Master Chief (Halo)
MCPON John-117, or "Master Chief", is a fictional character and the protagonist of the "Halo" fictional universe created by Bungie. Master Chief is a playable character in the series of science fiction first-person shooter video games "", "Halo 2", "Halo 3", "Halo 4", and "". Outside video games, the character appears in books and graphic novels—"", "", "", and ""—and has cameos in other "Halo" media, including "", "", "The Halo Graphic Novel", "Halo Legends" and "".
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Saber Interactive, which co-developed "Combat Evolved Anniversary", assisted in the remake of "Halo 2"s campaign. It received a complete visual overhaul. The game's soundtrack and sound effects, such as weapon audio, were updated as well. The refined "Halo 2" cutscenes, as well as two new cutscenes created to complement the "Halo 5: Guardians" story line, were produced by Blur Studio. They feature the same structure and timing of the originals, and motion capture was utilized for the animation.
"Terminals", a feature first introduced in "Halo 3", were added to the "Halo 2 Anniversary" campaign. Their purpose was to create a "connective tissue" for stories within the "Halo" universe that explores the relationship between the different races within the Covenant and extensively covers the events portrayed in "Halo 2". Terminals also gave 343 Industries the opportunity to introduce Spartan Locke, a main character in "Halo 5: Guardians". Visual effect studio The Sequence Group collaborated with 343 Industries to provide the animation; the group had previously performed similar work in "Combat Evolved Anniversary" and "Halo 4". Several voice actors reprised their roles including Keith David as the Arbiter, John DiMaggio as the Heretic Leader, and Tim Dadabo as 343 Guilty Spark. Mike Colter provided the voice-over for Spartan Locke.
Once the "Halo 2 Anniversary" project was green-lit, executive producer Dan Ayoub at 343 Industries reached out to Max Hoberman of Certain Affinity for assistance on the multiplayer component. Hoberman originally designed "Halo 2"s multiplayer and founded Certain Affinity after leaving Bungie in 2006. Certain Affinity was asked to remake several of the multiplayer maps from "Halo 2". The team found it difficult to decide how many of the original 24 maps to redesign and eventually settled on six – two small, two medium, and two large – to provide some variation.
Along with the visual upgrade, "Halo 2"s original score was re-recorded with the San Francisco Symphony at Skywalker Sound studio. Guitarist Steve Vai returned to the franchise to play on additional tracks with Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor. The "Halo 2 Anniversary" soundtrack was released on November 11, 2014.