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.
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
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.
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 !!
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.
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.
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.
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.
@kklol07 Even though this is 2 years late, yes, you can very easily just press the I think TAB button on pc and the map button on controller don't know its name.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 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
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?
I would say a good fix was the centered crosshair viewmodel or just the viewmodel in general. It seems like during initial development of Halo 2, Bungie's animators intended for the crosshair to be centered but moved it down later in development and didn't change the camera angle. In Halo 2 Vista when you increase your FOV the crosshair would be below the weapon or be in the crosshair, like the shotgun for example. It bothered me a lot.
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.
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.
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.
Hey Nick new subscriber here I really like your Direct Comparison series and decided to give a sub. You are gonna have your work cut out for you with the next-gen upcoming can't wait to see your videos tho like Halo Infinite directly compared to Halo 5 and Gears 5 in Xbox One directly compared to Gears 5 on the Xbox Series X and PC. Good luck you bruther
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
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
I'm not a multiplayer guy so that doesn't play into my feelings. Halo 2 is one of my favourite games and sequel of all time. I haven't played it in 15 years but it felt like just yesterday. I couldn't believe the graphics comparison when I was playing the remaster. I could swear it always looked that great to me. Rose tinted glasses indeed. Needless to say, this was an amazing experience to play through again and reminded me what it was like to be excited about a well constructed game. I really missed that.
@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.
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 only played Halo 3 when I was really young, and I didn't even finish the game. I remember being fasinated with the art style Halo had, and I still do. I think the world of Halo is beautiful and inspiring. I'm thinking of playing all Halo games now.
The plasma rifle's sound is muffled in comparison to the older plasma rifle. That's literally the only sound design issue I found in your video! 343 did a great job this time around.
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.
good summary I would have liked some brief coverage on the nature of some of the most common bugs but I understandn how this can age a video (tho no more than picking out the missing sun/AA/lighting-foibles)
My biggest issue with both the CE and 2 Remaster is the fact that certain environmental aspects are almost totally different in the remaster. I'm all for prettier shadows/environments, but some walls, cliff edges, NPC models, or grass things are made in a way to either block your view (and no the AI's) or give you a view of an area that's actually blocked (in old graphics). Cliff edges are made either shorter or longer than the original, giving the effect of "oh crap how close go falling am I". I love the visual effects for most of it, but some of them are a bit off in the "to-scale" department
All I want is to be able to play the game with the classic look and sounds, while having the h2a blur cutscenes interspersed between. Best of both worlds.
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.
This is what a real remaster stand's for. its not neccesary to overcharge the game with ultra high texture resolutions, lighting effects / post-processing effects to look nice. Or use unnecessarily technologies that only make the performance worse. This is, in my opinion, the first thing to prioritize over all other things: get a good looking game without forgeting about good performance. Im hoping to buy the whole collection when i can, it really deserves it.
6:08 This part sums up the entire problem with his classic comparison the levees were in the pc release project cartographer is broken and is unusable for comparing with anything other then halo2 pc
I saw a couple people complaining hardcore about the atmospheric changes between the two Halo 2 editions with this new edition coming onto Steam, and it's clear from this video that they have no idea what they're talking about
![Evolution of Halo Games [2001-2023]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pG-1yTO4oqo/mqdefault.jpg)
![Evolution of Halo Games [2001-2023]](/img/tr.png)
![Halo: Master Chief Collection vs Original [PC] | Direct Comparison](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/50nTl0cBx4o/mqdefault.jpg)
Being able to switch between old and new graphics should be required for every remastered game
Wouldn't do much difference for most half assed "remasters" though.
@@XDLugia Lol Assassin's Creed 3 you'd probably stay on the old one.
@@FarikoWishless Oh yeah, as well as the Ezio Collection.
That would be so fucking cool.
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
Halo 2 is amazing and the remaster is like one the best remasters out there way better than the halo ce one
I remember the frame rate being really bad on Xbox when I played it a couple of years ago. I should go back and play to see if its been fixed.
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
Halo ce one?
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.
Bruh i see you everywhere, but yeah Halo 2 in 4k is truly breathtaking.
I see you everywhere
not you again.
It’s normal for someone to watch a lot of videos
@Just some guy with a messed up hairline yeah i know but i do get annoyed because i’ve seen many same peoples watch and commented
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.
Halo ce looks cell shaded to me lol it's weird.
@JasonX 117 Right? I was surprised when I swapped between the two. H2A weapons sound like they actually have some kick to them.
@JasonX 117 in the menu you can change it before going into the mission
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
I think the problem with CEA was that it was outsourced to Saber Interactive. It was more lazy as they reused a lot Halo 3 and Reach stuff.
Blur Studios’ H2A cutscene cinematics are GORGEOUS
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.
Miranda and Cortana look different and worse.
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.
10:08 the grass moves due to the grenade blasts shockwave
That’s a nice touch 👍
117th like!
@@user-tm3fz7qx3s 417th like
didn't notice, that's awesome
What didn't aged at all through all this years it's the awesome soundtrack.
Marty is a special gem
And the sound of the battle rifle
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.
Sultansekte Is it an audio mixing problem or a musical problem?
@@Sultansekte I know right! That was one of the biggest things I was looking forward to and they really messed it up.
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
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.
Yeah - i'm very interested in seeing how Halo 3 looks with higher resolutions and an unlocked framerate. It doesn't look too great on the XboxOne.
there's still time, 2022 will be it's 15 year anniversary, so maaaaaybe.....
@@silobobus3268 343i said they wouldn't make a halo 3a
@@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.
3:36 I forgot Avery was Sgt. Johnson's first name. Weird he would use his first name instead of what everyone else calls him.
He's new to Halo. In the Halo Reach vid he called the Elite ''Elite Covenant''.
Sergeant Major A. J. JOHNSON!!!
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
I lose all sense of immersion when I have to look at my kills and score after every mission xD
@@yomega69 turn off scoring or timer and it will disappear
@@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.
@@yomega69 No I don't think so, try it
Especially in reach where the amazing main menu got completely ruined.
Those returning character model details are INSANE. The difference between Halo 2 and 2A still impresses me to this day...
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.
The Halo 2 remaster is the best remaster I’ve ever played.
Same lol
Resident Evil Remaster takes the cake for me but H2A is a close second
@@GreggValue which one? There is a few remakes
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.
@@program4215 the gearbox port was the first Halo I played so I didn't mind
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 !!
The sound for the old smg has always bugged me it sounds like a toy gun.
At least it sounds mildly appropriate for an SMG, unlike the Halo 3 Assault Rifle, which sounds more like a toy than the actual SMG does.
Right halo 3s ar sounds plain awful
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.
@@BungieStudios Not defending COD, but the gun sounds aren't that bad unless you're playing WAW, MW3 or AW
The new SMG sound is almost too good though. It feels like a powerhouse when firing 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.
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.
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.
Wait you can?
@kklol07 Even though this is 2 years late, yes, you can very easily just press the I think TAB button on pc and the map button on controller don't know its name.
having only played the xbox version way back in 2006, playing this MCC version on my PC in 4k just makes me drool. so beautiful
Good thing Microsoft learned not to let Gearbox handle the port.
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.
Sims3 Pets veteran here and I agree with what you said.
Another great comparison. Thanks!
I gotta love the old school sound effects, but i really love how they add it more effect in the heavy shooting sounds.
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.
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.
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 concur with what most people are saying, best dang remaster. It does what every remaster should do, looks and feels like my memory of Halo 2.
Having grown up with the windows vista version of Halo 2, I realised that that version has a LOT of missing dialogue and even music.
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
Yeah no 343 always take the easy route
@@crashbash8549 literally every developer would take the easy route
@@unboundplace4616 not if it caused the game to have major issues and glitches they wouldn't
@@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.
I will be waiting for direct comparison of mafia 2 original and mafia 2 definitive edition, when it releases on 19th may this week
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.
The remaster actually looks like Halo 2 if it were made today, the CE remaster just looks....idk.. off?
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
5:47 "Going up dont mind us....."
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
I wish we got a Halo 3 Anniversary too.
Yes
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.
@1993DJC you are right but the halo 2 cutscenes are awesome and halo 3 think about it how would they make it better
@1993DJC they cant make halo 3 better
1993DJC
Halo 2 anniversary is literally Halo 2 but with modern graphics. What? XD
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.
I missed some videos, but nobody makes videos like you, I really appreciate that.
i think 343 is doing an awesome job and with every release making me more and more excited for Halo Infinite.
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!
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.
This is the most impressive remaster I’ve ever seen and played
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
Jordan Buhler I really miss the old sound for the hunters beam and all the phantom sound effects
It is probably nostalgia and the amount of times I have organised those files, but I prefer the original sound
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
Ian Condon would be a dream come true literally
The graphics look nice. The only added feature i would like is an option to use the classic weapon sounds with the new graphics.
Znakemaster yesssss pleaseeee
Yeah I agree, really prefer almost all of the old weapon sounds and I much prefer the old soundtrack
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?
I would say a good fix was the centered crosshair viewmodel or just the viewmodel in general. It seems like during initial development of Halo 2, Bungie's animators intended for the crosshair to be centered but moved it down later in development and didn't change the camera angle. In Halo 2 Vista when you increase your FOV the crosshair would be below the weapon or be in the crosshair, like the shotgun for example. It bothered me a lot.
I've had MCC since 2016 and I still love those H2 Remastered gun sounds
Grenade sound from the original game is almost immediately recognized and unique. New one is just generic boring explosion.
Roman Kinyakin one of many ruined sound effects in the anniversary version
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.
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.
In regards to the Plasma Rifle I definitely prefer the old audio. It had more identity.
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.
Urggghhh the shots of Halo 2 are hitting me right in the nostalgia feels. That and the music.
the upgraded sound effects sound fine, however, the original sounds are just iconic. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the updated sound effects.
i hope you'll do mafia 2 vs mafia 2 remastered when it releases
I will be doing that
@@Nick930 thanks
yess plz do
Master Chief? You mind telling me you’re doing at McDonalds? Sir, finishing this Big Mac
Heart disease MC.
Funny because this isn't a 2020 PC remaster. Halo 2 was remastered years before MCC on PC.
Hey Nick new subscriber here I really like your Direct Comparison series and decided to give a sub. You are gonna have your work cut out for you with the next-gen upcoming can't wait to see your videos tho like Halo Infinite directly compared to Halo 5 and Gears 5 in Xbox One directly compared to Gears 5 on the Xbox Series X and PC. Good luck you bruther
I just wish we could have original sounds with remastered graphics.
Same I really hate the phantoms sound effects in remastered graphics it sounds terrible
Not really, the old one sounds outdated
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
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
Me back then: Getting own'd by really good players.
Me today: Getting own'd by really good players.
This switch to old and new in halo masterchief collection is insane and 343 maked with love this remaster. I admit that
I'm not a multiplayer guy so that doesn't play into my feelings. Halo 2 is one of my favourite games and sequel of all time. I haven't played it in 15 years but it felt like just yesterday. I couldn't believe the graphics comparison when I was playing the remaster. I could swear it always looked that great to me.
Rose tinted glasses indeed.
Needless to say, this was an amazing experience to play through again and reminded me what it was like to be excited about a well constructed game. I really missed that.
Look how they did CE dirty. We demand a 20 year old remaster! That is like H2A, faithful and accurate art style.
023BTM damn I just realized that next year will be the 10 year anniversary of halo CE anniversary. Wow time flies.
Bossman very scary/strange
Halo Custom Edition + Chimera + Combat Evolved Refined is what you are looking for !!
Both anniversaries are better than the original imo
@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.
While I like the remaster, I still just LOVE the classic graphics and always play on those
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 only played Halo 3 when I was really young, and I didn't even finish the game.
I remember being fasinated with the art style Halo had, and I still do. I think the world of Halo is beautiful and inspiring.
I'm thinking of playing all Halo games now.
You should really great games
I don't know if you are aware of Mandaloregaming, but you in depth analysis of the game really remind me of his own style. Kudos, my dude and subbed.
No clue who that is but thanks
The plasma rifle's sound is muffled in comparison to the older plasma rifle. That's literally the only sound design issue I found in your video! 343 did a great job this time around.
Absolutely loving getting to play the Multiplayer again, but all of the hit detection and rocket/grenade issues are getting me absolutely worked over
I am actually enjoying a 2004 game in 2020 with enhanced visuals. These games were definitely ahead of its times.
Why are effects like the Scarab Gun so low res? Were they more focused on the world itself?
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.
Nimrod except they downgraded sound effects for hunters beam and phantoms
good summary
I would have liked some brief coverage on the nature of some of the most common bugs but I understandn how this can age a video (tho no more than picking out the missing sun/AA/lighting-foibles)
It's actually breathtaking now
wow those graphics are 10 years old and the anniversary still looks great the difference between 10 years then and now is interesting
My biggest issue with both the CE and 2 Remaster is the fact that certain environmental aspects are almost totally different in the remaster. I'm all for prettier shadows/environments, but some walls, cliff edges, NPC models, or grass things are made in a way to either block your view (and no the AI's) or give you a view of an area that's actually blocked (in old graphics). Cliff edges are made either shorter or longer than the original, giving the effect of "oh crap how close go falling am I". I love the visual effects for most of it, but some of them are a bit off in the "to-scale" department
Man, 343 deserves all the love by staying committed to the halo series
do u still feel that way now ??
Fantastic video mate, going to invest in halo 2 again as it was and still is my favourite title.
Thanks for the hard work!
All I want is to be able to play the game with the classic look and sounds, while having the h2a blur cutscenes interspersed between. Best of both worlds.
This guy was seriously playing on legendary. Seeing that causes my heart pain.
Why?
The anniversary edition has some spectacular light shows when just watching the Ai Duke it out
6 years later. I can’t believe it.
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.
Use classic graphics then
Hey nick can you please showcase a comparison between ac3 and ac3 remastered please ?
The remaster visuals look amazing but I'll always play in classic because of how easy it is to see enemies
This is what a real remaster stand's for. its not neccesary to overcharge the game with ultra high texture resolutions, lighting effects / post-processing effects to look nice. Or use unnecessarily technologies that only make the performance worse. This is, in my opinion, the first thing to prioritize over all other things: get a good looking game without forgeting about good performance. Im hoping to buy the whole collection when i can, it really deserves it.
The sound design was TOP NOTCH with this one.
By far the best Halo game ever made. No question.
I just came...Nothing brings back childhood memories as Halo 2
It definitely is a great remaster. The change of the weapon and the effects makes are my favourite changes so far
the audio effects of og halo 2 are better than the remastered version
I noticed the CE remaster just used a ton of halo reach assets
6:08
This part sums up the entire problem with his classic comparison the levees
were in the pc release project cartographer is broken and is unusable for comparing with anything other then halo2 pc
how did he scratch up his gear after JUST getting it? he was just bitched at on cario station about his equuipment being fryed.
I saw a couple people complaining hardcore about the atmospheric changes between the two Halo 2 editions with this new edition coming onto Steam, and it's clear from this video that they have no idea what they're talking about
The first thing i notice in the original graphics for MCC Halo CE and Halo 2 is the lack of anti-aliasing.
2:42 I'm glad they got Nicholas Cage on for the new marine model :)