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Halo: Combat Evolved, also known as Halo: CE, Halo 1 or simply Halo, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game in the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title exclusive to the Xbox gaming system,[1] and is considered the platform’s “killer app”.[7] With over five million copies sold worldwide as of November 9, 2005,[8] Microsoft released versions of the game for Microsoft Windows (ported by Gearbox Software) and Mac OS X in 2003, and the game’s compelling storyline has been adapted and fleshed out into a series of novels, comic books, and live-action web shorts. The game was later released as an Xbox Original downloadable to an Xbox 360 HDD. Halo is set in the 26th century, with the player assuming the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence that occupies the Master Chief’s neural interface. Players fight various aliens while attempting to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo, a ring-shaped artificial world. The game was praised for elements such as its story, the variety of strategies players can employ, and its multiplayer mode;[9][10][11] however, the repetitiveness of its level design was often criticized by critics.