Famously, Halo: Combat Evolved – the game that changed the landscape of first-person shooters on console forever – began life neither as a first-person shooter, nor on console. I do not consider this a coincidence. But before we get into that, a brief history lesson. The world’s first glimpse of what would eventually evolve to become the Halo we know and love occurred in 1999, a year before Microsoft’s first Xbox console was even formally announced.
Revisiting the grainy VHS footage of its unveiling, it’s surprising just how many of the Haloverse’s iconic sights were established this early on in the life cycle. The trailer opens with a glimpse of the Master Chief’s big orange mug. UNSC soldiers cram themselves into a Warthog’s every last nook and cranny like clowns in a comedy car. As the trailer sweeps the other side of battlefield, we catch our first sighting of Elite soldiers brandishing Energy Swords. Classic, familiar scenes that are burned into our memories forever, and play out to the tune of something even more recognisable: Halo’s booming orchestral score, practically unchanged note for note from the version we still hum today.
Here at Podcast Unlimited, we take our jobs seriously! So this week, we have a serious beat-down match! We take the