Halo: Combat Evolved

[1]

Tyson Green
Jaime Griesemer
Dan Orzulak

Michael Salvatori

## Introduction.

*"Halo: Combat Evolved! Buy one! Heck, buy two! That's an order, soldier!"* **-Sergeant Johnson upon completion of Halo: Combat Evolved demo.**

Halo: Combat Evolved is a 2001 first-person shooter science-fiction video game developed by Bungie Studios and the first game in the Halo series. It focuses on John-117 and the crew of theUNSC Pillar of Autumn who, fleeing from the Fall of Reach, stumble on the Forerunner Halo Installation 04 only to be forced into a desperate battle, the battle of installation 04, against The Covenant and the Flood. Considered a classic,*Combat Evolved* is one of the most popular video games for the Xbox with eight million copies sold. Its sales are rivaled only by its sequels, Halo 2 and Halo 3

*Halo: Combat Evolved* has been made available as an *Xbox Original*game title for Xbox 360 since December 4, 2007, for download on Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft Points. It was also released for PC and Mac. The game was remastered Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary and was released on the original game's tenth anniversary on November 15, 2011, for the Xbox 360. Along with Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4, *Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary* wasreleased on the Xbox One as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection on November 11, 2014. *Halo: The Master Chief Collection*also features the multiplayer component of *Combat Evolved,*with online play enabled on dedicated servers.

## Synopsis

### **Characters and setting.**

*Halo's*storyline is linear, there is a single ending in contrast to other first person shooters such as Deux Ex that could have several different endings. The storyline is presented to the player through an instruction manual, scripted events, and conversations during the game, and a number of cutscenes rendered using the game's graphic engine. This method of storyline delivery is common among modern video games. The Xbox version of *Halo: Combat Evolved* allows one player to play through the campaign alone, as well as allowing two players to play through the campaign in split-screen together. The PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved allows only one player to play through the campaign.

### Plot Synopsis

**Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.**

*Halo: Combat Evolved* begins with the *UNSC Pillar of Autumn*emerging out of slip space after the *Fall of Reach,*only to find a huge ring world, commonly called *Halo*, called Installation 04 floating in space. Master Chief Petty Officer *John-117*(although his name is never mentioned throughout this game), an SPARTAN-II, is aboard the *UNSC Pillar of Autumn*when the ship comes under attack by The Covenant, a religious alliance of aliens and the archenemy of humanity.

With the ship about to be overrun, Captain Jacob Keyes, the commander of the Autumn, orders *John-117*to protect the ships Artificial Intelligence ( known as AI) called Cortana. She carries highly sensitive information about the United Nations Space Command, including the location of Earth, which would prove disastrous is captured by the Covenant. John-117 evacuates the doomed ship for the surface of the Halo ring to protect Cortana. With the UNSC Marines by his side, Cortana providing direction, and his assault rifle ready and loaded, John-117 sets out to uncover the mysteries of Halo and the fight the Covenant.

After meeting up with surviving UNSC forces under *Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson,*John-117 participates in a mission to rescue Captain Keyes from the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation. After rescuing Keyes, Cortana learns that the ring appears to be a weapon that holds great religious significance to the Covenant. Realizing that the Covenant cannot be allowed to control Halo, Keyes dispatches John-117 to secure Halo's control room while Keyes leaves with Johnson to secure a Covenant weapons cache.

With UNSC Marines as support, John-117 leads an assault on the Silent Cartographer, a map room which holds information on every location on the ring, including the control room. Heading to the ring's control room, Cortana is inserted in the ring's computer system and learns that Halo was made by the Forerunners, an ancient alien race that the Covenant worship as Gods. However, Cortana soon learns that there is something else on Halo, something that terrifies the Covenant. Frightened, she says that John must stop Keyes from accessing the 'weapons cache' before it is too late. John-117 leaves for the last spot where Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson's squad were seen, an underground facility in a swamp. He finds evidence of battle all over the facility and soon finds the recording of one Marine, Wallace.A.Jenkins, which details Keyes' squad encountering a new threat: The Flood.