Halo (video game)

Halo: Combat Evolved
Artwork for US and European releases
Developer(s)	Bungie
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s)	Jason Jones
Producer(s)	Hamilton Chu
Designer(s)	John Howard
Artist(s)	Marcus Lehto
Composer(s)	Martin O'Donnell Michael Salvatori
Series	Halo
Platform(s)	Xbox Microsoft Windows Mac OS X Xbox 360 Xbox One
Release date(s)	November 15, 2001 Xbox NA: November 15, 2001 EU: March 14, 2002 JP: April 25, 2002 Microsoft Windows NA: September 30, 2003 EU: October 10, 2003 Mac OS X NA: December 3, 2003 Games on Demand NA: December 4, 2007
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer

Halo: Combat Evolved is a 2001 military science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system on November 15, 2001 , and is considered the platform's "killer app". More than five million copies were sold worldwide by November 2005. Microsoft released versions of the game for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2003, and the surrounding storyline was adapted and elaborated into a series of novels, comic books, and live-action web series. The game was later released as a downloadable Xbox Original for the Xbox 360. A high-definition remake, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, was released for Xbox 360 on the 10th anniversary of the original game's launch, and was rereleased as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on November 11, 2014, for the Xbox One.

Halo is set in the twenty-sixth century, with the player assuming the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence who occupies the Master Chief's neural interface. Players battle various aliens as they attempt to uncover the secrets of the Halo, a ring-shaped artificial world. The game has been commended for elements such as its story, the variety of strategies players can employ, and its multiplayer mode; however, the repetitive nature of its level design was criticized by some reviewers.