10 Things You Might Not Know About ‘Halo’
Master Chief has been a pretty busy Spartan since blasting onto the Xbox in 2001.
He’s saved the universe a few times, spawned a New York Times best-selling series of books, and has caught the eye of heavyweights like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg. Next up is the Nov. 11 release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a compilation of the four main Halo games along with a ton of extra goodies.
Halo’s a universe full of mysteries, though. As you get ready to step into Chief’s extremely heavy boots, brush up on your Halo trivia.
1. Steve Jobs debuted it.
Master Chief has shilled for Microsoft for so long that it’s easy to forget that, in the beginning, he was an equal opportunity fanboy.
In its early years, Halo maker Bungie developed games simultaneously for both Mac and PC. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was so taken by the work on Halo that he trotted the game out onstage during the 1999 MacWorld Expo — the first time the game was shown publicly.
Unfortunately, his joy wouldn’t last long. The following year, Microsoft bought Bungie, converted Halo into an Xbox launch title, and made Jobs furious.
2. It didn’t start off as a shooter.
These days Halo is synonymous with console first-person shooters, but it didn’t start out as one.
Before the Xbox was in the picture, Bungie had envisioned Halo as a real-time strategy game. It later moved into the action genre, becoming a third-person cooperative game (complete with a flamethrower and spear gun) before evolving into the Halo we know today. Want to see the pre-Xbox build?
3. It’s been confused with the U.N.
Running a 24-hour news desk can’t be easy, but the fact checkers for the BBC blew it big-time in 2012 during a story about Syria.
While discussing actions taken by the United Nations Security Council, the network accidentally used a logo for a different UNSC — the United Nations Space Command from Halo. To be fair, a few Spartan soldiers would make pretty good peacekeepers.
4. The UNSC is full of Real American Heroes™.
One of the first voices you hear in Halo: Combat Evolved should sound familiar if you’ve listened to the radio since the late 1990s. Captain Jacob Keyes of the UNSC is voiced by Pete Stacker, whose ridiculous readings of Budweiser’s Real American Heroes/Real Men of Genius commercials made them so successful that the beer company eventually released a CD of the ads.
5. Cortana and Princess Peach are BFFs.
Halo’s helpful Cortana and Nintendo’s perpetually kidnapped Princess Peach aren’t much alike, which makes it all the more impressive that the same person voices the two characters.
Not only does Jen Taylor give voice to Master Chief’s digital pal, but Microsoft loved her so much in the role that it brought her on to do the voice of the digital assistant for Windows Phone, too.
6. Master Chief is also a DJ.
The hero of Halo isn’t particularly social. He’s a man of few words, his best friend is a computer A.I., and he spends most of his time wandering around alone. So it’s especially hard to picture him grooving to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
But Steve Downes digs some CCR, that’s for sure. The man who gives Master Chief his voice is a DJ on WDRV (“The Drive”) in Chicago. Downes was one of several Chicago-area voice actors Bungie hired when it began casting the original Halo. He took the job but didn’t give it much thought until he was visiting a friend in Florida and kids swarmed him, Flood-like, for an autograph.
7. He’s also old enough to be your father (maybe).
He’s strong enough to wander the universe in a 1,000-pound suit, but according to Halo lore, Master Chief is no spring chicken. Having started out fighting the Covenant when he was only 14, Chief is now well into his 40s. Watch your back, Chief. Seriously, watch it. Use your core.
8. Its music owes a debt to Fred and Wilma.
Marty O’Donnell’s soundtrack is as much a part of the Halo franchise as Master Chief. But before he crossed paths with Bungie (a relationship that ended badly earlier this year), O’Donnell was in the advertising business, writing jingles for commercials — including the iconic one for Flintstones vitamins in the above video. Sorry that’s stuck in your head now.
9. Halo 2’s soundtrack is a wonderland.
In addition to O’Donnell, a few big names contributed to the music of Halo 2. Famed songwriter Nile Rodgers took the lead as producer, bringing in the likes of legendary guitarist Steve Vai to lay down some tracks.
But O’Donnell recently revealed that another guitarist, John Mayer, contributed to two tracks as well, entirely off the books. A huge Halo fan, Mayer apparently just wanted to be able to tell his friends that he was on the soundtrack to Halo 2.
10. It’s a political distraction.
It’s common for gamers to call in sick the day a big game releases, but in the case of Halo 4, it didn’t just upset employers — it upset political activists, too.
Halo 4 was released on Nov. 6, 2012 — the same day voters headed to the polls to hand the keys to the White House to Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. Some feared the excitement over the game would keep younger voters away. It even wound up with its own nickname: “The Halo Effect.”
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