remaster and remake are 2 different things this remade all the assets and all that crap but remained more faithful than most other remakes where said ability would be much harder due to that fact For remasters its normally pointless as they would just be upping texture resolutions fixing bugs and porting to better software
Yes, graphically H2A is almost perfect! It actually feel like Halo 2, unlike CEA which in more places than not it feels like a different game altogether, it's Sooo different, still good... But very different, and in a good few places such as the snowy levels it looks like a fucking magical winter wonderland! Where the original looks like a realistic, dark snowy landscape, CEA looks like a cartoon. The one place I feel CEA is better than H2A is the audio.. I dislike how H2A doesn't let you use the classic music and sound effects.. That puts me off quite a bit to be honest.
Yeah it's so good hense why the multiplayer is fucking riddled with bugs, if you shoot straight down when someone else is looking down a little bit you can random people + teammates, all these re-releases for PC where promised to be cleaned up from bug and shit but it's worse than it ever was, it's a good game but they need to get their shit together and fix there busted game
MechaMinilla99 how does cea feel like a different game, though many may disagree the remaster is probably what bungie would have made ce if it was from 2011
They truly added a significant amount of detail. The direct comparisons really help single out what's new in the Anniversary. It's pretty nice to see Halo 2 in 4k.
I think the remastered graphics are a much better representation of Halo 2 then how CE Anniversary did it, And also that SMG sound, it's so punchy, while the original sounded like it had a supresser on it.
YES The SMG sounds so sexy in anniversary! I never used it on the og Halo 2 because it didn't felt powerful at all but in anniversary I use it all the time
Agreed! The only issue (and honestly it's a small one) I have is the small hiccups where it freezes for just a second like on the opening of Cairo Station when Chief says "I need a weapon" and Johnson goes to take him to the battle, when the camera pans out to show the UNSC Cruiser moving into battle position, the cutscene freezes for just a second.
Yes! Can we PLEASE have a remaster of Halo 3 with Blur cutscenes? I feel like Halo CE has already been done, even if not by Blur Studios, so Halo 3 would make the most sense, especially since I think 3 was the absolute pinnacle of Halo's popularity before everything plateaued.
It's a shame that the cutscenes don't have 21:9 support, sucks having black bars on top, bottom, left and right so the actual cutscene is only about 1/3 of my monitor. Hopefully this gets fixed soon.
Sure they look good, but the problem is they're not rendered in-engine. They're prerendered 1080p fmvs. So they'll age worse than if they were in-game.
They messed up the original soundtrack in the anniversary classic mode. It sounds absolutely horrible and i tested immediately the original xbox version and the music sounds by far way better.
Really wished we had a Halo 3 Anniversary, I'm sure that would've been the best looking Halo. Halo 3 just has the best overall look/lighting out of all the games.
@@Nick930 The game will look incredible when it comes out on PC, especially that the community will mod the game into modern graphical standards (at least I hope).
@@silobobus3268 343 really should've made Halo 3 Anniversary. It'd definitely and would've quenched the major drought and dormantness of the Halo franchise just enough before Infinite. We have not had a mainline Halo title (or anything FPS really) for 5 YEARS by the time Infinite's out.
I really wished they used the original loading screens. They're such a key component to the feel of the games, these MCC ones are just incredibly mood-breaking and generic. I remember getting chills in Halo CE on the og Xbox loading The Library... good times
@@RasmusXVI after completing a level though? I know during the level you can have them (and medals) off but I'm pretty sure you have to look at the results after every mission.
Johnson's new face is closer to how he looked in Halo 1 original. It's in Halo 2 original where they changed his face and when they remastered it they went back to the old face
Yeah the main reason for the change is when blur made the cutscenes they needed actors for facial capture so its the actors face with the og voice actors
@Cave Spider Because they're better? I would rather take good-looking low-poly graphics than crappy high-poly graphics that ruin the atmosphere. This is coming from a Halo outsider with no nostalgia for the original btw. More stuff =/= better stuff.
Halo 2 SMG sounds like a weak scifi caseless gun that shreds enemies. Halo 3 MA5C sounds like an airsoft gun. It reminds me of Call of Duty guns. They sound the same. Like staplers or plastic bb toys.
What I find most impressive is the fact that they managed to do so while keeping the mood and artstyle of the original. When I first played through H2A on Xbox One, there was several times I found myself pressing the switch button because I was sure I was playing with the old graphics, even though I obviously wasn't. This was obviously not because the remastered graphics looked like crap, but because it very much still felt like Halo 2, unlike Halo 1 Anniversary.
While the Halo CEA makes me sometimes want to change to the old graphics because of how some aspects doesn't convince enough to fully embrace the new graphics, with Halo 2A I have no problem at all playing with the new visual, they are just perfect
Sorry if you already know this but part of that might be because of the gearbox port. When CEA was made they used the faulty gearbox PC port as their reference point, instead of the original Xbox CE, which led to a lot of graphical misinterpretations, like how there is a lot less blood on the walls in the flood missions on CEA vs original xbox CE.
Play the originals on the first Xbox. The Halo 1 & 2 on MCC is the PC versions and the PC versions were always inferior to the OG Xbox with missing graphic effects and other missing features and sound issues. Halo 2 on original Xbox is superior to the PC version and despite the updates of Halo:MCC, it's still not the same as the 1st & 2nd that released on the first Xbox. I want to know how a company can screw up so hard. The Halo 1 & 2 that released on the MCC on Xbox One was the PC version, not the original Xbox version. So when MCC came to pc, it was the same thing and this is basically a modded version of that.
Yeah, I did a Legendary playthrough of CE when it come out on PC a couple months ago, and I played the whole thing on classic graphics. The janky animations and cutscenes just look awful on the Anniversary graphics. A lot of the level geometry is completely changed in Anniversary as well, so I'd run into issues where I'd try to shoot from behind a rock, only for my bullets to collide with a seemingly invisible part of the rock, that you can only see on classic graphics.
Get Halo Custom Edition, add Combat Evolved Refined mod (map pack) + Chimera and you got yourself a fantastic OG Xbox 2001 class Halo CE experience far greater than CEA and 2003 port. It also has EAX emulation, zero input lag, fixed transparent objects what not and unlocked FPS with FOV adjustment too !!
CEA wasn't polished enough, or at least the dev team wasn't very faithful to the original, H2A looks way ahead of it's time, and I bet the dev team for that knew exactly what they were doing when they got the invitation to make it
When I eventually play halo 2, I'll play it on OG graphics first to experience what people did back then. Then I'll replay it later in the new graphics.
It's only until now I see the Halo 2 Anniversary remastered textures and design not only looks great, but seems to be more faithful to the original Halo 2 aesthetic than Halo CE remastered did for the original Halo CE. There's something off about the look of Halo CE remastered that doesn't fit right, especially the redone marine designs.
they still should've used the xbox version as a base for anniversary, due to the PC version have some graphical differences in some areas, you can check it out, its quite interesting
@@crashbash8549 no, they still would pick the safer road, its how business works yo. ce and 2 pc were graphically inferior, but were still more stable to be used for mcc. that and ce had a decent online mp already built in with its own extra content, whereas the original had none.
1993DJC Honestly, I do. HCEA was incredibly unfaithful, I can agree there. It simply had completely different atmospheres and really weird choices of texture design. But man, you can't deny H2A is much, MUCH more faithful and still retains much of the original feel. Of course it's not exactly the same, otherwise there'd be no point. Especially after 10 years of graphical improvements (particularly with lighting). Saying it's unfaithful is kind of being ignorant to other much worse examples, just because it doesn't completely bank on the nostalgia in literally every way doesn't mean it's unfaithful. If anything I think it course just the right amount of stuff to overhaul and to keep. Yes, the original game is still beautiful, with Halo 3 still looking incredible to this day. But I'd totally welcome another H2A style remake even if I prefer the oh graphics and atmosphere. You can play either or. I respect your opinion wholeheartedly, if it's not your thing then it's not your thing. You've gotta give H2A credit where it's due though.
I just wish we could use play with the enhanced visuals with the classic Halo 2 music. Sure the remake version has great updates to it's music, but the original music is perfection as it is.
Also I still find it amazing that you can play the game and instantly switch between the old style and new. I really like what the teams did with both of the anniversary games. Halo 2 especially was masterfully done.
As a H2V veteran, I really appreciate this comparison as the Vista version is usually looked over, even though that is THE Halo 2 for me and many others. Thank you.
Thank you for the comparison! I love how you compare OG/MCC OG/Anniversary. It's a very interesting contrast to see how faithful they were while at the same time seeing how different things are.
the new graphics look great and the sound is amazing in the classic graphics, it's the darker bolder jagged edges that actually are giving the extra detail at the cost of smoothness. the ships aren't fleeing earth, they are forming up for combat.
This is really well done from the dev team, everything including the audio got an upgrade but didn't lose it's identity. Makes me really excited for Halo 3!
I hate that cutscenes aren’t done in engine. Which is a staple in all halo fps games. It takes me out of the experience every time. Which sucks cause these pre rendered cutscenes are gorgeous.
God I forgot just twelve years ago you would have to go check a website to see if a game had widescreen support and most of them just took the 4:3 screen and chopped off the top and bottom of the screen rather than expand the screen size. That wasn’t that long ago!
Centered crosshair just isn't right for halo, especially the classic ones. looks so fucking goofy with 50% of your field of view blocked by your arms and weapons.
Campaign is good, but the MP is pretty broken, especially with the crazy inexplicable glitches such as dud rockets, shooting at the floor to kill random players friendly or enemy, and just a slew of other stuff.
Seeing how Saber Interactive - - A studio which had 1,500 at the time, manage to reimagine halo 2 as it was meant to be back in 2004 That’s incredible Rockstar…. Take notes, ok?
7:59 am i the only one that prefers the old explosions/effects that were semi-transparent? new one reminds me of the really old space-harrier/sprite based weapon tracers/flamethrowers. Hell the entire MCC looks to have ramped dark-zone contrast into the pitch-black range making a lot of it taxing on the eyes and making well lit rooms made of reflective material somehow end up with impossibly black-shaodws cutting them up. I'd say that's indicative of the overall remaster, general improvement visually, but lighting/sound/effects changes have resulted in a more jarring contrast where the old deliberately muted some effects for the sake of the whole. I can't imagine hearing the old music playing in the background while the new weapon sounds are hammering into your temples, seriously, chief keeps a fullly sealed helmet on the entire franchise, trimming down the harsh visual/audio stings makes sense. When making such fundamental changes you should consider the whole experience.
While Activision forgets its old call of dutys, Microsoft improves all the games in its Halo saga. While valve creates a casino of skins within his Counter Strike without improving the gaming experience. For these reasons Halo is the best shooter because they give us the best gaming experience even with their old games in the saga. There is no comparison, Microsoft's treatment of its users is incredible. Halo is the best modern shooter.
5:26 The ships leaving earth early is not an issue. Cortana at the award ceremony says ANOTHER blip near Io meaning they had indications of Covenant before. Pulling ships off the surface would be a normal thing to do at the first indication of trouble because they know the Covenant are fast at attacking.
love everything about the anniversary edition💯 my only complaints are the way the brutes face look they're meant to have long snouts/noses like in halo 3 but instead we get bat face one... also dislike how the elites eyes and feet look their eyes should've stayed the same as the og one like pure black and their feet look weird their meant to look like hooves or atleast the ones like reach but instead end up with what we get not hating btw love halo 2
Ship sprites are not misplaced, if you wait long enough in the armory that same ship by the elevator will appear. The Marine is referring to the Covenant ships fleeing the station which are represented by the blue streaks. So those ship sprites you see are not fleeing, they are attacking the invading fleet of Regret.
I almost always play on classic graphics for H:CEA, but in H2A the remaster is both faithful and awesome enough for me to switch around a lot, but mostly stick to newer graphics.
@@vincentbedard4267 I despise the original graphics for both games and only switch between the two to see the difference, and to use it as a semi flashlight for some of Arbiter's missions. The anniversary version of both imo superior to the original. 2 is just more superior overall then CE was.
@@ultimate.tobi.3609 i kind of prefer the atmosphere of the original graphics though. (I also don't like some of the new models for the characters like in 2:40 and 2:43, but halo 2a still has my favorite master cheif design.)
I understand that 343 didnt remaster Halo 3 bc its already HD but imagine if they remastered Halo 3 for its 15th year anniversary in 2022 on the Series X. Judging by Halo Infinites graphics, it would look incredible. They would have Blur redo the cutscenes too which would be dope. Imagine missions like Sierra 117, The Storm, Tsavo Highway, The Ark, The Covenant, and Halo in remastered graphics. It would be awesome
I think the new sounds are more difficult for me to get used to. The new graphics are almost like 'how you remember it in your head' vs. 'how it really looked', lol. The sounds are good though, they definitely tried to make the SMG sound like it would actually do damage, and made the BR sound a lot punchier.
You failed to mention the biggest problem: the animations in halo MCC are locked at 30 or 60 fps without interpolation even in 'unlocked' framerate and look like crap on high refresh rate monitors.
@@Nick930 Actually I just played the halo 2 multiplayer and that has the same issues reach did - its all 60 fps, nothing is above that except the camera and it feels so bad.
Well one of the biggest issue with Halo 2 Anniversary is the damage in Multiplayer for the weapons. The BR is a reskin Halo 4 BR which was OP in Halo 4, Covenant weapons are more of a light show and less with damage, SMG is overwhelming OP to the point that Banshees can be shot down with ease and the list literally can go on and on.
For the audio, some people who grew up playing OG Halo 2 will always like the old audio. while people who grew up playing MCC will always prefer the new audio. i said "some" because not all prefer the old audio. some people who grew up with old audio prefer the new audio and vice versa
I love how they've actually made minor improvements to the classic graphics as apposed to ce which uses thr inferior pc version. With the actual original now basically lost to time unless you have an original xbox copy and machine to play it on
Got this game at launch really loved it. When the Xbox One X update came out that bumps the game up to 4K with HDR, it was an incredible difference. Now everything looks so crisp and the colors really pop. It's amazing how different lighting and some areas can be with the HDR. And at 4K and 60 fps, so smooth. Such a good game. Though I do have to say I'm surprised this wasn't done earlier. Great video
idk why but the remaster seems a bit too... Raw, I feel like it is because the colour pallet but I just can't pinpoint why I feel a bit uncomfortable when looking at them.
Halo 2 on original Xbox is superior to the PC version and despite the updates of Halo:MCC, it's still not the same as the 1st & 2nd that released on the first Xbox. I want to know how a company can screw up so hard. The Halo 1 & 2 that released on the MCC on Xbox One was the PC version, not the original Xbox version. So when MCC came to pc, it was the same thing and this is basically a modded version of that.
Halo 2 Classic on MCC Xbox sounds extremely compressed. I hate it. I compared it to my Xbox and Vista copies. They don't have that problem. Neither does MCC on PC.
![Halo 2: Anniversary vs Original [PC] | Direct Comparison](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
