Halo 2 (Windows Vista)

Halo 2 received a PC port, commonly nicknamed Halo 2 Vista, which was developed by Hired Gun for use on the Windows Vista operating system exclusively and as a release title for the "Games for Windows" category. The release date was originally planned for May 8, 2007, however, the release date was delayed to May 22, 2007, because the team needed "to make some improvements to the installation experience and address other technical issues." However, release dates for the game were erratic, as Australia had publicly available copies, and some stores in the United States were selling copies as well. Microsoft had stated that the release date had been pushed back one final time, due to partial nudity found in the Halo 2 Vista Map Editing Kit, making the release date May 31, 2007, for the United States.

Features
Halo 2 Vista has been reworked graphically for the PC, including high-resolution textures and support for very high resolutions. While the single player campaign does not differ from the Xbox version, the player can earn newly implemented single and multiplayer achievements. One of the selling points of Halo 2 Vista is an included map editor. It has included the same programs as previously used in the Halo Editing Kit and also includes a pre-made "custom" map by default, named Example, which was made for players to observe as an example for making their own custom maps.

A new ability pushed by the Microsoft team is a feature called "Tray and Play". It is an attempt to emulate the ability of consoles to instantly play new discs in a DVD drive without installing them, allowing the end-user to play the game as it is installing. Halo 2 Vista was the only game released with this technology.



Multiplayer
Halo 2 Vista, being a release for the Games for Windows service, includes support for Xbox Live for Windows system. It intertwines with the Xbox Live system, allowing communication with someone who has an Xbox. However, cross-platform play is not supported, despite being planned, initially. The GFWL interface is similar to that of the Xbox 360 dashboard. Instead of using peer to peer matchmaking, players are able to create dedicated servers, which are created with a program that comes with the disc.

Gamertags, which are used on Xbox Live, are also used on Live for Windows. If a player were to have an Xbox Live gamertag, they would be able to log on using that. Otherwise, a free account can be registered for a player. Players can also match up in parties, and the party leader can specify maps and game types to play on the go.

Exclusive to Halo 2 Vista are 2 new maps, District and Uplift. However, Halo 2 Vista does not include the maps Desolation or Tombstone. Modders have managed to port Desolation & Tombstone to Halo 2 Vista.

On January 16, 2013, citing declining online population (consistently 20 players or fewer) 343 Industries announced that online multiplayer for Halo 2 Vista would be discontinued February 15, 2013. However, it was later announced that the multiplayer would be extended to June 2013. Halo 2 Vista multiplayer servers eventually went offline in July 2015.

System Requirements
The minimum system requirements to run Halo 2 on Windows Vista is a Windows Experience Index of 3.0. The recommended system requirements is a WEI of 5.0. Users can play the game with a rating of less than 3.0, but they will have to reduce graphics quality in order to run the game smoothly. The game can be set on different levels of detail (low, medium, or high) to change performance and appearance. Anti-aliasing and the game's resolution can be changed, as well.

DRM
Halo 2 Vista is limited to three installations per copy. Although there is no mechanism to deactivate an installation, Microsoft will typically activate additional installations via the 'telephone activation' system, providing the user explains their situation and has a legitimate serial number.

Reception
Halo 2 Vista was considerably less popular than its predecessor on the Xbox. Metacritic aggregated a score of 72%, whereas the original Xbox version had earned an aggregate score of 95% and the coveted "Must-Play" accolade. Game Informer cited the outdated graphics and lack of innovation, which they said made the game feel "too outdated for a next-generation PC game, especially compared with how stunning Halo 2 had been on Xbox".

Halo 2 Vista lacked features such as online cooperative play, and while the Xbox version never supported this feature, compared to Halo 3, which launched on the Xbox 360 also in 2007, this lack of parity between both games released only months apart contributed to its lackluster reputation. Halo 2 Vista's dedicated server functionality was also severely downgraded in comparison with Halo: Combat Evolved's dedicated server commands.

Trivia

 * Achievements were included with the PC version of Halo 2, though they can only unlock while players are logged into Games for Windows Live. These achievements are shown on the player's Live profile and go towards their Gamerscore, just like Xbox 360 and Xbox One games.
 * Halo 2 Vista is the first and only Halo game thus far to feature Tray and Play. In addition, no other Games for Windows Live title has implemented this feature.
 * It is suspected that the Halo 2 Editing Kit has had many features disabled or deleted, which would disallow all types of custom tag creation. As of April 2011 there has been no custom map that has been created with custom player models, vehicles, scenery/objects, scripts.
 * Halo 2 Vista is the only game prior to Halo: The Master Chief Collection that is able to truly run at 60 frames per second in all game modes, not just including the menus, which also ran at 60FPS in the Xbox version. Halo: Combat Evolved for PC is also technically capable of running at 60FPS, but all animations for characters, vehicles, effects, etc. are locked at 30FPS, like most of the other titles in the series.
 * Halo 2 Vista was rated M for violence, language, blood and gore, and also partial nudity, which the Xbox version lacked. It turns out that a bug in a .ass error appeared to show the butt of a naked man. This could be removed simply with a patch downloadable from the Halo 2 Vista website.
 * This is the only Halo game that gives achievements that are not tracked on Halo Waypoint.
 * Through the use of third party, unauthorized patches, Halo 2 Vista was able to work on certain versions of Windows XP.
 * Although the Example map did ship with the game, there were several similar maps intended to be included to further-demonstrate the modding toolset available.

Internal

 * Halo 2
 * List of achievements
 * List of patches

External

 * Modacity (formerly h2vista.net), a fansite dedicated to modding Halo 1 CE
 * Halo Maps, an archive of Halo 2 Vista maps and tools