Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Developer(s)	343 Industries (UI, online services, etc.) Saber Interactive (Halo 2: Anniversary Campaign) Certain Affinity (Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer) Blur Studio (New cinematics) Bungie (Original games)
Publisher	Microsoft
US date released	November 11, 2014
EU date released	November 11, 2014 (Most countries) November 12, 2014 (Belgium) November 14, 2014 (France)
Genre	First-person shooter
Game modes	Campaign Multiplayer Cooperative Forge (Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 4) Theater (Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, Halo 3, Halo 4)
ESRB rating	Mature (M)
Platform(s)	Xbox One
Website	Halo Waypoint

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a compilation of Halo games released on Xbox One on November 11, 2014, for $59.99 USD. The compilation includes Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 4, and all of their original multiplayer modes. The Master Chief Collection was developed by 343 Industries in collaboration with Certain Affinity, Saber Interactive, and Blur Studio. It was announced on December 19th, 2014 that anyone who had bought the game since launch would receive a free month of Xbox live Gold, in-game name plate, in game avatar and remastered Halo 3: ODST as a thank you, and compensation for the multiple issues with the game.

Development

This section requires expansion.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection began simply as an idea for Halo 2: Anniversary after Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary released. During development, the team had the idea to put all of the games featuring John-117 on one disc.

At E3 2013, 343 Industries announced a new Halo game called Halo Xbox One to be released in the fall of 2014, leading fans to speculate that the game was Halo 5. At E3 2014, the game was revealed to be Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection went gold on October 17, 2014.

Gameplay

Campaign

Halo: The Master Chief Collection contains every Campaign level from the included games playable in their original engines. All missions are unlocked from the start. The 15 Halo 2 Campaign missions were remastered for Halo 2: Anniversary. Each game runs at 1080p and 60 frames per second, with the exception of the Halo 2: Anniversary Campaign, which runs at 1328x1080 as a result of running two rendering engines at the same time.

The Collection will support both split-screen and online cooperative play. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo 2: Anniversary will support a maximum of two players while Halo 3 and Halo 4 will support a maximum of two players locally and four players online.

The Campaign system features Mission Playlists, which contain mixes of missions within the same Campaign or mixes of missions spanning multiple Campaigns.

Additional prologue and epilogue scenes and new Terminals in the Halo 2: Anniversary Campaign will foreshadow the events of Halo 5: Guardians.

Campaigns included in The Master Chief Collection:

• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Halo 2: Anniversary
• Halo 3: ODST (As of spring 2015)
• Halo 3
• Halo 4

Multiplayer

Halo: The Master Chief Collection contains every official multiplayer map, including DLC and PC-exclusive maps, from the included games playable in their original engines. Six Halo 2 multiplayer maps were remade in a modified engine for Halo 2: Anniversary. Each game will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second.

The Master Chief Collection supports online matchmaking with dedicated servers and a 1-50 skill ranking system. Some matchmaking playlists will be dedicated to a specific game while others will contain voting options across multiple games.

The Master Chief Collection will be updated to include all fifty Spartan Ops missions in December 2014.

Multiplayer engines included in The Master Chief Collection:

• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Halo 2
• Halo 2: Anniversary
• Halo 3
• Halo 4

Features

Players navigate the Collection via the Master Menu, a unified interface through which players can access every mission, multiplayer mode, and customization option for each game.

Halo: Nightfall and the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta will be accessible through The Master Chief Collection. Additionally, exclusive content unlocked in The Master Chief Collection will carry over to Halo 5: Guardians.

Completing certain requirements in Halo: The Master Chief Collection will unlock additional credits in Halo: Spartan Strike. Likewise, completing certain requirements in Halo: Spartan Strike will unlock a Spartan Strike-themed emblem, avatar, and nameplate in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Pre-Order Bonuses

The following is a list of pre-order bonuses from participating retailers. All Skull bonuses are timed exclusives.

• Amazon
  • Piñata Skull: enemies drop plasma grenades with every melee.
• Best Buy
  • Prima Games Multiplayer Map Guide
  • Grunt Funeral Skull: Grunts explode after their deaths.
• GameStop
  • Bandanna Skull: unlimited ammo and grenades.
• Microsoft Store
  • $10 Xbox Live gift card code
  • "My Other Car is a Warthog" throwback license plate frame
  • Master Chief Window Decal
  • Boom Skull: 2x explosion radius.
• ShopTo
  • Bonded Pair Skull: In co-op, when one player dies, the other receives a 100% damage boost for 60 seconds. Exclusive until December 12, 2014.
• GAME
  • Limited Edition
    • Prima Games Multiplayer Map Guide
    • Grunt Funeral Skull: Grunts explode after their deaths.
    • Limited Edition Steel Case
  • MJOLNIR Edition
    • Prima Games Multiplayer Map Guide
    • Grunt Funeral Skull: Grunts explode after their deaths.
    • Limited Edition Steel Case
    • 30cm (12 inch) Master Chief statue.

Achievements

Main article: List of Achievements for Halo: The Master Chief Collection

The Master Chief Collection's achievements span each of the four games and are worth a total of 4,500 gamerpoints.

Video

Announcement Trailer

Main article: Halo: The Master Chief Collection Announcement Trailer

Halo Master Chief Edition - E3 2014 Announcement Trailer

Terminal Trailer

Main article: Halo: The Master Chief Collection Terminal Trailer

Halo The Master Chief Collection - Terminal Video

Gallery

Announcement Trailer

Promotional Art

Halo: The Master Chief Collection title.

Promotional image.

Another promotional image.

Included content.

Pinata-HTMCC.jpg

Piñata skull.

GruntFuneral-HTMCC.png

Grunt Funeral skull.

Bandanna-HTMCC.jpg

Bandana skull.

Bonded Pair.jpeg

Bonded Pair skull.

GAME preorder bonuses.

Pre-rendered Cinematics

Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.

Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes

Thel 'Vadam.

Prophet of Regret.

Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood.

In-Game

The main menu.

The cross-game mission playlist menu.

The Halo 2: Anniversary mission menu.

The Halo 2: Anniversary custom game menu.

The Halo 2: Anniversary mission playlists menu.

The competitive multiplayer matchmaking playlist menu.

Players can set their control schemes to be the same or different for every game.

The Options & Career menu.

Trivia

• Not only does The Master Chief Collection take up all 45 GB available on a Blu-ray disc, but there is also an additional 15 GB launch update that contains some features and multiplayer content. The campaign and some other features will be accessible during the download.
• Armor included within the Infinity Armor Pack, along with the Tactical Package Resistor and the Support Upgrades Survivor and Recharge, are not present in The Master Chief Collection.