Halo: A "brief" History

[The Director]

So, Halo 5 is slated to be released holiday 2014 (around Thanksgiving/Christmas of next year) and I thought a great way to get excited about the release of Halo 5 was to look at the history of Halo, from the beginning to now (chronologically). So let's begin.

 

 

Halo: Combat Evolved

 

 

This is the game that started it all. Inspired by Marathon, ONI, and a few other games, when it was first thought of by Bungie Studios and Take Two Interactive, it was originally intended to be a game for the Mac. It was even announced as such in 1999 by Steve Jobs. Little did Bungie, Apple, or Take Two know at the time Microsoft was actually scheming how to turn the "two horse" (Sony and Nintendo) console race into a three way free-for-all. Halo, at the time code-named "Monkey Nuts" (which was later changed to "Blam!" because Jason Jones couldn't say Monkey Nuts in front of his mother) was one of the games that Microsoft wanted for "The X-Box Project", which was a console designed to compete with the Nintendo Gamecube and the Playstation 2.

 

To make sure the console was a success Microsoft wanted to get as many top-notch games as possible for the launch of their console. In June of 2000, Bungie accepted Microsoft's offer to buy both them and the game. Take Two Interactive didn't want to work for Microsoft and thus left project "Blam!" and took the rights to Myth and Oni with them. The stage was set for Halo to finally come to life.

 

There was some discussion as to whether Halo should be third person or first person, but with better technology in play Bungie decided that the game played more "fluid" in first person. Not to mention the added bonus of being inside Master Chief's head made players more sympathetic to the character. The two weapon system was integrated, and the Cortana letters had been received with joy from fans. Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nyland released October 30, 2001, paving the way for Halo Canon and going more in depth on the story of the "Halo Universe". Both the X-Box and Halo: Combat Evolved hit the shelves November 15, 2001.

 

Halo CE was an instant hit. Raving reviews and gold stars all around, it sold a million copies in five months and is credited for 50% of all X-Box sales. Five months after the game was released (right on the millionth game mark), Microsoft authorized a second Halo. The success of Halo: Combat Evolved also led Bungie to further pursue "viral marketing" as well as more books similar to the Fall of Reach.

 

 

Halo 2

 

 

Halo 2 was, once again, authorized by Microsoft just as Halo CE hit 1 million copies sold. Halo 2 was going to be the game to play on X-Box Live, which was the "online multiplayer" element that we today take for granted. With this in mind, Bungie realized that a good deal of the weapons in the game were unbalanced for online multiplayer. So, Bungie started off trying to balance the weapons while adding on to the story that they had started with Halo CE.

 

With Halo 2, they decided to go with distancing the player from the characters by switching the player from Master Chief to a newly introduced character that we all know as "The Arbiter". They also introduced a bunch of new features (new to Halo, that is) like boarding and duel-wielding. Bungie created a 9 minute demo that debuted at E3 2003 (or E3'03, if you'll recall). This demo showed off a good chunk of the new features and enemies (drones and brutes) and got fans excited for the new game to come. However, Bungie was about to hit a very big snag.

 

The engine that Bungie had built the E3 demo on (and so far the game) was not compatible with the X-Box hardware. Bungie had to basically start over with only a year until the deadline that Microsoft had set for them. Bungie pushed for as many extensions as possible, and cranked up the viral marketing with ilovebees.com, but Microsoft was pretty stern. So, Bungie had to release Halo 2 not quite as they had imagined it November 2004 with a cliffhanger ending due to the crunch.

 

That being said, however, the game sold. A lot. And was praised, despite it's flaws (which some say made it even more fun) as one of the most competitive and best online experiences that you could get out of a console game. It also left canon lovers wanting more, which brings us to the next part of Halo history.

 

 

Halo 3

 

 

In 2006, Microsoft and Bungie announced Halo 3. Bungie had started on Halo 3 following the process that they had set with Halo 2, and they did not take much of a break between games. Bungie had a bad taste in their mouth with the way that they had to end Halo 2, so they took everything that they weren't able to put into Halo 2 and put it into Halo 3. They also took Halo 2's multiplayer and did everything they could to improve it, including adding in a much desired Forge Mode as well as more weapons and the addition of equipment.

 

Halo 3 went over more smoothly than Halo 2 and broke all of the records that Halo 2 had previously set. It was released September 25, 2007, two years after the release of the X-Box 360. Shortly after the release of Halo 3, a few Bungie employees set out to see about getting a Halo movie made, and then not long after that (which apparently didn't go over so well since we don't have a Halo movie [except for FUD which doesn't really count imo]) Bungie announced their decision to leave Microsoft.

 

The decision by Bungie to leave Microsoft caused a bit of a spat between Bungie and Microsoft officials, but after everything Bungie agreed to do two more Halo titles before going off on their own.

 

 

Halo Wars

 

 

Halo Wars was released February 26, 2009 (March 3 for North America) and was the first Halo game made entirely out of Bungie's control. Microsoft owned Ensemble Studios, who specialized in RTS games, and picked them to create the Halo title for 2009. After Ensemble created Halo Wars, it came up with an idea for a Halo MMO, code-named project Titan. However, Microsoft said no, and Ensemble was shut down. One month before the release of their game. On a brighter note, Halo Wars received good reviews and to date is one of the top selling RTS games for consoles.

 

 

Halo 3: ODST

 

 

Halo 3: ODST was the first of the two Halo titles that Bungie Studios promised to make before leaving Microsoft. Originally title Halo 3: Recon, it was released September 22, 2009. It took a grand total of 14 months to make, from start to finish. Bungie spared no expense in the casting for the game, however critics maintain that the game felt more like an expansion than a full Halo game. Halo 3: ODST introduced firefight mode, which was a fan-favorite all around. It also came with all of the DLC multiplayer maps for Halo 3 AND Halo Reach beta access (for newer copies). This put a lot of cries to rest about Halo 3: ODST costing $60.

 

 

Halo Reach

 

 

Halo Reach. The last Halo game created by Bungie, and the end of an era. This time around, it was all about the game for Bungie. They seemed to ignore the canon that they had created throughout the years (and I know this is a controversial thing but it is documented that they did override previously set canon, therefor breaching it) to create a very fun and gripping experience. Halo Reach released September 14, 2010 and broke tons of sales records. It came with a ton of critical acclaim and had some fans in an uproar (over the little things mainly, everyone must complain about something). It also set the stage for 343 Industries to take over the reigns, which happened on March 31, 2012. But I get ahead of myself.

 

 

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

 

 

November 15, 2011 343 Industries released the tenth anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved. This was their first big trail in taking on the Halo series, and by all accounts they passed it. 343 Industries took Halo CE and gave it a HD face-lift and added as much as they could into it (such as skulls, new control schemes, and achievements) without changing the game entirely. It gave the fans who started from the very beginning (and those who joined in a little later on) some much appreciated nostalgia. The game included a disc that gave players access to the Halo Reach "Anniversary" Map Pack, which included some good ol' fashioned maps and gametypes to complete the nostalgia. Less than a year later, 343 Industries took the reigns of Halo and brought us to where we are now.

 

 

Halo 4

 

 

Halo 4 was a game that a lot of fans doubted would ever come after the release of Halo 3. There was a lot of speculation about it when Bungie announced that they would be letting go of Halo, including that Master Chief would never come back from being stranded in space. Then, June 6, 2011 Halo 4 was announced. As it turns out, development began in 2009 and was kept pretty hush hush. Which in this day and age is hard to do. Halo 4 took around three years to complete. When it was announced there was WILD speculation on what the game would be about. There were rumors running rampant about what the enemies would be, hoaxes on leaked documents, actual leaked documents, and even a stolen copy of the game after it was completed resulting in a bunch of bans from X-Box Live. This was definitely one of the most anticipated Halo titles ever released. When it was released, it was met with critical acclaim and grossed $220 million dollars on it's first day and had over 1 million active players in the first 24 hours of it's release. Halo 4 introduced more weapons, more multiplayer modes, and the new storyline for Master Chief. 

 

 

So there we are. The Halo history. The thing about history, though, is that there's always more of it. There is going to be a Halo 5 and 6, and possibly more after that. We will have to see what is to come. Anyways, this has taken me literally all day to research and write and it is now almost 3 in the morning, so I am going to sleep now. Hope you enjoy it.

[Is not JL]

Unsurprisingly, a great read. Definitely interesting to have read through all this. Refreshed my memory on some things, gave me all new information on other things. Thanks, TD! Though I would have to ask why Halo: Spartan Assault isn't on there.

 

Good job!

[BeckoningZebra1]

Awesome post Director. I have to I want a Halo documentary to be filmed very badly now. #DirectorItsTimeToDirect

[Caboose The Ace]

Ah a good ol mind refresh this was a one of 2 things I did not know a good read it was.

[The Director]

Unsurprisingly, a great read. Definitely interesting to have read through all this. Refreshed my memory on some things, gave me all new information on other things. Thanks, TD! Though I would have to ask why Halo: Spartan Assault isn't on there.

 

Good job!

Well, mainly because I'm not really counting it as a "major" release. I could have included every single piece of media, but chose only to do the most important ones. I only included one of the books in this, after all lol