An old MC model with a sniper rifle. That red dot, we can only assume, was either a laser sight for better targeting, or perhaps a way of giving opposing players a way of finding you. Note the complex geography in the background.

This early model of Halo's protagonist showed how much it has changed over the course of the game's development. This model owes quite a bit to the marine in Marathon. With Halo 2, the Master Chief has slimmed down a bit, and now appears as a combination of this older look and the green, but not-so-lean edition that was featured in the original shipping version of Halo.

A closeup of the Banshee model against one of the gorgeous skies that typified early Halo screenshots.

The E3 2000 demo ended with the Halo marine waving a Bungie flag high atop a ridge. This shot shows a similar flag, now reading "Halo", being carried by the MC as he flees a firing Ghost. Like many of the vehicles-- the Warthog, the Banshee, and the Pelican-- these models are very close to their final forms.

Some parts of this Elite model-- such as the equine like forelegs, are recognizable-- as is the plasma rifle. Other parts, such as the chest, arms and neck, appear quite different from the final versions.

One of the early weapons was a gatling gun. It's not clear whether this gun was eliminated when the Master Chief model changed, or perhaps at a later stage.

A scene from the MWNY trailer. Marines flee in a Warthog and are pursued by Ghosts, one of which crests a ridge and overturns.

Originally, the human arsenal was to have a machete in it as a foil (pun intended) to the Covenant energy sword. The original press release mentioned "composite swords" and most assumed this was what Bungie meant. It never made it into the shipping game, and in Halo 1 even the Covenant plasma swords were not usable by the player.

The cover of Computer Gaming World was one of Halo's first cover appearances, but certainly not the last. The game that many expected to be released in the first quarter of the following year, 2000, would not actually hit the streets until late 2001, and would not come to the platforms it was originally announced for -- Mac and PC-- for another two years after that.

Although Xbox Halo's multiplayer was limited to LAN (and various gateway hacks for internet play), it was central to the early conception of Halo; nearly all the early shots show no distinction between any character referred to as "Master Chief" and other, normal human marines.

Two clearly identifiable Banshee flyers patrol a rather arid landscape in an early screenshot. Bungie revealed the Warthog in a nearly-final form in the very first shot, and showed it, the Ghost, and the Banshee in the announcement video. The vehicle-centric, squad-based type of play described in the original press release had many comparing the game to Tribes.

This show was to demonstrate the scale of battles possible in Halo-- multiple players and vehicles over large areas of territory.

The Chief fires what looks like the anti-aircraft rocket launcher that didn't make the cut at an oncoming Banshee (and misses by quite a lot, it seems. While still a third-person game, the interface for aiming projectile weapons was a major issue for developers. Early builds featured in the Evolution of Halo video show a three-reticle system to allow players to aim such weapons. It was abandoned as unworkable, especially in multiplayer.

Early Elites seem to be having a heated discussion with the MC near an overturned Warthog.

The Covenant also originally had weapons that didn't make it into the game. There were once several different kinds of rocket launchers, some anti-tank, some anti-personnel, and some anti-aircraft. It's a good guess that this one didn't make the cut when it was decided to make all Covenant weapons non-projectile; the only similar weapon in Halo 1 as shipped is the Fuel Rod Gun, used by Spec Ops grunts and molded into the arms of Hunters.