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Halo 2 | |
File:Halo2boxart.jpg | |
Developer(s) | Bungie Studios |
Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
Release date | November 9, 2004 (NA) November 11, 2004 (EU & JP) PC: May 22, 2007 |
Genre | FPS |
Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer, Xbox Live |
Age rating(s) | ESRB: M PEGI: 16+ |
Platform(s) | Xbox, PC
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Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough |
The sequel to Halo, a First-person shooter on the Xbox. It features a continuation of the story, as well as the addition of the Covenant Elite soldier "Arbiter". It also has online play over Xbox Live as well as a varied array of other weapons and vehicles not found in Halo. Leading up to the release was an alternate reality game.
Story
As the Master Chief returns from Installation 04, he is welcomed with the new MJOLNIR Mark VI armor, as well as a ceremony in honor of him, the surprisingly alive Sergeant Johnson, and the dead Captain Keyes. Accepting the medal of honor for Captain Keyes is none other than his daughter—Commander Miranda Keyes.
Enemies
Covenant
- Grunt
- Jackal
- Drone
- Elite
- Brute
- Hunter
- Prophet
The Flood
- Infection Form
- Human Combat Form
- Elite Combat Form
- Carrier Form
Weapons
Human
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Covenant
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Vehicles
Human
|
Covenant
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Campaign
- Insert levels and brief descriptions here
Cooperative
Halo 2's entire campaign can be played co-operatively on one Xbox.
Split Screen
The game can be played splitscreen with up to 4 players on one Xbox. These four players can also join games being played over System Link and Xbox Live.
System Link
-16 Person Multi player
-YOU CAN NOT SYSTEM LINK CAMPAIGN
Xbox Live
- Interface
- Matchmaking
- Customs
- Friends List
- Games
- Playlists
Maps
First Maps
- Lockout
- Ascension
- Midship
- Ivory Tower
- Beaver Creek
- Burial Mounds
- Colossus
- Zanzibar
- Coagulation
- Headlong
- Waterworks
- Foundation
Bonus Map Pack
- Warlock
- Containment
Killtacular Pack
- Sanctuary
- Turf
Maptacular Pack
- Elongation
- Terminal
- Relic
- Backwash
- Gemini
Blastacular Pack
- Tombstone
- Desolation
Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack
On July 5, 2005 Bungie Studios released the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack which is downloadable content collection (not an expansion pack) to Halo 2 on Xbox Live. It was also on sale 20 USD so non-Xbox Lives individuals can get new maps and updates. It contained nine additional maps, three Auto-Updates and a few other features.
Features In-game content:
- Xbox live Auto-Update 1, Auto-Update 2 and Auto-Update 3
- New multiplayer maps: Containment, Warlock, Sanctuary, Turf, Backwash, Elongation, Gemini, Relic, and Terminal
Other content:
- Another Day at the Beach - A three minute Halo 2 side-story cutscene. It shows what happened to the second Pelican after being shot down by the Scarab in the cinematic before the level Outskirts.
- Halo 2: Killtacular - A documentary on how Bungie Studios made the nine maps included on this disc.
- Halo: Combat Evolved E3 2000 trailer
- Halo 2 August 2002 announcement trailer
- An audio test video used for testing your surround sound set-up (This video was also in Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition.)
Praise
Some of the nice features provided in Halo 2 were the excellent gameplay and sound. Most of the gameplay features from the original Halo made a return, such having faster recharging shields and no health meter to worry about, hold an offhand weapon, and go into 3rd person riding vehicles. There were also some new features added to improve gameplay. The ability of dual-wielding some weapons was brought into Halo 2, creating a more broad range of available strategies to use. The two Covenant vehicles, the Banshee and Ghost, received afterburners that allowed them to travel at higher speeds, but not shoot. The banshee could also do rolls in the air. One more interesting feature was the ability to hijack vehicles. It gave a major twist to the gameplay as a driver could be pulled out of a vehicle, human or AI. Seeing Master Chief bash through the hull of a tank and grenading the crew was also a nice sight. The audio still retained some good music as it did in the original. Some music still plays at proper times to add a kick in the game. Also, it kept the sounds for low/regenerating shields. The sound quality is good enough that the player almost never needs to look at the HUD for a second and can instead concentrate on the game. The graphics are not too bad and load time in between stages have been eliminated. The AI is praised since they do not always do the same thing over and over. Replaying a level can almost always guarantee different results and reactions from the AI.
Criticism
Concerning the single player campaign, fans of the Halo series have voiced their disappointment at the introduction of a second playable character, the Arbiter. Many feel that too much focus was given to this new character and not enough to Master Chief, the series protagonist since many wanted to hear more about the humans and not the Covenant. Gamers also criticize the technique imployed by Bungie to render textures and models in game causing ugly and distracting pop in during cutscenes and (rarely) during gameplay. Bungie has said that this rendering technique was used so that, unlike the original Halo there would be no load times betweens stages. Enemies are also very similar to the originals, and there are only a few new additions, leaving the game very repetitive and boring at times. Criticism has also been lobbed at the game for having such an abrupt ending and a somewhat brief campaign. Also, co-operative play could not be done over Xbox live. The AI is a bit boring when they are in vehicles. They tend to hit objects a lot and stay relatively predictable while inside one.