Halo 2 Anniversary Tease Xbox Mexico

Many months ago, Microsoft promised to deliver the next chapter in the Halo saga on the Xbox One before the end of 2014. When Halo 5: Guardians was confirmed for a 2015 release date, rumors continued to grow that the Xbox One Halo experience would be a Halo 2 Anniversary Edition or maybe even a Halo: The Master Chief Collection, that included ports of all four numbered games in the franchise. It turns out those rumors were pretty spot on...

During the Xbox presentation at E3 this afternoon, 343 Industries confirmed that Master Chief's journey will make its way to the Xbox One this fall with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The all-inclusive package gives consumers the opportunity to pick up Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4 in one convenient and affordable bundle. Gamers get all four original Master Chief adventures packed with every level,  every multiplayer map (that's over 100 maps), and every original gameplay mode for just $59.99.

All four gamers will be running at 1080p, 60fps on dedicated servers, which will offer gameplay experience on the classic titles like never before. For the first time ever, Halo fans will be able to experience the original Halo game in an online environment. For longtime fans of the franchise, that alone is a dream come true.

As players work through the first four chapters in Master Chief's saga, they will be able to chip away at The Master Chief Collection's 4,000 gamerscore. The list of achievements will be unique to the new collection, so players won't necessarily be hunting down the same goals they tackled over the last ten years or so.

As the rumors suggested, a souped-up 10 year anniversary edition of Halo 2 will be the most exciting inclusion in the Master Chief Collection. The presentation explained that Halo 2 will receive the full anniversary edition treatment and get a bit of special extra attention. In addition to recreating the Halo 2 multiplayer experience with all of its original features (including dual-wielding!), the remake will also get brand-new visual assets to look a bit more at home on the new-gen console.

The cinematics and cut-scenes for the Halo 2 campaign will also receive a fresh coat of paint from Blur studios. Players can expect to see the developers tag on an additional prologue and epilogue to enhance the Halo 2 cinematics and maybe even retcon in some Halo 5 foreshadowing and lore.

In addition to the already overflowing amount of content in the collection, buyers also receive access to the digital series, Halo Nightfall. Not to be confused with the upcoming Steven Spielberg-produced Halo series, Nightfall is produced by another superstar, Ridley Scott, and focuses on bridging the gap between the original four Halo games and the era of Halo 5.

Last, but certainly not least, the collection will include beta access to Halo 5: Guardians, which will begin this December. The weekly episodes of Nightfall will lead up to the launch of the beta. Check back shortly for more details on that.

Will you be picking up Halo: The Master Chief Collection? Let us know in the comments.

Game Rant E3 2014 Live Coverage

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Halo: Master Chief Collection releases on Xbox One November 11, 2014.

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