ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ม.ค. 2025
- A video game essay about Halo Anniversary's graphics update and how it ruins much of the game and its tone.
Music used:
Halo, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
… Pointed At the Head of the Universe, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
Suite Autumn, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
Alien Cooridors, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
Lament for Pvt. Jenkins, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
Devils... Monsters..., Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
12PM, Animal Crossing, Kazumi Totaka
Library Suite, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
The Maw, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
A Walk in the Woods, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
Covenant Dance, Halo: Combat Evolved, Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori
#halo #haloceanniversary #graphics #videogames #videoessay
It's crazy that they named their own company after a character who was introduced on the same level as it's namesake and still was so far off.
@@dylantuten6621 Good point!
And that same character betrayed the master chief and has become universally hated for killing off johnson. So make of that as you will
The character that first arrives selling you hope, only for you to find they don’t have your best interest at heart
Then in their second appearance they don’t do a lot
Then their third and final appearance is trying to get back the original halo and again stating how much they want to help you, only to backstab you
Sounds familiar
@ThePilleroflightning This! Exactly!
I always thought it was tragically ironic to be naming a studio after a character that betrays you after seemingly trying to help you. Maybe that was in the intent all along 😅
343 did not make Halo Anniversary. They commissioned Saber Interactive to develop it.
The thing that pisses me off the most is that they changed the geometry. Once you notice it, you never unsee it. It completely changes some locations
Exactly. Places where you can stand now you're falling off a cliff
It's okay you wanna be pissed off more? I've found, in the first three levels, instances of Anniversary geometry that are actually solid, like they put collision on them... and you know what that does? It makes INVISIBLE WALLS IN CLASSIC GRAPHICS.
Most noticeable is the bridge on T&R. In the back of the room, the wall is smooth in classic. In Anniversary, it has more detail... and collision.
So now not only are you getting annoyed at Anniversary missing shots because the trees aren't as wide as their hitboxes, you can get stuck on walls that LITERALLY NEVER EXISTED BEFORE IN CLASSIC.
@ArnieMcStranglehold 343 is the worst thing to ever happen to Halo ever. They need to be removed from the franchise all together and forced to just make their own video games.
Those little differences make a big difference in my subconscious mind. Just feels like faithful Temu.
Having just played through the MCC with a friend of mine, one thing we noticed that's terrible about the Anniversary graphics is that plasma grenades no longer glow. You can barely see them. They're blue, and they give off blue flames, but nothing glows anymore. They blend into the scenery. Very easy to just walk over one accidentally.
I refuse to believe 343 didn’t have a hand in the forerunner geometry changes. Their whole forerunner aesthetic when they took over was lots of lights and floating bits, way too shiny and not very ancient
People blamed Saber Interactive who was outsourced to work on the game,but its pretty clear in hindsight this aesthetic was drafted by 343 and they were just going off the guidelines they were given in the design of the new graphics.
Now that you have me thinking about it, Halo 4, which was of course 343's first new Halo game, has practically the exact same Forerunner aesthetic, with the overly metallic looking gray walls, and the luminescent panels and lights all over the place. You are so right. God what were they thinking? It's like how a child would imagine the concept of an ancient, advanced civilization. Everybody knows that bright and different colored lights all over everything means more advanced right? /s
I'm all for the graphics of the remaster but my only nitpick was the color in the unsc ships,
@@ishguy524what do you mean colour in the unsc ships?
I like the anniversary graphics ro an extent. The texture meshing and the lighting on 343 and the library ruin it for me as well as others such as 2Dens. I could forgive the library if it was only certain parts that were well let like the elevators and the central shaft. Not the hallways and back areas away from those.
@@ORLY911but this design was based off what certain affinity and bungie gave them with halo reach.
I will ALWAYS play with OG graphics
They were so good for their time. I always thought that looked better than Halo 2's.
@@Milesamanjaroyea and halo 3 looks even better than I remembered
Aye. Gotta pay my respects to Shi Wang and his fellow artists from back in the day.
@@Milesamanjaro A bit late, but Halo 2's graphics were intended for dynamic lighting, but since they couldn't get it to run smooth on the xbox, it ended up looking weird, there's a mod on steam tho that restores the dynamic lighting, might be something to check out
Me too
My biggest problem with CE:A and H2A is the lack of faith towards the original artstyle. They just pushed this mix of halo 3 and reach for these remasters and refused to properly upscale and remake the original artstyle the games had. The original games models weren't just low poly reach models, they had their own style and I hate how its been forgotten. The elites have that ninja like look, the grunts had full masks on, the jackals had helmets, the marines had metal plates on them with the eye piece. Even the wraith had a unique design.
I am just so sick of seeing the reach artstyle replace the original. Halo CE and 2 had their own unique art styles that people have forgotten. They deserve to be properly remade and fans have done that and their are mods that use these models.
I haven’t played H2A yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. Totally agree on the art style, especially the elites. I’ve never made the connection that they look like ninjas in the original. That’s a great comparison!
Unlike the first one, Halo 2A is gorgeous. They couldn't quite capture what they envisioned originally with the hardware limitations and having to scrap the first versión of Halo 2 they developed, so Halo 2 Anniversary looking as pretty as it does feels nice, it's not an egregious change like the first one is.
H2A is a lot more faithful to the original.
I can understand in some cases where they may want to have visual consistency, given that Reach takes place immediately before CE. Like the Pillar of Autumn, for example, is a good use of a Reach asset. However, a lot of it feels like they were just lazy, or maybe they were under time constraints. Like the original M90 shotgun was replaced with the M45 shotgun from Reach. Because of this, they had to retcon a new variant of the M45 that is identical in performance to the M90.
As for H2A, I honestly think they did a much better job at staying faithful to the original art direction. Yes, some Reach assets still remain, but it's not as overbearing. Though I still prefer the original visuals, they at least seemed to take feedback into consideration.
Halo 2A is very faithful.
Superior Art Direction style > Realism
100% agree
they somehow turned forerunner tech to some shit you would see tony stark using
Oh gosh, that’s such a good comparison. Totally agree!
Probably the best description
Spot on
“Why does everything look like it was made by Tony fucking Stark!?” - Quoted from Noodle
@@UsernameX-88 yup
I hate when people say you're just blinded by nostalgia if you prefer the original graphics, how anyone can compare the two and prefer the remastered graphics is beyond me
People can prefer the remastered graphics, and it’s likely because they don’t date the game as far back.
Ever played a modern FPS? It’s weird not being able to double jump, slide, clamber, ADS, carry multiple weapons, have an ult/super, have regen on abilities or have multiple abilities, sprint etc.
Likewise, going back to the original graphics feels like more of a reversal of time than the updated graphics.
@iamFSRL yeah but with old graphics and gameplay you get used to it after 5 minutes (especially with a game that's aged as well as Halo CE). Honestly to the people who claim CE has aged too much to be enjoyable all I can say is it's their loss, not every game needs to be a fast pace twitch shooter
It hurts my eyes and I don’t just mean that it’s ugly. I remember the last time I tried playing on remastered graphics it was giving me way more eye strain and even a bit of a headache. It was almost relieving to switch back.
@Chris_Travis_Scott_Joplin probably something to do with the strange lighting they used and how everything was so overly designed with the new graphics
A lot of people just prefer more detailed models and don’t care about atmosphere or a consistent design language at all.
I personally don’t understand that mindset but a LOT of people share it, so it’s really not surprising that some people do defend the remaster.
And you can also consider that it pulls a lot of Reach assets, which a good chunk of the fanbase considers to be the best Halo art style. They might like it just because of that, even if it was a terrible and lazy route to go down for remastering a game.
But people saying it’s just nostalgia talking are absolutely talking out of their ass.
Not only did they butcher the look and feel of the original game graphically, but they also broke (or removed) a bunch of enemy encounters on the mission Halo. I don't think too many people have ever really noticed, but if you play the OG version on Xbox you'll find significantly more enemies towards the latter half of the mission when your driving the warthog between the different zones saving marines. My best guess is they broke some triggers for enemy reinforcements to appear when remaking the level.
I actually thought the latter half of that level seemed empty, but I didn’t think that was different from the original. Wow!
You forgot to mention the first mission where after Master Chief wakes up, the covenant attacks, and before Chief gets his hands on a weapon. The covenants were concealed and hidden in the dark in the original, but clear as day in the updated version. I was pretty disappointed cause it lost that feeling of mystery of who the covenant were.
if you only played Halo up until Reach, don't play the newer ones, just don't
I 1000000% agree!!!! It's almost not even the same franchise honestly
Didn't miss anything really, every single game is a sort of reboot of the story. And now that they completely abandoned Halo Infinite, you bet your ass they will start yet again from scratch.
Halo Wars 2 though is excellent.
Looking back, Halo 4's multiplayer isn't the WORST thing of all time, i find it more enjoyable than h2a
Halo 4 is great and halo 5s warzone is fun as hell.
halo infinite's campaign is decent ngl
One of the things that sold me on Halo was that ocean view after you step out onto the ring, it was a jaw dropping alien vista with the cold sunlight reflecting. In the anniversary there are warm yellow godrays just like back home on Earth and clouds are covering up the view of the ring, wtf?
You know, I didn’t think that scene looked too bad in the anniversary edition, but I kinda agree with you. I would say it is more immersive to have clouds covering the sky.
I think truth and reconciliation and silent cartographer are the best missions. The maw looked ok but I think the worst thing was that when they ported this to MCC, there was basically nothing that could be done about the remake graphics due to a lack of proper mod tools for it. So even though it’s relatively easy to fix these mistakes, we can’t really get the usual obscure hardcore fan to make the 20 changes it’d take to fix this due to a lack of support. But seeing how people are cracking open Xbox One games and dumping them, I wouldn’t put that past them anymore. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Clearly doing this idea right is something people want, maybe they’ll get it out there but idk. I’ve seen it for halo 2’s shadows. The CEA port needs some love.
Noodle phrased this really good in his video about it. They made it look a lot like Earth, which is really, really dumb, because guess where we aren't?
***EARTH!***
What I hate is how the new graphics are the default way to play. And even if you play with the original graphics the loading screens still show the new graphics. Like bruh the new graphics art style sucks. Everything is so bright and has no atmosphere. The flashlight is useless and the colors are more bland. When a new person tries out Halo CE they deserve to play the thing that everyone else played when they fell in love with the game. Not these new graphics made by a different Dev that messed it all up
the original halo3 loading screens were so nise to look at that i LOOKED FORWARD TO THEM LOL
it was a reward for playing
Not many people know this but there is a bit you can do to help fix what they ruined by changing both hdr and accessibility settings. You can actually lower the brightness and increase contrast in two separate tabs and it makes the game look much better. you can also try 50% protanopia and deuteranopia to shift the color scheme to a more realistic state, one is good for indoor and one is good for outdoor. It doesn’t make up for 343 killing the original mood but graphic optimization can make the game pretty to look at
I’d like to add that the blood and gore were turned down throughout the entire game not just that famous scene. The decision to change the art style is apart of the complete Disney style overhaul of halo. 343 attempted to reel in as many kids as possible and bank off it as if it were 2020 Fortnite. Same thing happened to marvel movies and Star Wars.
Oof, that's a shame about the art style overhaul. I definitely noticed the reduced blood and gore throughout the rest of the game, it just didn't bother me as much as the elevator.
@@2Dens695 It gets worse lol halo 4 5 and infinite maintain that same trend of too much light, no blood, cartoony color scheme. Hell even halo wars got nerfed down in halo wars 2
Been playing MCC for a few years on Steam. It’s sort of an unwritten rule to just play CE in classic graphics. This is like the 500th video on this topic, but thanks for sharing!
Thanks! I’ve seen a few videos on it pop up since uploading. I’m not surprised people felt the same way I did, but it is cool to see my observations backed up by others.
It can’t be said enough
I used to think I was the only one, but I quickly learned this was a common mentality
The other issue with CE:Anniversary was that 343 used the Gearbox PC port as a base and not the original Xbox version. This is why there were some major graphical differences (notably the Jackal and stationary Covenant shields didn't change color as they were damaged, and there were some funky fog shenanigans in some levels). MCC has since been patched to fix that, but it was still an issue on the Xbox 360 release of it.
The remastered graphics make it look like the Forerunners just finished building installation 04 that year, as you pointed out, everything is shiny, light and polished. The 2001 graphics look like a structure that’s 100,000 years old.
The Dead Space 1 remake was a remake done right, and they completely rebuilt the game from the ground up and yet still captured the Ishimura and the Necromorphs perfectly.
Glad to see people still talking about this. They butchered CE, it deserves to be talked about forever.
They did no such thing, I played the Anniversary edition 3 times now, just as epic as the original.
" Butchered " is a silly word. You like the old graphics, go for it, but don't assume everybody is the same as you.
@@Vlad_-_-_
They literally removed all the little details that made the original special on top of drastically changing the artstyle. You don't have to care, but you can't just act like the remaster didn't go in a completely different direction when it very obviously had no intention of being faithful to its source material. The lack of polish in the animations is also very noticeable, and shows that they probably whipped up the remaster in a few months to get _something_ out for Halo's 10th anniversary. That's not subjective, it's just the truth.
@@emperorfridgethedude You are right, I don't care.
The only difference is that the game looks a lot better visually.
But hey, you care so much about authenticity, how about you go play Pong ?
@@Vlad_-_-_I hated CE cuz too scary, so good thing they made it so bright I thought the fucking messiah returned.
@@superk9letsplays419 In what universe is CE scary ?
Video starts at 1:34
I oddly feel kinda honored to get a “video starts at X” comment
@@2Dens695 always love the positivity
Halo CE deserves a REAL remaster!
Halo 2 remaster wasnt perfect but it was atleast more faithful and the Blur cutscenes were a chefs kiss.
CE deserves this!! This game started it all for me too in early 2004
And to this day it has my all time favorite elites
Ah.... despite the years and dozens of videos watched.... I'll always be happy to click on yet another one criticizing the poor job at remastering Halo CE.
And the thing that pisses me off is that first timers flood reveal videos are unwatchable for me because that level is a mess and not only graphically, also there's a soundtrack ambiance missing at the beginning of the level which adds a lot to the atmosphere, man.... its just sad, not even turning on the OG graphics saves the newcomer.
@@Mozarkus Oh, I’m curious the differences in soundtrack. I’ll look up a comparison.
@@2Dens695 I'm not sure it's the soundtrack so much as it is the weird static sound effect they added to the reveal cutscene. Combined with the fact that the cutscene being so much brighter with the new lighting really reveals a lot of the rather janky movement of the characters in the scene. I suspect that the original cutscene was really dark not only just to add to the horror aesthetic of the level, but also to sort of hide a lot of the technical limitations they were working with at the time.
Man, CE Anniversary really should have been the first big warning sign of what was to come under 343's leadership.
One other point about 343 Guilty Spark: the new lighting is not only too bright, it's too WARM, too consistent. it doesn't convey the same sort of dread as the original does. Horror movies often avoid summertime blue skies for that exact reason.
Two other disappointments with the graphical changes:
1) Cortana's colours don't shift with her mood like the original did, which robs her of some of her cool character (a complaint I have about all games after this one until, ironically, Halo 4)
2) The Energy Sword is now near-impossible to see and therefore avoid, even with the gold Elites being visible, which makes their gameplay a different kind of spray-and-pray. You could chalk this up to "git gud", but it's not the gud i got from 20 years ago.
@@lewisirwin5363 I’ll go back and look at Cortana’s colors, because I definitely didn’t notice that. That’s a really interesting change.
I know it's minor, but my biggest grievance with CE Anniversary was that they used the Reach shotgun model.
I loved the Halo trilogy shotgun design, with Halo 3 being my favourite.
Then Reach comes along, and we get that weird-ass looking thing with a fraction of the ammo.
Played CE Anniversary, and then picked up the blegh shotgun in 343 Guilty Spark.
They managed to get it right in Halo 2 Anniversary, why not in CE Anniversary?
Yeah, switching between the graphics styles is particularly jarring when wielding the shotgun.
I guess we'll be getting a full remake of CE from the Halo Studios. Will see how that goes. I certainly have hope with cautious optimism.
I saw that… the trailer certainly had some striking scenes. I’m a big fan of”no gameplay no hype” person, but I would probably agree with cautious optimism.
It's not the aesthetic I have an issue with. It's the abysmal aiming. They kept the old hit box based on the old games graphics, but moved all new art to the right and didn't adjust. They learned their lesson for halo 2 anniversary.
Actually in the OG there is a dripping sound in the flood containment Area. But in the new one the sound is gone
Oh, that’s weird. Other comments have mentioned how the audio is different. I wonder why they would change that.
Can't stand what they did to the elites in CE or how they ruined 343 Guilty Spark (level) changing it from a horror level of environmental storytelling into "look at our gaudy, over-lit textures!"
When I first played halo CE I played the remastered graphics and didn’t enjoy the game much. Years later I tried the original graphics and now it’s one of my favorite games ever
Halo 2A I feel is a better adaptation than Halo CEA, despite some issues such as the Flood Fog being largely absent and the Soundtrack changes (they seriously couldn’t acquire the rites to Blow Me Away?).
im gonna be real follow in flight instead of incubus and breaking the covenant with misha mansoor are absolute bangers in my opinion
With all the brightness and shiny lights, the Forerunner structures and interiors don't feel ancient and abandoned anymore, they appear recently maintained.
It doesn’t even make sense lore-wise. You’d think the Forerunner would want to conserve as much power as possible… I don’t know, maybe they’re too advanced for such concern.
I remember when I first bought MCC and booted up the CE campaign. Steadily I found myself preferring the original graphics, swapping them on and off until eventually I just never wanted to see the Anniversary graphics. They completely dropped the ball and made it too saturated and cartoonish-looking and as pointed out in the video it completely destroys the mood of 343 and the Library.
I agree completely! I knew that something was off the entire time, but once I got the 343 Guilty Spark, it hit me.
I remember thinking it was so ugly. I only got it for the Reach map pack. But man, those maps didn’t work well in reach anyway.
also there were more of those flood spotting's if you looked on the ridge above you
I tried to play Legendary on the remastered graphics and hell no, really no. I lost count of how many times I died because of a grenade that bounced back from an invisible barrier or shots didn’t reach the enemy’s head.
The issue with the old and new graphics, is that the dark areas are way too bright in the new graphic (night time is literally just blue filter over day time) which ruins the mood, but the some areas of the old graphics like in Keyes or Two Betrayals are just too dark that you literally can't see what's you're shooting so you have to end up alternative between the two
@@susfringgaming4018 I wouldn’t say you have to alternate, but I definitely agree some levels were almost too dark. There were multiple times in my recent play through that I was fighting in pitch black and getting hit by flood.
20+ years later and that damn song STILL makes my heart pound and back sweat. I CANNOT imagine playing Guilty Sparks 343 ALONE for the 1st time. I was blessed enough to play this with my little brother on co-op all the way through and I s*** you not we had the exact same reactions and said the exact same things when we were playing through this the 1st time, and stuck together like glue through the whole mission! It was almost comical when we simultaneously went “WTF did we get ourselves into?!” After hearing that recording! Lol. Man this game was great! Thanks for posting.
When I was playing HCE Anniversary, I felt the same apprehension going into 343 Guilty Spark that I did as a kid. Wild how that level has imprinted on me.
You’re not missing much with halo 4. It’s not terrible, but there’s so much to think about with the separation of sprint and armor ability. Not to mention learning combat vs the prometheans. Unfortunately, I think the story fell flat in many ways as well.
@@samloan1829 I’ll have to see how I feel about it when the time comes. Even if it’s not great, I’m curious to see where they went with the story.
It's nice to hear someone else say exactly what my friends and I have said for years now. Whenever we go back to play, it's always in the OG graphics. Two betrayals is another level where it's way too bright. The level is supposed to be stressful. It's dark, everyone wants to kill you and you're all alone. Marty's song " Walk in the Woods" plays on this level. In the new graphics, the moon is so bright the song should be "A stroll at midday". The lighting was a key component to the overall atmosphere and 343 per usual, drops the ball.
343 Guilty Spark is one of my favorite levels in the whole trilogy. I played it a few days ago on my OG console and it still gives me the creeps. It doesn't matter that I'm 31 years old, the concept of inadvertently releasing the deadliest and most horrific virus in the galaxy makes me shiver, and the atmosphere of the game perfectly reflects that dread.
I'm lucky enough to still have my OG xbox and a working copy of Halo: CE and Halo 2. I played them over the weekend and the feeling on the darker areas is still eerie, no matter how many times I've played. I hope my beloved console lasts for a few more years at least.
I remember reaching the elevator in 343 GS in the Anniversary version & being hit with an immense sense of disappointment.
Exactly what happened to me. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
The og halo CE was almost as dark as doom 3, and really spooky in places
I remember as a kid playing Halo 3 (early 2000s baby) and being unable to get past the flood sections on my own, not because they were hard but because the darkness and monsters scared me out of my wits. That sense of dread is something entirely missing in the CE remaster as well as 343's games.
Yeah, i used to hang out for whole minutes next to those weird generator beam things at the bottom of the map, simply because that was the only (and I mean ONLY) brightly/safely-lit part of the map. No such need in Anniversary (although i was of course grown up by then)
Idm the remaster master style, the only thing that i would say they did wrong would be the lighting and loosing the creepy affects in some missions
The art style is just fine. Lighting is the biggest issue, and is arguably the core point of my video (aside from the strange choices to reduce blood).
I personally like both the classic and the anniversary graphics.
I was still a kid when the anniversary version came out.
And honestly, I liked the added lighting. Now, I see myself going back to the original graphics for nostalgia, but I still like both.
I remember playing this game as 6 or 7 year old, 343 Guilty Spark and The Library used to give me nightmares lol
i can hardly call this the WORST thing about anniversary's graphics, but it's a pretty big pet peeve of mine: in halo CE anniversary, the gold elites are replaced with the zealot model from reach. It's an extremely complex model and a gigantic divergence from the original artstyle, etc etc. but more importantly, h2a DOES have proper gold elites in bright shiny golden armour. In particular, the opening cutscene featuring the arbiter (before he's been given that title) has him wearing gold armour SPECIFCALLY SO THAT PLAYERS OF THE FIRST GAME WILL KNOW HE'S IMPORTANT AND HIGH-RANKING. It's such a great use of the first game's visual language to clue players into the story before a single word has been spoken! And if you go from CEA graphics to H2A graphics then you completely lose this awesome moment of "oh, that's a gold elite! oh snap, this guy was in charge of ALL THE ENEMIES in the first game!"
Also of note is that halo 1, 2, and 3 all had the same deep thumpy warthog turret sound effect. and both anniversary versions replace it with a more realistic sound effect like halo 4 and on (and reach, to a lesser extent. it had a bit more of a realistic rattle but the original thumpy sound effect was still very much present), which is FINE I GUESS but the common sound effect across the first three games was a fun thing as a kid - it made the warthog feel familiar, like an old friend, through the whole trilogy. Even as the engine changes and there's all these new mechanics and enemies and environments, the warthog gun has that same thumpy firing sound. From searching for lost marines on Halo to the climactic warthog run on the Ark, driving like a madman in the warthog with either an npc or your co-op partner on the turret remains the same fun experience in all three games, with the same satisfying noise. And the remastered audio shatters at least a part of that.
Actually, the liberties they take with the sound effects in general piss me off. The other big offender is the energy sword in h2a. The extremely distinctive "splashhh!" sound effect of turning it on is consistent between 2, 3, and reach. halo 4 changed it to sound more like a sharp crack of energy, which is again, fine, whatever. new trilogy, they wanna revamp the old sound effects, go for it. But h2a uses more of a halo 4+ sound effect instead of the splash!! So now, again, new players won't get to enjoy the consistency through the trilogy. Every time I hear the energy sword splash, I think about my very first time playing halo 2 as a kid. It shoots me back to that incredible double whammy in the first arbiter level of "Wait, I get to play as an elite?" and "WAIT, I GET TO USE THE ENERGY SWORD?"
I remember feeling the same way about playing as the Arbiter and the energy sword as a kid. I haven’t played H2A yet; but I’ll pay close attention to the sound when I do.
Perfectly explained. Another thing that screams "Look how advanced the anniversary edition is" is the cutscenes and some animations. One example is the very first cutscene where we see Captain Keyes walking with "rigid" movements (for lack of a better word) in the original graphics, which is perfectly in character. In the anniversary version, I always felt that the devs needed to showcase how many movements they could implement in a normal walking animation.
@@LordFindogask734 I noticed that as well. The rigging looks super off in the anniversary cutscenes, especially lip movements.
They used mo-cap for some of the anniversary cutscenes. The problem is, none of these characters, their skeletons, etc. were designed for these types of animations, so it looks jarring. Particularly facial animations, Cortana is the worst for this I feel (Particularly on Pillar of Autumn or Two Betrayals). Also, the problem is the mo-cap still has to match the voice acting from the original game, leaving it feeling stilted. I feel like I'm watching a Sonic Adventure 2 cutscene sometimes with how unnaturally these characters move.
completely agree. the new graphics are all well and good in outdoor areas like on halo, silent cartographer, AOCTR and two betrayals. maw is too bright in a few areas still i feel but overall fine.
they missed the point so hard with 343 and the library it's embarrassing
I do notice plenty of remasters seems to be afraid of keeping the original dark of Aesthetic or dark rooms and brighten them up. Ironcally Epic Mickey seems to follow suit given how less dark it is in its artstyle when seeing comparison videos. One would suggest the artists they have making most of these remasters aren't exactly into this sort of style? That's the only explanation to why it keeps happening over the decades.
@@Deliveredmean42 Good observation!
I never played the original Halo as a kid and so just immediately switched to anniversary graphics when MCC came out. You've totally changed my mind, it does look like shit
Fun fact: That the CE Anniversary's version of MK V isnt even the Reach variant even though its using reach graphics and artstyle, It dosen't even use the helmet from reach. Isaac hannaford did draw some concept art the MkV in reach's artstyle you can find it on his artstation.
Btw by Mk V I dont mean, MkV [B] whats worn in reach But Mk V like Standard kind
@@Jayven45 super interesting!
In an early trailer, they did reuse the Reach version of the Mk. V. They also had the Reach AR and magnum (which is still on the game's cover art), before they were replaced by their H3 counterparts.
@@bshap495 That in the trailer is MK V [B] not MK V Theres slight differences the main one being the intakes. if you go to Isaac Hannaford's artstation Under a post named "Halo: REACH Spartan studies" you will see what im talking about Image is a female spartan holding her helmet her armor color is blue yellow background. I would link the image if I could but I Cant
@@Jayven45 That's what I mean. It was the Reach version of the Mk. V helmet and shoulders, with the rest of the armor being Mk. V [B].
But if they didn’t light everything excessively, then how would we see all these mediocre visual redesigns??
XD
Halo CE Anniversary left a funny taste in my mouth that never really left. Even the way 343 handled Reach multiplayer felt different than Bungie and from then on its been almost nothing but disappointment.
I don't exactly mind them going with Reach Multiplayer, but I do wish they had recreated every original CE map at first release, along with a "classic gameplay" option to go with them (ie; no armour abilities, weapons limited to original offerings).
One thing I was bitterly disappointed by was the lack of the "Boarding Action" map, which could have been a right hoot with Jet-Packs, for example.
I was so disappointed in the 343 guilty spark mission.
I personally feel like the anniversary edition misses the point of many stylistic choices. It takes away the element of fear and horror away from the game, sort of like the Terminator movies did away with the fear for more action after 2.
The upgraded graphics did look great at the time. But you are 100% spot on, that they destroyed the immersion of the horror game Bungie was aiming for.
Everything was just too bright.
As someone who first played Halo about a year ago in the MCC, i found it fascinating to switch between the graphics during gameplay. While i appreciated a lot of the new stuff (especially the ability to actually see things with the boosted lighting), I thought the new graphics went overkill on the tech-iness of stuff. They put too many lights and griebling on everything everywhere
There are definitely some nicer looking areas. The covenant ships have grown on me. But yeah, they overdid it.
Am currently playing the game for the first time and I immediately noticed how much less character and atmosphere there is in the redone graphics.
I sometimes quickly tab it out to see out of curiosity how they've redone certain areas, yet almost never do I enjoy the results, not even in the outdoor areas. OG graphics are the way to go.
Yeah I absolutely hate cea artstyle, it's where 343 started making halo look super bright,saturated and cartoony. Not as disgusting as h5,but yeah. The only one I like the artstyle of is h2a, but in that one I can't stand the remixed ost xD
That said,ignore my wrong opinion thx
7:50 no it's okay, I have red/green deficiency and the blood is still functionally invisible. It took some scrutinizing to even see that it was there at all.
Someone must have missed the "luminescent blood on the walls" part of the script.
Speaking of geometry, on the library its most notable but there are visable walls in the new graphics that did not exist in the original and behind it are health packs etc. this happens i believe a handful of times but is ridiculous because people who do not play in the OG graphics could miss these carefully placed supplies that would help them get through the level on harder difficulties if they are newer.
Unfortunately, even the original graphics mode doesn't look like og xbox halo. The only way to get the original experience is to plug a fatbox into a crt.
Glorious 20fps
Actually they fixed the Gearbox issues recently. MCC matches with the original now.
I still use my og Xbox and I love it. Not for Halo CE, though. Glorious for its time, but I absolutely can’t go back to sub 20fps.
this isn't true, the graphics are identicle
The funny thing is when they ported the 360 Version of Halo CE Anniversary to MCC and it looks slightly different, there are issues, visual changes and downgrades that don't match up with the original 360 Version. When they made Halo CEA they ported the gearbox pc version of Halo CE it also had tons of graphical issues and downgrades and they reused this version for MCC as well but most if not all of these issues in classic graphics have been fixed with MCC updates, but the anniversary version probably will never get fixed anymore since they abandoned MCC along with many other issues that exist in the rest of the collection. Just want to let you know that.
The Channel why made detailed video about all of these issues.
th-cam.com/video/ngwi7WtCbFE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=FhbzyfAkpIbh2gQ_
Super interesting!
Halo 1 anniversary looks more like a fan mod than an official remaster. A very good fan mod, but still nothing that should've been sold as a commercial product.
I played the Gearbox software release of Custom Edition as a teenager. My PC couldn't handle it at much more than 30fps outside of combat... To this day that's how I remember it. Playing it in the MCC just feels too good. Like, throw dirt in my eyes, I can't play it at 60 FPS locked.
Always thought the only improvements in CEA graphics was the MA5B. Not the now well lit lively structures or holopanels where there weren't before.
thought i was the only person who absolutely HATED the new graphics, i always play in old graphics
Fuck the old graphics. The new one looks way better, and more realistic too.
The new ones are technically weak. The original version even often has better textures.
I would say your wrong, as a developer my self I can tell you that the limitations of the technology back then where actually such a problem, that big games like halo had to made big sacrifices, many of them being lightning, bigger geometry and less then normal details and textures.
You obviously seeing halo with loving eyes, because it's a huge part of our old days, but I try playing it the other day on the OG Xbox and it's frustrating, then I played the newer version from 343 industries and I can say with all confidence that it's a better version.
The old one was great for what it was back then, but now you can see very clearly the hard limitations the developer's had while making this game. A game that was in it's time imposible to play on let's say a PS2 but clearly they took a lot of details and hard decisions to finish this and it worked out for them on the end.
Honestly, great comment. Love the input from a developer.
That said, I’m gonna go ahead and ask if you actually watched the video? Because I talk about the fact that the OG developers were dealing with serious limitations, and that they had to make sacrifices.
Additionally, I talk about the fact that terrain visuals don’t match the actual geometry doesn’t match up in the anniversary edition, which is objectively unacceptable. It’s straight worse than the original because it’s broken.
I would have been ok with all the changes to lighting if they hadn't messed up 343 guilty spark and the library. Both of those levels are meant to be intentionally dark and creepy.
I think I would have too. The rest of the game really isn’t that offensive in comparison.
one thing that annoys me is how some of the reach models for the ce weapons are used for the anniversary graphics, especially on the shotgun where the reach and ce models look totally different
The shotgun has such a different appearance, I’m actually surprised the animation works with it.
People really unfortunately misunderstand what their goals were with CEA. The directive they got was not to make a faithful remake of CE, it was to make a modern version of it that would appeal to people who were getting into Halo (CE was only available in a very buggy backward compatible version on 360) and to make it consistent with what players expected at the time. The reuse of reach assets was partially done to create greater continuity with Reach's release the year prior, and the lighting changes were done as to help player navigation and address complaints of the original release, mainly that levels like Library and 343 GS were too easy to get lost in. People also misunderstand why CE looks the way it does, which was largely due to darker levels rendering faster and them not having the time to really iterate on the lighting. You'll notice in some levels like AOTCR, they pretty much have blanketed the interiors with even colored ambient lighting compared to other missions.
Plus in 2011, with everyone gaming on flat panels before HDR, lots of darkness would often come out looking very grey and you couldn't get the finer details and contrast of a CRT, of which CE was designed for. Now these days when you play in classic graphics, you can get those inky black levels even on an LCD, although OLEDs do it best of course.
Definitely interesting, and I can see the logic. But that doesn’t really justify such dramatic changes. Changing the brightness of the game is one thing, but I don’t think they needed to change the mood of the game the way they did.
I'm curious where you heard about rendering time being a factor in the decision to make some of CE so dark. If Bungie wanted to make a section brighter without increasing the rendering time, it seems to me like they could have just cranked up the ambient lighting.
@@2Dens695 It's a little complicated on that front, perhaps they wanted to make it feel new and fresh, perhaps they felt the darkness made navigation to hard. If you look at early builds, it was closer in mood and atmosphere than what was in retail. So the changes are intentional.
@@zeumai I have over 10+ years of experience with the CE engine and it's various builds. Rendering time on modern hardware is obviously much faster than older hardware, but you could still have a mission like AOTCR take upwards of 24 hours each time to do a lighting pass on all the geometry. The process today is not quick, and back then it was even worse, even if you had a best case scenario where you have 40 machines all concurrently running light maps. The more light bounces that are simulated the longer things take, so by having less light sources, your render time decreases. If you look in the retail game, especially AOTCR you will see the light maps "pop" between level geometry loading zones, I don't know 100% if that was an issue with them shipping with debug lighting on some areas, or a consequence of them having such high ambient lighting for those areas.
About the brightness Neil Kahn is Half right, most pre 2010 LCD had horrid blacks and it wasn't until recently when LCD's could display decent colors and shades, but still most of it is/was because of the half-ass direction they took with both remasters.
They should have just remade halo CE on the Reach version of Blam! with High Coherent Assets (Recycled/Modified/custom), think of HL:Source but not crap and with HQ assets... this would have made the remaster:
" feel new and fresh" && "make a modern version of it that would appeal to people who were getting into Halo"
This remaster only made HCE feel more outdated for people who were getting in to Halo because they blame the game feeling like trash because of the graphical miss-match of collision/render.
Your "10+ years of experience" mean nothing if your mods are incoherent and lack harmony and focus, your mod and team is bad. Also Rendering lightmaps in low and high only changes the shadow quality and ambient color + bounces, the extra light bounces. When bungie didnt have time to render the lightmaps at high(ce) or superhigh (h2+) they simulated it by slighty tunning the color and brightness of the ambient light or even edit the textures, so stfu Masterz1337.
Both CEA && H2a are half-ass remasters and the 2a doesnt have as many complains because h2 already feels more in line and modern than HCE since tech and game design jumps started to slow down dramatically after 2005, most of the focus of action games went it to "better" graphics (stylized realism) && Multiplayer than the last gens that were about physics && game control/design.
These remasters are bad because they dont go all-out, they feel more like mods with a budget, they should rather have gone doing:
a) Remaster the games like those nightdivestudios ports, enhancements && toggle-able features. (cheapest and better than CEA)
b) Remake/Remaster the game in the ODST or HR version of the blam! game engine, assets are new && the ones that fit are modified, basically a re-imagining of the game using the modern tech at the time. Alot of non-game dev people will miss- interpret this as " maps of CE played on REACH", im not referring to this, im saying use the HR version of Blam! recreate CE on the engine taking advantage of the capabilities and making a "new CE" that takes the base skelleton and updates it to play like a late x360 or early XBX0 game (comming at time / context).
c) just bundle OG the trilogy with a good easy to boot UI (think SMB:all stars) , this start up ui just boots you in to one of the 3 games (maybe with some small patches and fixes), 3 is just H3 xbx360, h2 && hce are just basic ports. content from the DLC's are downloadable (back then disks couldn't fit too as much data).
d) Just dont MCC, and just release standalone XB1,PC,XBX ports (preferable to be like those enhanced nightdivestudios ports and not simple basic crap).
CEA and H2a are THE MOST HALF-ASS remasters/remakes i can think of my head, they are basically in between trying to be one or the other while also not getting it and looking ugly, unfocus, 0% harmony.
Videos like this have been made before and I will never tire of them. Imagine if they did with CE what they did with H2A.
Once I uploaded this video, my TH-cam recommendations were flooded with Halo videos and it was cool to see that there is such a consistent response of criticism toward the anniversary graphics.
I highly recommend the Halo: Custom Edition mod called SPV3. It's the faithful remastee we all deserved, and it's a fan project with years of work and love put into it. And on top of that, two extra original missions and a ton of new content in the existing missions based on things Bungie wanted to do in Combat Evolved they had to cut.
Very cool! Maybe I’ll check it out in the future.
343i should be considered a war crime
No, your opinion should. 343 made Master Chief cooler in 4.
@@DestinyAwaits19meh opinion is meh
I think they were experimenting with the Halo 4 aesthetic. It didn't work.
Oh, that’s a good point. Maybe they were. Does the Halo 4 aesthetic within that game?
@2Dens695 Yes, with Halo 4 343 moved away with the toned-down Bungie forerunner aesthetic for something more obnoxiously bright and hyper polished, like they did with Halo CE anniversary. That's why I think they were experimenting with the Halo 4 aesthetic with Halo Anniversary.
When they finally updated the OG graphics from the PC to OG Xbox in quality it looked great. A part from when I first got this game I never play on the remastered graphics. On Heroic the stealth elites in Truth and Reconciliation were impossible to see before they killed you.
There should be a mod which just takes the anniversary textures and models and fixes the gameplay to make them the default geometry then fix the lighting and scenes on certain parts of the level to better match the original intention. That sounds like the middle-ground we've all been waiting for.
possible, but i doubt someone will give it a try. classic graphics would need to be disabled since the collisions would need to be changed braking the classic graphics. 1 thing, while changing collisions and sounds is possible, changing anything from the anniversary visuals isnt (different software than classic). there is a reason why modders only mod the classic graphics (more tools and easier)
To this day I’ve never changed from the old graphics. The new style isn’t even worth the blur cutscenes in my opinion.
The blur cutscenes are garbage anyway. Those idiots made everything a "WOOOAAHHH SO COOOL" type of thing. Just look at the"remastered" cutscene where Arbiter is walking through the honor guard hall and is in the phantom with Brutes. Watch the original and then watch the "remastered". The difference is MASSIVE
Hey I found your history of the series and how you and it changed over the years super relatable :)
@@BeyondBrainWavesYT Yeah, it’s really cool to think about how different I and my life was when I played these games as a kid.
great video
I agree with all the points *but* it's also clear to me that, with older videos, levels were dark to add to the mood, yes, but also to hide not-so-great textures
with all the lights added in the newer version, it's like a way to show the new textures
"it's look nice", let us show it to you
edit: I typed this as the video was ending and you said the same thing haha
@@villings This is actually why I’m pretty excited to play H2A. I’ve purposefully not let myself see any screenshots, videos, etc. but the comments on this video have made it seem like H2A is everything H:CEA should have been.
This is why i only play the og xbox version or if I’m on the anniversary edition i only play the old graphic’s
I remember a similar complaint about the remake to Metroid 2. The original M2 used its console limitations as an asset, making the game feel cramped and isolated. The later levels also decreased the number of non-metroid enemies in later sections due to the fact that the Metroids have completely dominated the ecosystem in the deeper areas.
The remake makes it brighter, fills everything with generic enemies, gives you more ways to defend yourself and generally reduces the original feel of the game to something that is more straightforward, robbing it of its identity.
Again, you can see what they were doing, and they definitely aren't bad at making games as shown by Dread, but they robbed it of one of the things that made the atmosphere special.
Dread is on my list to play eventually. I’ve never actually played a Metroid game. I think Metroid 2 is on NSO, so maybe I’ll try the original.
@@2Dens695 If you do, I hope you enjoy them!
What is the best halo game in the series? I needa know everyone's opinion.
Mine is probably Halo 2, but I haven’t really thought about it
Since the flood at the bridge part is allmost constantly moving, amd the silhouette looked more like a grunt's back to me, but the anniversary graphics visible one looks more human, so i would have rather expected there to be UNSC later instead of the covenant and flood, which would have made the twist a lot better instead of "woah theres more enemies in there lets kill them" and rather "woah theres friendlies in there?"
Also "anniversary flood sticks out too much", my brother in christ, the original flood looks like their glowing green, they are way more visible than the anniversary flood, also halo was never a horror game, you cant really make anything scary when your protagonist is a goddamn super soldier.
That’s a really good idea regarding the covenant versus UNSC flood on the bridge.
As for your other comment, I’ve seen a couple people misunderstand what I meant in the video. Perhaps I should have explained it just a little more.
Yes, the original flood glow. But the flow leads into a gradient for the rest of the model which blends into the darkness. In the original, it’s a “what am I looking at” situation. But in anniversary, due to the lighting and shading on the models, the flood almost have an outline against the background. Better for visibility, yes, but it makes the experience less scary and impactful.
And yeah, MC is a super soldier. But that doesn’t mean the game can’t be scary, and it WAS scary when I was a kid and the developers were clearly trying to illicit horror vibes - the music, the helmet cam cutscene. It’s all meant to feel like a horror game.
The Marines and the Shotgun in Anniversary graphics are so fucking ugly that that I basically always play the game in original graphics just to avoid looking at them.
A horrible fun fact which I am unsure whether it persists in the MCC version of Halo CEA, but it definitely was in the standalone copy of the game, is that 343i actually use a downgraded port of Halo CE classic. It has lesser detailed graphics and worse lighting than the actual original version of the game, almost as if they were trying to make CE classic look extra worse in comparison to their remaster.
Funnily enough, as your video clearly shows, even this downgraded version of Classic looks better than their Remaster with its poor misunderstanding of what made the original work so well.
CEA is completely unsubtle; it covers everything in generic greebles, ramps up the saturation and has no consistency when it comes to asset detail. Chief's supporting hand is floating while holding the shotgun. The magnum has no round chambered when it's press checked (when you draw it). The _marines_ use Reach's _trooper_ model; army, instead of navy. Even the GUI is worse, somehow.
Worth remembering that the original release didn't have classic MP; it was Reach MP, with remade CE maps. For Microsoft's flagship series, they really phoned in CEA. It's funny that it's aged incredibly poorly, meanwhile CE itself aged like a fine wine.
These are such good points. CE really did age incredibly well. Such a shame, CEA
I like both the classic and updated graphics despite the issues in the updated graphics.
I'm surprised you don't have more subs man, this was well done and got your point across well
@@realspartan5206 Thanks!
It would be much better if Halo Anniversary had simply been ported to the Halo 3/Reach engine.
Say goodbye to firing behind cover properly, or easily distinguishing enemy types from the backgrounds, or good character designs and pleasing color palettes, or an APPROPRIATE ATMOSPHERE!
We should have taken this as a bad sign. Recycling assets from Reach and H3 while changing the source material to appease people who weren't interested.
I don't trust these devs to remake CE again, or to do anything right by this IP. I wouldn't trust them with a dollar bill. They've had YEARS, and haven't done one thing right, unless you count restoring CE's original graphical effects on the PC port, but even that wasn't originally their work.
Damn I've never cared about Halo I was a timesplitters guy. But I always appreciated other people's love of the game. This video genuinely made me sad as I considered this a perfect remake. Looks like spyro reignited stands alone 😔
It definitely isn’t perfect, but I haven’t seen a remake that is (I’ve never played a Spyro game)
Halo CE graphics not only hold up today but look better than some newer games which is insane. There hasnt been a game yet that replicates the style it had. The anniversary graphics were part of a trend in gaming which has shifted games from fun to pretty showcases. I only ever used them on release and that's mainly because the toggle feature is probably the best feature Anniversary addition
lol i played halo anniversary back in 2011 on my xbox 360
and the very moment i booted it up, got into the menu, and saw the weird halo ring redesign with the purple lights, the overly busy skybox which had thrown in things like super colorful nebulae, stars shining between asteroids, and a lot of other junk not present in the original, i knew that 343 industries did not understand halo's visual design in the slightest
later my issues were cemented when i saw that they turned captain keyes into the son of jfk and the nesquik bunny
didn't stop me from having fun with the game, but i was sad those new graphics i was looking forward to were so far off the mark
CEA's problem is that it looks just objectively worse in every way. It COMPLETELY changes the art style. Thats why the capcom reworks are so horrible. The graphics are "better" but the art styles are god awful.
Part of it is the ports of halo by gearbox broke the original lighting maps so it is darker than it was originally
@@phantom12321800 It’s not just about literal darkness, it’s about mood and atmosphere. The anniversary graphics dramatically changes both.
I believe you are correct, and the fact that they are discussing a possible remake of this game is truly puzzling to me. It just sounds like more failure, it would just be a waste of resources and money, besides how can you possibly recapture the look and style of the old graphics with today’s technology, it would have to have more content for today’s audience. Not that the first game wasn’t complete but with all the battle passes and other shit that modern games do it would be lacking a lot of content without anything new added to a 20+ year old game. They shouldn’t even try it. They should just focus on infinite and make it better
I didn’t even know they were thinking about remaking HCE!
they like to remakebooters CE alot:
- CEA (remaster)
- H4 (sequel-softboot of CE)
- HI (H6 soft-reboot of CE with H3/HR nostalgia baits)
- possible new remake (CE again probably bad or lowmid)
I agree with a lot of what you said, just not the flood popping out, I.
'm not blending into the background. As you were saying that the anniversary flood literally looked like the floor. But the Halo one flood had those bright glowy. Heads, so i'm not really sure what you're getting at there
I didn’t explain that super well. When I say they blend in with the background, I literally mean the gradient on the bottom of their glowing heads. All you can see when in the dark is the glowing head which blends in with a gradient into the darkness.