Once in a while a mod project comes around that is so big and ambitious that it catches our attention here at Game Informer. Venerance: Sigma Octanus IV is one such mod project. A dedicated group of Halo fans, who have dubbed themselves Tributary Creations, has decided to create the mod using the tools from the CryEngine 3 Software Development Kit from Crytek.
The goal of the mod is to essentially overhaul Crysis 2 and create an authentic Halo experience focusing on the events that occurred on the planet Sigma Octanus IV in Eric Nylund’s “The Fall of Reach” from chapters 19-22. You won’t find big space battles in this mod. Instead, the action will be focused solely on stealth and ground combat as you take on the role of Blue-Five, a SPARTAN-II on a mission to infiltrate the only Covenant occupied city and discover why they haven’t simply destroyed it like all the others.
The team stresses their dedication to creating an authentic and plausible experience based on their interpretation of the Halo canon as well as making logical improvements. As an example they cite that in Halo 2 the only other visible MJOLNIR equipped soldier magically grabs ammo from nowhere. In their mod, there will be ammo pouches. It might be a small detail, but for a team trying to create an experience that is as plausible as possible, little things like that can go a long way to making a focused experience.
Though no definite timeline for development has been released, the stated goal is to have a SPARTAN-II partial mod out by the end of Summer that allows gamers to play through Crysis 1, 2, and 3 as a SPARTAN-II soldier. Hopefully that will pacify anxious players until the full mod is released.
A statement from the Venerance developer page states:
“We are doing this in tribute to the makers of all things Halo; not in defiance, contradiction, or competition. Venerance is a labor of love: nothing more, nothing less. A returned handshake, fistbump, man-hug, or whatever other example you’d like. Bungie has shown love to us, 343i has shown love to us… this is us showing the love back. There are many ways to return the love, but this is the channel of expression which we are choosing.”