Halo Zero

***Halo Zero***is a fan-made 2D sidescroller shoot 'em up science fiction video game developed by Dobermann Software for PC. It is one of many fan-made works in the *Halo*franchise.

The game was officially released to the public via hosting servers on December 12, 2005. The game's plot is very loosely based on the Fall of Reach. The game is not endorsed by Bungie or Microsoft, and is therefore considered non-canon.

## Story

 Date Released
 Genre
 Game Modes
 Rating(s)
 Platform(s)
 Designer(s)
 Writer(s)
 Composer(s)
 Media

### Plot

The game takes place during the Fall of Reach. John-117 fights his way through waves of Covenant forces invading the "Complex." At the end he is extracted by a Pelican, but later shot down. After wandering through a forest, he finds a Warthog. At the end of the ride he gets out and stops a Covenant bomb from destroying a generator. Once the bomb is disarmed, Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb  sends John-117 a transmission saying he's a prisoner on a Covenant ship. Once the Admiral is rescued, John-117 goes to CASTLE Base and saves Sergeant Johnson, who stole an artifact. Together, John-117 and Johnson fight against the Covenant forces until a Pelican arrives to pick them up, carrying them to safety.

Throughout the game all the characters call the Covenant "Covenants." The Covenant ship in the game was referred to as the "Truth and Reconciliation."

*Important Note: Any inconsistencies in this game's story compared to the actual events of the Fall of Reach is purely due to it being a fan-made and non-canon.*

### Campaign

* Reach Complex
* Forest Crash
* Warthog Carnage
* Generator Room
* Dangerous Canyon
* Truth and Reconciliation
* Castle Entrance
* Rescue Mission
* Perilous Escape
* Final Way

### Characters

* John-117
* Danforth Whitcomb
* Avery Johnson

### Health System

*Halo Zero*uses the same health system as *Halo: Combat Evolved*, using the exact same design as well. For more information on how this health system works, see the *Halo: Combat Evolved*health system.

### Difficulty

The four difficulty levels from previous gamesreturn, along with one extra difficulty level added in as a fan-made extra. The difficulty levels are:

* Easy
* Normal
* Heroic
* Legendary
* Mythic

### Enemies

* Unggoy
* Kig-Yar
* Sangheili
* Mgalekgolo
* Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
* Sangheili Zealot
* Type-29 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun

### Weapons

#### UNSC

* M6D Personal Defense Weapon System
* MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System
* M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Fragmentation Grenade
* M90 Close Assault Weapon System
* M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon
* Sniper Rifle System 99C-Series 2 Anti-Materiel
* M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun

#### Covenant

* Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
* Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
* Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
* Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
* Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword (Unusable)
* Assault Cannon (Unusable)

### Vehicles

#### UNSC

* M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Usable)
* D77-TC Pelican (Unusable)

#### Covenant

* Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft (Unusable)
* Type-29 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun (Unusable)

## Multiplayer

*Halo Zero*possesses a basic multiplayer mode. The game requires you to type in the individual IP of a match to gain access to it, and due to past issues, the game (despite originally being intended to support 4 players) can only support 2 players in a head-on-head deathmatch. Many have found this frustrating, although they have also commented that the mode is still fun.

### Maps

* Blood Gulch
* Derelict
* Zanzibar
* Icefields
* Timberland
* Chiron TL-34
* Hang 'Em High
* Death Island
* Danger Canyon
* Battle Creek

## Gameplay

The game had a campaign mode and multiplayer mode. Campaign mode had five difficulty settings, Easy, Normal, Heroic, Legendary and Mythic. Mythic difficulty would be unlocked by finishing the game on all other difficulties.

The keyboard arrow keys were used for movement, and the mouse acted as a free look, while the left mouse button and the right mouse button shot and threw grenades, respectively. All other functions such as melee, Switch Weapon and Jump were subject to be changed by the user, but the mouse controls were unchangeable.

Multiplayer maps were based off of existing Halo multiplayer maps such as Zanzibar and Blood Gulch.

## System Requirements

* Windows 95 or above.
* 1GHZ Processor.
* 256MB of RAM.
* 22MB free disc space.
* A keyboard and mouse.
* A high speed Internet connection.

## Production Notes

    The *Halo Zero*project started in late 2004 by Dobermann. The production phase took a year and utilized sprites and background designs that were previously used in another previously popular *Halo: Blood Covenant*. During the summer of 2004, just before the release of *Halo 2*, screenshots of the relatively unknown *Halo Zero*were sent around the internet ostensibly as proof of an upcoming *Halo*game for the Game Boy Advance.

On May 31, 2009, the official site and therefore the server of *Halo Zero*was deactivated due to the lack of money to keep the site running.

### Halo Zero Level Editor

The *Halo Zero*level editor was a program that allowed the user to create and edit levels compatible with *Halo Zero.*

### Halo Zero 2

***Halo Zero 2*** was a planned sequel for *Halo Zero* that would have also been made by Dobermann Software. It would have incorporated some of the newer features found in *Halo 2*, such as the Battle Rifle and SMGs. The first version of *Halo Zero 2*resembles the gameplay styles of Metal Slug. Later in the production phase, *Halo Zero 2*returned to the design previously used in *Halo Zero*.  The *Halo Zero 2*project was eventually put on indefinite hold, later cancelled due to the bandwidth costs of maintaing the game site and having no funds to pay it.

*Halo Zero 2*was abandoned by Dobermann and has never come out.

## Trivia

* Dobermann Software gained permission to use many of the assets from the yet-unreleased fan-made game *Halo: Blood Covenant.*

## Gallery

John-117 SpriteScreenshot from Warthog CarnageJohn-117's Pelican is ambushed by BansheesAnother screenshot from Warthog CarnageJohn-117 battles a Sangheili ZealotScreenshot of the cancelled Halo Zero 2. Note the flamethrower and changed gameplay styleAnother screenshot of Halo Zero 2Another screenshot of the cancelled Halo Zero 2.Another screenshot of the cancelled Halo Zero 2John-117 battles multiple Covenant

## Links

### External Links

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 **Dob's Games**: *Halo Zero Production History*
2. ↑ **HaloZeroForums**: *HBC content in HZ*
3. ↑ **GameSpot**: *Halo GBA and Dirty Harry the Game*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 **Dobentertainment**: *Announcement of the Close Down*
5. ↑ **Dobermann Software**: New website, new tools, new projects
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 **Dob's Games**: *Halo Zero: Evolved/Halo Zero 2 Production History*
7. Dobermann Software
8. Halo Zero Game Info and Downloads
9. Halo Zero Modding Community