Halo: The Art of Building Worlds

by Martin Robinson

Charting the glorious decade that spans Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo: Reach, Halo: The Great Journey is a lavish and spectacular review of ten years of groundbreaking game art brought together in one place as never before. 

Halo: The Great Journey is the ultimate gallery of the Halo universe - from characters to weapons and much more; with sketches and concept art by acclaimed artists such as Ashley Wood, the detailed interiors and sweeping landscapes of Alex Chu, and Frank Capezzuto's breathtaking spacescapes. 

In addition there is art from Halo: Legends - the anime DVD - book covers, comic pages, marketing images and more; plus an introduction from "the face of Halo," Frank O'Connor. 

A celebration of visual splendor - from the Spartans themselves to the breathtaking vistas of dawn breaking on an alien world - Halo: The Great Journey is dramatic, grandiose and utterly awesome. 

Genres: Art, Science Fiction, Video Games, Reference, Gaming

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2011

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up for the concept art rather than the game - which I will admit I think I have watched about 10 minutes of and never played - I am not a gamer and to honest I am just not built for it. However I can appreciate the work that goes in to modern games especially something like Halo where near cinema level budgets and resources are often used.

This book contains the story for the first 3 main games although it does refer to other media and hints at the future of the franchise - however what catches the eye is really the artwork.

The projected was able to secure the services of many talented artist and this book represents what I suspect is a tiny fraction of the work they created. As a result you have an insight in to the creative processes and the material generated that went in to delivering the final game.

For he this is the play ground of dreams where imaginations are let free and literally the sky (and the space above it) are the limit. These are the sorts of books that really give insight in to not only the project but also the artists minds - something you would rarely get to see without such books as these.

[Parka · Rating 4 out of 5]

(More pictures on my blog)

When I first realise that another Halo art book is coming out, I was wondering what they are going to put inside.

Turns out this art book is sort of a look back at Halo from the art. That's looking back at 10 years of Halo, which really needs a few books to be comprehensive. So this book tries to cover in its 192 pages, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: ODST, Halo: Wars, Halo: Legends and Halo: Reach. Seven titles if you're counting.

The art is grouped in chapters that look at the environment, the enemies, vehicles, alien beings, the good guys, Master Chief and homeworlds.

The art is beautiful. There are sketches and also huge paintings. Some are development art, some made it to final. Selected bits are featured so you only get snippets of information, bits and pieces of the whole Halo story. There isn't much duplication compared to other art books because the book shows new art and is made up of stuff that were left out in other books.

Because of the immense scope of Halo, this book is a bit underwhelming even though the art is spectacular. Something in my mind keeps telling me there's more. If you've seen Halo Encyclopedia, you know that there's a whole lot more.

If you want to check out more Halo art, you can look for The Art of Halo: Creating A Virtual World, The Art of Halo 3 (incredibly rare), Halo: Reach Legendary Edition Guide (art section at the back) and Halo Encyclopedia (the ultimate reference).

[Reggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful selection of artwork from the Bungie Halo games, felt a bit scattered at times due to the breadth of work but still awe-inspiring.

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous concept art collection from the first cycle of Halo games (the good ones 😜). Landscapes, ships, structures and characters. A must for any Halo fans' coffee table!
Funky slip case too.