14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at 343 Industries is at the moment working on the new Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and going back through the classic titles in the series has convinced at least one leading developer that many of the modern crop of shooters owe a debt of gratitude to the older title.
Dan Ayoub, an executive producer at the studio, tells VG247 that the modern incarnation of the genre would look very different if Bungie had not created Halo 2, which went on to become a very successful release and persuaded plenty of players to try out competitive multiplayer.
He states, "Going back and doing Halo 2 has been a tremendous amount of fun for me because I always talk about my personal experience with the first Halo game and that was the game that showed me you could have a good first-person shooter on console."
Ayoub says that his own life was changed when he experienced the multiplayer modes in Halo 2, because he saw the potential of the gameplay mechanics.
He adds, "I look at games today like Titanfall, Call of Duty – all of these games owe their multiplayer experiences to Halo 2. So I just have a romanticised view of it. In my mind it’s perfect."
Classic brought to the Xbox One
The development team at 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft are planning to launch the Halo: The Master Chief Collection package on the Xbox One home console on November 11 of this year, with gamers able to play the core titles in the franchise.
All of them are being remade using a modern graphics engine, but the companies are also keen to preserve their unique nature, which means that all the classic glitches will be included in the games.
Players will be able to use a switch to move between the classic and the modern version of the titles included, and the developers are also including commentary and a range of other extras.
Fans will also be able to get access to the Nightfall experience, which is designed to expand the franchise and reach new audiences.
At the same time, buyers of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection will get access to a range of hints that show what 343 Industries plans to do with the next full title in the series, called Halo 5: Guardians, which is supposed to be launched on the Xbox One in the fall of 2015.