased in Microsoft's press conference are not Halo 4's armour abilities, but something new. More details on this will come later this year.
- According to Ross, Halo 5: Guardians will run on an "all-new purpose built engine for Xbox One".
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection will also provide access to Halo: Nightfall, a live action series that provides a back story to Halo 5: Guardians cover star Agent Locke.
- It will be five episodes long, with a new instalment available every week up until the Halo 5: Guardians beta in late December.
- The series is executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan - of Battlestar Galactica, Pillars of the Earth and Heroes - as well as produced by Halo 4 executive producer Kiki Wolfkill.