Multiplayer



Multiplayer, as the term is generally used, referrs to the ability of most games for more than one person to play in an instance at a time, usually in a competitive manner but also sometimes cooperatively. Multiplayer in the Halo games has been a core element to the design of the game, and a large part of the sucess of the Halo franchise revolves around the controls and functions of its multiplayer systems.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, Multiplayer was somwehat limited; players could create and join servers, but there was no official standard rank system or function that allowed players to compete in an organized way. This was changed drastically with the introduction of both Halo 2 and the Xbox Live service.

In Halo 2 players can play online via Xbox Live, either creating a custom game or using Bungie's matchmaking service to join a pseudo-random game. When using matchmaking players can choose from a variety of playlists that offer a limited slate of games and rule sets to choose from.

Most Xbox Live playlists use the rank system, awarding "points" to player based on who they beat, and subtracting them based on who they are beaten by. These points are then used to determine a players rank which affects who they are pitted against in other ranked games.

Profiles
The New updated profile creator in Halo 2 gives you the chance to choose a color, a secondary color, and an emblem with two colors. You can also choose which character model you wish to play as, the UNSC Spartan or the Covenant Elite. I hardly need to mention the fact that your name is not granted as a Halo 2 privilege of profile making above anything that Halo original had, but despite the emblems and colors it is this that people are likely to remember you by.

So now you have a name, color code and emblem. Get busy pitting your skills against your friends and everyone on Xbox live. There are plenty of maps to choose from, lots of game variants, and if you're not a hosting kind of person, join someone else's game. You can also set up a party so that you can always play with your friends as teammates or oppositions.

Related Links
Internal
 * Medals
 * Xbox Live

External
 * A Newcomer's Guide to Halo 2 at MLG