Top 7 Underrated Halo CE Maps

With the recent release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary on the PC version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, many of the old Halo: CE multiplayer maps are being brought back into the spotlight as players dive in to enjoy the ‘new’ multiplayer maps on the PC release of MCC and, for older Halo players, indulge in some classic Xbox nostalgia.

However, just as we are presented with the joy of experiencing maps like Hang ‘Em High, Blood Gulch and Longest online on the PC once again, we are also faced with the inevitable groans when we are dealt a Halo CE map that is less well-remembered. After all, not only did the original release of Halo CE have a fair share of less popular classic maps, there were also some maps added to the original PC port of Halo CE by Gearbox that were slated by fans.

Although many of these maps are tried and tested, and have been played to death by Halo fans for years, perhaps there is still something to be said in defence of the maps that many in the community seem to dislike. After all, each and every Halo CE map is unique in its own right, and some of these maps represent the earliest examples of Bungie experimenting with Halo map design. Clearly they went with what worked, and this has led to some of the best enduring classic maps in the series – but they also tried some crazy multiplayer map ideas, and these are some of the maps we will be covering today.

Chiron TL-34

Arguably the most unique non-Forge map in Halo history, Chiron TL-34 seems to have a very bad reputation among the Halo fan community for its tight spaces, confusing layout and claustrophobic repetition. However, lovers and haters of this map alike must agree that is has a very interesting design. Its asymmetry, coupled with the fact that every single room is unique, makes for a fascinating map design.

There are certain gamemodes in the Master Chief Colllection in which this map shines, one in particular being Team Muskets, a gamemode in which every player has a shotgun and no shields. This makes for a hectic gamemode that relies a lot on players memorising the map over time, and knowing which rooms are best for defending and which rooms are common spots for ambushes.

The creepy ambient noises combined with the tight, confined spaces make Chiron TL-34 an intense map. Interestingly, when playing on team games, you can see your teammates markers wherever they are on the map, revealing that the rooms are actually significantly further away from each other than one might assume. This, coupled with the bizarre sounds you can hear from time to time, begs the question of what is located between the rooms…

Boarding Action

Boarding Action, like Chiron TL-34, is a map that has a truly unique design – two structures oppose each other, with a vast gulf of space between them. The only way to travel from one structure to the other is via teleporter, so players are presented with a choice – either make a dash for the teleporters and attempt to attack the enemy head-on, or use a Sniper Rifle or Magnum to attack the enemy from across the chasm.

Although there are clearly issues with this map, including the lack of cover from the overpowered Magnum, the abundance of ranged weapons, and the fact that there are some really easy ways to score within seconds of getting the flag in Capture the Flag using the teleporters, which isn’t a good thing in a Capture the Flag game.

However, there are still some good things about this map – it makes for some great sniper duels, the Rocket Launcher and Fuel Rod Gun are fun to use, and generally the concept of two ships firing at each other is a novel one – and like all Halo CE maps, the ambient sounds are creepy as ever. The last thing your Spartan hears as he tumbles into the empty abyss of space is the distant roar of the solar winds as they buffet the two opposing spaceships…

Danger Canyon

This map has a very interesting symmetrical design, incorporating a vast open horseshoe-shaped canyon spanned by Forerunner bridges. A dense network of tunnels linked to an underground chamber inhabited by Covenant technology gives this map a very authentic feel, as it certainly looks and feels like a Halo map. The environment is even reminiscent of the interior of the Silent Cartographer island.

Like a lot of maps designed for the PC port by Gearbox, this map has Big Team Battle in mind and is therefore very big, and thus not suited for smaller game modes. This map is a blast on Big Team Battle, with vehicles and co-ordinated use of the warren of tunnels making for some diverse methods of attack.

In terms of aesthetics, Danger Canyon is a beautiful map – it embodies all of the iconic design elements that made the second level of Halo: Combat Evolved so memorable, including the combination of natural terrain and angular metallic Forerunner structures. This map actually takes some getting used to, as the layout is designed to confuse the uninitiated – something very Forerunner.

Rat Race

A gloomy, atmospheric map set in subterranean tunnels, Rat Race is one of those maps that you don’t often hear people complain about, but you don’t really hear people praise either. However, what appears on the surface to be a relatively dull indoor map is actually a lot more complex then it initially appears, thanks to a combination of its asymmetrical design and the use of teleporters. Probably the major draw factor with this map for a lot of people is the setting – it is hardly the most visually appealing of Halo CE’s maps, and resembles the kind level aesthetics that you would find in very early shooters.

Rat Race is one of the few Halo maps set completely underground, with absolutely no windows or means of seeing the skybox. his gives Rat Race a unique feel that is difficult to place, in that the claustrophobic corridors enhance the tension of combat, particularly as the leftover Human and Covenant equipment gives players the feelinggn that they are not alone here.

In terms of gameplay, Rat Race is actually more dynamic that it first appears. It if the enemy team has the teleporter locked down, you can sneak around them using the Forerunner facility, and if their attention is on keeping the main rooms, you can use the dirt cave to get the drop on them with a convenient hatch for sneak attacks. Overall, although Halo: CE’s interior maps are often designed in a symmetrical fashion, Rat Race offers an assymetrical alternative that should not be underestimated.

Infinity

This map is interesting, as it suffers from major design flaws that decrease its viability for almost every gametype except one – Race. Infinity is one of those maps that is just too big – walking from one side of the map to the other takes far too long, and even with the Ghosts lying around traversing this map on foot feels like a chore. Having said that, for vehicular combat this map is surprisingly fun – you often end up in desperate chase scenarios in which one heavily armed Warthog chases down a Ghost only to be intercepted by an enemy Warthog, at which point all hell breaks loose.

Another aspect of Infinity that seems questionable its is layout – the map consists of incredibly long thin canyons that come together to form a wonky ouroboros or ‘infinity sign’ (hence the map’s name). This is an interesting layout for Capture-the-Flag, but the gametype that really shines here is Race – not only does the map seem to have been designed with that gametype in mind with multiple goals to every destination, but the variety of vehicles and abundance of long straights make the Race gamemode this map’s unusual forte.

Damnation

Although not necessarily underrated, Damnation is rarely a map that you see pop up in people’s Top Ten Halo Maps lists. But all things considered, Damnation is a fine map. In fact, many consider it superior to open maps like Hang Em’ High, as Damnation features more interior areas that balance out the open spaces – this is a good counter to Halo: CE’s god-pistol, as this sidearm allows even a single player to dominate open terrain with the notorious three-shot kill, making open maps with lots of interior corridors like Damnation a welcome balance.

By far the most memorable feature of Damnation for many is the Covenant architecture, as Damnation depicts a previously-unseen Covenant Hydro-Processing Facility that uses the three waterfalls that dominate the map to generate power. The alien humming of the machinery as well as the constant roar of the waterfalls gives this map a unique aesthetic that is only enhanced by the excellent ambient sounds.

Gephyrophobia

This bizarre map is certainly unique in its design – a massive Forerunner bridge spans a snowy canyon at night, the bridge itself is similar to the one seen on Assault on the Control Room only it appears to be much wider and it is flanked by facilities on either side of the valley. The canyon itself has no bottom, and a deep fog shrouds the origin point of the bridge’s main column support. This map feels particularly unsafe.

Unfortunately, this excellent setting is somewhat squandered by this map’s poor choice of identity – the fact that it is designed to be a large map for Big Team battle games of 16 players means that vehicles such as Warthogs are present, and for some reason they are placed on the bridge itself. This makes for some awkward gameplay, particularly since the playspace for the Warthogs is so restricted.

This map would have been greatly improved if the Warthogs were swapped out for additional Banshees, turning the map into a starfighter combat simulator. Players on the bridge or on the platforms either side of the bridge could man turrets or use heavy weapons whilst the majority of the players battle it out in the skies.

We hope you enjoyed this list of the Top 7 Most Underrated Halo Maps. Many thanks to Halopedia as they were the source for the images in this post.

Appreciating Halo Environments – Installation 04

It’s one of the first things you see when you start the first level of Halo: Combat Evolved – Installation 04, the eponymous Halo ringworld, was the first experience of a truly familiar yet alien environment for a generation of children, teenagers and even young adults across the world, and for that reason it has been solidified as an iconic piece of science fiction imagery that is the definitive alien setting for many Halo fans. It is for this reason that we will be exploring and appreciating the masterfully crafted environment of Installation 04, the definitive Halo Ring.

The genius of the Halo ring is its simplicity – on the exterior, the ring is a simple geometric circle made of polished metal and dotted with neatly arranged blue lights. But on the interior surface, the ring is a chaotic, beautiful landscape of oceans, islands, forests, deserts, snowy vistas and uncannily Earth-like cloud formations. When standing on the ring, the skybox is sliced in two with the familiar ring arcing up into the sky, giving you a perfectly view of any other part of the ring, wherever you are standing. This defining trait of the Halo games has become one of the most recognizable pieces of Halo’s identity that resonates even with those who have never played the game.

The Crash of the Bumblebee

Halo: Combat Evolved’s first level, The Pillar of Autumn, is designed to be in-keeping with first person shooter games of the era – the level is composed for corridors with occasional open rooms and some narrow passageways, but generally a formulaic level layout. This is done to introduce players to the game controls, the player’s abilities, the enemies and the weapon sandbox, but the true genius of this design choice does not fully become clear to the player until they reach the second level – simply titled Halo. Escaping their doomed frigate aboard a Bumblebee lifeboat, The Master Chief and Cortana crash-land on Installation 04, and as the player emerges from the crashed lifeboat and sees the iconic ringworld arcing into the sky, they know that the true Halo experience begins here.

The game’s designers, Bungie, clearly knew that the environment that they had created would be loved by their fans and so the level Halo gives the player plenty of time to explore the immediate area without interruption – Cortana even comments on the ring’s flora and fauna, and how her scans have detected thousands of different varieties of plants and animals on the ring. Throughout the level you walk among bubbling brooks, forests of deciduous trees, valleys, rockfalls and cliffsides. The entire level takes place on a beautiful mesa, and when at the edge the player can see an incredible view of the ocean far below. But the player is soon introduced to another defining aspect of Installation 04’s design – the simple, geometrically-designed metal structures that protrude, almost incongruously, from the natural environment around them. Stark, smooth metal bridges cross natural waterfall chasms, caves are expanded by cavernous metal hangars, and tall angular towers dot the landscape, each one occasionally firing a tranquil blue beam of light into the sky.

While exploring an innocuous-looking cave, the player also discovers yet another common feature of the ring – vast chasms that extend down impossibly far, crossed by glowing bridges of solid light, that extend so deep that where they lead is shrouded in thick fog. What makes the ring so fascinating is that everything seems to have been built with a purpose – but what that purpose is cannot be determined, it is left a complete mystery. The enigmatic identity that is forged for the ringworld within the first level in which the player sets foot upon it is one of the defining reasons why Halo became so popular as a franchise. The feeling of wonder and mystery that is invoked by the environment of Installation 04 is difficult to describe, not least because it is a treasure-trove of nostalgia for many Halo fans. But one thing is certain – the Halo ring makes an impactful first impression.

Under Cover of Night

The very next level gives the player a clear view of the ring’s environment at night, as the story takes Master Chief and Cortana to a desert mesa to attack a Covenant ship to rescue Jacob Keyes, Captain of the Pillar of Autumn. The most interesting thing about this level is that it gives you an idea of how day and night work on the ring – the night-time is a result of the sunlight being blocked by a nearby gas-giant, Threshold.

The nighttime view of the stars as well as the various planetary bodies visible in the sky near the ring is incredible, and although the opportunity to see it is brief as the level takes the player deep within the bowels of a Covenant ship, the developers still put the time into making the skybox look incredible for those who want to take the time to appreciate it.

It is worth noting that several other levels in the game also take place at night, such as Two Betrayals, which offers the player a unique night-time view of Basis, a moon of Threshold that also acts as a de-facto moon for the ring itself, casting eerie blue moonlight into an icy canyon, lighting up the snow and icicles with calming light.

The Silent Cartographer

A perfect example of a wonderfully intricate environment on Installation 04 is the Silent Cartographer island, the setting for the level aptly titled The Silent Cartographer. Cortana explains that the Cartographer is a map room installed by the ring’s builders to locate the various important structures and facilities dotted across the ring, including the Control Room. To get to the Cartographer, Master Chief and Cortana must navigate a sandy tropical island located far out into the ocean, and within this island are many of the metallic structures that are seen across the ring. One of these is the Cartographer room, the question is, which one?

This level is somewhat unique in that it offers the player a less linear layout of level design and instead presents a wide open environment that the player must explore to discover the various secrets needed to unlock the Cartographer. Along the way you battle various types of Covenant enemies but you also see some wonderful examples of the Installation 04 environment, from a secluded cove filled with trees and a wide metal ‘plaza’ of sorts to a vast underground facility hugging the wall next to a huge cavernous chasm beneath the ‘plaza’ that extends down into nothingness. The juxtaposition of the peaceful sunny island and the dark dangerous complex beneath is a perfect illustration of the duality of Installation 04.

The Winter Zone

Master Chief’s quest to prevent the Covenant from seizing Halo’s control room soon takes both him and Cortana to an icy valley which contains the all-important facility, and Cortana explains that the inclement weather appears to be deliberate – the environment systems of the ring were specifically tailored to cast certain areas into an eternal winter. This is great news for the player, as we get to experience the iconic environments of Installation 04 in a winter setting, complete with an everlasting torrent of perfectly-rendered snowflakes swirling in the sky.

By far one of the most memorable sections of this level takes place on a huge metal bridge crossing the icy valley, tethered to the valley walls with beams of blue light. The fast-paced combat scenarios complement the unique design of this area, as the multi-tiered bridge allows for several creative strategies that the player can use to sneak up on the enemy. The fields of ice that dot the plans of this terrain give the impression that this area was once a lush valley like the one visited earlier in the game, except this landscape was frozen almost in an instant, as if the trees, lakes and fields were suddenly encased in ice.

Another interesting element of this snowy environment is the indoor areas – traversing the various canyons in this level require the player to enter incongruous metal doors that lead to a honeycomb of metallic interior tunnels that seemingly go on for ever, connected to nearly identical rooms that each contain bizarre humming machinery and ornate items of worship. Overall the winter environments of Installation 04 are among its most dynamic locations, not least because of the still-active machinery buried within the ice.

Hidden Secrets of the Swamp

If the dank swamps of Installation 04 were not foreboding enough, they hide a terrifying secret that answers many of the questions posed by the environmental storytelling of the game up until its sixth level. Up until this point the player has traversed desert mesas, icy valleys, tropical islands and grassy canyons, and wherever they go they have been faced with strange metal structures, dark chasms crossed by bridges and underground facilities containing dozens of sealed doors. Now at last, within this deep swamp, the ringworld will finally yield some of its secrets.

As anyone who is familiar with Halo will know, the truth behind the Halo ring is a terrible one – the entire structure, as well as the six others like it scattered across the Galaxy, are designed to wipe out all sentient life in the Milky Way galaxy in order to prevent a malicious, parasitic life form known as ‘The Flood’ from consuming everything in the Galaxy. The Halo array is part of a vast network of gigantic facilities built to wipe the Galaxy clean of life and subsequently re-seed all its habitable worlds with new life once all traces of the Flood have been eradicated. But in a futile attempt to discover a cure, the ringworld’s makers – the Forerunners, kept some specimens of Flood preserved on the Halo, and unfortunately it is within the foreboding swamps that these specimens reside.

The swamp environment is perfectly crafted to give players subtle hints that something is not quite right – by the time the Master Chief arrives, having left Cortana in charge of Halo’s Control Room in the previous level, the Covenant have already unleashed the Flood by accident, and the remains of several squads of Covenant soldiers indicate that all is not as it seems in this level. But by far the eeriest thing about this level is the environment – the swamp itself is perfect in every details, from the light splashes of rain to the ominous ambient sounds that surround you, not to mention the various crashed Human and Covenant dropships you can find around the area. All around you movement is detectable just beyond your reach, and your motion tracker pings with confusing feedback as supposedly friendly shapes shamble around in the darkness.

The Final End

After the discovery of the Flood inside the sinister containment facility, the best place in the game to hear some of the creepiest ambient sounds, including the iconic ‘factory wind howl’ that sends chills down the spine of every Halo fan, the game rapidly descends into a frantic nightmare as the player tries desperately to stay one step ahead of the Flood and destroy the ringworld before the parasite finds a way to escape.

Even after the destruction of the Halo, however, many fans felt a sense of loss – the unfortunate events of the game force you to destroy a beautiful, ancient world in order to save the Galaxy – not to mention annihilating an entire Covenant armada with it. Thankfully, Halo 2 would give us the chance to visit yet another Halo ring, this one sporting a very different style of architecture and environments. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that any Halo fan will forget their first experience stepping out of the lifeboat on Installation 04, and the happy memories that they made there.

Halo – Who Created The Flood?

The Flood. One of the most loathed enemies in all of video gaming history, the scourge of the Halo Galaxy, and the ancient enemy of humankind. Anyone who has played the Halo games knows the Flood well, but despite their importance to the Halo story, little has been divulged in the games themselves that explain the origin of the space parasite.

However, Halo’s vast and expansive lore has offered an explanation as to how the Flood came about, and that is what we will be exploring today. Strap in, because this post not only delves into some deep, deep Halo lore, but this story is long. Really long. Millions of years long, actually, as our story begins in roughly ten million years ago, give or take a few hundred thousand years.

The Precursors

Before delving into the tale, we must first establish the main players. Before the Forerunners even existed in the Halo universe, there was another race that dominated the Galaxy – the Precursors, a near-omnipotent race of shapeshifters who utilised their extremely advanced, magic-like technology to hold the Galaxy in balance. They created the Mantle of Responsibility, the philosophy of a single race having a duty of care over the rest of the Galaxy, and they held the Mantle for eons.

**A suspected mid-mutation Precursor specimen**

However, the Precursors eventually decided that the time was right to pass on the Mantle of Responsibility to a new race. As they had created every race in the Milky Way, the Precursors had to choose which of their creations would inherit their most treasured cultural and political achievement. Initially, it fell to the Forerunners to inherit the Mantle, but at the last minute the Precursors decided that it would be Humanity, not the Forerunners, who achieved this noble goal.

Needless to say, the Forerunners were less than happy with this decision. Either due to feelings of resentment or as revenge for the denial of their ‘birthright’, the Forerunners rose up and attacked their creators. Despite the fact that the Precursors were almost all-powerful, they had no combat experience whatsoever. They were shocked that one of their own creations would defy them to such a degree. In time, the Precursors were all but destroyed.

The Forerunners

As such, the Forerunners claimed the Mantle of Responsibility, and the remaining Precursors were forced to flee to the far edges of the Galaxy. Desperate to survive, the last of the Precursors employed several methods to prolong their existence. Some went into stasis, some left the Galaxy altogether, but most decided to use their shapeshifting ability to take the form of a fine powder, which was held in containers and left to drift in space until such a time when the Precursors could return to prominence.

Meanwhile, the Forerunners assumed the role of Galactic custodians and the Humans were none the wiser to this entire conflict. For some time, things continued on in relative peace, with the Forerunners keeping order and the Galaxy essentially ticking over as the Precursors intended. That is until the previously mentioned fine powder was discovered by ancient Humanity.

**Suspected infected Pheru specimens in stasis**

Located drifting cargo ships that would occasionally crash-land on planets near the edge of their space, Humankind discovered the powder in dozens of transparent cylinders and, after some testing, found that it was harmless and useless, but nonetheless took some for study. They began to test the powder on small domesticated animals called Pheru, basically the ancient Human equivalent of a modern Canine, and found that over time the powder promoted docile behaviour in the creatures.

The populatiry of these Pheru spread throughout the Galaxy. Other races, such as the San’Shyuum, began to take Pheru as pets. For hundreds of years, nothing happened. Then, just as the Pheru had become as engraciated within Human and San’Shyuum society as possible, the first signs of what would soon be called ‘The Flood’ began to show.

The Flood Rises

The behaviour and physiology of the Pheru exposed to the powder began to change at an alarming rate. First, soft loose fur began to grow on the backs of some Pheru, which other Pheru often consumed. This was odd, as Pheru were known to be herbivores. Eventually the fur began to be replaced by small, fleshy growths – these were also consumed by other Pheru, and led to birth defects and more radical changes in their behaviour. The infected Pheru became aggressive, and to make matters worse the early signs of the infection began to show on Humans as well.

**A Flood hive developing Spore Growth Pods**

Before long, the infected Humans began to consume the flesh of their fellows. Throughout Human space, panic ensued, and the same was true for the San’Shyuum. Before long those that had become infected were almost unrecognisable, they began force-feeding their infected growths to other humans, and the Flood spread like wildfire. Before long they were primed to wage war against the Ancient Human Empire.

And wage war they did. The Flood ravaged Human space, forcing them to flee across the Galaxy. This leads into the events described in the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Terminals, to sum up briefly, the Humans aggressively fled into Forerunner space with the Flood hot on their tail, the Humans began sterilising planets that showed signs of Flood infection, and in response the Forerunners, completely ignorant of the Flood threat, cast judgement over Humanity and regressed them to a primitive state.

Forerunner-Flood War

Due to their haste in condemning Humanity, the Forerunners were caught off-guard by the Flood ten thousand years later. Nobody is quite sure why the Flood waited so long to attack – the Forerunners believed that Humanity had found a temporary cure, but by now it was far too late to ask them about it. Others suspected that the Flood waited deliberately in order to maximise the impact of their sudden attack, similarly to how long the Pheru took to mutate being put down to a conscious decision by the Flood so as to not raise suspicion.

Whatever the reasons, the Flood attacked after a centuries-long wait. Caught off guard, the Forerunners lost dozens of colonies and billions of Forerunners were infected within just a few years. A horrendous campaign ensued in which the once mighty Forerunner empire was whittled away as the Flood continued their relentless advance. In response, the Forerunners became increasingly desperate.

The Forerunners created an advanced Ancilla known as Mendicant Bias, an AI designed to destroy the central intelligence of the Flood – the Gravemind. Unfortunately, Mendicant Bias was infected by the Logic Plague and defected to the Flood. The Didact’s plan to use a Composer on Humanity to create a new race of Promethean soldiers was undone by his wife, the Librarian, who at this point was dedicated to a programme of galactic conservation. Machinations within the Forerunner political elite meant that, after exhausting every other strategic option, the Halo Array was developed and deployed to wipe out all sentient life in the Galaxy.

The tragic history of the creation and development of the Flood is one of Halo’s darkest tales. Whilst it is easy to point the blame at the Forerunners for their own fate, they did eventually make the ultimate sacrifice in the hope that the Flood would never return. Unfortunately, due to their desire to ensure the Flood could be cured, the Forerunners also used the Halo Rings as research facilities, storing Flood specimens there. This ensured that the Halo Array, a weapon designed to be the ultimate counter to the Flood, was actually the Flood’s ultimate salvation – and given that a Halo Ring is confirmed to be present in the upcoming Halo: Infinite, we can be assured that the Flood will make at least a minor appearance after years of absence.

Halo – How Many Species are in The Covenant?

Throughout the Halo games we, the players, gain a complex and deep insight into the Covenant military in all its forms, since they comprise the main bulk of the enemies fought in the Halo games, particularly the original trilogy. From the diminutive, cowardly Grunts to the easily angered Elites and every Jackal, Hunter and Drone in between, Halo fans basically know the Covenant warrior castes inside out.

However, despite interacting on the front lines with various Covenant troops, we are never shown or told in-game exactly how many species make up the Covenant. So today, we will be taking a look at all of the species that we know to be in the Covenant, be it military, leader or civilian.

Covenant Military

The primary races of the Covenant, as previously mentioned, are the military. Led by the Elites, the armed forces of the Covenant represent one of the most effective fighting forces in the Galaxy, not least due to its impeccable methods of species-based specialisation. In other words, every race of the Covenant that has a potential combat role to play is put to work in the military.

Elites

The classic Sangheili that we all know and love, the Elites form the backbone of the Covenant military hierarchy in the majority of Halo games. Not only do they use their influence to keep frightened Grunts or mischievous Jackals in line, but they also represent one of the most powerful soldiers on the field with powerful energy shield and the best Covenant weaponry.

Grunts

Like the Elites, the Grunts are probably the first thing that pops into your head when you think of ‘Covenant’. Known to the Elites as ‘Unggoy’, these diminutive, goblin-like creatures make up the vast majority of the Covenant military.
Despite their large numbers, Grunts are individually weak and cowardly, although they will stand and fight if being led by an Elite or other powerful commander.

Jackals

These avian aliens are somewhat unusual among the Covenant military in that they are not devout believers in the Covenant religion like the Elites, Brutes or Grunts. Instead, Jackals (or ‘Kig-Yar’) work solely for profit.
Protected by personal energy gauntlets, the standard Jackal infantry can present a challenge, particularly in groups, but by far the most lethal is the infamous Jackal Sniper.

Hunters

These gigantic titans always work in pairs, and each one is actually a hive-creature composed of hundreds of Lekgolo worms. When a Lekgolo colony reaches a certain size, it will split into two and form the bond-brothered Hunter pairs, known as the Mgalekgolo.
Since joining the Covenant, these behemoths have been outfitted with heavy armour, huge shields and a distinctive fuel rod cannon.

Brutes

Having only joined the Covenant relatively recently after almost wiping themselves out in constant civil war, the Brutes (or ‘Jiralhanae’) have a newfound fervor for the Covenant faith, although their hulking forms and obtuse personalities make them difficult to get on with.
The Brutes have a longstanding rivalry with the Elites, and this would erupt into a full-blown conflict during the Great Schism that ultimately shattered the Covenant Empire.

Drones

Flying insectoid creatures that live in hives and thrive on carrying out mechanical repairs, the Drones (known to the Elites as Yanme’e) are not particularly enamoured by the Covenant religion but have used the Covenant’s technological superiority to their advantage.
Having enhanced their flight capability and armed themselves with Covenant weapons, the s are one of the most dangerous races in the Covenant military.

Covenant Civilians

These races are key members of the Covenant Empire but, for one reason or another, they were deemed unworthy of combat duty and serve purely logistic or technical support roles. As such, they are rarely seen by humans, with some having gone the entire length of the 25 year Human-Covenant War without being seen by a single human.

Engineers

The first species on this list that occupy a purely non-combat role, the Engineers are life forms that were artificially created by the Forerunners during the waning days of their conflict with the Flood.
Known to the Covenant as Huragok, these createures care only for carrying out repairs and building new things. Engineers are docile and could even be considered cute, and many joined the UNSC after the downfall of the Covenant.

Prophets

The figureheads of the Covenant religion as well as the political leaders of the Covenant Empire, the Prophets (or San’Shyuum) were once tall, athletic creatures capable of extraordinary feats of physical combat.
However, due to the loss of their homeworld before the Covenant was even formed, the Prophets today are feeble and rely on gravity belts or thrones in order to move around.
Following the destruction of High Charity and the downfall of the Covenant, very few of these enigmatic creatures remain.

Covenant Fringe

These races, although still Covenant Civilians, have their own sub-faction within the Covenant, in that they are races that have an alliance with or have tentatively joined the Covenant, but have no active role in either the military or the main logistic hubs of the Empire.

For example, many races of the Covenant Fringe live on the outskirts of Covenant space, light-years from even the most remote human settlement. As such, these species are even rarer than regular Covenant civilians, and because the Fringe has not been fully explored in any form of Halo media, even 343 industries aren’t certain exactly how many races the Fringe consists of. We do know of a few, however.

Yonhet

Yonhet are diminutive, humanoid creatures that have a particular knack for hunting down Forerunner relics. For this reason some were inducted into the Covenant to use as artifact retrieval specialists or scouts, but none were ever involved in combat. It wasn’t until after the war, when the Covenant was splintered, that the Yonhet emerged to find a role in the post-Covenant galaxy.

Sharquoi

Although their canon status was in limbo for over a decade, the elusive ‘Drinol’ – a cut race from Halo: CE and Halo 2 – has finally been confirmed to exist within the Halo universe, and they are assumed to be one of the members of the Fringe.
These giant creatures are used for their brute strength and are known to cause massive collateral damage, so were rarely seen even on the front line of the Covenant war.

Conclusion

So, with all the known Covenant races listed here, we can conclude that there are at least ten races in the Covenant at the height of its power. However, as previous stated, neither we as players nor the development team of Halo are sure exactly how many species the Covenant consists of.

The previously unknown Covenant Fringe are a relatively new concept that has not been explored properly in Halo games, books, TV shows or comics, so until we get a full outline of what species are in the Fringe, we will never know exactly how big the Covenant really was.

Still, even without the Fringe, the Covenant is still a large and diverse alliance of alien species, and although it inevitably ended in disaster, one cannot help but admire the fact that the Empire stood for so long despite being made up of so many opposing races. What the Covenant lacks in transparency, it makes up for in diversity.

Halo – Top 10 Covenant Vehicles

From the iconic Ghost to the elusive Shadow, we rank the Top 10 Covenant Vehicles in Halo here at Sacred Icon

The Covenant have a lot of vehicles, and each and every one is unique in its own way, which is one of the things that makes Halo so fun to play. Since Halo: Combat Evolved players have been thrilled at the prospect of stealing an alien hovercraft, and inevitably driving it off a cliff. After all, driving a tank is all well and good, but driving an alien tank is better. As such, welcome to the Top 10 Covenant Vehicles in Halo, starting with:

#10 – Shadow

A Covenant transport vehicle that only features in one level of Halo 2, the Shadow is the ‘Bus’ of the Covenant, used to transport squads of soldiers around. The Shadows that players face in the Halo 2 level Metropolis are adapted for transporting Ghosts, and opportunistic players will destroy the Shadow’s cargo before it can be used. However, Shadows do feature a massive heavy plasma cannon for defence, so the task is not easy. The Shadow very nearly didn’t appear on this list, primarily due to the fact that it isn’t actually driveable by players, however the plasma cannon can be manned if the vehicle’s crew is killed, and those who do so will find that it can fire at a comically fast rate when operated by a human, making it quite a destructive tool if the chance to use it ever arises.

#9 – Chopper

A Brute scout and rapid attack vehicle that is as menacing as it is unsafe, the Chopper was born from a desire of the developers to give the Brutes more of an identity as a race, and as this is their primary vehicle, it embodies everything that the Brutes are known for. The massive front wheel that doubles as a ram is unwieldy and offers no protection to the driver but is a devastating weapon, capable of destroying a Warthog. The Chopper is a fun vehicle to drive, but it is monstrous in its appearance and would probably be the most uncomfortable vehicle to use for transport on this entire list.

#8 – Spirit

The original Covenant dropship featured in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Spirit is immediately recognisable for its tuning-fork shaped design, and was the Covenant’s mainline dropship before the Phantom became prominent. It is undoubtedly fast, able to clear entire valleys in seconds, but its unwieldy design makes it a less than ideal form of transport. Since the player cannot drive this vehicle, we never get the chance to see how this ship performs, but Captain Keyes is able to use deftly fly this ship and even use the prongs as battering rams to squash a pair of Hunters, which gives us enough of an idea of the capabilities of this vessel. However, with with only one plasma turret for defence, the Spirit doesn’t stand a chance of beating the Phantom.

#7 – Wraith

The Covenant’s main tank, the Wraith comes in several variants, the most common being the standard plasma mortar version. This weapon might seem an odd choice for a main battle tank, as the Human equivalent, the Scorpion, is arguably more effective with its direct and to-the-point 90mm cannon. But the Wraith’s weapon is not to be underestimated, as many inattentive players who fail to heed its characteristic hollow wail will be taken by surprise as fiery blue death rains down from the sky. Driving this vehicle is fun too, although the tank is very slow. Some variants come with a secondary gunner position to fend off boarders, and the infamous Anti-Air Wraith is a completely different variety altogether, featuring double Fuel Rod Cannons. Through a glitch players can drive this Wraith in the campaign of Halo 3 several times, and it proves incredibly effective.

#6 – Spectre

The Covenant’s answer to the Warthog, the Spectre is a fast and nimble vehicle designed for rapid attack and scouting. Its design means that it can hold a driver, a main gunner and two passengers, one more than the Warthog can, meaning that if both riders are equipped with heavy weapons, the Spectre can pack quite a punch. Its E-brake and excellent hover systems mean that it is even capable of driving up walls, provided the angle isn’t too steep, which is a fun and unique feature. The only thing that really lets the Spectre down is its light armour, and the fact that it only ever appeared in one game.

Honourable Mention – Prowler

It is also worth mentioning the Prowler, the Brute answer to the Spectre that appears in Halo 3. This vehicle, like the Chopper, is designed to embody Brute design philosophy, so all the emphasis is on the front ram for maximum damage. Unlike the Spectre, the Prowler’s turret is at the front, meaning it does offer some protection for the driver from forward-facing attacks. However, the Prowler’s driver is dangerously exposed from all other angles, meaning the vehicle can be stranded with a well-placed sniper shot, leaving the exposed gunner as the next logical target.

#5 – Ghost

One of the Covenant’s most iconic vehicles, the Ghost is a common sight in Halo games, usually driven by an Elite but occasionally by Brutes, Grunts and the occasional opportunistic Marine. Fast and highly manoeuvrable, the Ghost is the perfect one-man scouting vehicle, and its broad front armour shields the driver from forward facing attacks. However, it is vulnerable to attacks from the side, and some models can be critically damaged by a single shot to the exposed turbine on the side. Regardless, the Ghost is a fun vehicle to drive that handles very well and features powerful armaments in its two front plasma cannons.

#4 – Banshee

Any veteran Halo player would recognise the tell-tale wail of the Banshee as it arcs down for an attack run, as this light air vehicle is the Covenant’s primary airborne attack craft and often escorts dropships or guards large Covenant targets from the air. Later Halo games feature vast aerial dogfights against Banshees, and Halo: Reach even introduced a space variant, meaning that wherever the Covenant is airborne, Banshees are likely involved. There have been many variants of the Banshee over the years, with some focusing on speed and manoeuvrability and some featuring heavy fuel rod bombs.

#3 – Revenant

This fast attack vehicle is the ultimate Covenant cruising machine. Essentially a Covenant sports car, the Revenant combines the speed and agility of the Ghost with the punch of a tank, featuring a ‘mini-Wraith’ medium plasma mortar that lacks the raw power of the Wraith’s heavier version but is more than capable of mopping up other light vehicles. The Revenant features room for a single passenger, half that of the Spectre, but the Revenant is arguably better armoured and gives the driver control of the main weapon.

#2 – Phantom

The Covenant’s primary dropship, the Phantom is an ideal flight machine that features multiple armaments of either plasma turrets or plasma cannons, is capable of flying in space, transports entire squads of soldiers into battle, and can either deploy its troops via gravity lift or, to save time, open the passenger compartment up and drop the troops directly onto the battlefield. The Phantom’s only weakness is the engine turbines, which can buckle under concentrated heavy weapons fire and in some games the dropships can be destroyed due to a chain reaction if enough damage is done to the propulsion systems. Sangheili Phantoms are even fitted with active camouflage, meaning they can go completely invisible at a moment’s notice.

#1 – Scarab

The ultimate ground assault vehicle, the Scarab is a behemoth four-legged walker that comes in several varieties, each more deadly than the last. The most common design is the one seen in Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, which sports a huge rear-mounted anti-air gun and a main beam cannon capable of ripping through vehicles. This model can be destroyed, however, if enough damage is done to the leg joints and the vehicle is boarded, as enough firepower directed at the power core will cause an overload. However, the version seen in Halo 2 towers above its weaker counterpart, is completely indestructible and sports two heavy plasma cannons and a main beam emitter capable of tearing through buildings. Not only that, but it features a more enclosed main control room and space for transporting dozens of soldiers, making it the perfect vehicle for almost any terrain.

Halo – Top 10 Covenant Ship Classes

One of the most instantly recognisable aspects of Halo besides Master Chief and the Halos themselves is the Covenant. The bright and ornate weapons, the multicoloured armour of the alien soldiers and particularly the sleek curved metallic purple aesthetic of the ships and technology that define the Covenant have become closely tied to Halo’s identity. Covenant ships, in particular, have become iconic staples of the franchise, as both terrifying adversaries and, in recent games, powerful occasional allies. Welcome to the Top Ten Covenant Ship Classes, starting with:

#10 – CRS-class Light Cruiser

A small and compact version of the familiar Covenant cruiser design, the CRS-class light cruiser is a tiny cousin of the CCS-class battlecruiser, the mainline Covenant warship during the war against mankind. Despite this, humans didn’t see much of the CRS-class during the war, as it was primarily used for patrol and support duties within the borders of Covenant space. It was only following the Great Schism and the fall of the Covenant, when opportunistic Sangheili and Jiralhanae warlords began pillaging former Covenant space for assets, that the CRS-class began to see widespread use as a mainline warship. Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant Remnant faction in particular made use of this kind of ship in its fleet, meaning it was primarily seen during the events of Halo 4.

#9 – Sangheili Man O’ War

This tiny post-Covenant warship was used extensively by Covenant Remnant factions following the fall of the Covenant as the design dates back centuries. Due to a shortage of mainline Covenant ships after years of infighting, various Sangheili factions began to manufacture their own ships from traditional designs updated with modern technology. The result is a compact light warship that makes full use of Sangheili mastery of warship design coupled with the power of the reverse-engineered Forerunner technology of the Covenant, and at present the full capabilities of this warship have not been fully explored. The Arbiter used a fleet of them as escort ships during the Battle of Sunaion on Sanghelios, suggesting that they run rings around traditional Covenant warships due to their nimble mobility.

#8 – SDV-class Heavy Corvette

A small ship used primarily for escort duties, the most famous SDV-class heavy corvette to Halo players is the Ardent Prayer, the ship that Jorge-052 and Noble Six hijack and use to destroy the Supercarrier Long Night of Solace during Halo: Reach. During that mission we get a detailed look at the inside of an SDV-class with key areas like the main hangar, the bridge and the communications room being explored in-depth by Noble Six. The SDV-class also proves that it is more than capable of taking on and destroying a Human Frigate, as the UNSC Savannah meets an unfortunate end during ship-to-ship combat with the Ardent Prayer after a fierce fight. SDV-class Corvettes saw more use as a mainline warship after the war, as Covenant Remnant factions began to grow desperate and push escort craft into a more mainline role following the Great Schism.

#7 – CPV-class Heavy Destroyer

This distinctive Covenant vessel was a medium-sized destroyer used for ship-to-ship combat and the arduous planet-glassing process that often following Covenant military victories. As such, they became a common target for UNSC firepower and thousands of these ships met their end during the war, though their heavy armour and deadly weapons meant that many went down with several kills to their name. Though they are not seen as commonly during the main Halo games, as infantry tended to see more of the carrier class ships like the CAS that were focused on troop deployment, the CPV-class Heavy Destroyer would have been a common sight for UNSC Navy personnel in space battles, and they were almost as feared as the CCS-class battlecruiser.

#6 – Sangheili Brigantine

An ancient, massive class of carrier used by the Sangheili during their early pre-Covenant years, the Brigantine design was re-purposed following the fall of the Covenant to serve as a replacement for the increasingly rare CAS-class Carrier. Ironically, the Bringantine is actually larger and more powerful than its Covenant-era predecessor, and as the Elites have built the new ships to modern specifications, including Covenant technology, the Brigantine is a powerful ship to contend with. Luckily for humanity, it would seem that most of these ships currently belong to the Swords of Sanghelios under the command of the Arbiter, although Cortana’s Created may be manufacturing more of these ships for their new Covenant Remnant allies.

#5 – Sangheili Carrack

This large capital ship was once a mainline of pre-Covenant Sangheili fleets, but fell out of use as a warship following the War of Beginnings and would later serve as merchant ships. In modern times, the Carrack design has been reclaimed by ex-Covenant warlords for their fleets, so it is seeing widespread use for the first time in centuries, albeit a version upgraded with modern technology. Unlike modern Covenant ships, older Sangheili ships tended to be single-purpose, but the Carrack is an example of a multi-purpose ship that serves as both a carrier and a cruiser. This is likely the main design of post-Covenant warship that players will encounter in Halo: Infinite, although depending on how much time has passed since the events of Halo 5, things may have changed.

#4 – Sangheili Blockade Runner

Of all the ancient Sangheili ship design that have been resurrected by post-Covenant Sangheili factions, the Blockade Runner is perhaps the one that most closely resembles the later Covenant-era warships, suggesting that this is the ship that would go on to most heavily inspire the shipwrights of the Covenant. The model of Sangheili Blockade Runner seen in the games is the Hekar Taa-pattern design, a versatile corvette with powerful armaments that is known for its fast and aerodynamic design. The Swords of Sanghelios made extensive use of this design of ship around the time of Halo 5: Guardians.

#3 – CSO-class Supercarrier

A behemoth of a Covenant carrier, the CSO-class is perhaps most famous for its role in the Fall of Reach, as the supercarrier Long Night of Solace was only destroyed at the cost of Jorge, several Sabres and a UNSC Frigate, and dozens more appeared through Slipspace immediately following this, signalling imminent doom for the forces on the planet below. Visually, this class of supercarrier resembles an up-scaled version of the more commonly seen CAS-class carriers, although it dwarfs the vast majority of other Covenant ships as this gigantic capital ship is capable of transporting entire occupation forces single-handed, meaning a fleet of them is more than capable of taking on an entire solar system of enemy defences. The only downside to the CSO-class is, perhaps, its unwieldiness – and the fact that it presents such a massive target means that it is vulnerable to sneak attacks like the one Noble team executed against the Long Night of Solace.

#2 – CAS-class Carrier

The most common type of carrier seen during the Human-Covenant war, the CAS-class carrier struck fear into the hearts of any Human for decades, as the sight of these ships in the sky usually signalled imminent death. The bulk of Covenant infantry were transported via CAS-class carriers, so they often presented a valuable target for the UNSC. Perhaps the most famous ship of this class is the Shadow of Intent, a carrier that was stolen from the Brutes by none other than Shipmaster Rtas ‘Vadum and used as his flagship for the waning days of the Human-Covenant war, transporting Human forces to the Ark and evacuating all Human and Elite forces once the battle was over. After the war, the CAS=class carrier was a sought-after asset, as so many had been destroyed during the Great Schism that they were now exceedingly rare.

#1 – CCS-class Battlecruiser

The mainline Covenant warship for much of its existence, the CCS-class battlecruiser was a formidable warship capable of taking on almost any UNSC ship single-handed and prevailing. These ships were designed to be multipurpose vessels for both space combat and planetary occupation, so they were fast, heavily armed and able to transport hundreds of ground troops. Though many were used during the Human-Covenant war to devastate Human fleets, they were a rare sight after the Covenant’s fall. During the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, two missions are primarily set in the belly of the CCS-class cruiser Truth and Reconciliation, presenting a unique opportunity to explore the interior of this iconic Covenant vessel. Overall, though it may not be as massive as the CSO-class or as sought-after as a CAS-class, the CCS-class battlecruiser is undoubtedly the go-to Covenant warship for its speed, versatility and powerful weapons. Sadly, it is likely that no more of these ships will be seen in future Halo games, as the Great Schism saw many destroyed. However, this ship will always be what fans immediately think of when people think of ‘Covenant Warships’.

Halo – MCC Gets a PC Release and Reach DLC – Classic Halos FINALLY get a PC Release

In a stunning move, 343 industries have exceeded fans’ expectations two-fold by not only announcing that Halo: Reach will be added to MCC, a wild but popular fan request, but also announcing that the long-awaited PC release for MCC is imminent and, remarkably, the game will be available on Steam. This is perhaps the biggest piece of Halo gaming news since the announcement of Halo: Infinite, and fans are ecstatic.

This can only mean good things for the Halo community, as provided that 343 doesn’t make the same mistakes as they did with MCC’s Xbox One release back in 2014, the Halo community is going to grow with a new influx of PC players who are either newcomers to the franchise and are curious or nostalgic former fans, perhaps those who never bought an Xbox One and switched to either Playstation or PC, who will now take the opportunity to revisit the franchise.

Xbox 360 Era Halo Games are coming to PC at last on the MCC –

Another important thing to note is that the release of MCC on PC will mark the first time that Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo 4 will be released officially on the PC. In fact, a mainline Halo game hasn’t been released on PC since Halo 2 Vista in the mid 2000s, so this announcement is a big leap forward for Halo in the PC community. With the inclusion of the full classic multiplayer systems for all the Halo games, as well as Firefight, Spartan Ops, Forge, Theater, and not to mention the Campaigns for every classic Halo game, MCC in its current state is quite an impressive game in terms of content.

However, there are some technical conditions to this release regardless of what version of MCC you have – for console users, Reach’s Campaign and Firefight are premium DLC, whilst the multiplayer and forge are available for free. For PC users, each game in the MCC will release separately in chronological order – that is, starting with Reach, then CE, then 2, and so on. 343 industries have decided to release MCC on PC in this way to ensure that there are as few issues as possible with the release and to mitigate any immediate problems. Whilst this may frustrate some PC users who really want to play Halo 2 Anniversary or Halo 3 on PC, this is a good sign that 343 industries are have learned from the mistakes of the original release of MCC in 2014.

Modding Halo MCC on PC Will be Possible – But Not on Release

Although not every fan would necessarily ask for it as a feature, the idea of including modding capability for Halo: MCC on PC has been thrown around. For one, we know that modding Halo on PC is hardly a new idea – mods have been created for Halo: CE (via the official Halo: Custom Edition), Halo 2 Vista (but only just) and even Halo 5: Forge for PC, and we have already covered a popular new mod that was recently released for Halo: CE on Sacred Icon before – known as Halo: SPV3, this incredible mod is a full conversion that adds features from many other games to the original Halo and expands the weapon sandbox, levels and enemy variety. Could this kind of content become available for all the games included in the MCC for PC in the future? Could we see a new renaissance of the Classic Halo portfolio thanks to the ability of the community to continuously create new content?

Given that games like Skyrim or Star Wars Battlefront II, both games that have been available for a considerable number of years, still have a massive playerbase thanks to the release of new mods, it could well be possible that the Halo community, which has suffered more than a few distinct schisms and crises since 343 industries took over the series, may finally come together once again in the way that the original release of the MCC back in 2014 was intended to.

Halo MCC – Top 10 ‘Additional Skulls’ That We Want To See Added to MCC

In the most recent update to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 industries did something unexpected, exciting and ridiculous – they added new skulls to Halo: Combat Evolved, supplementing the game with several skulls that expanded its already impressive array of skulls from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary that was released in 2011. Halo: CE now features several skulls that, until now, had only been present in Halo 2, like Anger and Ghost, and several more that are staples of the modern incarnations of Halo, such as Thunderstorm and Tough Luck. However, in the blog post accompanying this update, 343 industries suggested that not only will the other Halo titles in the MCC be receiving new Skulls in the future, but also that there will be brand new skulls added to the game that have never been seen before. Since then, fans have been speculating as to what these skulls might do, so here is a list of the Top 5 ‘Additional Skulls’ that fans want to see in Halo: MCC.

#10 – Invincible Allies Skull

This one is fairly low on the list because, if it ever exists, it will more than likely be a 0x scoring skull, and rightly so – having invincible allies would make the game very easy, in a similar fashion to infinite ammo, but it cannot be denied that having invincible allies would also be hilarious and would open up opportunities for weird and wacky glitches as it would be possible to blast or whack allies into areas that they would usually not enter. This skull has been brought up several times in relation to Halo: CE, as Marine snipers would often teamkill their allies when firing a rapid sequence of shots at eye-level , if marines walked into their line of fire. This Skull might even open up entire new ways of playing levels – if your Marine allies could survive 343 Guilty Spark on Halo: CE, or your Grunt allies could survive Sacred Icon (the level this blog is named for) on Halo 2.

#9 – Halo 2 Grunt Birthday Party Skull

This one is slightly less likely, but many now forget that in the original Halo 2, the Grunt Birthday Party Skull had a totally different effect to what it became in later Halo games. Originally, activating the skull caused all headshots to turn into plasma grenade explosions, so any time a projectile heads a character’s head – even if they are dead – it creates a plasma explosion. This skull’s effect was likely altered as it did make the game easy, as you could wipe out entire squadrons of Grunts or Flood with a single headshot, but the skull was still fun to use and, like the Grunt Funeral Skull that has somewhat continued its legacy, it can sometimes create lethal deathtraps for the player. If the Grunt Birthday Party Skull in its original form did ever return to MCC, it would likely be implemented under the name ‘Grunt Birthday Party (Classic)’, or perhaps even be given a completely new name. Either way, that feature is sitting dormant in the code of Halo 2: Anniversary and it needs to be released.

#8 – Universal Bandana

This isn’t an idea for an original or returning Skull, but it is one of the most commonly requested ideas on Halo forums when fans are asked what Skulls they want to see implemented into Halo: MCC, and it is easy to see why. The Bandana Skull allows for exploration and exploitation opportunities in Halo: CE and Halo 2, but is not a feature for Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST or Halo: 4. As far as the hints that 343 industries have dropped in their blog posts are concerned, Universal Bandana will be implemented into Halo: MCC in due course, as it is likely that each game will be updated in separate updates.

#7 – Angry (SPV3)

Those who haven’t played the excellent SPV3 mod for Halo: CE on the PC will likely not be aware of the Angry Skull, but it is an excellent idea that was implemented to SPV3 but would likely work on any and all Halo games. The Angry Skull turns all previously allied AI against you from the start of the level, meaning you not only have no allies at any time but also have vastly more enemies, and some sections of levels that would usually be a breeze become vicious gauntlets. If this Skull was ever implemented to Halo: MCC, parts like the first section of Crow’s Nest on Halo 3, that features almost 50 Marines, will add to the challenge, particularly if playing on Legendary with other Skulls on. This Skull would likely score around 1.3x, as it would drastically increase the difficulty of many levels.

#6 – Combat Evolved Vehicle Armour

This Skull would essentially make all vehicles invincible, like they were in Halo: Combat Evolved. As in Halo: CE, this would not apply to certain vehicles like Banshees, Ghosts, Wraiths and likely other enemy vehicles, but would exist to give UNSC vehicles more versatility, especially on Legendary difficulty. This Skull would be non-scoring, likely having a 1x score, although a 0x score is possible. In other Halo titles this Skull would affect the Warthog, Scorpion, Mongoose and Mantis, and perhaps in Halo 2 Arbiter levels it would affect certain Ghosts, Spectres and Wraiths depending on which vehicles are intended for the player in each mission.

#5 – Bottomless Clip

As this feature exists as an option for Halo: Reach and Halo 4 in Forge and other modes, Bottomless Clip would surely not be a difficult feature to program into the campaign. After all, Bandana already gives players infinite ammo, and whilst this Skull would surely have a 0x score, it would make levels like The Storm and Tsavo Highway on Halo 3 a blast (literally). There would be other, practical uses of Bottomless Clip too in several of the Halo campaigns for the purposes of map exploration, boundary breaking, exploits and other shenanigans that Skulls are commonly associated with.

#4 – Bang Bang

This Skull was from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, but modders have since been able to access it and discover that the effect turns all weapon sounds into a voice recording of a man saying ‘Pew’. Whilst the idea is funny, the execution requires improvement, and if this Skull is to be added it should be on the condition that all weapons get their own individual voice clips that associate with that weapon, of people trying to imitate the weapon sounds of Halo, that would be pretty funny. Grenades would definitely just be someone going ‘Bang!’ though. Since the gameplay change is entirely aesthetic, this Skull would probably just have a 1x score.

#3 – Wuv Woo (Halo Wars)

This Skull, which until now has only featured in Halo Wars, turns certain weapon projectiles into rainbow lasers with love hearts spewing from them, a sickening display which strikes fear into the hearts of all who see it. In Halo Wars, the Skull only works on Scarab beams, but for Halo: MCC, each type of weapon should have its own comical design – rainbows for Covenant weapons and confetti for UNSC weapons, perhaps? And in Halo 4 the Promethean weapons can fire multi-coloured blasts instead of their usual standard orange. Again, this Skull is aesthetic, so would likely score 1x.

#2 – Third Person

Based on a cut Skull for Halo 3: ODST, Halo: MCC should include a Skull that switches players to a third person perspective, like in Theater mode or when in a vehicle, at all times – meaning players will have to rely on the HUD more in a fashion similar to the original Star Wars: Battlefront. When combined with the Blind Skull, this Skull would open up great opportunities for making Machinimas, and would allow players to player the Halo games again in a whole new way.

Honorable Mentions:

Big Head Mode Skull (All enemies and allies have engorged craniums)
Halo 2 Black Eye Skull (Meleeing enemies gives you Overshields like in Halo 2)
Gamble Skull (You do more damage, but take more damage)
Reverse Assassins Skull (All allied NPCs are permanently cloaked)
Brawl Skull (Enemies favour charging melee attacks over ranged weapons)
Permanent Cloak (Halo CE/Halo 2) – The player is permanently cloaked
Overshields (Halo CE/Halo 2) – The player has recharging overshields

#1 – VISR Skull

This simple but interesting idea for a Skull would essentially combine the ideas implemented into Halo 3: ODST and Halo: SPV3 by giving the player a night-vision mode instead of a flashlight for levels that are bathed in near-total darkness. Although this Skull would be fairly difficult to program, as it would require coding the VISR mode into all 4 mainline Halo games featured on the Master Chief Collection, but the end results would definitely be worth it. After all, the VISR mode was one of the best things about Halo 3: ODST, and bringing that over to the other Halo games would open up new styles of combat for each title, particularly in the Anniversary modes with their dynamic lighting.

Halo – SPV3 – CMT’s Re-Masterpiece

As Halo mods go, you can’t get much better than SPV3. Custom Mapping Team, headed by Masterz1337, have created nothing short of a masterpiece with their fantastic re-imagining of Halo: Combat Evolved‘s campaign. Downloadable for free on PC, SPV3 features many interesting surprises for even the most hardened Halo veteran, thanks to remastered graphics, new assets, new weapons and vehicles, and in some cases totally re-imagined levels with new playspaces to explore. As if all that were not enough, the mod also features new enemy types including Brutes, Skirmishers, Sniper Jackals, Honor Guards three different types of Hunters. With so much in this mod, it can be hard to summarise totally in one article, so this may not be the only time this mod features as a topic in the future. For this introduction, the focus will be the new features of this mod that stand out the most when compared with both Halo: Combat Evolved and it’s Anniversary version.

The Music

One of the first aspects of this mod that jumps out at you is the music. Whilst Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary’s soundtrack mostly stuck to the tunes featured in the original game, SPV3’s soundtrack draws from various other Halo games and many of the remasters are radically different from their original counterparts. Whilst many of the classic musical cues in the levels we remember make a return, the mod adds enough new music to make each level feel like an entirely new experience. Highlights of the soundtrack include Under Cover of Night, Rock Anthem for Saving the World, Halo, Sleeping Grunts, Covenant Dance, Leonidas, Brothers in Arms and In Amber Clad, but each and every track in the game has been painstakingly and quite spectacularly enhanced for this updated Halo campaign.

The New Levels

The most exciting of the new additions to the campaign in SPV3 is the new levels, as each and every one has had its weapons, objectives, encounters and atmospheres altered or expanded in various ways. The Anti-Gravity sections in The Pillar of Autumn, the Anti-Air Wraith battle in Halo and the Grizzly rampage in Assault on the Control Room are among the most notable stark enhancements to the campaign’s fun factor, and long-time fans of Halo: Combat Evolved who know the game inside out will be met with many wonderful surprises when playing through SPV3’s campaign as the familiar and the unfamiliar collide in a thrilling single player experience. With all ten of the original levels plus an alternate take on The Silent Cartographer featuring in SPV3, there are a vast variety of classic and brand-new enemy encounters to overcome and dozens of tweaks to each and every facet of the original Halo experience.

The Covenant

In the original version of Halo: Combat Evolved, there were four Covenant races featured – Elites, Grunts, Jackals and Hunters, with some of these having variants such as the Jackal Major, the Stealth Elite and the infamous Zealots. SPV3, on the other hand, has the benefit of hindsight – since Halo: Combat Evolved‘s release, various other Covenant races and variants have been introduced into the franchise such as Jackal Snipers, Elite Honor Guards, Skirmishers and Brutes, and thanks to the power of mods all of these and more are featured in SPV3’s campaign, as well as a vast variety of new Covenant weapons like the Focus Rifle, the Brute Plasma Rifle, the Brute Shot and even Halo 5’s ‘Voi. Also, the CMT have created many of their own totally new Covenant weapons that blend seamlessly into the aesthetic of the game, such as the Shredder (a Brute version of the Needler), the Particle Carbine (like the standard Carbine but battery powered) and the Brute Plasma Pistol (which includes an overcharge that spews fire upon impact). These additions to the Covenant make them more dynamic enemies to fight and the vast variety makes for some challenging encounters with larger groups of enemies that the original Halo: Combat Evolved would have struggled to process.

The Flood

Another big surprise in SPV3 is just how much the Flood have changed in this mod compared to the original game, as they are now a more dynamic threat than ever before. Each of the five Flood levels have been totally reworked from the ground up – the original identity of levels like The Library, Keyes and The Maw have been retained but the mood and atmosphere have been altered considerably, essentially transforming the latter half of the game into a unique and exhilarating horror experience. Levels that were formerly bogged down by repetitive level design and unimaginative encounters have now been re-imagined into some of the best Halo experiences, and this is made all the more exciting by the wide variety of forms the Flood can take in this mod. In the original game, the Flood came in four basic forms – the tiny Infection Forms, the bloated and explosive Carrier Forms and the two varieties of Combat Form, derived from either Elite or Human host bodies. In SPV3, new additions to the Flood ranks include Jackal Forms that howl and screech as they leap towards the player, Brute Forms that are essentially tankier versions of the standard Combat Forms and, for the first time in a Halo game, ODST Combat Forms that are stronger and more dangerous versions of the standard Human Combat Form. If all this were not enough, CMT went one step further and added Halo 3’s instantaneous infection feature, meaning that any Covenant or Human soldiers that are attacked by an Infection Form will be transformed into a Flood form before your very eyes.

In Conclusion

Those out there who are Halo fans and have not yet given SPV3 a go are strongly advised to download this mod, it has clearly had a lot of time, care and effort put into it to make it fun and fresh for fans of Halo: Combat Evolved and the Halo series in general.

Halo – What makes the ‘Classic’ art style of Halo: Infinite so important?

My recent article on how Halo: Infinite could save the Halo franchise talked briefly about how the new Halo game seems to be adopted the ‘Classic’ art style from the original Halo trilogy, and how this represents a significant shift in the direction for the 343 Industries and how this could mean a brighter future for the franchise. But what is it about the ‘Classic’ art style that is so important to Halo, and why should 343 Industries pursue this art style rather than their own take on the games that they have been developing for the past few years? The answer comes in several parts, the first being:

The Classic Halo Art Style Didn’t Need Changing

This is the primary reason why Halo fans were embittered by 343 industries’ sudden change of the look and feel of the universe between Halo: Reach and Halo 4. For many, the change came as a disappointing shock, similarly to if the new Star Wars movies had decided to totally change how Darth Vader, Lightsabers, Star Destroyers and Gungans looked between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It is important to note that Halo fans were never against the inclusion of new things into the universe – even the unbalanced and bullet-spongey Prometheans from Halo 4 were effectively inducted into the Halo universe, particularly thanks to their overhaul in Halo 5: Guardians, and all the new weapons that 343i have introduced have been fairly well-received, like the SAW and Forerunner weapons like the Light Rifle and the Scattershot – the problem is that 343i decided that the art style needed changing regardless of whether or not fans wanted it, and suddenly all the iconic things in the game we had all come to love the designs for – such as the shotgun, the Scorpion tank, the Banshee and even the Grunts looked totally different to how we all remembered them, breaking the immersion to a degree.

As such, the radical change to the art style – such changing Chief’s armour during the time he was in cryo, changing the look of the Elites, and remodeling all of the Covenant and UNSC weapons and vehicles – was met with resistance by many players, and for many the look and feel of the games was never the same. The ironic thing about this is that, when pushed to recreate Bungie’s art style in the Anniversary versions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, 343i actually did a really good job. Both Halo: CE Anniversary and Halo 2: Anniversary look and feel fantastic and, most importantly, authentic. 343i managed to recapture the nostalgia of the Bungie games despite them being totally remastered, so why not recapture that same magic in their newer, original games?

Halo’s identity, and how it can keep it

Another crucial reason why Halo’s art style is so important is that Halo had, and perhaps still has, a definitive and unique identity as a game – it is more than just a simple sci-fi shooter, as any Halo fan knows, and how the game looks and feels is important to contributing to this. Halo: Combat Evolved‘s first few levels depict a human ship in the midst of combat against strange aliens, a desperate escape to a mysterious alien ringworld, and a sense of shock and awe as the environment of the Halo ring unfolds before the player. The mind-boggling potential of having the entire ring seemingly at your fingertips, traversing the vast environments of an even more vast alien landscape, that is still remarkably familiar. Part of the charm of the original Halo game is things that regular players might not even consider at first – things like finding the beam emitter towers in the canyon near the start of the second level, and experiencing the blend of wide, open and natural environments and angular, metallic Forerunner structures, that perfectly illustrates how Halo defines itself as a game that is both about the familiar and the alien being forced together.

As the more iconic Halo games begin to drift further and further back in time, it is imperative that the newer Halos attempt to recapture that magic of the original and the sense of ancient, mysterious wonder that comes with it. Halo: MCC tried its best to repackage the original games for newer players, but unfortunately its less-than-ideal launch meant that this didn’t reach as many players as it could have done. In light of this, it has never been more important that 343 industries look over their art style and focus to better cater to Halo fans, old and new, in the modern age.

‘Classic’ Halo is just Halo

The overall issue of the ‘new vs old’ debate with the art style of Halo boils down to how the game feels for those who play it. Clearly in recent years Halo fans have been less-than-optimistic about 343 Industries’ handling of the franchise, and in many ways the loss of the old art style in the newer games is a major factor contributing to this. Thanks to the clear decision to recapture the old art style in Halo: Infinite, it looks like Halo is back on track to recapturing the old nostalgia, mystery and magic that the original offered to millions of players back in the 2000s, and offering just as much to new players in the 2010s and going into the 2020s.

So that’s my thoughts on why the original art style of Halo is so important, and how Halo: Infinite is taking steps to redeem the franchise. If you enjoyed then be sure to leave a like, and you can follow Sacred Icon here or on Facebook for more content like this.

In the meantime, look down below for more of my Halo-related content!