While Halo: The Master Chief Collection isn't exactly the brand new Halo adventure that many fans had hoped would release this fall, it's still no slouch either. Developer 343 Industries has ensured that every element from the past four Master Chief adventures makes the jump with no quality lost; in fact, they've sought to improve upon those prior games in some pretty significant ways.
With Halo 2, for example, 343 is rolling out their Anniversary treatment yet again, updating Bungie's seminal sequel for current-gen platforms. Not only that, though, they've also taken six of Halo 2's most iconic maps and completely upgraded and modernized them for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
So far, 343 has announced five of the six maps - Coagulation, Ascension, Sanctuary, Lockout, and Zanibar. And today the studio revealed their final Halo 2 remastered multiplayer map: Warlock.
Like the other Halo 2 maps, Warlock has now been reimagined as Warlord but the feel of the multiplayer arena is still the same. Some will remember that Warlock was actually a remake of the Halo 1 map Wizard, and was offered as a DLC add-on for Halo 2. It was a fairly self-contained map with few hiding spots, which made combat all the more chaotic. Check out IGN's official reveal video below:
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Obviously, the map has received a much need upgrade for the Xbox One, complete with an ominous green beam of light in the center. But Halo fans will be pleased to see that most of Warlock's make-up has been well preserved. That's likely because Max Hoberman, one of the original designers for Halo 2's multiplayer, has brought his Certain Affinity team onboard to help with these upgrades.
Now that the six upgraded maps for Halo: The Master Chief Collection have been revealed, we have a clearer picture as to what the package will include. Even without these six maps, the Collection was looking plenty packed with content – from every story mission to every multiplayer map – but 343 has sought to sweeten the pot a little further for fans. Warlock is a worthy choice for the upgrade treatment, but its inclusion may have eliminated some personal favorites from the mix.
What do you think of the Warlord upgrade? Are there any maps you are disappointed didn't make the cut?
Halo: The Master Chief Collection releases November 11, 2014 for Xbox One.
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Source: IGN