Halo 2 Anniversary gets tactical in its launch trailer

Developer 343 Industries has released the launch trailer for its upcoming Halo 2 Anniversary. Created by cinematics specialist Blur Studios, this latest video showcases several stunning scenes from the upcoming remaster, including the Gravemind in all its “tentacle-y” glory.

As you may know, Halo 2 Anniversary is part of a larger remaster compilation – namely Halo: The Master Chief Collection – which also includes Halo: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, replete with their full catalogue of extras, including all multiplayer maps and gameplay modes. All four games have received no changes to their original stories or gameplay, although Halo 2’s cutscenes have been redone by Blur Studios using pre-rendered CGI, and are slightly longer than they were in the original game. Furthermore, the collection includes a Mission Setlists mode, where players can create and play custom sets of missions from any of the four games. Several weeks ago, developer 343 had mentioned Halo 2 Anniversary includes terminals akin to those found in Halo: Anniversary, which apparently tie into the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians.

“If you remember the terminals from the first Halo: Anniversary where you could find and unlock motion comic-style pieces that filled in story for what was going to happen in Halo 4, we’re doing a lot of the same in Halo 2 Anniversary that are going to start to hint at some things that are coming down the line in Halo 5,” said Dan Ayoub, 343 Executive Producer. “Our terminals in Halo 2 Anniversary are going to focus on The Arbiter. You’ll start to get an idea of his history and a little more about him.” Moreover, the game also features brand-new cinematics that tie into the upcoming Halo: Nightfall – the live-action digital series. “We’ve [also] created bookend cinematics that are going to also start to tie into some of the characters that are going to be in Halo: Nightfall.”

Halo: The Master Chief Collection launches on November 11th in North America and November 14th in Europe, exclusively on the Xbox One.