GamesBeat: The earlier versions of the game racked up about a 71 out of 100 on Metacritic (for PC version). Obviously the Halo fan base is so large that we want to make sure we’re reaching as many fans as possible, as well as making new fans with this game. We were just so happy with the results that we thought the game would translate very well to console, and so we set about converting it over.
GamesBeat: Did you have this planned out a while ago? Or was it the success of the game that led you to do the Xbox One version?Įllis: Originally the project was meant to be for Windows 8 platforms - phone, tablet, and PC. For Xbox One we’ve embedded functionality in the rumble triggers. We’ve also revised all the medals and achievements, and spent a lot of time configuring the game to make sure it feels native to the new controller. You can use that to protect yourself from being overrun, or even drop it in specific locations on the map to deny them access to particular routes. We also have new armor abilities like teleport, or one that allows you to drop a gas cloud that the Flood can’t penetrate. Players will fight against the Flood with a host of new weapons, including the BR, the grenade launcher, and for the first time we have the machine pistols. What we’ve done for the console versions of the game, we’ve packaged that up, so you have a 30-mission campaign, and then we’ve created five new cooperative missions for two players over Xbox Live, exclusive to the console version.įor those missions we’ve brought back the old enemy, the Flood, whereas the campaign focuses on the Covenant. We then bolstered that with an additional five missions in the Operation Hydra pack. Mike Ellis: When we did the original game, it had 25 campaign missions split up into chapters. In the war with the Covenant, the game features the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and the rise of commander Sarah Palmer. The game also has a single-player campaign story set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4. The Flood typically come at you from all directions and keep on doing that until you run out of ammo. but it has an interesting new co-op mode where two players can team up over Xbox Live against hordes of The Flood, the popcorn-like vermin race that Halo fans just love to massacre. The game is a remake of the tablet and PC version, which came out in the summer. That means you’ll be able to get your Halo fix for the holidays. Microsoft’s Halo fans got a pleasant surprise when the company announced last week that it would make its Windows Phone 8 game, Halo: Spartan Assault, available as a downloadable title on the Xbox One video game console on Dec. Did you miss a session from GamesBeat's latest event? Head over to the GamesBeat & Facebook Gaming Summit & GamesBeat Summit: Into the Metaverse 2 On Demand page here.