When talking about Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a lot of focus has been on the graphical updates, particularly with Halo 2: Anniversary. But at 343 Industries PAX Prime panel, the developer shed some light on the audio enhancements as well.
"We knew we wanted Halo 2: Anniversary to be a celebration, but also an innovation,” said senior audio director Paul Lipson (via Xbox Wire). “Audio is a central pillar of that.”
As such, 343 Industries has adapted and re-orchestrated Halo 2's score using the Skywalker symphony, a 40 piece opera company, and 28 singers from the San Francisco Boys Chorus. It's all mixed in surround-sound "for maximum immersion." But in addition to the new music, Halo 2's audio effects have also been completely redone "to sound and behave much more realistic than ever before."
As explained, weapons will sound different depending on where they are being fired, and all of the ambient sounds "will sound better than ever."
Don't take my word for it, though. During the panel, 343 Industries showed a video of the enhanced audio effects of gunfire in Halo 2: Anniversary.
As you can hear, the sounds are crisper, deeper with a larger echo, especially when fired across the cavernous mountain range. If you listen closely, you can also hear the ambient wildlife reacting to the gunfire as well.
Similar to the visuals, players will be able to instantly switch between new and old music and audio effects. So if you prefer the flat sound of the original Halo 2 game, that's fine.
Halo 2: Anniversary is included in Halo: The Master Chief Collection which is set to release for Xbox One on November 11, 2014.
