Halo: Campaign Evolved, Reimagining the Master Chief's Legendary Journey

The news of Halo: Campaign Evolved has sent a huge surge of energy through the gaming community, with a strong promise of a fresh take on the universe that kickstarted a game genre for a generation of players. The release is slated for PC and consoles on July 28 and it looks like it's going to be much more than just a remaster. Rather, it's a radical reengineering of Master Chief's initial experience, created to connect the fondness of the original trilogy with the game play mechanics that players anticipate these days.

Reimagining a Classic

The developers aren't just giving the classic levels a new high definition paint, but are essentially starting from scratch with the campaign experience. The story itself is still set on the iconic ringworld, but the pacing, the environments, how big the environments are, and how the combat fences are done are getting big changes. Sandbox experiences will be far larger, with many different ways to play the most iconic of stories through different tactics, with the open ended design principles of more recent titles respected, but the tone of the original game fully upheld. Sandbox physics, AI intelligence, and environmental reactivity are all getting a modern technology upgrade, with the battle against the Covenant being more chaotic and deadly than ever before.

Modern Mechanics Meet Nostalgic Grit

One of the most difficult aspects of a project like this is the fluidity of the games today with the sheer intensity of combat that is what pulled us into the early games. Gunplay has been tightened up considerably, with reports of an improved and seamless gun handling and new traversal options, but without the epic weight of Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor. The visual scope of the jump is astounding, and the fluid technology adopted to realize the stunning iconic imagery of the Halo ring and the creepy, close quarter corridors of alien vessels places them firmly in today's generation. It's also been top to bottom remastered, with the legendary sweeping orchestral scores combined with completely reworked weapon sounds and 3D soundscapes that put players right on the battlefield.

A Multi Platform Frontier

One of the most fascinating aspects of the launch is the industry landscape. It's a release that is arriving in at the same time as the very boundaries of platforms are becoming more fluid than ever. The rumors and corporate moves within the publisher's ecosystem indicate this title is the start of a new way of playing this story for both the established Spartans and new audiences, and that it will be available on both hardware platforms. On the 28th of July it will not only be a day of celebration of where the franchise began, it will also be a clear sign of where the franchise is going next.