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Halo: Combat Evolved

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Halo: Combat Evolved
Developer(s)Bungie Studios, PC port by Gearbox Software, MAC port by MacSoft Games.
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Platform(s)Xbox, Windows PC, Apple Macintosh
ReleaseXbox:
NA November 15, 2001[1]
PAL March 14, 2002[2]
JPN April 24, 2002[2]
AUS March 10, 2003[2]
PC and Mac:
NA September 30, 2003[3]
NA December 3, 2003[4]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Halo: Combat Evolved, or simply Halo, is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. It released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system,[1] and is considered to be that platform's "killer application".[5] Selling over six million copies worldwide since its release,[6] Halo is second only to its sequel, Halo 2, in sales for the Xbox video game console.[6] The game was later ported to Windows and Mac OS.

The titular "Halo" refers to an enormous, artificial space habitat, which is either ten thousand kilometers or ten thousand miles in diameter, according to Bungie Studios.[7] Halo sits at a lagrange point between a planet and its moon, giving the station rotational gravity.[8] In the game, the player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cyborg "super-soldier" with battle armor, accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence that resides in the neural implant between the battle armor and the Master Chief's brain. Players battle various types of aliens on-foot or in vehicles as they attempt to uncover the secrets of Halo. The game has been called "easy to learn,"[9] and has been praised for its "engaging story."[10]

Widely considered to be one of the best, and most influential, first-person shooters of all time, Halo's acclaim rivals that of GoldenEye 007 and Half-Life; for example, the usually harsh Edge gave it a full score of ten out of ten, its fourth in the magazine's 12-year history.[11] Nevertheless, Halo has its criticisms—the game was placed tenth on GameSpy's "Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time", one reviewer stating that the game "recycl[ed] the same areas over and over until you were bored to tears."[12] Though sometimes criticised, the game's influence has popularized the label "Halo clone".[13] In addition, the game served as the inspiration for the popular machinima series Red vs Blue.

Gameplay

As a first-person shooter, Halo's gameplay is fundamentally similar to that of its peers in the genre; the game is strongly focused on combat, and gameplay takes place almost entirely in the first-person perspective. The player is able to move around and look up, down, or to either side.[14] In addition, Halo contains vehicles, ranging from jeeps and hovercraft to giant tanks and aircraft, which, when piloted, switch the game's camera to the third-person perspective.[15] Halo's control scheme has often been cited as one of the first successful attempts for a video game console first-person shooter.[16]

The player possesses an energy shield, which absorbs damage in place of hit points if the player is attacked, and quickly recharges if there is no further damage for a short period of time.[17] The player is highly vulnerable when shields are fully depleted.[10]

The Master Chief fires his Assault Rifle upon a group of Grunts.

Halo's arsenal, made up of science fiction-style weapons, has been praised for giving every weapon a unique purpose, making them all useful in different situations;[18] for example, plasma weapons need time to cool down if fired too often but require no reloading, instead forcing players to simply discard them after depleting their batteries.[17] On the other hand, human weapons cannot overheat, but require constant reloading and ammunition.[17] Additionally, plasma weapons are useful for depleting energy shields, while human weapons are better suited against unshielded opponents.[10] Players are capable of carrying only two weapons at any given time, necessitating strategic use and selection of weaponry.[19] All weapons may be used to bludgeon opponents.[17] These attacks deal large amounts of damage, making it possible to sneak up behind enemies and dispatch them without alerting their allies.

The player can carry up to eight grenades at one time, four fragmentation and plasma grenades each. Like the game's other weapons, the two types of grenades are different in their application and effectiveness against enemies; the fragmentation grenade bounces, detonates quickly, and does poor damage against shields over a short distance, whereas the plasma grenade adheres to enemy targets, takes longer to detonate, and causes more damage to enemy shields over a wide area. An independent button is assigned to using grenades, removing the player's need to holster firearms before throwing.[17]

Allies and enemies

Halo includes many types of artificial intelligence-controlled allies and enemies. The artificial intelligence in Halo has been cited as quite impressive.[20] Enemies take cover, utilize suppressive fire and use grenades.[18] Some enemies retreat when their superiors are killed.[21] Enemy artificial intelligence improves on higher difficulty settings.[10] The player is often aided by United Nations Space Command (UNSC) Marines, which offer ground support, including riding alongside the player in jeeps, manning gun turrets or riding shotgun.[18]

The game's main enemy force is "the Covenant". As the Covenant is a conglomeration of different alien species, the various Covenant enemies do not bear resemblance to one another. Their forces include the "Grunt", a short, cowardly alien which often flees in terror instead of fighting back; "Jackals", which have highly durable energy shields attached to their arms; "Elites", powerful Covenant troops protected by recharging energy shields similar to that of the player's; and Hunters—large, extremely powerful creatures with thick armor plates covering the majority of their bodies.[17]

A parasitic alien life form, "the Flood", serves as a secondary enemy force. It is present in three major forms; "Infection Forms", the true form of the Flood, which make up for their extreme fragility by travelling in large swarms; "Combat Forms"—humans and Covenant Elites infested by Infection Forms, their bodies hideously deformed; and "Carrier Forms", bloated, infested bodies which serve as walking incubators for Infection Flood, exploding and damaging nearby life forms when wounded or close to a potential victim, releasing their spores. Combatting the Flood are the Sentinels—drones designed by "the Forerunners". While Sentinels utilize powerful beam weapons and are immune to infection by the Flood, they lack durability. Sentinels first assist the player in destroying the Flood, but later target all opponents, including the player.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler

Setting

Main article: Halo universe

Halo takes place in an original science fiction universe created by Bungie Studios. Due to Earth's overpopulation, and the realization of faster than light travel, the human race has begun colonizing other planets.[17] A keystone of these efforts is the planet Reach, an interstellar naval yard responsible for building colony and military starships, which also serves as a hub of scientific and military activity.[17] Thirty-two years prior to the game's beginning, a technologically advanced collective of alien races dubbed "the Covenant" began attacking human settlements.[17] Declaring humanity an affront to their gods, the Covenant launched a holy war against the human race.[17] After a series of crushing defeats, the United Nations Space Command established the "SPARTAN-II Project", a secret military endeavor based on Reach to create cyborg super-soldiers.[17] While these soldiers displayed impressive combat ability against the Covenant, their numbers were too few to turn the tides of war.[17]

SPARTAN-II soldiers were recalled to Reach for further augmentation, in preparation for a mission involving the boarding of a Covenant starship, in order to discover the location of the Covenant home planet.[17] Two days before the mission began, Covenant forces launched an assault on Reach and destroyed the colony.[17] A single starship, the Pillar of Autumn, survived the alien onslaught and initiated a random jump to light speed,[22] hoping to lead the enemy away from Earth.[23]

Characters

Main article: List of Halo series characters

The player character is "Master Chief John-117",[24] who is put forth as the last surviving super-soldier 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. The Pillar of Autumn's captain, Jacob Keyes, serves as a minor 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

Chapter sequence
  • Chapter 1: The Pillar of Autumn
  • Chapter 2: Halo
  • Chapter 3: The Truth and Reconciliation
  • Chapter 4: The Silent Cartographer
  • Chapter 5: Assault on the Control Room
  • Chapter 6: 343 Guilty Spark
  • Chapter 7: The Library
  • Chapter 8: Two Betrayals
  • Chapter 9: Keyes
  • Chapter 10: The Maw

The story is presented to the player through an instruction manual, scripted events and conversations during the game, and a number of in-game cut scenes. The game begins as the Pillar of Autumn exits light speed near a mysterious ring-shaped space station, called "Halo" by the Covenant.[25] A Covenant fleet is also present, and a subsequent battle heavily damages the Pillar of Autumn. Gameplay begins with the Master Chief's escape from the Autumn. Jacob Keyes initiates "The Cole Protocol",[26] and the Autumn crashlands onto Halo. Cortana, escapes the Autumn with the Master Chief via escape pod, which also crash lands on Halo.

Captain Keyes survives the crash, but is captured by the Covenant.[27] The first levels of the game deal with gathering human survivors and rescuing Captain Keyes. After rescuing Captain Keyes, the Master Chief is tasked with reaching Halo's control center before the Covenant, in order to uncover its purpose.[28] To locate the control center, the Master Chief and Cortana travel to a map room called the "Silent Cartographer", which leads them to the control room.[29] After reaching Halo's control center, Cortana enters into its systems and discovers something, remaining in the control center while she sends Master Chief to find Captain Keyes.[30] While searching for Keyes, the Master Chief discovers that Keyes has accidentally released "the Flood", a parasitic alien race named after its form of overwhelming, infesting, and spreading; much like a flood of water. The release of the Flood prompts 343 Guilty Spark to ask the Master Chief for assistance in keeping the Flood from leaving Halo. Guilty Spark tasks the Master Chief with retrieving "the Index", which is the key to activating Halo and preventing the Flood from spreading.

After the Master Chief retrieves and begins use of the Index, Cortana appears and warns the Master Chief not to continue with the activation. She has discovered that the defense system is a weapon designed to wipe all sentient life from the galaxy in order to effectively "starve" the Flood, keeping them from spreading across the universe.[31] 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 the pulse would trigger other similar installations as well, killing all sentient life in the galaxy.[32]

With the help of Cortana, the Master Chief attempts to destroy Halo before it fires, while fighting off the Flood, the Covenant, and 343 Guilty Spark's Sentinels. Cortana discovers that the best chance of destroying Halo is causing the crashed Pillar of Autumn to self-destruct.[33] However, Captain Keyes' authorization is required to destroy the Autumn.[34] By the time Keyes is reached, he has been infested by the Flood, turning him into a Brain Flood. After the Master Chief retrieves Keyes' neural implants directly from his brain, 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.[35] The Master Chief manually causes the Pillar of Autumn's fusion reactors to begin melting down, giving him only fifteen minutes to escape.[36] The Master Chief and Cortana manage to escape in a small starship before Halo explodes. The story is left open to further developments with the revelation that 343 Guilty Spark survived the explosion and the likelihood of several more Halo ring worlds in the galaxy, as 343 Guilty Spark had labeled Halo "Installation 04".

Template:Endspoiler

Multiplayer

See also: List of multiplayer maps in Halo: Combat Evolved

As Halo's release predated the introduction of Xbox Live, official support for online multiplayer was unavailable.[37] Instead, the game supports up to sixteen players via network hub system linking—revolutionary for a console game, though often noted as being impractical.[38] The multiplayer component lacks bots, necessitating LAN parties to reach the game's sixteen player maximum.[14] In addition to competitive multiplayer modes, the game allows two players to co-operatively play through the game's campaign.[14] Halo's multiplayer components were generally well-received by critics.[39][11][15]

While lacking official online multiplayer support, the game is playable through GameSpy's Xbox Connect packet tunnelling software,[12] which simulates a Local Area Network over the Internet. The PC version of Halo included support for online play with up to sixteen players, in addition to new multiplayer maps not included in the original Xbox release.[40] However, co-operative play feature present in the Xbox version was removed, as it would have required large amounts of recoding to implement.[41] On March 15, 2004, Gearbox Software released Halo: Custom Edition for the PC, enabling users to play user-made maps and mods.[42]

Audio

Main article: Halo Original Soundtrack

Halo's soundtrack, created by Bungie Studios audio director Martin O'Donnell, received enthusiastic praise from many critics.[15][16][18][19][10] O'Donnell has stated that his goal was for the music to give "a feeling of importance, weight, and sense of the 'ancient'."[43] Saying that most of the game's music "could be dissembled and remixed in such a way that would give me multiple, interchangeable loops that could be randomly recombined in order to keep the piece interesting as well as a variable length," O'Donnell has said that he would "make alternative middle sections that could be transitioned to if the game called for such a change (i.e. less or more intense)."[44]

He 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," continuing on to say that "the level designer would tell me what he hoped a player would feel at certain points or after accomplishing certain tasks," after which he 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."[44] O'Donnell explained that the use of music in Halo is sparse because he believes "[music] is best used in a game to quicken the emotional state of the player and it works best when used least," and "[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."[45]

  • 1. "Opening Suite"
  • 2. "Truth and Reconciliation Suite"
  • 3. "Brothers in Arms"
  • 4. "Enough Dead Heroes"
  • 5. "Perilous Journey"
  • 6. "A Walk in the Woods"
  • 7. "Ambient Wonder"
  • 8. "The Gun Pointed at the Head of the Universe"
  • 9. "Trace Amounts"
  • 10. "Under Cover of Night"
  • 11. "What Once was Lost"
  • 12. "Lament for Pvt. Jenkins"
  • 13. "Devils... Monsters..."
  • 14. "Covenant Dance"
  • 15. "Alien Corridors"
  • 16. "Rock Anthem for Saving the World"
  • 17. "The Maw"
  • 18. "Drumrun"
  • 19. "On a Pale Horse"
  • 20. "Perchance to Dream"
  • 21. "Library Suite"
  • 22. "The Long Run"
  • 23. "Suite Autumn"
  • 24. "Shadows"
  • 25. "Dust and Echoes"
  • 26. "Halo"

Development

The first official screenshot of Halo.

Halo was announced as a simultaneous Mac OS and Windows release by Steve Jobs on July 21, 1999, during the Macworld Conference & Expo.[46] Prior to this announcement, Halo had been seen behind-closed-doors at E3 1999 by game industry journalists, who were reportedly amazed by the game.[46] Bungie Studios later stated that preceding even this early build of the game was a real-time strategy version, which was referred to as "basically Myth in a sci-fi universe."[47]

Halo made a well-received appearance during E3 2000, with the first trailer of the game being shown.[48] The iteration of Halo shown at E3 2000 was much different than the one exhibited previously, marking the first major overhaul the game would go through.[49] In this build, Halo was a third-person action game, in which a transport starship crashlanded onto a mysterious ring world orbiting a star.[50] An early version of the Covenant appeared in great numbers, looting what they could from the ring, and full-scale war broke out between the Covenant and humans.[50] Ill-equipped to combat the technologically advanced alien race, the humans present on the ring world resorted to guerrilla warfare.[50] This version of the game featured fauna native to Halo—an element later dropped due to design difficulties and the creatures' "detract[ion] from the surprise, drama and impact of the Flood."[51]

After rumors,[52] Microsoft announced on June 19, 2000 that it had acquired Bungie Studios.[53] Following the announcement, 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.[54] In addition, the game's online multiplayer component, which was a key element in its original form, was dropped due to the lack of Xbox Live at the time of release. Its playable demonstration at Gamestock 2001 was subject to a favorable reception,[55] though its showing at E3 2001 received mixed feelings from critics.[56][57] The game eventually released in North America on the day of the Xbox's launch, November 15, 2001.[1] A Halo port developed by Gearbox Software was later released for Windows on September 30, 2003,[3] followed by a release for Mac OS X on December 11, 2003.[4] While the PC port of Halo featured online support for its multiplayer component and sharper graphics, the game suffered from compatibility issues that caused it to run poorly.[58][40]

Reception

Halo broke sales records, selling one million copies between November 15, 2001 and April 8, 2002; at the time faster than any other game for sixth generation game consoles.[59] Halo's retail price remained at US$49.99 until November 30, 2003.[60] By July 14, 2003, the game had sold three million copies worldwide,[61] and by January 27, 2004, it had reached four million copies.[62] Since its release on November 15, 2001, Halo has sold over six million copies worldwide,[6] with nearly five million sales in North America.[63]

Halo's critical reception was extremely positive, earning an overall score of ninety-seven out of one hundred on Metacritic.[1] Electronic Gaming Monthly observed, "This game has me totally mesmerized ... [It] engages your intellect on a whole different level," and awarded the game a perfect score.[5] GameSpot claimed that "Halo's single-player game is worth picking up an Xbox for alone," continuing on to comment, "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."[18] IGN remarked similarly, calling Halo a "can't miss, no-brainer, sure thing, five star, triple A game."[15] The usually harsh Edge called it "the most important launch game for any console, ever," awarding it a ten-out-of-ten score.[11] The game received numerous Game of the Year awards, including that of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[64] Electronic Gaming Monthly, Edge and IGN also awarded it Game of the Year.[65]

While Halo's reception was positive, the game received negative criticism for its level design, which has been called "[basically] playing the same level over again."[15] GameSpy notably disliked the game, awarding it tenth place on its "Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time" list, stating that the levels often "degenerated into recycling the same areas over and over until you were bored to tears," in addition to complaining about the multiplayer's lack of online functionality.[12] 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'."[66]

Awards[65]
  1. Game of the Year, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 2002
  2. Console Game of the Year, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 2002
  3. Editor's Choice, Game of the Year, IGN.com, 2002
  4. Editor's Choice, Game of the Year, Electronic Gaming Monthly, April 2002
  5. Best Console Game, BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, 2002
  6. Best Multiplayer Game, BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, 2002
  7. Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 2002
  8. Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 2002
  9. Best Game of Year One, Official Xbox Magazine, November 2002
  10. Best Multiplayer Game of Year One, Official Xbox Magazine, November 2002
  11. Game of the Year, EDGE magazine (UK), April 2002
  12. Technical Innovation of the Year, EDGE (UK), April 2002
  13. Audio Achievement of the Year, EDGE (UK), April 2002
  14. Best Original Soundtrack, Rolling Stone, May 2002
  15. Editor's Choice, Best Xbox Game of 2001, IGN.com, 2002
  16. Reader's Choice, Best Xbox Game of 2001, IGN.com, 2002
  17. Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Game of 2001, GameSpot, 2002
  18. Editors' Choice, Best Xbox Game, GameSpot, 2002
  19. Reader's Choice, Best Combat Game, GamePro, July 2002
  20. Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Game of the Year, Electronic Gaming Monthly, April 2002
  21. Editors' Choice, Best Shooting Game, GameSpot, 2002
  22. Best Graphics in a Console Game, Electric Playground, 2002
  23. Best Console Shooter, Electric Playground, 2002
  24. Best Multiplayer for a Console, Electric Playground, 2002
  25. Best Developer: Bungie, Electric Playground, 2002
  26. No. 1, Best First-Person Shooters, PLAY, February 2002
  27. Best First-Person Shooter, GameNow, February 2002
  28. Best Multiplayer Game, GameNow, February 2002
  29. Platinum Editors' Choice Award, Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 2002
  30. Game of the Month, Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 2002
  31. Revolutionary Xbox Game of 2001, Game Revolution, January 2002
  32. Best Xbox Action Game of 2001, Game Revolution, January 2002
  33. Editors' Choice, Best Xbox Action Game of 2001, IGN.com, 2002
  34. Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Action Game of 2001, IGN.com, 2002
  35. Editors' Choice, Best Xbox Storyline, IGN.com, 2002
  36. Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Storyline, IGN.com, 2002
  37. Editors' Choice, Best Xbox Graphics, IGN.com, 2002
  38. Runner-up, Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Graphics, IGN.com, 2002
  39. Editors' Choice, Best Xbox Sound, IGN.com, 2002
  40. Readers' Choice, Best Xbox Sound, IGN.com, 2002
  41. Game of the Year, Toronto Sun, 2001
  42. Xbox Game of the Year, GameZone Online, 2001
  43. Best Console Game of the Year, Voodoo Extreme, 2001
  44. Action/Adventure Xbox Game of the Year, GameSpy, December 2001
  45. Gamer's Choice Xbox Game of the Year, GameSpy, December 2001
  46. Premier Choice Award, ActiveWindows, December 2001
  47. Viewer's Choice: Game of the Year, TeamXbox, December 2001
  48. Editors' Choice 2001, GamePen, November 2001

Novelization

The Halo universe has several times been adapted into novel form. The first adaption was Halo: The Fall of Reach—a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, written by Eric Nylund and published during October 2001.[67] The novel was reportedly finished in seven weeks,[67] eventually becoming a Publisher's Weekly bestseller with nearly two hundred thousand copies sold.[68] The second novel, entitled Halo: The Flood, served as an adaptation of Halo: Combat Evolved. Written by William C. Dietz, this novel also attained the Publisher's Weekly bestsellers list during May 2003.[69]

Eric Nylund returned to write the third novel, Halo: First Strike, a sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved taking place before the events of Halo 2. It was published in December 2003,[70] after being written in a period of sixteen weeks.[68] A fourth novel, entitled Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, is currently being written by Eric Nylund, and is expected to be published by November 2006.[71] The Halo universe was adapted into graphic novel format in the Halo Graphic Novel, a collection of four short stories, released during July 2006.[72] 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 considers the Halo novels as canon.[73]

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Halo: Combat Evolved.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Halo: Combat Evolved on Metacritic".
  2. ^ a b c "Halo: Combat Evolved at Neoseeker". Retrieved August 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b "Halo: Combat Evolved PC version on Metacritic". Retrieved August 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Halo: Combat Evolved Mac version at GameSpot". Retrieved August 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 150, pg 224
  6. ^ a b c "Videogame Sales Charts". Retrieved May 19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Errera, Claude (January 10, 2000). "Interview with Matt Soell". Retrieved August 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Perry, Douglass (May 11, 2000). "Bungie's ambitious first-person shooter is coming..." IGN. Retrieved September 7. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Halo: Combat Evolved review at DreamStation.cc". September 13, 2003. Retrieved August 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b c d e Accardo, Sal (November 15, 2001). "GameSpy's review of Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox". GameSpy. Retrieved September 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c Edge issue 105, pg 1 (review scans)
  12. ^ a b c "Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time". GameSpy. September 15, 2003. Retrieved June 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Wiley, James (January 23, 2006). "Joystiq Interview: Peter Moore @ CES". Joystiq. Retrieved September 7. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b c "Frequently Asked Questions about Halo: Gameplay". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved September 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b c d e Boulding, Aaron (November 9, 2001). "Halo: Combat Evolved review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved August 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b Dante, Tolen (November 20, 2001). "Halo: Combat Evolved review at The Armchair Empire". Retrieved September 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Halo: Combat Evolved game manual
  18. ^ a b c d e Fielder, Joe (November 9, 2001). "Halo: Combat Evolved review at GameSpot". GameSpot. Retrieved August 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ a b "Halo: Combat Evolved review at Gamesplanet". October 16, 2002. Retrieved September 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Soboleski, Brent (November 9, 2001). "Halo Review (Xbox)". TeamXbox. Retrieved September 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Halo: Combat Evolved review at TalkXbox". October 13, 2003. Retrieved September 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Keyes: [sigh] We made a blind jump. How did they... / Cortana: Get here first? Covenant ships have always been faster. As for tracking us all the way from Reach, at light speed, my maneuvering options were limited.
  23. ^ Sergeant Johnson: Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto somethin' they're so hot for that they're scramblin' over each other to get it! Well, I don't care if it's God's own, personal anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant hula hoop, we're not gonna let them have it! What we will let them have is a belly full of lead, and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right, Marines?
  24. ^ "Halo Story". Retrieved September 7. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Keyes: While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it... Halo.
  26. ^ Keyes: Alright then, I'm initiating Cole Protocol article two. We're abandoning the Autumn. That means you too, Cortana.
  27. ^ Cortana: Warning: I've picked up reports that the Covenant has located and secured the Pillar of Autumn's crash site. Good news is the Captain's still alive. The bad news is that the Covenant have captured all of the surviving men. Let's hurry and find the final lifeboat so we can link up with the rest of the survivors.
  28. ^ Cortana: According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon—one with vast, unimaginable power. / Keyes: And it's true. The Covenant kept saying that whoever who controls Halo controls the fate of the universe. / Cortana: Now I see! I have intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team scouting for a control room. I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser that I damaged during the battle above the ring, but they must be looking for Halo's control room! / Keyes: That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire human race. Chief, Cortana, I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room. Marines, let's move.
  29. ^ Cortana: The Covenant believe that what they call the "Silent Cartographer" is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center.
  30. ^ Master Chief: So, what sort of weapon is it? / Cortana: What are you talking about? Master Chief: Let's stay focused. Halo: how do we use it against the Covenant? / Cortana: This ring isn't a cudgel, you barbarian. It's something else. Something much more important. The Covenant were right. This ring, it's Forerunner. Give me a second to access... yes, the Forerunners built this place, what they called a fortress world, in order to-- Wait... No, that can't be! Oh, those Covenant fools! They must have known! There must have been signs! / Master Chief: Slow down. You're losing me. / Cortana: The Covenant... found something buried in this ring; something horrible. And now they're afraid. Master Chief: Something buried? Where? / Cortana: The Captain! We've got to stop the Captain! / Master Chief: Keyes? What do we... / Cortana: The weapons cache he's looking for is not really... We can't let him get inside! / Master Chief: I don't understa-- / Cortana: There's no time! Get out of here! Find Keyes. Stop him. Before it's too late!
  31. ^ Master Chief: The Flood is spreading. If we activate Halo's defenses, we can wipe them out. / Cortana: You have no idea how this ring works, do you? Why the Forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill Flood—it kills their food. Humans, Covenant, whatever; we're all equally edible. The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death, and that's exactly what Halo is designed to do—wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him!
  32. ^ Master Chief: Is it true? / 343 Guilty Spark: More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years, but once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or any least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood... but you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?
  33. ^ Cortana: We can't let the monitor activate Halo! We have to stop him—we have to destroy Halo. According to my analysis of the available data, I believe the best course of action is somewhat risky. An explosion of sufficient size will help destabilize the ring and will cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however. A starship's fusion reactors going critical would do the job. I'm going to search what's left of the Covenant battle net' and see if I can locate the Pillar of Autumn's crash site. If the ship's fusion reactors are still relatively intact, we can use them to destroy Halo.
  34. ^ Cortana: I've located the Pillar of Autumn. She put down twelve hundred kilometers upspin. Energy readings show her fusion reactors are still powered up. The systems on the Pillar of Autumn have failsafes even I can't override without authorization from the Captain. We'll need to find him, or his neural implants, to start the fusion core detonation.
  35. ^ Cortana: This won't take long ... There. That should give us enough time to make it to a lifeboat and put some distance between ourselves and Halo before the detonation. / 343 Guilty Spark: I'm afraid that's out of the question, really. / Cortana: Oh, hell! / 343 Guilty Spark: Ridiculous—that you and a warship's AI with such a wealth of knowledge ... Weren't you worried it might be captured, or destroyed? / Cortana: He's in my data arrays—a local tap. / 343 Guilty Spark: You can't imagine how exciting this is to have a record of all our lost time. Human history is it? Fascinating. / 343 Guilty Spark: Oh, how will I enjoy every moment of its categorization. To think that you would destroy this installation, as well as this record. I am shocked. Almost too shocked for words. / Cortana: He stopped the self-destruct sequence!
  36. ^ Cortana: That did it. The engine's gone critical. Based on the current rate of decay, you should have fifteen minutes to get off the ship. We don't have much time. We should move outside and signal for evac. Accessing schematics ... there's a service lift at the top of the engine room. It leads to a Class 7 service corridor that runs along the ship's dorsal structure. Hurry!
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External links

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