How Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Ruined the Flood 

The only things I think about when coming across empty rooms are: 1) Stealthed Elites 2) Stealthed Elites 3) Elites that are Stealthed

I remember after battling the flood that I was so glad to finally see the Covenant 😂

the flood in original graphics scared the shit out of me as a kid...

Going to save you 30 minutes Needs darker lighting and more noticeable goop/blood stains.

One thing about that elevator of blood that I didn't think about until years after I played CE, how did all that blood get on the elevator walls? How? I'll tell you.... It's because the flood threw DEAD BODIES DOWN THERE! They bounced of the walls, their bones breaking, blood gushing. That's how that blood got there. This horrific scene is completely absent in the new graphics. I think the old graphics capture the feeling better, and the new graphics make it look better overall. Good video, my dude

The only thing I don't like about the remaster is how it's way brighter there's no dark fog that would give you the creeps cause you wouldn't know who was around you

Imagine the original mission was close to pitch black forcing us to rely on the flash light

Definitely prefer the old graphics in every section of the game. The feel is much more spacey and mysterious

I got lost on this mission for so long. it was the longest and creepiest mission for me.

when i first played the original game this mission creeped the hell outta me so much it actually felt like i was playing a horror game

I think what made this mission so eery is that you are completely isolated. Without Cortana in your head, you have nobody to help guide you or give you advice. It’s just you on your own trying to figure out what the hell’s going on. Usually in missions before this one Cortana would help explain the environment around you. So without her, you are left alone figure out what’s going on. I loved it.

This video could have been five minutes.

Is it just me or older games are generally better at making creepy, terrifying feel because of generally much darker lightning? I notice that pretty much all new games are very bright.

I don't get why anyone hasn't pointed out that Captain Keyes is still wearing his formal whites, when he should be wearing his combat uniform like he did in the old graphics.

My mom and my 5 year old brother were playing Halo: CE and when they tried the anniversary graphics, they said it was too much, and they preferred the old graphics. Based on this and this only, they are truly my family.

*Go watch the remastered version of keyes as the protogravemind, that gave me nightmares and ptsd*

Me during this level... Me: we woo...we woo... Sees a shit load of flood running for me Me: WE WOO! WE WOO! WE WOO!

I saw this vid in my feed thinking it was going to be another "343i riuned halo because its not bungie", instead it was a walkthrough of a level that had real criticism and compliments to the tonal shift brought about by the change in artistic direction in the remastering of a classic. this is actually a really good video and I agree with nearly every point raised.

bruh you missed the glyphs. having just played through this mission on the og halo 1 (pc version), the dullness of the walls really make everything stand out, ESPECIALLY THE GLYPHS. you walk in a room, and you see GIANT GLOWING RED GLYPHS over the door you are about to walk through, it sends a chill down your spine. you are walking into hell. on the new graphics, the glyphs just blend into the textures of the walls. there is also one more point to make about the old texture. the walls are dull, and the only source of light are the flashing lights on the doors and a few on the ceilling. you know what that reminds me of? the emergency lighting that kicks when the power goes out. (anyone living in those concrete industrial apartment complexes, the ones built for speed and cost effectiveness, not comfort). it gives the feeling of a rundown place that has been neglected for decades and is only running off of emergency power. on the new graphics as shown in this video, the walls are illuminated (not really but the texture sure makes it looks like they are illuminated). it doesn't give you the sense that the place is deserted and on emergency systems. also regarding the cutscene, since i played on the original game, i still get the cutscenes, and yes, they are much better than the graphics of the new cutscene. it's not as smooth as the new one, but the atmosphere it creates certainly is.

I liked the creepy feeling of the flood. But I wasn't scared. I was 15 when I played it the first time. And dead inside of all the years playing the old Resident Evil games. What made me nervous was when the flood got hold of rocket launchers.... God damn...

The end was the worst change for me. Once you get outside you're supposed to be shaken and confused by the urgent escape you've just made. You shit yourself end up following the utterly stupid marines through the fog and darkness because you have no idea where to run to or what to do so you just shoot anything that comes out of the fog and try to stay with your men. Its like a couple of minutes but my first time with it was the best few minutes of any game i've ever played.

Let me summarize this video in under 10 seconds: the classic halo painted a better atmosphere for the floods introduction instead of relying on flashy graphics

Definitely felt like a horror game 19 years ago. Holy cow, I'm getting old.

No one: Luke: 30mins to say the game needs darker lighting and more gore. Nice

Halo 2 anniversary though. The gravemind actually looks disgusting and revolting, made of visible body parts and viscera.

You say you nitpick a lot but it's the little details that make the whole experience completely different.

Its funny how 343 screwed up the level named after the chatacter they're named after

12:17 Yes, yes I do. Every single time.

Totally agree. Lighting in general in Halo CEA is wayyy too bright. It takes away a lot of the tension and mystery from levels like 343 Guilty Spark, The Library, and Keyes.

This mission was one of the best game twists I can remember. The original game did such a great job with the flood that I have since bought every halo game and played every campaign. Personally I prefer playing this game with the original graphics in most cases. The newer graphics look good, but did make the environments too bright. But is not terrible and the fact that they were smart to allow the player switch modes on the fly was a great move!

This level was the scariest moment from the whole halo games and I remember that panic when I met flood the first time! It should definetly be in future halo games!

Take a shot everytime he says "something is wrong" wait. Don't. Alchohol poisoning is dangerous.

u know when I played the library in this game with the old graphics, I got creeped out. I remember when I turned around and there was an infected elite right in my face and I jumped a bit.

The fact that the barricade at 8:30 tells you the covenant were so desperate to keep... something... out, makes it a lot creepier. I literally felt chills down my spine with the thought. Very good analysis, man, enjoyable and coherent.

The art of storytelling. This is great, the subtleties do make a big difference all taken together. I think your nits are well picked!

I'd rather fight the Flood than Prometheans.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I remember refusing to play this mission when I was younger because I was genuinly scared and had a built up feeling of dread. This being the first level without Cortana (she was back at the control room) telling me what to do gave me an unsettling feeling of being ALONE. It seemed like I was in the forunner structure alone forever and when I finally saw MARINES WHO WERE ALIVE I was so relieved. We regrouped and escaped the structure and were cast into the fog and forest. I had no idea what was going on. I was panicking, I was for the first time in a long time surrounded by allies and I was doing everything in my power to save them while we kept moving in the dark foggy forest, shooting anything that came out of the fog and my marines getting picked off one by one to the relentless flood. The music, the atmosphere! WE NEED TO KEEP MOVING! OH NO I LOST ANOTHER MARINE, TAKE HIS SHOTGUN AMMO AND KEEP MOVING, WHAT IS THAT BLUE LIGHT IS THAT CORTANA? I CANT SEE ANYTHING, WHERE AM I GOING! USE YOUR GRENADES, USE WHATEVER YOU NEED JUST KEEP MOVING! MY SHIELDS ARE DOWN I NEED A HEALTH PACK! It. Was. INTENSE. and I did NOT have that feeling with the remake because of the failed atmosphere. TOO DAMN BRIGHT, NO FOG, NO BLOOD. *Thumbs down*

The marine that shoots at you when you walk in, as he talks about monsters, if you walk past him, and go be hind the wall, you will hear the magnum go off again, and he will be dead. He shoots himself.

I think that the last bit of the level was ruined too, in the old graphics the jungle was much darker which made it feel scarier, you were basically running aimlessly through the jungle just hearing your marine companions get mowed down by flood, but someone put a night light in the new one which just ruins the feeling

Absolutely one of the most memorable gaming moments for me as a kid. I was 11 when this came out and it was genuinely quite scary and mysterious. It’s a shame that it’s so much different in the remaster but I’m glad that they left the option for old graphics.

I remember playing this on my old laptop. I got so scared when i saw the flood

basically the flood needs dark atmosphere , movie , stories etc...to make us live the horror they can deliver.

If I'm being honest, the new graphics are also pretty terrifying because the fact that it's not dark, almost nothing is broken but there is just nothing there. It gives it an eerie feel because it feels wrong. It's like the backrooms game, it shouldn't be scary but something makes it so. In the original it is dark and hints at something bad happening but in the original everything is just gone, you feel alone as well. Of course this is my opinion and I respect Luke's

Remember playing this level when I was younger. The whole time I thought that a large group of marines went rogue or that they were betraying me. Largely because I saw the covenant barricading themselves and the one soldier that shot me. Then i started to realize that there’s something more to this.

My big beef with the Anniversary overlay is that it's slow. Nearly all of the dialogue is out of sync with lip movement, and the resolution changes as you get closer to objects is distracting. Also, another nitpick from me is that Captain Keyes is shown wearing his dress uniform in the Anniversary version of the Flood first encounter, where in the original he had switched to a set of combat fatigues. It's a small que that while Keyes is an Navy officer, he wasn't afraid to slog through the mud with Marines. It further sells that Keyes is supposed to be a cut above the rest of the UNSC guys portrayed in this game.

Wrong! I want the flood to comeback. I want to have a grave threat to Humanity. No...not the created AI crap.

It might just be me, but the old graphics is a bit more easy to your eyes. The new one has a little bit more bloom and a bit higher contrast. It is also a bit brighter, not just the lightning but the colour as well.

I remember playing through CE when I was like 7 years old, getting to this level, and being freaked out the entire time. CE/Old graphics definitely captured the horrifying feeling that they went for with the flood than the new ones.

In the part before first contact with the flood, one detail that made the blood much more meaningful I found was the simple lack of bodies. In all past missions, whenever there was blood splatters in place, there's usually a body not far away, and this is the first time that pattern is broken. If you think about it further, you'll realize that there's not a single Elite either, body or otherwise.

When I was 6, I couldn't play the game as soon as the flood came, I got too scared. (the music at 6:46 always got me)

This mission is like predecessor to when you find out that the Locust have there own other secret enemy in the for of the Lambent in Gears 2

I disagree, I was terrified when I first saw the flood. Even though I was playing on new graphics. Probably didn't help that I got completely lost in the structure for half an hour fighting through hordes of them.

It's a swamp, not a jungle. they totally fucked up the outside too with new graphics. the ring hasn't been touched in thousands of years, that's something the old graphics show, new ones don't. Also the old graphics are in high resolution too, just not new textures, lighting, models. the little flood are florecent green in old, scrotem skin color in new..

Jesus Christ those cinematics DONT measure up! It looks like the scene was described in detail, but never SHOWN to the people attempting to remaster it. The lighting is like a happy sun following you around everywhere, and it totally kills the vital atmosphere.

I think that you should play the whole game on the og graphics, but thats just my nostalgia filled bias

I remember the first time I played 343 Guilty Spark *so* clearly. I was pretty young (~11,12) and Halo was the first FPS I played. I loved every second. An important detail for this experience is I was born with a heart condition so small bumps in adrenaline and even mild tension make my heart race. There are a couple jump scares in CE and some moments when the game becomes more intense (the first time you fight a sword Elite just off the top of my head). But playing through Guilt Spark I genuinely needed to take a small walk just during the build up because of all the silent clues that something bad was gonna happen. And seeing the level on Anniversary years later I wasn’t nearly as unsettled (probably from age and what not) but still something just felt unintimidating. Thank you for this commentary man, it’s spot on!

I got so mad at halo 2 anniversary level: the oracle because the glass below had an epic scary fight, but on anniversary it is see through and obviously the flood!

But it's not supposed to be a forest, it's supposed to be a swamp

The light flickering with than weird music freaked me our

Wish the level looked like the "GTFO" gameplay trailer. Super dark, messy and a desperate need for a flashlight.

what i learned from this video: *something is definitely wrong*

Halo CE was the first FPS I've ever played and I grew up playing it. I remember getting to 343 guilty spark and not being able to pass it cause of how scared I was, I was terrified of the flood. The whole level just set the scene perfectly, the marine perspective and the clanging sounds of the flood and the overall music was done really well. Halo CE for me will always be the best halo game because it came first, bungie had to come up with everything. The other halo games have a base to go off, CE didn't...

I just thought of this I wonder if some of the blood textures in some of the new graphics are just underneath the textures like how some objects in the new graphics look like their is nothing in your sights but when you are in the OG graphics you still have objects in the way blocking your shots

Very good analysis. Yes, the bright and shiny backgrounds really detract from the foreground and just break the tone the original textures set. And yeah, the flashlight issue is another part of it, too.

I played Halo combat evolved for the first time when I was just a little kid, and after watching this video I'd have to agree that a lot of your points are spot on. I remember that even being a little kid the first time I went through this mission I took particular notice to the green slime drips, that was the tick off thing to me, that there was something odd and mysterious that was a big threat if it could slaughter all those jackels and grunts. The green ooze and the blood definitely was the biggest teller of the story and to me was the most important thing atmospheric thing on top of the darkness of the setting.

To play the cutscenes on the old graphics, just switch over to the old graphics before the cutscene starts. Great video!

09:56 I also like that it makes you ask a big question. With this amount of blood on the floor, then how come their isn't a body anywhere? I feel like 343 didn't think critically of this part and thought the og devs put it there by accident or they deemed it unnecessary

Great video! I did notice what I could while playing on the anniversary graphics. I don’t think I want to hear the word “blood” for a while but I do want to see more in this level lol

8:47 Trivia: The Halo: Combat Evolved level 343 Guilty Spark, and the Halo 2 Vista map Uplift, are the only levels in any of the Halo games to have Needler ammunition outside of the Needler.

The blood and slime on this level SCARED a young me. I don't enjoy the new graphics in general because they completely redesign a few things "just because". The flood are the worst offenders. The new models for them especially. Why? Because they're ripped from Halo 3! All of the other reskins were from Halo Reach. No effort was put into them.

One question. How did they squeeze those shade turrets into the building

I got the mcc in 2017 and that was my first time ever playing halo. I loved how the original graphics looked and played through the entire campaign with it.

it doesn't have that scary feel in the new graphics. the old graphics were on point on making you feel weird about that map.

3:22 What a Failure. You cut of a very interessting Part. At the Beginning you as the Masterchief climb up a Fallen Tree. Then something explode and we see a Shadow running away. In the Old Graphics you didnt realize what it really is. In the new Graphics you can see its clearly a Flood. Yes, the new Graphics for this Level are not so scary.

theres a TON of tiny details that 343 missed that I feel mattered The Remastered kind of ruined a ton of the little details that i was looking forward to seeing in CEA this is a good video EDIT: you also have to kind of acknowledge that the Gearbox port the 343 used for CEA broke a lot of the shaders and small things, that in turn, makes classic CEA look washed out and ugly.

Thanks for posting this video. I never paid much attention to character development, plot twists or any subtleties in a game; instead favoring graphics and bodycount. You're right about the suspense building up so much earlier with the old graphics and it makes a big difference in the gameplay experience if you're not just in it to blow stuff up.

When I played on the old one, I didn't actually see any of the blood on the lift because I was running away from a ton of the flood. When I got on the lift, I thought it would go up but it went down and all the flood jumped down on me. So I was too busy grenading stuff to see anything.

Another thing to add to 343's long list of fuckups. They totally failed to set the mood with the updated graphics. The lights are wayyy too bright, and I agree that they should have made the whole mission with the aesthetic of Jenkin's helmet cam. Oh and the lack of fog seals the deal. IMO this is what happens when you let artists design a game. Sure it looks great, but this isn't a graphics demo. Its a game with a rich immersive story, and as such it needs to tell its story using tools such as the lighting, fog, blood decals ect.

Did 343 ever have an update or fix this mission for the new graphics since this video? Or is it still the same as it is in here?

For me it really doesn't matter that much... because at 16:45 it's really THAT soundtrack makes this the Flood scary. I get goosebumps everytime that track plays and there's a metric tonne of Flood hurling themselves towards you!

I don't like the Anniversary graphics in general. It looks like everywhere has been lined with LED strips. The over-saturation and over-lighting completely kill Halo's atmosphere. I get my high-res Halo fix by playing on PC. If you want to see a remaster done right (although a mod the visuals are upgraded too), look for the video of Truth and Reconciliation SPV3 by HaloMillenium and compare with a video of the Anniversary version. Even though the beginning is cool, also pay attention to the inside of the Covenant ship. In Anniversary it's lit up like a Christmas tree which is totally unnecessary. It's supposed to give off a slightly creepy vibe, obviously not to the extent of 343 GS, but the player is supposed to have a feeling of uncertainty/mystery so darker rooms help this.

That's a very interesting perspective! I definitely agree with all the aspects and ideas that you provided in this video, I haven't played the Anniversary CE yet so I was seeing the "improvement" for the first time. And yes, 343 have definitely changed the environment, the first time I played this mission when I was smaller on the original graphics, it gave me the heebeegeebees and I was extremely creeped out. I guess since 343 is a different company from Bungie and they DON'T know the intentions of Bungie and what they were going for, 343 just wanted to improve the graphics their own way. I really disliked how most the areas are a LOT brighter in the new graphics, it removes the dread and creepiness instantly. The blood as well plays a giant role in the whole "something's not right" thing, shame they barely exported the feel from the original CE. Happy I came across this video and a person who I can relate to, as a huge halo fan, it's really important to me too ;) Have an awesome day!

I never noticed the over shield at 21:52 in the campaign before. Was that added for the anniversary edition, I don't recall it in the original xbox version.

Recommendation always has perfect timing, great vid!

The red strobes arn't really nitpicking. Seems obvious it was supposed to be as you said.

I started on the original Xbox. Halo C.E and Halo 2 were my childhood.

When I was a kid playing 343 guilty spark for the first time with my friend it was genuinely terrifying. It took us hours just to stop screaming in the corner while the poppers attacked us. Even to this day it's such a creepy level.

12:29 you can play the old graphics cutscenes by simply using the old graphics before heading into the cutscene. It'll automatically use the old version. Don't know if someone pointed it out and this video is old but whatever

I don't kill that Marine, I just walk past him.

15:22 I swear if master chief talks like this in battle with the flood!

How do you get medals to appear on the screen in campaign?

when I was playing this mission on my PC I thought that special group of marines are doing this

I played this mission when I was a kid and I was scared as fuck, like completely terrified when I first saw those zombie like creatures. I didn't even want to move from the tunnels where I felt save. That was a great feeling

I remember playing this mission for the first time. I was playing in the old graffics and when playing I eventually started seeing the dead covys when I hadn't killed them. When I saw the dead alians I started feeling like something wasn't all right. When I got to the room with the shade turrets I felt my heart sink cause I knew something was up. Now I said all this because I had my friend who knew nothing about halo play this level with new graffics and he wasn't scared at all compared to me on original graphics.

Hi Luke! I was wondering, what are your thoughts about the comparison between Halo 2 vs H2A regarding “flood heavy” levels such as The Oracle, Quarantine Zone/Sacred Icon and High Charity. Is there a chance you could do a video commentary like this one? I’m mainly just curious.

While the original CE does the Flood quite well, the game that really got me thinking that the Flood were an actual threat was the mission "High Charity" in Halo 2. You can basically never see anything and with the limited timing on the flashlight and the randomness of the alien doors with their weird pink light make for a really creepy mission. There's also the fact that this happens in the middle of a floating alien city that is in a civil war with space zombies screaming and running at you from random directions. H2A flood textures compbines with the original graphics and lighting would make the level even better.

In all reality if you truly wanted to nitpick, The Forerunners created this facility and Im sure they would have wanted it well lit and visible.

If 343 reintroduces the flood in Halo 6 I think that they're going to the same thing they did with Halo CE anniversary since they're turning Halo into a Teen rated game

As a fresh, unbiased player who just got Halo MCC on PC, I thoroughly enjoy both graphics. The newer option makes open scenery more beautiful - very great. I can feel the vision of this so called "Halo" and the original viewpoint of the developers in every direction I face. But I just don't play on the new graphics. I enjoy playing on both. With every mission, I always swap back and forth to check out how it used to be and how it is. Sure, I do agree with you with some of the points you made in this video, but overall, again, as a new player never having played the games before, experiencing them now for the first time, I still received the ominous feeling of this mission - on both old and new graphics. The new graphics add a sense of deadly beauty while the older one had the sense of nightmare. Both of which, however, I felt shared the same deep sense of creepy and horror. Your points are valid, but in all of my opinion, the anniversary graphics added some feeling the old graphics couldn't have achieved. The feeling of an open world, these "Forerunner" structures and their supposed ancient high-tech; a feeling I didn't get with the original. To give credit to the Anniversary option, in this specific mission, I enjoyed the feeling of claustrophobia. I know that may seem odd to you, but this mission, as far as I know, supposed to be a horror mission. In the old graphics, the tight corners and texture-lacking areas didn't give me a deep horror feeling. They still did but not as much as the anniversary options. In example, at the beginning where the forrest was foggy and hard to see more than 4 feet ahead of you. But the Anniversary graphics gave me a far, deeper sense of horror. The forrest glowed and has this ominous vibe radiating off of it. The trees seemingly move. My senses were overloading, my motion tracker practically useless as enemies could literally hide anywhere, behind trees, on trees, maybe on that tall rock or plateau up ahead, etc. Overall dark, and gritty. I just can't seem to see anything on the old option here. All in all, I enjoy playing on both graphical options. I enjoy swapping back and forth to see the amount of detail that was added into the game. The older graphics have this, how do I put it, classical style that I enjoy. While the newer one has this detail I enjoy. In the end, I can't just play on one of these settings. Every chance I get, in a new environment, or just because, I swap. Halo is great on both options. Anniversary, I'd say honors the original Halo whilst adding it's tiny, new spin on it. :) P.S. 1: My opinion, I think both look great. 2: I just finished Reach last week and haven't passed this mission on CE, yet. Please no spoilers, in this or the next Halo games. 😅 Playing on legendary takes a while, or maybe I just suck, idk... (Btw, I do have very minimal info in the Halo lore / series but nothing too in depth, so please don't expect much from me. Lol.)

Pretty spot on here, I hadn't played Hi res before, but from what I can see, eggghhh. The old graphics terrified me, and the fog meant you couldn't see them and subsequently made it creepy and that you were on edge for fear of being rushed