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[Mononoke]

Jason, my love for gaming's best genre should be totally understandable.

I really hope 343 goes back to Halo 1 and thinks about its levels when making Halo 5. After Halo 4 seemed to miss the mark, I'm eager for a return to a smarter, more varied experience like the original.





I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Was a blast to write. I've got more published on Kotaku--one on Dishonored and one on The Witcher, and if it's not considered spam, I'll link them.

For everyone wondering why I didn't pick this or that level when I wrote, it's because The Silent Cartographer has Warthogs AND every major/distinct Covenant type in it, from Elites with Swords to grunts to jackals to Inviselites to Hunters. If I remember right, all the covenant types are in Truth & Reconciliation, but Warthogs are not.

I had two other articles planned in my head. One was about The Library, which is way better than people give it credit for, and another is about Assault on the Control Room/Two Betrayals.

Ultimately, I chose not to pitch The Library because, even if it was the best work of writing on video games ever, people would pile on and say it was horrible, because of the dislike for The Library, and Assault/Betrayals need to be written as one piece, but it would end up being huge, and this puppy's sitting on about 3,000 words as it is.



There's a lot of repetition, but I believe there's a reason for that.

As someone that doesn't like the Library, I would have been interested to hear your opinions on it. That said, I understand your reasons.

 

[The Elite]

Assault on the control room > The Silent Cartographer. Say something.

The truth.

 

[friskykillface]

Which I played over and over and over and over and over again on my cousin's xbox (before he got the game). I fucking love that level and never got tired of it.

my brother and I did that twice while at gamestop one winter, was magic, then we bought the console and halo the next day (we were in high school and struggled with cash haha)
worth it, love that level

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

I didn't see it mentioned in the article-

One reason Silent Cartographer is so great is that it's literally the first level they made, and spent the most time polishing. The first demos they showed, even before they decided to make it an FPS, were early prototypes of SC.

Halo E3 2000 demo

Halo CE's multiplayer was created last minute and by two people, yet it's arguably one the best experiences in the franchise. Magic is magic, regardless of when and how much they worked on it IMO :]

Jason, my love for gaming's best genre should be totally understandable.

I really hope 343 goes back to Halo 1 and thinks about its levels when making Halo 5. After Halo 4 seemed to miss the mark, I'm eager for a return to a smarter, more varied experience like the original.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Was a blast to write. I've got more published on Kotaku--one on Dishonored and one on The Witcher, and if it's not considered spam, I'll link them.

For everyone wondering why I didn't pick this or that level when I wrote, it's because The Silent Cartographer has Warthogs AND every major/distinct Covenant type in it, from Elites with Swords to grunts to jackals to Inviselites to Hunters. If I remember right, all the covenant types are in Truth & Reconciliation, but Warthogs are not.

I had two other articles planned in my head. One was about The Library, which is way better than people give it credit for, and another is about Assault on the Control Room/Two Betrayals.

Ultimately, I chose not to pitch The Library because, even if it was the best work of writing on video games ever, people would pile on and say it was horrible, because of the dislike for The Library, and Assault/Betrayals need to be written as one piece, but it would end up being huge, and this puppy's sitting on about 3,000 words as it is.

There's a lot of repetition, but I believe there's a reason for that.

Great article man. Hits me right in the feels.

 

[Muffdraul]

Assault on the control room > The Silent Cartographer. Say something.

AOTCR = too much of a good thing.

I am totally down to start or join a Library Lovers Anonymous support group. It was the one most unique level in the game. It does get to be a grind in replays, but I still remember how intense it was my first time through. One of the very few things I actually do remember from the first time I played through Halo.

Halo CE's multiplayer was created last minute and by two people, yet it's arguably one the best experiences in the franchise. Magic is magic, regardless of when and how much they worked on it IMO :]

You actually want to argue whether SC's quality might have something to do with how long they worked on it? Sorry, not biting. ^_^

 

[Schryver]

Assault on the control room > The Silent Cartographer. Say something.

.

 

[Oozer3993]

Halo CE's multiplayer was created last minute and by two people, yet it's arguably one the best experiences in the franchise. Magic is magic, regardless of when and how much they worked on it IMO :]

Great article man. Hits me right in the feels.

The multiplayer in CE was worked on during the entirety of production. It was only the LAN connnectivity that was finished last minute by a handful of people.

 

[DocSeuss]

omfg

Jaime Griesemer saw the article and tweeted at me about it.

AOTCR = too much of a good thing.

I am totally down to start or join a Library Lovers Anonymous support group. It was the one most unique level in the game. It does get to be a grind in replays, but I still remember how intense it was my first time through. One of the very few things I actually do remember from the first time I played through Halo.



You actually want to argue whether SC's quality might have something to do with how long they worked on it? Sorry, not biting. ^_^

I find Library a joy every time because it's a gauntlet. I just charge straight through it, blasting any foo who gets in my way.

AOTCR and Two Betrayals are fantastic levels, because they're a series of repeated arenas with different enemy compositions every time. It's pure gameplay variance, but it gives the feel of boring repetition because the environment isn't changing. Play it for the gameplay and it's glorious.

 

[Izayoi]

Assault on the Control Room is better, sorry Kotaku! Close but no cigar.

One of the very, very few Kotaku opinion pieces that gets at least moderately close to the truth, though. I'll give them that.

 

[loaf of bread]

How they ended up having levels like this which is one of the best levels in a game and also had levels like The Library which is probably the worst level I've ever played in a game that wasn't utter shit overall is baffling.

 

[Sirim]

Design students are quickly taught the value of white space—empty space on a page that's used to guide the eye around, or just plain make stuff look good. Beginners will often take blank space and jam as much content into it as they possibly can, but the more info, the more distracting everything gets, and the more boring it becomes. White space makes a work 'pop,' and Combat Evolved Anniversary, while pretty, suffers from an excess of detail that works against the simplicity of the original's visuals.

With the original Halo, Bungie understood the importance of clear communication. Enemies look unique and behave differently. Their weapons have distinct colors and behaviors to help mix things up. When you take down an Elite's shields, there's a bright flash and electrical static that shows they can be easily dispatched. As a Grunt dies, it may fire a few more rounds. Grenades cast off a light that makes them easy to spot. A Jackal's shield will change color as it takes damage, eventually exploding in a flash of light. Anniversary enhances this in some respects, and mutes it in others—Hunter weapons don't glow quite as much as they did previously. Nevertheless, Halo always telegraphs what's coming next or what's possible next, making combat as clear and as fun as possible.

Can't speak much toward what design students learn, but this is an issue I've always had with the Anniversary edition. It's just too much. They tried so hard to prettify it that I feel the aesthetic lost something important and general character.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

You actually want to argue whether SC's quality might have something to do with how long they worked on it? Sorry, not biting. ^_^

No.. I'm simply adding to what you said by showing how that's not the only reason why it was a phenomenal level.

The multiplayer in CE was worked on during the entirety of production. It was only the LAN connnectivity that was finished last minute by a handful of people.

Bit of a hyperbole on my part lol, my bad. Just trying to make that point that you don't have to work on something for one million hours in order for it to be a memorable experience.

Sometimes the ratio of "time worked on:quality in experience" isn't as 1:1 as it may seem. We've seen games in development for many years, only to release as an unfortunate mess.

 

[FairXchange]

I used to play Silent Cartographer on legendary over and over back in the day. I always was confused why other levels couldn't hold up to its greatness.

 

[Coffee Dog]

Jason, my love for gaming's best genre should be totally understandable.

I really hope 343 goes back to Halo 1 and thinks about its levels when making Halo 5. After Halo 4 seemed to miss the mark, I'm eager for a return to a smarter, more varied experience like the original.





I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Was a blast to write. I've got more published on Kotaku--one on Dishonored and one on The Witcher, and if it's not considered spam, I'll link them.

For everyone wondering why I didn't pick this or that level when I wrote, it's because The Silent Cartographer has Warthogs AND every major/distinct Covenant type in it, from Elites with Swords to grunts to jackals to Inviselites to Hunters. If I remember right, all the covenant types are in Truth & Reconciliation, but Warthogs are not.

I had two other articles planned in my head. One was about The Library, which is way better than people give it credit for, and another is about Assault on the Control Room/Two Betrayals.

Ultimately, I chose not to pitch The Library because, even if it was the best work of writing on video games ever, people would pile on and say it was horrible, because of the dislike for The Library, and Assault/Betrayals need to be written as one piece, but it would end up being huge, and this puppy's sitting on about 3,000 words as it is.



There's a lot of repetition, but I believe there's a reason for that.

Thank you for article! In depth game design and theory critique is something that we dont have nearly enough of; it's a shame it seems so few are interested in how the games we love so much come to be.

 

[feel]

Halo 1 is completely flawless from head to toe. Yes, that includes the Library.

I agree with this. GOAT videogame.

I want a perfect 60fps/1080p remaster with the original visuals and sounds dammit

 

[Kimosabae]

I can't even bring myself to read this article because just skimming through it ignites such a dormant and nerdy passion in me that is uncontrollable.

Let's just say that Halo is a series I never felt lived up to its potential.

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

I never bothered with Halo Anniversary, so this will be a real joy to go back and experience this level after all these years.

 

[antitrop]

There is so little of this type of games writing. I appreciate Doc for his in-depth and valuable insight and writing.

No fluff. Just game.

 

[Muffdraul]

I want a perfect 60fps/1080p remaster with the original visuals and sounds dammit

This. I was excited about Halo 1 Anniversary when it came out, but I only played through it with the new graphics once. Later I played through it again with the original graphics, but the new sound effects bummed me out. Since then, I went back to playing the original version, which actually looks pretty nice upscaled on the 360. I'm kinda hoping the new MCC edition of Halo1A offers both original graphics and sound, but I assume it's the same exact thing that was released in 2011. MCC is a day 1 purchase for me, but I haven't been keeping myself very informed of the details.

 

[Messofanego]

omfg

Jaime Griesemer saw the article and tweeted at me about it.

That's awesome!

 

[btags]

I agree with this. GOAT videogame.

I want a perfect 60fps/1080p remaster with the original visuals and sounds dammit

Isn't that what will be in the MCC if you toggle the graphics to classic?

 

[Muffdraul]

Isn't that what will be in the MCC if you toggle the graphics to classic?

If it's identical to the 2011 version, it will have only new sounds.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Frankly, I could never understand the obsession with Silent Cartographer. Assault on the Control Room and Two Betrayals were immensely more enjoyable, even with all the repetition, not to even mention some levels from later Halo games.

 

[btags]

If it's identical to the 2011 version, it will have only new sounds.

Ah, I see.

 

[Kill3r7]

Jason, my love for gaming's best genre should be totally understandable.

I really hope 343 goes back to Halo 1 and thinks about its levels when making Halo 5. After Halo 4 seemed to miss the mark, I'm eager for a return to a smarter, more varied experience like the original.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. Was a blast to write. I've got more published on Kotaku--one on Dishonored and one on The Witcher, and if it's not considered spam, I'll link them.

For everyone wondering why I didn't pick this or that level when I wrote, it's because The Silent Cartographer has Warthogs AND every major/distinct Covenant type in it, from Elites with Swords to grunts to jackals to Inviselites to Hunters. If I remember right, all the covenant types are in Truth & Reconciliation, but Warthogs are not.

I had two other articles planned in my head. One was about The Library, which is way better than people give it credit for, and another is about Assault on the Control Room/Two Betrayals.

Ultimately, I chose not to pitch The Library because, even if it was the best work of writing on video games ever, people would pile on and say it was horrible, because of the dislike for The Library, and Assault/Betrayals need to be written as one piece, but it would end up being huge, and this puppy's sitting on about 3,000 words as it is.

There's a lot of repetition, but I believe there's a reason for that.

Great article, Congrats!

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

The more I think about this game, the more I realize what a big deal its going to be.

Haven't thought about it much in the past months because it was all old games (with admittedly two remastered).

However, the more time goes by, the more excited I become.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Jason, my love for gaming's best genre should be totally understandable.

I really hope 343 goes back to Halo 1 and thinks about its levels when making Halo 5. After Halo 4 seemed to miss the mark, I'm eager for a return to a smarter, more varied experience like the original.

Excellent article I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the hard work.

Completely agree about Halo 5. I really thought H4 killed a lot of what makes the series great so hopefully 343 returns to form.

 

[buddha0991]

The best levels in every fps Halo game:

Halo: Halo, The Silent Cartographer, Truth and Reconciliation, Assault on the Control Room, Two Betrayals, the warthog run of The Maw

Halo 2: Outskirts, Metropolis, The Arbiter, Delta Halo

Halo 3: The Storm, The Ark, The Covenant, the warthog run of Halo

Halo ODST: Uplift Reserve, Kizingo Boulevard, Kikowani Station, Coastal Highway

Halo Reach: Tip of the Spear, Long Night of Solace, Exodus, New Alexandria, Lone Wolf

Halo 4: Reclaimer, Shutdown, Composer, the first half of Midnight (the flying section)


WORST HALO LEVELS:

The Library, Half of the Flood missions in Halo 2, CORTANA, some Halo 4 Levels

Overall campaign ranking from goodness to not so goodness:

Halo 1 > Halo ODST > Halo 3 > Halo Reach > Halo 4 > Halo 2

Halo 2 is still a good game, but its campaign is undoubtedly the weakest, Halo 4 is pretty ok in the campaign front, sort of confusing story aside. Halo 3 would be higher if it wasn't so short and Cortana wasn't the worst level in the entire series.

Can't wait for the collection man.

 

[Waaghals]

The PC and X360 port of Halo Ce had a few missing graphical effects.
Does anybody know if this will be fixed in the Xbox One version?

It not really all that important, but it would be nice to have a definitive original version.

 

[DocSeuss]

Assault on the Control Room is better, sorry Kotaku! Close but no cigar.

One of the very, very few Kotaku opinion pieces that gets at least moderately close to the truth, though. I'll give them that.

I already explained why I went with the Silent Cartographer in an earlier comment. I love Assault on the Control Room, but I'm not prepared to spend like 4,000-5,000 words on Assault on the Control Room. It's just too much to expect Kotaku to publish, especially since I'd have to talk about Two Betrayals as well.

Can't speak much toward what design students learn, but this is an issue I've always had with the Anniversary edition. It's just too much. They tried so hard to prettify it that I feel the aesthetic lost something important and general character.

I have the same issue with Halo 4. I wrote about it for a bit, but cut it from the article. The game has all these really boring arenas (seriously, remember activating the light bridge in Halo? One of the best fights ever, and Halo 4 has no levels near that good), and it's got this oft-excessive art style that works against the clarity of communication in the game.

I mean, ugh, look at the Gold Elite from the original Silent Cartographer, now look at the overly-busy White Elite who replaces him in CEA. It's awful.

Thank you for article! In depth game design and theory critique is something that we dont have nearly enough of; it's a shame it seems so few are interested in how the games we love so much come to be.

I want to write more articles like this; heck, I could probably churn out two or three a week if I was able to do this full time. Totilo has asked me for at least more; it'll be my first negative piece.

I agree with this. GOAT videogame.

I want a perfect 60fps/1080p remaster with the original visuals and sounds dammit

Isn't that what CEA is doing?

The best levels in every fps Halo game:

Halo: Halo, The Silent Cartographer, Truth and Reconciliation, Assault on the Control Room, Two Betrayals, the warthog run of The Maw

Halo 2: Outskirts, Metropolis, The Arbiter, Delta Halo

Halo 3: The Storm, The Ark, The Covenant, the warthog run of Halo

Halo ODST: Uplift Reserve, Kizingo Boulevard, Kikowani Station, Coastal Highway

Halo Reach: Tip of the Spear, Long Night of Solace, Exodus, New Alexandria, Lone Wolf

Halo 4: Reclaimer, Shutdown, Composer, the first half of Midnight (the flying section)


WORST HALO LEVELS:

The Library, Half of the Flood missions in Halo 2, CORTANA, some Halo 4 Levels

Overall campaign ranking from goodness to not so goodness:

Halo 1 > Halo ODST > Halo 3 > Halo Reach > Halo 4 > Halo 2

Halo 2 is still a good game, but its campaign is undoubtedly the weakest, Halo 4 is pretty ok in the campaign front, sort of confusing story aside. Halo 3 would be higher if it wasn't so short and Cortana wasn't the worst level in the entire series.

Can't wait for the collection man.

Cortana and The Library are some of the best levels in the series. Go. Leave gaming forever. You are probably a bad person who enjoys kicking puppies or supporting communism.

Cortana is one of the best levels in the series, but it ain't for scrubs.

 

[Euron]

Silent Cartographer is probably one of my favorite levels in any game ever but IMO The Covenant beats it as the best Halo level.

It just takes everything I love about the franchise and throws it together into one amazing level (Beach Charge, Warthogs, Hornets, a Scorpion, Secrets, Open Areas, and of course SCARABS!!) plus 4 player co-op.

 

[Izayoi]

Isn't that what CEA is doing?

Is it?

I really, really hope they fix it so you can access the original sounds on top of the original visuals.

 

[Sephzilla]

Cartographer is my favorite level in all Halo

Probably the most fun level to speedrun in any Halo game. Several great shortcuts. Only fools need to unlock the door. Real men get through it before it locks in the first place

P.S. The Warthog run in the final level of Halo 3? You drive around the island from Silent Cartographer.

 

[SymbiantXenos]

Assault on the control room was a better level in my opinion.

 

[DocSeuss]

*seriously considering asking Totilo if I can write about AOTC too*

Is it?

I really, really hope they fix it so you can access the original sounds on top of the original visuals.

I'd kill for the original music. One of the problems I had with it that I didn't talk about in the article.

 

[The Wraith]

Assault on the control room > The Silent Cartographer. Say something.

My man! Assault on the Control room is forever the best level in any Halo game.

 

[Izayoi]

It just takes everything I love about the franchise and throws it together into one amazing level (Beach Charge, Warthogs, Hornets, a Scorpion, Secrets, Open Areas, and of course SCARABS!!) plus 4 player co-op.

The Covenant would have been literally the definitive level of the series had it been open-ended (attack any pillar you want, just spawn you on the beach and let you do whatever you wanted in any order - and then culminate in the final assault).

Squandered potential.

 

[enzo_gt]

Assault on the control room > The Silent Cartographer. Say something.

Can't deny facts.

 

[DocSeuss]

I really wish everyone talking about AOTC would see my note on why I went with TSC instead. I want to do AOTC. I almost pitched AOTC. But I chose not to because REASONS explained earlier.

And The Library is even better.

 

[Toa TAK]

I really wish everyone talking about AOTC would see my note on why I went with TSC instead. I want to do AOTC. I almost pitched AOTC. But I chose not to because REASONS explained earlier.

And The Library is even better.

I have to know why you believe this.

 

[TemplaerDude]

Silent Cartographer > Assault on the Control Room.

Totally didn't expect to see this opinion shared in the article.

 

[Messofanego]

Frankly, I could never understand the obsession with Silent Cartographer. Assault on the Control Room and Two Betrayals were immensely more enjoyable, even with all the repetition, not to even mention some levels from later Halo games.

That's not really what the article is about, it isn't a list thing. It's showing how that level exemplifies everything great about Halo's design and is one of the levels that leaves the biggest impression because it's early on. Either way, there might be an article later on about those two levels:

For everyone wondering why I didn't pick this or that level when I wrote, it's because The Silent Cartographer has Warthogs AND every major/distinct Covenant type in it, from Elites with Swords to grunts to jackals to Inviselites to Hunters. If I remember right, all the covenant types are in Truth & Reconciliation, but Warthogs are not.

I had two other articles planned in my head. One was about The Library, which is way better than people give it credit for, and another is about Assault on the Control Room/Two Betrayals.

Ultimately, I chose not to pitch The Library because, even if it was the best work of writing on video games ever, people would pile on and say it was horrible, because of the dislike for The Library, and Assault/Betrayals need to be written as one piece, but it would end up being huge, and this puppy's sitting on about 3,000 words as it is.

 

[Booties]

The combat arena in Halo is a dance floor, and the short range of your assault rifle is an invitation to get up there and dance your heart out

I love halo and all, but that's a dumb thing to say.

 

[DocSeuss]

I have to know why you believe this.

Because at the end of the day, I'm one of the few people who plays it right.

That sounds arrogant, I know, but I think it's true. Too many people play the level like a Covenant level: they sit there and kill everyone and then move on, but it's The Flood. You can't do that. They just keep coming. You just gotta run. It's a totally different dynamic that changes the way you play. When I write about AOTC/TB, either on my blog or on Kotaku, I'll talk about this more in depth and how the presence of The Flood changes up TB.

I love halo and all, but that's a dumb thing to say.

no

Okay, it's not my best metaphor. But I like it.

 

[AJ_Wings]

I want to write more articles like this; heck, I could probably churn out two or three a week if I was able to do this full time. Totilo has asked me for at least more; it'll be my first negative piece.

Please tell me that's the long awaited critique of HL2 you always talked about, cuz I'm still looking forward to that even if it's one of my favorite games of all time!

 

[buddha0991]

Cortana and The Library are some of the best levels in the series. Go. Leave gaming forever. You are probably a bad person who enjoys kicking puppies or supporting communism.

Cortana is one of the best levels in the series, but it ain't for scrubs.

I respect your opinion but no u

 

[DocSeuss]

Please tell me that's the long awaited critique of HL2 you always talked about, cuz I'm still looking forward to that even if it's one of my favorite games of all time!

It's actually about a game so bad it killed its own series.

I want to do Half-Life 2.

 

[Caayn]

One of the best FPS levels ever made. Still is fun to play after having it already completed dozens of times. Although my favorite Halo level will probably be "The covenant" from Halo 3, big open spaces and small corridors in a perfect mix topped of with an epic fight against two scarabs.

Can't wait to replay all levels in 1080p/60fps while going for the completion of all Halo levels in one go

 

[jelly]

This. I was excited about Halo 1 Anniversary when it came out, but I only played through it with the new graphics once. Later I played through it again with the original graphics, but the new sound effects bummed me out. Since then, I went back to playing the original version, which actually looks pretty nice upscaled on the 360. I'm kinda hoping the new MCC edition of Halo1A offers both original graphics and sound, but I assume it's the same exact thing that was released in 2011. MCC is a day 1 purchase for me, but I haven't been keeping myself very informed of the details.

You can use the classic sounds. The quick toggle only does the graphics. You have to set the sounds in the menu.

 

[Muffdraul]

You can use the classic sounds. The quick toggle only does the graphics. You have to set the sounds in the menu.

Cool! Are you talking about only the new MCC version, or the 2011 version as well?