Halo 2

Halo 2
General Information
Release Date(s)	November 9, 2004 Xbox NA: November 9, 2004 EU: November 11, 2004 Windows AU: May 17, 2007 NA: May 31, 2007 EU: June 8, 2007
Genre	First-person shooter
Platform(s)	Xbox, Windows, Steam, Microsoft Store PC
Game Mode(s)	Single-player campaign, Multiplayer, Map Editor (PC only)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M) for Blood and Gore, Language, Violence PEGI: 16 for Violence ACB: MA (15+) for medium animated violence
Series Information
Series	Halo (series)
Predecessor	Halo: Combat Evolved
Successor	Halo 3
Technical Details
Engine	Blam! Engine
Production Information
Developer(s)	Bungie Studios Hired Gun (Windows)
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s)	Jason Jones
Producer(s)	Michael Bastien, Hamilton Chu, Curtis Creamer
Programmer(s)	Paul Bertone, Jaime Griesemer, Charlie Gough, Chris Butcher, Michael Evans, Ben Wallace
Artist(s)	Marcus Lehto
Writer(s)	Joseph Staten
Composer(s)	Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori

Halo 2 is a first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released for the Xbox on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved.

The sequel features an upgraded game engine, added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. The game shipped with global multiplayer matchmaking via Microsoft's Xbox Live service. In Halo 2's campaign story, the player assumes the roles of either the human Master Chief or the alien Arbiter in a 26th-century conflict between the human United Nations Space Command, the genocidal Covenant, and the parasitic Flood.

Halo 2 was a commercial and critical success. The game became the most popular title on Xbox Live, holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later. Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game with more than 8 million copies sold worldwide. The game received critical acclaim, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component. In comparison, the campaign and its cliffhanger ending was divisive.

The game was highly influential; its multiplayer features, including matchmaking, lobbies, and clans, became commonplace, and its marketing heralded the beginnings of video games as blockbuster media events. A port of the game for Windows Vista was released in 2007, followed by a high-definition remastered version, Halo 2 Anniversary, released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 2014 for Xbox One and for PC on May 12, 2020.

Campaign

The campaign consists of 15 levels, 14 of which are playable.

Mission	Description
The Heretic	"For failure such as this, no punishment is too great." (cutscene)
The Armory	"Suit up, prepare for battle." (tutorial)
Cairo Station	"Defend the station's MAC gun from Covenant boarders."
Outskirts	"Rally scattered marines, clear hostile contacts from the old-city."
Metropolis	"Take the bridge, break the Covenant's grip on the city-center."
The Arbiter	"Infiltrate a Forerunner facility, quell the heresy within."
The Oracle	"Kill the Heretic Leader. The Prophets' will be done."
Delta Halo	"A Covenant army stands between you and Regret. Get to work."
Regret	"You heard the lady. Locate the Prophet, take him down."
Sacred Icon	"Succeed where others have failed. Lower the shield protecting the Sacred Icon."
Quarantine Zone	"Parasites, humans - no matter. The Icon must be found."
Gravemind	"The Prophets have the Index and plan to use it? Over your dead body."
Uprising	"This is certain: The Brutes shall pay for the blood they have spilled."
High Charity	"Cortana can handle the Index - stopping Truth is up to you."
The Great Journey	"Form an unexpected alliance, keep Tartarus from activating the ring."

Thel 'Vadamee, the Sangheili Commander in charge of protecting the halo that was destroyed in the first game, before receiving the Mark of Shame and becoming the Arbiter.

Plot

The game begins on High Charity, the mobile capital city of the Covenant. The former Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, Thel 'Vadamee, is being tried before the High Council for his failure to protect Halo. Despite his insistence that the Flood hampered his abilities, the Hierarchs who lead the council, the High Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret, deem him guilty of failing to protect the Sacred Ring. 'Vadamee is then stripped of his rank and branded with the Mark of Shame by Tartarus, the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae (Brutes).

Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson with Cortana and Lord Hood in Cairo Station.

The story then turns to Earth's Orbital Defense Platform Cairo Station, where Master Chief Petty Officer Master Chief receives the new MJOLNIR Mark VI armor from the Master Gunnery Sergeant. Avery Johnson, recently promoted to Sergeant Major, arrives to take Master Chief to an awards ceremony overseen by Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood for the dual purposes of awarding meritorious acts and boosting the morale of the surviving human population and noted as a war hero (Master Chief has already received all medals except for the "Prisoner of War" medal).

Master Chief activates the Covenant's bomb.

The festivities are soon interrupted by Cortana reporting "15 Covenant Capital Ships holding position just outside the kill zone," signaling the start to the Covenant Siege of Earth. UNSC Marine forces along with Master Chief protect the station from the invading Covenant Naval infantry but other stations were destroyed by the Covenant. After sending the bomb that the Covenant had placed on the station back into space (destroying several ships) he landed on the UNSC In Amber Clad and then they head to the surface of Earth to New Mombasa to fight off the Covenant Army, led by the High Prophet of Regret. After the Covenant invasion force is halted by the UNSC defenses, the Prophet of Regret flees Earth with Miranda Keyes, Captain Keyes' daughter, and her detachment in pursuit on the UNSC In Amber Clad. The hasty in-atmosphere jump devastates the city of New Mombasa; destroying the Space elevator and scattering its wreckage for miles around.

Thel 'Vadamee becomes the Arbiter.

The story turns to the disgraced Sangheili Commander, Thel 'Vadamee, who is given the chance of redemption by the High Prophets of Truth and Mercy in taking up the mantle of the Arbiter, along with the imminent mortality of the task. The new Arbiter accepts and becomes the will of the Prophets, seeking to complete the impossible task assigned for redemption from his crimes. The Arbiter is tasked with the assassination of a Heretic Leader, who is disillusioned with the Covenant following the events of Installation 04 up to its destruction.

The Arbiter encounters the Heretic Leader and 343 Guilty Spark.

The Arbiter tracks the Heretic Leader throughout the gas mine (battling the Heretics and the Flood) where the Heretics sought refuge. When the Arbiter is finally able to face the Heretic Leader, 'Refumee asserts his belief that the Prophets have lied about the Great Journey, punctuating this with the entry of 343 Guilty Spark, whom both Sangheili consider to be an Oracle of the Forerunners, the ancient race the Covenant hold as gods. Before the Arbiter could learn more of the claims, the battle resumes, and the Heretic Leader is killed before any meaningful discourse taking place. Tartarus appears to extract him and Guilty Spark, preventing the Arbiter from learning any information from Spark. He leaves, not knowing what caused the Heretics to betray their sacred oaths to the Covenant.

The UNSC discover another halo, Installation 05.

Turning back to Master Chief's story, Keyes exits slipspace in her ship undetected with the Prophet of Regret unaware that he had been followed. To the surprise of the pursuers, they discover that Regret led them to another Halo Ring. Keyes soon determines that their objective is to Capture the Prophet of Regret and stop the Covenant from firing the Halo Rings; Master Chief is dropped onto the surface of Installation 05 with ODSTs to remove Regret. In the course of pursuing Regret,

Master Chief battles the Prophet of Regret

Master Chief discovers with the aid of Cortana that the Prophet intends to personally activate Halo, in the belief that it will propel true believers on the Great Journey. Keyes decides that the new revelation about Regret's intentions warrants his death, which Master Chief successfully achieves. But before being able to make his escape, the Covenant and High Charity, which has just arrived, attempt to kill Master Chief by glassing the area, and he jumps into the lake surrounding Regret's location. Incapacitated from the shock of the Covenant bombardment, Master Chief is last seen being dragged into the depths of the lake by the tentacles of the Gravemind, an ancient and highly intelligent Flood form.

The Arbiter with Sangheili forces in the Quarantine Zone.

The story shifts to the Arbiter on High Charity, in orbit around the ring. The Hierarchs had declared Regret's death to be the Sangheili's failure, and they are removed as the protectors of the Prophets, who bestow the role to the Jiralhanae, causing more tension between the Jiralhanae and Sangheili who are already at odds with each other. With the new ring discovered, Prophets Truth and Mercy inquire Guilty Spark on how to activate it, and dispatch the Arbiter to recover the Sacred Icon which will light the ring.

Miranda Keyes grabbing the Index.

Making his way through the Quarantine Zone facing scores of Flood and Sentinels on the surface of Installation 05 seeking the Activation Index, the Arbiter makes his way into the Library and captures the Index along with Keyes and Johnson after they recovered it from its protective housing. Before he can take possession of the Index, Tartarus again intervenes in the Arbiter's task. After taking the Index into his own personal possession, Tartarus then reveals that the Hierarchs intended for his death to oust the Sangheili. His treachery revealed, Tartarus knocks the Arbiter unconscious down a shaft in the Index chamber to the abyss below.

Gravemind with a captured Master Chief and Arbiter.

Beneath the Library, Master Chief finds himself in the clutches of the Gravemind, the creature that acts as the sentient intelligence of the Flood. Although the Arbiter had fallen from a great height, he is saved from plunging to his death by the Gravemind's tentacles. It is within the Gravemind's chamber where the Arbiter and Master Chief meet. In addition, the Prophet of Regret is infected and assimilated into its mass. Also introduced is 2401 Penitent Tangent, Monitor of Installation 05. Both characters act as exposition to the Arbiter, as Regret remains steadfast to his faith, and the Monitor is fully aware of its status as a weapon. the Arbiter is further led to question his faith by both Master Chief and the Gravemind itself, as they both try to convince the Sangheili that the Covenant's belief on the Halos is a lie, revealing that the Halos destroy life, not save it. This information, as well the information of the imminent genocide of the Sangheili lead the Arbiter reluctantly joining Master Chief in the mission to stop the ring from being activated. The Gravemind sends both the Master Chief and the Arbiter to different locations to help stop the Index from reaching its destination.

Cortana watching Master Chief and the dreadnought leave.

Master Chief is sent to High Charity to retrieve the Index, entering a Covenant-filled room and interrupting Truth's broadcast. The Prophet, after escaping assassination, flees to the Dreadnought. Master Chief witnesses the conflict between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae, and saves a few Marines along the way. Meanwhile, the Flood, under the control of the Gravemind, crash into High Charity using the UNSC In Amber Clad. Master Chief witnesses Truth's escape on a Phantom, and Mercy infected by the Flood; the Prophet tells the Spartan that Truth is going to Earth to "finish what we started." After boarding the Dreadnought through an energy conduit, he leaves Cortana behind, but promises that he will come back for her.

Arbiter confronts Tartarus in Halo's control room, trying to stop him from activating the ring.

Meanwhile, the Arbiter is teleported close to Halo's control room to halt the Covenant from activating the ring. There, he finds many dead Sangheili, which were killed by the Jiralhanae. With the help of a few deployed Sangheili, and sympathetic Unggoy and Mgalekgolo, he fights his way to meet Rtas 'Vadumee, who is surprised to hear that the Jiralhanae murdered the Sangheili High Councilors. They fight their way to a Scarab, controlled by Sergeant Johnson, who forcefully initiates an uneasy alliance between the humans and the Sangheili.

Installation 05 sending a pulse to the Halo Array, signaling they be put on standby for a remote activation from the Ark.

Through the combined efforts of Johnson and the Arbiter, they successfully breach the Control Room doors, and Arbiter enters the Control Room to confront Tartarus. In the Control Room, he hears the truth of the Halos directly from 343 Guilty Spark. Still blinded by faith, Tartarus forced Miranda Keyes to activate Halo. Many Zealots and High Councilors fought with the Arbiter in his final fight against Tartarus, and eventually managed to kill him. Once Tartarus is defeated, Miranda grabs the Index just in time to stop Halo from firing. However, 343 Guilty Spark says that this has activated a failsafe protocol, causing the Installation to send a signal to the rest of the Halo Array, putting all the Halos on standby for remote activation from the Ark.

Master Chief and the dreadnought arrive at Earth.

The Forerunner dreadnought arrives at Earth with Master Chief on board. The UNSC declares that a new contact has entered orbit, but the ship is not one of theirs. Admiral Hood gives the order to take it out. In response, Master Chief broadcasts to the UNSC, "This is Spartan one-one-seven! Can anyone hear me, over?!" Admiral Hood answers Chief's call, asking him what is doing on the that. Master Chief tells him that he is "finishing this fight."

Gravemind questions Cortana

In a scene after the credits, High Charity has been completely taken over by the Flood, as thousands of Flood spores are visible throughout the air, floating along the view. The Gravemind speaks of satisfaction of being free of his "empty grave," and suddenly Cortana appears as a hologram on a pedestal in the room. The Gravemind then states that there are questions that linger in his mind, which Cortana must answer. Cortana replies, "Alright...shoot." The screen then turns black before any question is heard.

Characters

The defeat of the Covenant in the first Halo game was only a temporary victory, as the alien attackers have renewed their mission to wipe out all of humanity. Despite the human military force's and Master Chief's efforts, the Covenant have breached the Earth's defenses and have left its inhabitants in a dismal situation. In the midst of desperation, players assume the role of Master Chief and lead the resistance against the Covenant to save the people of Earth from a gruesome demise.

Halo 2 features an immense and epic single player mode, as the story picks up shortly after the ending of the first game. The story delves deeper into the society of the Covenant, their goals, beliefs, and alliances, as well as continuing Master Chief's story to put an end to the Covenant threat on Earth as well as another Halo ring. Halo 2 also introduces the Jiralhanae, they are shown in-campaign as large, hairy, ape-like beasts; although they do not sport Energy Shields like the Sangheili, their immense bulk and strength still yield them as formidable foes.

Major Characters	Minor Characters
UNSC Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 Cortana Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood Covenant Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee Commander Rtas 'Vadumee Chieftain Tartarus High Prophet of Truth High Prophet of Mercy High Prophet of Regret The Heretics Heretic Leader Sesa 'Refumee Forerunner 343 Guilty Spark Flood Gravemind	UNSC Fleet Admiral Harper Major Easley Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker Staff Sergeant Marcus Banks Corporal Perez McKenzie Lance Corporal Jones Private Butkus Private O'Brien Private Parsons Private Walpole Unnamed Marine Lieutenant Cairo Station Armorer Covenant Prophet of Disdain Prophet of Objection Forerunner 2401 Penitent Tangent

Gameplay

Campaign

A player can play the campaign alone on a single-player mode or on a split-screen co-operative mode. The game follows a linear series of episodes that differ from Halo: Combat Evolved. The player will play as both Master Chief and a new character, a troubled Covenant Sangheili named Thel Vadamee, but known only as the Arbiter in game. The player has an adjusted arsenal of weapons, some of which have been altered or removed from Halo: Combat Evolved, and new weapons being introduced.

One of the biggest alteration to game-play is perhaps the ability to Dual Wield small weapons; this allows for twice the firepower at the expense of being unable to throw grenades or melee without dropping the left weapon. In terms of vehicles, all vehicles from the first game remain except the M12A1 Warthog LAAV (Rocket Warthog) from the PC version, and the Spirit Dropship. Also, a few new vehicles are introduced. In Halo 2, however, the previously indestructible vehicles can now be destroyed and the player is able to "board" an enemy vehicle by climbing on and knocking the driver out or, in the case of tanks, punching the driver to death to claim the vehicle, or shoving a grenade into the cockpit to destroy it outright. The same can be done by an enemy to the player when driving.

When playing as the Arbiter, the player's flashlight is replaced with a rechargeable Active camouflage that lasts for ten seconds, giving the player a preemptive advantage on unsuspecting enemies.

The player can have a variety of allies; if they are playing as Master Chief, they will be assisted by UNSC Marines, and occasionally ODSTs. However, the Arbiter is joined by Unggoy (Grunts), Kig-Yar (Jackals), Mgalekgolo (Hunters), and other Sangheili (Elites), allowing for deeper insight into Covenant culture.

Multiplayer

In addition to the single player mode, Halo 2 also features a redesigned multiplayer mode. While the first game limited players to LAN connectivity, Halo 2 takes multiplayer online by way of Xbox Live.

Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 allowed players to compete with each other over the Xbox Live online service, in addition to the original's support for split-screen and System Link multiplayer. Halo 2's Xbox Live mode offered a unique approach to online gaming that is intended to alleviate some of the problems that have plagued online First-person shooters in the past. Traditionally, one player sets his or her computer or console up as a game server (or host), specifying the game type and map and configuring other settings. The game software then used a service like Xbox Live or GameSpy to advertise the game to the world at large; other players choose which game to join based upon criteria such as the map and game options each host is offering as well as the ping times they are able to receive.

In Halo 2, Xbox Live players do not choose to host games, and they do not get to specify individual maps and options to search for. Instead, players sign up for "playlists" that are geared to different styles of play. For example, the "Rumble Pit" playlist offers a variety of "free-for-all" game types, primarily Slayer or variations there of; "Team Skirmish" offers a number of 4-on-4 team games, which are primarily objective-based games like Capture the Flag; "Big Team Battle Skirmish" is similar to Team Skirmish but allows teams of up to 8 players. Other playlists allow various things such as matches between different clans. The Xbox Live servers create games automatically from the pool of players that have signed up for each playlist, choosing a game type and map automatically and selecting one player to serve as the game's host. Players can create small "parties" with their friends and enter games together as teammates or, in Rumble Pit, adversaries. They can also play custom gametypes like regular multiplayer. Unranked gametypes allow people on the same Xbox console without an Xbox Live account to play with them as "guests." If the Xbox console hosting the game drops out, the Xbox Live service automatically selects a new host from among the remaining players so the game can continue.

Since launching in November 2004, the service has been very popular with gamers. While some players resent the loss of individual control inherent in Halo 2's approach to online gaming, others feel it provides a significantly improved gaming experience compared to more traditional online First-person shooters. Bungie's servers match players by skill level, which produces notably balanced matches that players often consider fair and enjoyable. The automatic host selection process also eliminates the ability of the host to exert outsize control over the parameters of the game.

Halo 2 players with Microsoft Passport accounts can log on to Bungie.net and obtain extremely detailed statistics on their performance, including level maps for several hundred of the player's most recent games that indicate graphically where and when the player scored a kill or was killed him or herself.

Maps

Arena		Big Team Battle
Image	Map	Image	Map
Launch Maps
	Ascension		Burial Mounds
	Beaver Creek		Coagulation
	Colossus		Headlong
	Foundation		Waterworks
	Ivory Tower		Zanzibar
	Lockout
	Midship
Bonus Map Pack
	Warlock		Containment
Killtacular Map Pack
	Sanctuary
	Turf
Maptacular Map Pack
	Backwash		Relic
	Elongation		Terminal
	Gemini
Blastacular Map Pack		Halo 2 Vista Maps
	Desolation		District
	Tombstone		Uplift

Player Damage System

The damage system in Halo 2 is much different from what it was in Halo: Combat Evolved. The player has a regenerating shield and regenerating health.

• Energy Shields: The shield in Halo 2 is stronger than it was in Halo: Combat Evolved, also recharges at a higher rate. It slowly decreases in power as it sustains damage. After it takes damage, it starts to recharge 2–5 seconds after the last time damage was sustained. It will stop during recharge if the player is hurt during that period. The power is displayed above the motion tracker in the bottom-left of the screen.
• Health: In Halo 2, once the shields run out, the player also has a buffer of health. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, the health in Halo 2 regenerates after the shield. The amount of health left is not visible to the player. Bungie's explanation for this new system is the addition of a biofoam dispenser in the armor (so health regenerates after time).

Powerups

There are two types of normal powerups available in Halo 2:

• Overshield: An enhanced, non-regenerating shield which adds an additional two layers to your shield (red, then green). The Overshield functions on top of the regular shield - when it is active, the normal shield does not take damage. However, the Overshield will gradually reduce in power until it is gone, at which point the player's normal shields will be vulnerable to damage. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, the Overshield powerup is not available in the single player campaign.
• Active camouflage: A powerup that makes the player almost completely invisible for a period of time, making all but a faint outline of him transparent. This effect is reduced if the player is hit by weapons fire, if he or she fires a weapon or throws a grenade, or in some cases if he or she switches weapons. In campaign mode, Active camouflage is only available in levels in which you play as the Arbiter. However, note that the Energy Sword will give away the user's position, as while the player is invisible, the sword is not.

Note: If the Overshield technology and the Active camouflage are used in conjunction the Active camouflage is not sophisticated enough to hide the enhanced over shields.

Features

Weapons

United Nations Space Command	Covenant
BR55 Service Rifle M6C Personal Defense Weapon System M7/Caseless Submachine Gun M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun M19 SSM Rocket Launcher M68 Gauss Cannon M90 Close Assault Weapon System M247 General Purpose Machine Gun Sniper Rifle System 99C-Series 2 Anti-Matériel B	Type-1 Antipersonnel grenade Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle Type-26 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon Type-50 Sniper Rifle System Type-51 Carbine Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon Scarab Gun (Easter Egg)
Forerunner	Jiralhanae
Sentinel Beam	Fist of Rukt Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle/Jiralhanae variant Type-25 Grenade Launcher

Vehicles

UNSC Vehicles

Covenant Vehicles

Usable M12 Warthog LRV M12G1 Warthog LAAV M808B Scorpion MBT Non-Usable D77-TC Pelican Dropship Albatross Heavy Dropship C709 Longsword Interceptor UNSC frigate UNSC In Amber Clad Marathon-class cruiser Orbital Defense Platform ODA-142 Cairo ODA-143 Malta ODA-144 Athens

Usable Type-46 "Spectre" Infantry Support Vehicle Type-25 "Wraith" Assault Gun Carriage Type-26 "Banshee" Ground Support Aircraft Type-32 "Ghost" Rapid Assault Vehicle Non-Usable CAS-class assault carrier CCS-class battlecruiser High Charity Type-31 "Seraph" Exoatmoshperic Multi-role Fighter Type-29 "Shadow" Troop/Vehicle Transport Type-47 "Scarab" Ultra Heavy Assault Platform Type-52 "Phantom" Troop Carrier

Difficulty

Difficulties	Symbol	Description
Easy		"Your foes cower and fall before your unstoppable onslaught, yet final victory will leave you wanting more."
Normal		"Hordes of aliens vie to destroy you, but nerves of steel and a quick trigger finger give you a solid chance to prevail."
Heroic		"Your enemies are as numerous as they are ferocious; their attacks are devastating. Survival is not guaranteed."
Legendary		"You face opponents who have never known defeat, who laugh in alien tongues at your efforts to survive. This is suicide."

Server Shutdown

On April 15, 2010, the Halo 2 multiplayer services, along with all other original Xbox LIVE services, were discontinued. However, some of Halo 2's fans left their Xbox's running after April 15. Xbox LIVE did not boot the approximately 500 people who had signed into Xbox LIVE before the discontinuation of service on April 15. These players continued playing online amongst one another but no new players could sign on.

On April 30, 2010, only 12 fans who had managed to keep their Xbox and Xbox LIVE connections stable remained logged into Halo 2 on Xbox Live. Nicknamed the "Noble 12", they continued to play games among themselves. In response, Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live, tweeted "To those noble folk keeping halo2 alive: we see you, and we salute you,". These hardcore fans were awarded Halo: Reach beta keys because of their attempts to keep Halo 2 alive. Over the next nine days, 10 of the 12 gamers would experience either Xbox malfunctions or Internet malfunctions. Some were reported as logging off voluntarily to play the Halo: Reach Beta they received.

Only two people remained online in Halo 2 on May 10, 2010, when "Agent Windex" was quoted as saying "I just got kicked off guys. Good Job Apache, you're the last one". Later that day, "Apache N4SIR", the very last person on Halo 2, was booted from Xbox LIVE. This marked the end of Halo 2 on Xbox LIVE and the end of the original Xbox LIVE.

Retail Editions

Comparison

Features	Standard	Classics	Best of Classics	Platinum Hits	Limited Collector's
Image of contents
Game disc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Instruction manual	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Limited Edition manual	No	No	No	No	Yes
Commemorative box art	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Steelbook case	No	No	No	No	Yes
Plastic sleeve	No	No	No	No	Yes
Conversations from the Universe booklet	No	No	No	No	Yes
Behind the Scenes disk	No	No	No	No	Yes

Standard Edition

The standard edition of the game includes the disk and manual, and has remained unchanged since the game's release. This edition has ceased production, along with the original Xbox itself.

Classics Edition

As it was one of the most renowned games for the original Xbox, Halo 2 received an Xbox Classics edition. This edition featured all the content of the standard edition, but at a lower price, and with different, commemorative box art. This edition is no longer produced.

Best of Classics Edition

Even among other Xbox Classics games, Halo 2 had a massive amount more sales than most games - 3 million more than the next highest, Halo: Combat Evolved. Therefore, it also received a Best of Xbox Classics edition. This edition is identical to the Xbox Classics edition, but with different box art. Along with all other editions of the game, the Best of Classics edition was discontinued with the Xbox's replacement with the Xbox 360.

Platinum Hits Edition

Its record-breaking sales also earned Halo 2 a Platinum Hits edition, which contained the same content as the standard edition but with a grey plastic case (rather than green) and commemorative box art. This edition is no longer being produced.

Limited Collector's Edition

The limited edition of Halo 2 was available for pre-order before the game's release. This Limited Collector's edition was produced in limited numbers, and contained additional content, such as a steelbook case, limited edition manual, Conversations from the Universe booklet and Behind the Scenes DVD. This edition stopped production upon the game's release.

Development

Halo had never been planned as a trilogy, but the critical and commercial success of Combat Evolved—selling more than five million copies in three years—made a sequel expected. Xbox general manager J Allard confirmed Halo 2 was in production at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2002, with a planned release in time for Christmas 2003.

Many at Bungie wanted to make a sequel, building on cut ideas from Combat Evolved with a more ambitious followup. The added publisher support for a sequel allowed greater leeway and the ability to return to more ambitious ideas lost during Combat Evolved's development. Not satisfied with merely adding back cut content to the sequel, designer Jaime Griesemer recalled that the team "tripled everything," rebuilding the game engine, changing the physics engine, and prototyping a system for stencil shadow volumes. The game's development would suffer from a lack of clear leadership. Early development discussions happened in small, unconnected teams that did not talk with each other. Jason Jones, who had been exhausted shipping Combat Evolved, similarly burned out during Halo 2's production. Jones left the project to work on another Bungie game, Phoenix, leaving fewer people to work on Halo 2. Bungie cofounder Alex Seropian left Bungie in 2002, causing additional friction and politics in the workplace where Seropian had once mediated tensions. Writer Joseph Staten described the team's ambitions thusly:

Then we just plowed ahead, much like we'd done with Halo, with one notable exception. We ordered ourselves a giant sandwich, took a bite but didn't realize exactly how big it was before we started in. And we did that across the board, technically, artistically, and story wise. But of course, we didn't figure that out until way too late.

Griesemer put it more bluntly: "What's the phrase? Putting ten pounds of shit into a five-pound bag? We really tried to cram it too full, and we paid the price."

An important feature for Halo 2 was multiplayer using Xbox Live. Multiplayer in Combat Evolved was accomplished via System Link and had nearly been scrapped altogether in the rush to complete the game. Most players never played large maps, while a subset greatly enjoyed 16-player action, connecting consoles together with network cables for group play. "We looked at the small set of fans who were able to do this," said engineering lead Chris Butcher, "and just how much they were enjoying themselves, and asked ourselves if we could bring that to everybody. That would be something really special, really unique." Initially, Combat Evolved's multiplayer was supposed to involve larger maps and player counts than what shipped, and members of the team wanted to resurrect those plans for Halo 2. The smaller multiplayer modes and local split-screen capabilities of the first game would have been removed. Designer Max Hoberman successfully argued against wholesale removal of a successful component from the previous game. He was put in charge of a small team to further develop the small-scale arena multiplayer, while the rest of the team developed a larger "Warfare" mode. Bungie promised in previews that the core of this multiplayer would be squad-based online battles between human Spartans and Covenant Elites, with players able to call in airstrikes. Hoberman's pitch for Halo 2's arena multiplayer was to bring the fun of couch multiplayer online. As Hoberman was not an excellent video game player, he wanted to make sure the game remained fun for even lower-skilled players, rather than catering to the very competitive ones. The system of playlist matchmaking and allowing friends to "party up" to play games together were crucial to creating a global community of players.

The story for Halo 2 grew out of all the elements that were not seen in Halo: Combat Evolved. Jason Jones organized his core ideas for the sequel's story and approached Staten for input. According to Staten, among the elements that did not make it to the finished game was a "horrible scene of betrayal" where Miranda Keyes straps a bomb to the Master Chief's back and throws him into a hole in revenge for her fathers' death; "Jason was going through a rather difficult breakup at the time and I think that had something to do with it," he said. Staten and Jaime Griesemer discussed seeing the war from the Covenant perspective, forming the idea to have part of the game told from the perspective of a Covenant warrior known as the Dervish. Late in development, the Dervish became the Arbiter, after legal teams at Microsoft were afraid the game was sending a message about Islam.

In February 2003, Bungie began developing a gameplay demonstration for E3 2003. The demo, which was the first gameplay seen by the public, showcased new enemies and abilities. Many elements of the trailer, however, were not game-ready; the entire graphics engine used in the footage had to be discarded, and the trailer's environment never appeared in the final game due to limitations on how big the game environments could be. Elements like vehicle hijacking were entirely scripted, and in order to keep performance at an acceptable level, a Bungie staff member deleted objects from the game as the player passed through. The restructuring of the engine meant that there was no playable build of Halo 2 for nearly a year, and assets and environments produced by art and design teams could not be prototyped, bottlenecking development. Griesemer recalled that development was "moving backwards", and after E3 the team realized that much of what the team had worked on for the past two years would have to be scrapped.

In order to ship the game, Bungie began paring back their ambitions for the single- and multiplayer parts of the game. All other Bungie projects, including Phoenix, were cancelled, with their teams folded into Halo 2 to complete the game. The campaign was completely rethought and remained unplayable for more than a year while the multiplayer was being developed. Ultimately, a third act of the game where Master Chief and Arbiter came together on Earth to defeat the Prophets was cut entirely. Staten hoped the resulting cliffhanger would be treated like the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Planned vehicles, such as variants of the Warthog and an all terrain vehicle, were scrapped. With the single-player mode in trouble, very little had been done with the large Warfare multiplayer mode. Eventually, the entire warfare mode was cut, and Hoberman's small team project became the shipping multiplayer suite. Engineer Chris Butcher commented, "For Halo 2 we had our sights set very high on networking. Going from having no internet multiplayer to developing a completely new online model was a big challenge to tackle all at once, and as a result we had to leave a lot of things undone in order to meet the ship date commitment that we made to our fans." To test real-world network conditions, Bungie ran a closed alpha of the multiplayer with 1000 Microsoft employees for five weeks.

Outside of Bungie, Combat Evolved's success had become a problem for Halo 2's development, as the success of the Xbox platform was riding on Halo. Microsoft originally pressured Bungie to have the game ready as a launch title for Xbox Live in November 2002, which Bungie employees told them was impossible. At one point, Microsoft executives had a vote over whether to force Bungie to ship the incomplete game, or give them another year of development time. Microsoft Studios head Ed Fries walked out of the vote and threatened to resign to get Bungie the extra time.

Missing the Xbox's last Christmas season before its successor console, the Xbox 360, shipped was not an option. To hit its new November 2004 release date, Bungie went into the "mother of all crunches" in order to finish the game. "A lot of people sacrificed themselves in ways that you should never have to for your job," design lead Paul Bertone recalled; he kenneled his dog for nearly two months and slept in the office for the final days of development. Griesemer said that this lack of a "polish" period near the end of the development cycle was the main reason for Halo 2's shortcomings. Butcher retrospectively described Halo 2's multiplayer mode as "a pale shadow of what it could and should have been" due to the tight schedule; the campaign mode's abrupt cliffhanger ending also resulted from the frenzy to ship on time.

Engine

Halo 2 features a modified version of the engine from Halo: Combat Evolved. This new engine featured support for online play via Xbox Live, improved visuals, and the implementation of the Havok physics engine that would replace Bungie's in house physics engine used in Combat Evolved.

Halo 2 was initially meant to implement a new graphics engine called Pstencil that would allow for objects to cast real-time shadows. This lighting technique proved too expensive for the Xbox's hardware to handle, and was only ever seen in the E3 2003 demo of Halo 2. In order to make the demo playable on stage, massive optimization had to be done across the demo map, such as the deletion of objects that were no longer in frame.

Iterations

An early script is known to exist and was briefly seen in the Behind the Scenes DVD. Marty O'Donnell was also quoted in a Bungie Podcast (Episode 13, at 21:00) saying that all the actors had recorded the lines to the original Halo 2 ending and that it still exists today, but he will never show it.

Cut Content

With the development of Halo 2, many things had to be cut out. Halo 2 has the most content either cut from the game entirely or redesigned completely as evidenced in many forms of media. At least a third of the game was cut out.

The following is known cut content from the game:

• Multiple levels were cut, including:
  • Alpha Gas Giant - An early build of the levels The Arbiter and The Oracle, present on the September 2003 build of Halo 2.
  • Alpha Moon - This level was set on the same planet as the multiplayer map, Burial Mounds, may have been the first iteration of what would become the seventh level, The Oracle.
  • Covenant Ship - This level would've taken place between Cairo Station and Outskirts.
  • Delta Control Room - An early version of the final level The Great Journey present in the September 2003 build.
  • Delta Temple - This level was an early version of the levels Delta Halo/Regret in the September 2003 build.
  • Earth Ark - This was the name given to the final three missions of Halo 2, including the game's original ending. In the "Making of Halo 2" documentary there was concept art seen regarding a level location the Ark, although the design was later placed into Halo 3's The Storm as the Portal. The former could have been a part of pre-production for Halo 3.
  • Earth City - This level was an early version of the levels Outskirts/ Metropolis in the September 2003 build, bearing heavy visual resemblance to the Halo 2 E3 demo.
  • Forerunner Keyship - This level would've taken place after The Great Journey and included a Warthog run.
  • Forerunner Tank - This level would've taken place between Quarantine Zone and Gravemind.
  • Infinite Succor - During early production, concept artists Eddie Smith and Robert McLees investigated the idea of a Flood-infected Covenant hydroponics ship, the Infinite Succor, in which the Flood had taken over and formed a Gravemind from the ship's livestock.
  • Sentinel Headquarters - Presumably, this level was an early version of the levels Sacred Icon/ Quarantine Zone.
• Multiple vehicles were cut, including:

  

  All of the Warthogs that were to appear in Halo 2.

  • Several kinds of Warthogs including an Arctic model (which was included in the Halo 3 DLC multiplayer map Avalanche), a transport vehicle and a small ATV (known as the Mongoose in Halo 3) would make an appearance. These were all cut from the final version of the game. However, in Halo: Custom Edition, fans created the arctic and transport warthogs, as well as the civilian Warthog featured in the multi-player map Headlong. A rocket Warthog was included in Halo PC and the ATV and variations of the Warthog appear in Halo 3.
  • The Kestrel
  • The Strike Fighter
  • The Doozy
• Multiple species were cut, including:
  • The Sharquoi
  • The Alien Trooper
  • The Special Purpose Sniper
  • The Stalker
  • The Doberman Gator
• Some Flood forms were cut, including:
  • The Flood Juggernaut
  • The Shielded Flood Carriers
• Sprint was originally going to be usable. There were some animations left over in the game files.

Marketing Promotions and Release

Halo 2 - First Announcement Trailer -HD-

Halo 2 Announcement Trailer released at E3 2002

Announcement Trailer

In 2002, Bungie released the first glimpse of Halo 2 in a pre-rendered CG trailer. The trailer featured the Master Chief in his new MJOLNIR Mark VI armor preparing for battle in a space station. Cortana is also heard and has dialogue with the Chief. It also featured Earth and Ket-pattern battlecruisers in orbit. The UNSC seem to be losing in the battle. The events of this trailer were featured in the final version of Halo 2. Some of the events and dialogue of this trailer was changed to fit the finished storyline of the game. Most of this now appears in the Halo 2 level Cairo Station.

E3 2003

Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo with Audience Reactions

Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo with Audience Reactions

Halo 2 - E3 2003 Gameplay Demo Trailer -HD-

Gameplay Demo Trailer

At E3 2003, Bungie released footage of a playable in-game demo of the Halo 2 campaign. The demo featured the battle on Earth in the city of New Mombasa. Master Chief, Cortana, Sergeant Johnson, Corporal Perez, Major Easley, Gunnery Sergeant Stacker and Sergeant Banks were all seen/heard in the demo. The demo showed off new features like Dual-Wielding (Master Chief could actually keep both his dual-wielded weapons when he switched to his secondary sidearm; this was changed for the final product), Vehicle Damage, and Boarding. Three new vehicles shown were the Gauss Warthog, Shadow, and the Covenant Phantom, which at the time had only one plasma turret on its underside instead of three.

Returning vehicles featured the Ghost, Pelican, Covenant cruiser, and Longsword Fighters. New weapons the Battle rifle, SMG, and Brute Shot were also shown, although the final Brute Shot design for Halo 2 was vastly different than what was shown in this trailer. New enemies such as the Jiralhanae were shown in this demo, but as a secondary warrior race by the side of the Sangheili. The events of this demo were featured in the final version of Halo 2. Some of the events and dialog of this demo was changed to fit the finished storyline of the game, such as the AA Gun becoming a Scarab. Most of this now appears in the Halo 2 level; Metropolis.

Halo 2 Council

To help promote Halo 2, Microsoft established the Halo 2 Council, an off-shoot of its celebrity "Xbox Playaz Club". It had seven members, consisting of actors Wilmer Valderrama, Benjamin Mckenzie, and Aisha Tyler; Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants; and bands Hoobastank, Incubus, and Linkin Park. Members of the Halo 2 Council received advanced copies of the game, as well as an exclusive "Halo 2 Pelican Case", a portable Xbox contained in a personalized suitcase with a 15-inch HDTV, two controllers, Xbox Live headset, and an Ethernet connection. They were also offered "VIP tours of Bungie Studios, voice-over recording sessions for game integration, [and] access to Halo 2 during the development process." Members promoted the game through Halo-related events, such as Aisha Tyler's birthday party, where around 100 guests were invited to play an advance version of Halo 2's multiplayer.

Halo 2 E3 2004 Multiplayer Demo (4k60fps Upscaled)

Halo 2 E3 2004 Multiplayer Demo

E3 2004

Halo 2 also had a significant presence at E3 2004 (May 11–13, 2004). On May 8, Microsoft held a preview event in a private home in Beverley Hills, California, which had been transformed into a replica of "the stunning futuristic world of Halo, complete with camouflaged marines and roaming Cortanas." It was attended by the members of the Halo 2 Council, as well as well-known celebrities of the time such as Joe Reitman, Jolene Blalock, Andrew Keegan, Jordana Brewster, Bai Ling, Ben Foster, Kelly Hu, Kyle Boller, Laura Prepon, Brad Bufanda, Lindsay Lohan, Breckin Meyer, Luke Walton, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Masterson, Danny Masterson, Rick Yune, Good Charlotte, Ryan Phillipe, Gregory Smith, Shannon Elizabeth, Taryn Manning, and Tara Reid.

During the event itself, Halo 2 held a central position in Microsoft's showcase. At the pre-event Xbox conference on May 10, Bungie released footage of a playable in-game demo of the Halo 2 multiplayer. The demo featured the multiplayer map Zanzibar and displayed playable character models the SPARTAN-II model and the Sangheili model. It also showed off some of the weaponry of the game and some special features. The Battle Rifle, SMG, Needler, Rocket Launcher, and Energy Sword were displayed. The Gauss Warthog and the Ghost also made an appearance. Some features included the lock-on feature of the Rocket Launcher, the Dual-Wielding ability, Explosive Barrels, Ghost's boosting, vehicle boarding, Warthogs horn and Gauss Cannon and Sword Lunging. The demo also featured the official announcement of the release date, November 9, 2004. After the demo's public unveiling, fans were allowed to try it out for themselves throughout the Expo on the showfloor.

Halo 2 Xbox Trailer - Movie Theater Trailer

Halo 2 Theatrical Trailer

Halo2.com

Halo2.com was the promotional website registered by Microsoft for Halo 2. It first went live on May 11, and had national or regional variants, such as the Australian site (www.halo2.com.au/). Initially, it consisted of a straightforward promotional site, featuring screenshots, wallpapers, videos, and news. Later, it was relaunched by AKQA on October 15, expanded and updated with a Covenant theme and tied to the i love bees alternate reality game. After Halo 2's release, it was merged with the official Xbox site.

Halo 2 TV Spot

Halo 2 television trailer (30 seconds)

I Love Bees

During the summer of 2004, the website ilovebees.com was used as a publicity site for Halo 2, with the site being pointed to by adverts for the game during movie trailers. Ostensibly a beekeeper's personal site, the server appeared to have been taken over by an unstable A.I. whose thoughts are scattered on the site.

Halo 2 - Commercial "Already Here" Extended Version (no text)

Halo 2 television trailer (1 minute)

Theatrical Trailer

In October 2004, a short trailer for Halo 2 was shown in movie theaters and cinemas throughout the United States. It featured short clips of game play, some newly rendered scenes, as well as materials recycled from the E3 2003 demo. The trailer also featured a brief promotion of i love bees.

Television Trailer

In October through November 2004, a television advertisement for Halo 2 aired throughout the United States. It consisted of footage from cutscenes and gameplay. There were two versions of the ad, a 30-seconds and a 60-seconds spot.

Halo 2: Original Soundtrack

Volume One cover art

Halo 2's soundtrack was composed primarily by Martin O'Donnell and his musical partner Michael Salvatori, the team that had composed the critically acclaimed music of Halo. O'Donnell noted in composing the music for Halo 2 that "Making a sequel is never a simple proposition. You want to make everything that was cool even better, and leave out all the stuff that was weak." O'Donnell made sure that no part of the game would be completely silent, noting "Ambient sound is one of the main ways to immerse people psychologically. A dark room is spooky, but add a creaking floorboard and rats skittering in the walls and it becomes really creepy." Halo 2, unlike its predecessor, was mixed to take full advantage of Dolby 5.1 Digital surround sound.

Volume Two coverr art

In the summer of 2004, producer Nile Rodgers and O'Donnell decided to release the music from Halo 2 on two separate CDs; the first (Volume One) would contain all the themes present in the game as well as music "inspired" by the game; the second would contain the rest of the music from the game, much of which was incomplete, as the first CD was shipped before the game was released. The first CD was released on November 9, 2004, and featured guitar backing by Steve Vai. Additional tracks included various outside musicians, including Steve Vai, Incubus, Breaking Benjamin, and Hoobastank. The Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume Two CD, containing the game music organized in suite form, was released on April 25, 2006.

Sales and Reception

Halo 2 was very successful in sales. In company with PlayStation 2's hit of the year, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it was the most sought-after video game among critics and gamers in 2004. Three weeks prior to launch, stores in the U.S. alone had pre-sold 1.5 million copies of the game to consumers. When it launched for the Xbox on the 9th of November, over 7000 video game, toy and electronics stores in the U.S. opened at midnight to welcome fanatical fans. Halo 2 instantly began to prosper. One national retailer sold 8,500 copies of the game in just 11 minutes, and another had sold 200,000 units by daybreak. One single store sold 500 Halo 2 units in three hours, 350 of them being sold between midnight and 1 a.m. Early on the launch day, Microsoft expected Halo 2 to generate more money in 24 hours on store shelves than any game had done before. Moore said “I'm calling a $100 million day on Halo today.”

Halo 2 went on to be the success that Microsoft was anticipating, selling approximately 2.4 million copies in North America in 24 hours, generating $125 million. The video game software retailer GameStop sold more than half a million Halo 2 copies in one day. In Australia, where more than 42,000 gamers had pre-ordered the game prior to its release, Halo 2 shattered retail sales records by selling more than 104,000 units in no more than one week after launch, generating nine million dollars and beating the previous record holder by 38,000 copies. In Canada, Halo 2 succeeded in selling 222,000 units in its debut month, making it the biggest premiere month for any game up to Grand Theft Auto IV. Before its release in New Zealand, more than 8000 units of Halo 2 had been pre-sold.

Three weeks after its release, Halo 2 had sold over 5 million copies, making it the second-best selling Xbox game, with approximately 19% of all Xbox owners possessing a copy of Halo 2. The game also had the most successful opening night of any game up until Halo 3, and, later, Grand Theft Auto 4. The game had a generally amazing reception, gaining a 9.7 out of 10 from OXM (10 out of 10 from its Australian counterpart), a 9.8 out of 10 from IGN, a 10 out of 10 from Game Informer, a 9 out of 10 from Play Magazine, and a 5 out of 5 from X-Play. It gained more Game of The Year awards in 2004 than any other game that year. X-Play, in late 2006, included it as #3 in their top 4 greatest shooters of all time (#4 was Resistance, #2 Half-Life 2, and #1 was Gears of War). In early 2007, it made #8 on their top 10 Games of All Time countdown. The game had an average meta-score of 95 out of 100, making it the 3rd most critically acclaimed Xbox game, right behind Halo: Combat Evolved and the Grand Theft Auto Triple Pack. The games multiplayer was held to be one of the best of all time, staying consistently number 1 the most played Xbox Live title from November 2004 up until November 2006, when Gears of War released.

Reaction

Aggregate Score
Metacritic	95/100
Review Scores
Edge	9/10
Game Informer	10/10
GameSpot	9.4/10
GameSpy	5/5
IGN	9.8/10

Generally, the game was positively received. Multiplayer especially was noted in being the best on Xbox Live at the time. Game Informer, along with numerous other publications, rated it higher than Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo 2 received multiple awards, including Best Console game of the month and in a GT Countdown Halo 2 was ranked number one in a countdown of the top ten multiplayer games.

Most critics noted that Halo 2 stuck with the formula that made its predecessor successful, and was alternatively praised and faulted for this decision. Edge noted in its review, “It's fitting that we're able to steal a line from the script to sum everything up. No spoilers here, just an epitaph, from the moment Cortana turns to Master Chief and says this: 'It’s not an original plan. But we know it’ll work.'" According to Xbox.com, the game has received more than 38 individual awards. The game's campaign mode has received some criticism for being too short, in addition to some dissatisfaction with the abrupt, cliffhanger ending that sets up the sequel, Halo 3.

GameSpot noted that the story switching between the Covenant and Human factions made the plot more intricate, but also distracted the player from Earth's survival and the main point of the game. There is also some criticism of the game's on-the-fly streaming and level of detail adjustment, which can sometimes result in textures loading erroneously and "popping in" when the camera changes in cutscenes. Bungie has stated that this issue had been fixed for Halo 3 and the Windows Vista port.

In an interview with Edge magazine in January 2007, Jamie Greisemer, one of Halo's design leads, said that the main reason for Halo 2's shortcomings was a lack of "polish" period near the end of the development cycle. Staff member Frank O’Connor admitted the cliffhanger ending was abrupt, noting “we drove off Thelma & Louise style." Nonetheless, in the interview Greisemer promised that they would make Halo 3 a more than worthy successor.

Statistics

Halo 2 was released November 9, 2004. The game was one of the most highly anticipated games on the Xbox and went on to sell more than the original. On the morning of October 14, 2004, a leak of the French version of the game was posted on the Internet, and circulated widely. Microsoft, the parent company of Bungie, tried to contain the spread, and pledged to bring legal action against anyone who spread the leaked version. Regardless, Microsoft later touted that there were 1.5 million pre-orders for Halo 2 in the United States alone and that this guaranteed it to have the largest first-day revenue of any game or movie ever. The game sold 2.4 million copies and earned up to $125 million US in its first 24 hours on store shelves. As of March 2006, the game has sold over eight million copies worldwide.

Rereleases

• 2005 - Rereleased as part of the Halo Triple Pack which included Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack.
• 2007 - Rereleased as part of the Halo History Pack which included Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and a sneak peek of Halo 3, and as part of Xbox LIVE's Xbox Originals.
• 2014 - Rereleased as Halo 2: Anniversary, a remake of the game included in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox.
• 2020 - Rereleased as Halo 2: Anniversary, a remake of the game included in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC.

Awards

Halo 2 won multiple awards at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, including "Console Game of the Year", "Console First-Person Action Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay" and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design", as well as nominations for "Outstanding Innovation in Console Gaming", and "Game of the Year". The game received more than 38 individual awards. It received runner-up placements in GameSpot's 2004 "Best Shooter", "Best Sound Effects" and "Best Original Music" categories across all platforms. The game was listed in Electronic Gaming Monthly's "The Greatest 200 Video Games of Their Time" in 2006.

Themes

Halo 2 greatly expanded the plot introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved, and many themes and parallels to the real world can be drawn.

Dealing with the consequences of society and government within the Covenant world, Halo 2 shows that technology alone cannot win wars. Covenant society is deeply troubled with a corrupt government of Prophets who know more than they tell and order an act of genocide against their long-loyal Sangheili. While the Covenant is far more technologically advanced than humans, their society is divided and races do not get along. The humans are shown as more united and exhibit more teamwork while attempting to stop the Covenant, despite being outnumbered and out-gunned. Playing as the Arbiter, the player only fights other Covenant, making it apparent that their forces are not all focused on the humans and their civil war and disorganization makes them a weaker force, despite greater firepower. The Flood is mostly a primitive race but is still able to infiltrate High Charity and Cortana is still able to hack into their system because the Covenant never created a solid foundation and underestimated their enemies. The game shows that the power of determination is more powerful than that of technology. This is evident in both Master Chief's plot line as well as the Arbiter's, who manages to survive because he constantly focuses on his objective. He tells Tartarus that the Index is his only goal when he asks if he would seek revenge against Master Chief.

The game also has element of a monomyth, a common structure in many stories of adventure. Halo 2 begins with Master Chief being awoken and called for combat while the Arbiter is spared and is given the choice to become a martyr. The Arbiter is put through a series of trials which he is expected to fail; when he doesn't, he realizes that the Prophets have turned against him and learns where his true alliances lie, becoming a central role in the Covenant Civil War. These events fit into the description of the first half of a typical monomyth.

Trivia

• The "rope" that Miranda Keyes uses to make it to the Index is a Flood tentacle tangled up in an Enforcer wreck, presumably the result of some previous battle between the two.
• Jason Jones is known for establishing the quote: "Halo 2 is a lot like Halo 1, only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas. And, the ninjas are all on fire, too." This led to the famous line of inside jokes, patches and T-shirts, user names, and memes of flaming ninjas.
• A song, known as "Remembrance" at the start up screen, (the unedited version found on the “Halo 2 Original Sound Track Volume 1") just happens to play for exactly 1:17 (John's service number) or 77 seconds.
• There are 21,090 lines of dialogue, most of them randomly triggered during combat.
• Halo 2 has been stated to be the reason that there is a limit to the number of friends on the friends list, and to get around that limit, Microsoft would have to end original Xbox Live compatibility.
• In the final days prior to the deactivation of Halo 2's multiplayer, Bungie added new sayings to the Did You Know? section of the lobby including messages of thanks to Halo 2 fans for staying supportive for the half decade that it was active and hints about Halo: Reach's gameplay. Many of these were worded in a humorous manner, though several were outright jokes.
• Halo 2 has been played for about 100 million hours on Xbox since its release.
• If you've played on this game with your current LIVE account before April 14, 2010, you will unlock the Halo 2 nameplate in Halo: Reach. This will automatically be unlocked on Day 1.
• Halo 2 was the first game in the franchise to use ragdoll physics.
• Halo 2 remains the only game in the Halo franchise to feature songs created by musical artists as part of its original soundtrack. (Artists featured include Breaking Benjamin, Hoobastank, and Incubus.)
• The credits of Halo 2 gave a special thanks to Nightmare Armor.
• The Limited Edition Collector's Disc of Halo 2 showed the Hummer, which was an early version of the Warthog.
• Halo 2 is the only Halo game in the series that does not feature an MA5 series weapon.
• Currently, Halo 2 is the only game featuring a song not made by 343i or Bungie. An instrumental version of "Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin plays during the battle that takes place in the Mausoleum of the Arbiter during the 12th level, Gravemind.
• This is the first Halo game to feature boss battles.
• Originally, there were to be several kinds of Warthogs including an Arctic model (which was included in the Halo 3 DLC multiplayer map Avalanche), a transport vehicle and a small ATV (known as the Mongoose in Halo 3) would make an appearance. These were all cut from the final version of the game. However, in Halo: Custom Edition, fans created the arctic and transport warthogs, as well as the civilian Warthog featured in the multi-player map Headlong. A rocket Warthog was included in Halo PC and the ATV and variations of the Warthog appear in Halo 3.

Links

• Bungie.net's archived official Halo 2 page
• Wikipedia article on Halo 2
• Halopedia article on Halo 2
• Halo 2 Credits