Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief a genetically enhanced super-soldier is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
Product Information
Software Sub Type: First Person Shooter
Software Name: Halo 2 - Complete Product
Features & Benefits:
Single-player:
Be the hero. Take on the Covenant on your own and live firsthand the epic saga of the Master Chief. Wield dual weapons. Use previously undiscovered Covenant arms. Drive vehicles and pilot aircraft. Battle intelligent enemy A.I., and all-new alien opponents.
Cooperative play:
Team up with a friend and save humankind together.
Xbox Live multiplayer:
Improving upon the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 is Xbox Live-enabled, allowing up to 16 gamers to play against people around the world.
Halo 2 redefines the social experience of online gaming. New technology lets groups of friends stick together, find games, and meet new opponents.
Players can split into multiple teams, form clans, or go head-to-head against new friends or old enemies.
Players can personalize Covenant Elite or Human Spartan armor with custom colors and emblems to enhance battlefield recognition.
Players can visit Bungie.net for additional game enhancements, including in-depth statistics and worldwide rankings.
Game Rating: ESRB - M - (Mature) - Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
Platform Support: Xbox
License Information
License Type: Complete Product
License Pricing: Standard
License Quantity: 1 User
Miscellaneous
Compatibility:
System Link 2-16
Dolby 5.1 Surround
Features:
•
Master Chief can now wield two weapons at once, board Covenant vehicles and steal Covenant weapons like the incredible double energy sword
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Lead an all-new unit of super-soldiers, the ODST -- tougher, badder and deadlier versions of your old comrades
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New enemies, allies and surprises around every corner - intense combat action with enhanced AI and real-time lighting
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Immense single-player action with maassive landscapes and huge cities to explore and defend - destructible and interactive environments
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Take the action online with your Xbox Live and switch sides, to become a Covenant Elite!
Average Customer Review:
( 838 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
191 of 244 found the following review helpful:
Brilliant sequel with only a few flawsNov 15, 2004
By Lisa Shea
"medieval swordfighting enthusiast"
I just finished the full walkthrough for Halo 2, as well as played a number of multiplayer games. I'm finally ready with the review of this awesome game!
First off, this is obviously the sequel to the hugely popular initial Halo game. You are Master Chief, a space marine who is sent out to battle the enemies. You are fighting the Covenant, who are your main foes, but you also run into the Flood, who are a space parasite that wants to eat all life. In addition, there are mechanical creatures on Halo who want to kill pretty much anything including the Flood. So each location and creature type has its own look, feel, attitudes and reactions.
The graphics are simply gorgeous, from the rippling water to the clouds in the sky and reflections off of surfaces. I love taking screenshots of this game. The music is also extremely well done, in that the quality is always very high. But it's a little bizarre to be going from new age lilting softness in one heated battle to high intensity rock music in another and so on. It doesn't necessary track to the location you're in, either. It's just whatever the designers felt like putting in.
The gameplay and plot is where this game really shines. Your characters that interact with you are simply BRILLIANT in how they each do what a real live creature would do. Grunts are my favorite - these little Covenant front-liners are brave and talkative when they're in groups, but when you whittle them down they suddenly turn and flee, shrieking at the top of their lungs. Your teammates leap into vehicles with you, either driving or shooting depending on your preference. They'll come alongside you to give you support, and duck for cover when appropriate.
The quips the characters come out with mid-battle still make me laugh out loud. In one sequence you are the covenant Arbitor and are working your way through a room. You come across a pair of grunts and a jackal under attack, and take out the enemies. The grunt comes running to you in glee, shouting, "Arbitor! My savior!" Then he pauses and adds, "Jackal, say thank you to the Arbitor!" :)
The cut scenes are equally as brilliant and are truly movie quality in the interactions. The timing, dialogue, everything is great. The little touches are everywhere. In one sequence, the Sergeant is preparing his troops to get ejected in pods down to the surface of Halo. He walks past the Master Chief's pod and thumps twice on it, as if to say "All OK in there, ready to go?" Right on beat, you see Master Chief inside his pod, thumping once back in response. You really forget that these are just computer generated characters.
Multiplayer is the stellar addition to this release and there are reasons to be thrilled. You can play on a large variety of maps, in a number of styles, and there is even going to be downloadable content in the future.
That all being said, there are of course a few non-stellar aspects to this release. First, the ending SUCKS. The first one was bad enough with its "Oh I bet there is another Halo out there" so you don't even feel like you really saved the world. In this one, not only is it not a "you're done but it's not over" ending - it's pretty much cut off mid-battle! That is INCREDIBLY frustrating for a gameplayer. Obviously they want you to buy Halo 3, but that's going to be a year or two away. Can't we have some satisfaction in the meantime?
Next, the game is really short, even on normal mode. We had a friend start the game up Sunday morning at about 12:30 and he was done with the entire game by around 8. You can have fun replaying it on the harder levels, but that's a rather quick game.
Finally, the multiplayer, while brilliant in concept, is lacking in implementation right now. There are two general ways to play - either you set up a game yourself for friends ONLY, or you launch into the ether to play a quick match. If you get up your own game you can control all the settings, but you can only invites people on your friends list. That limits the chances of having a full game unless you are VERY proactive in seeking friends. The quick match game only lets you make a few choices, and then in essence you are auto-connected with other people who are also actively seeking those game types. You can't browse or look. You just say "I want to play X type of game" and then you wait - literally for 5 minutes or more sometimes - as the servers gather together other people who are also actively seeking that game type. Then the game auto launches without you even knowing who is on your team or if you want to play with them. It's very frustrating to people who are used to the more customizeable lobby situations.
Still, the online experience can always be tweaked going forward, and the base gameplay is amazingly good. I highly recommend the game to anyone who enjoys shooting / strategy games - but you might want to rent it for a week first, to see if what it offers to you after that point is going to keep you playing.
39 of 48 found the following review helpful:
Pretty damn goodNov 10, 2004
By a gamer
"blahblahbkl"
I loved the original Halo. It had everything I wanted in a game. Good graphics, excellent story, and lots of action.
Halo 2 is essentially its predecessor, except better. I know that sounds unlikely, but the few things that I didn't like about the original game such as bad Marine AI and monotonous maps are gone in this version.
For example, I was playing last night, and I was on the second level where you and a team of Marines are going through an African city killing everything. A Marine in front of me gets killed as soon as he rounds a corner. Instead of charging ahead, the rest of the squad hugs the wall. So, I swap my sniper rifle for Sarge's auto rifle (another kickass feature, you can swap guns with marines). Since the Marines are better shots, Sarge charges ahead and takes out the Covenant sniper. The marines and I then charge ahead and waste the covenant.
Here is a summary of cons and pros about the game.
PROS: Marines are much, much more intelligent.
You can swap guns with marines.
marines can drive vehicles on their own now.
the flood return
AH TOO MANY TO LIST CANT LIST THEM ALL
Cons: The only bad things I noticed so far were some minor graphial glitches, such as guns and vehicles sticking through walls. Also, every time it loads a charecter in a cutscene, a milisecond later the game seems to "draw" the person. It is kind of wierd looking, but in no way hurts the game.
If you are into a good sci-fi story or lots of action get this game. Also, Halo 1 fans wont be dissapointed, all changes were for the better.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Cliffhanger ending? Only half a game here!?!Nov 12, 2004
By shrike_machina I don't believe this! I was just getting into this game & the credits started rolling! I was on my way back to Earth,getting excited & anticipating the most awesome battle & then the friggin credits started. And then after the credits were finished there was a scene of Cortana talking to the Elder God from Soul Reaver. I'm not kidding,it looked just like Audrey II,the plant from Little Shop Of Horrors & spoke like the Elder God from Soul Reaver. WTF???
The game was awesome up until that point. I only have 3 complaints;
1. The cliffhanger ending,I hate cliffhangers!
2. The Elder God rip-off from Soul Reaver.
3. Not enough places to use vehicles.
I haven't played the multiplayer game yet so this is only about the 1 player campaign. I would have given this game 5 stars if that cliffhanger ending didn't piss me off so badly. It feels like they only released the first half of the game & we're gonna have to wait another 3 years (or more) to see the second half. I hate when they do this crap. This is gonna piss a lot of people off!!!
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Good, but could be betterSep 01, 2005
By Triple A
"Aaron"
Halo 2 has good gaphics, good game play, and a good story. This game is a great sequel to the first. It has great multiplayer split screen game play.You get to be spartan and the Elite alien, you get to play both sides of the Halo 2 story! The thing that I don't like about Halo 2 is that the Flood returns. I hated fighting the flood in the first Halo, and wasn't expecting to fight them again in Halo 2. The main theme of Halo 2 was that you were going to have to protect earth from the aliens, you did do that, but I was expecting to fight them on earth the intire game, but you don't, you fight on earth for 2 levels and then you don't come back untill the end of the game.
This game still is a great game despite the few flaws. When you beat the game, split screen is still a very fun part of the game if you have a friend to play with (its acually my favorite part of the game).This is a great game so go play it!
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Way to ShortNov 13, 2004
By G. Watkins The game is really fun, but you'll be through it quickly. My guess is that in actual play time, from start to finish, this game is less than half the length of the original Halo. I feel that many loyal fans of Halo will feel betrayed by this undersized sequel.
based on 838 reviews
( 838 customer reviews )
