Halo 2


 * See the PC version: Halo 2 Vista

Halo 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios for the Xbox video game console and is backwards-compatible with the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to the game Halo: Combat Evolved, and features a newly built graphics engine with the addition of new elements to the game.

The game develops the struggle between the United Nations Space Command, Covenant, and the Flood during the Human-Covenant War in Fall 2552.

Synopsis
Halo 2 continues the story of SPARTAN John-117 - the Master Chief. It begins with him and the UNSC marine forces protecting the Orbital Defense Platform ODA-142 Cairo from the invading Covenant Naval infantry, and then returning to the surface of Earth to combat the Covenant Army.

When the invasion force, led by the High Prophet of Regret, are defeated by the UNSC defenses and flee from Earth through a slipspace portal, the human forces follow and discover another Halo ring, Installation 05.

A second story is also present, following the tasks of a disgraced Elite commander known as the Arbiter as he attempts to redeem himself from his failure to protect Installation 04 from the humans.

After the Elites fail to protect the Prophet of Regret, they are banished as the protecters of the Covenant Hierarchs by the two remaining Prophets of Truth and Mercy, who give the role to the Brutes. This leads to the Great Schism in November 2552, splitting the Covenant into two factions, the Loyalists and the Separatists.

UNSC

 * Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
 * Cortana
 * Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson
 * Commander Miranda Keyes
 * Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood

Covenant

 * The Arbiter
 * Commander Rtas 'Vadumee
 * Jiralhanae Chieftain Tartarus
 * High Prophet of Truth
 * High Prophet of Mercy (Hod Rumnt)
 * High Prophet of Regret

Heretics

 * Heretic LEADER Sesa 'Refumee

Forerunner Constructs

 * 343 Guilty Spark (Monitor)
 * 2401 Penitent Tangent

Flood

 * Gravemind

UNSC

 * Fleet Admiral Harper
 * Major Easley
 * Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker
 * Staff Sergeant Marcus Banks
 * Corporal Perez
 * Lance Corporal Jones
 * Private Butkis
 * Private O'Brian
 * Private Parsons
 * Private Walpole
 * Unnamed Lieutenant
 * Unnamed Master Gunnery Sergeant

Covenant

 * Prophet of Disdain
 * Prophet of Objection
 * Prophet of Pity

First Battle of Earth
The game begins shortly after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. As it begins, we catch a small glimpse of the Covenant via a cutscene, for the first time learning a bit about their society and leadership. An Elite holding the rank of Supreme Commander is brought before the High Council, to be evaluated for his "colossal failure" in being unable to prevent the destruction of Halo by the Master Chief. He is wrongfully accused of heresy, and sentenced to death.

John-117 (Master Chief) is at Cairo Station, one of the three hundred Orbital Defense Platforms on station at Earth. There, his armor is upgraded to Mark VI, and he is taken to a ceremony, celebrating the 'victory' at Halo alongside Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes. As this takes place, the disgraced Elite Commander is tortured and branded by the Brute Chieftain Tarturus with the Mark of Shame. At the Orbital Defense Platform, the Master Chief's ceremony is interrupted when the Prophet of Regret arrives in-system with a small Covenant Armada. The Covenant send out waves of boarding parties to destroy the extremely powerful Orbital Defense Platforms with bombs. The boarders succeed on two stations, the Malta and the Athens, but the Master Chief, with the help of his AI companion Cortana, disables the bomb on the Cairo; following this, as Regret's forces are attempting to land on Earth, the Chief takes the bomb, and, using an airlock, freefalls through space, passing through part of a Covenant Carrier, where he reactivates the bomb and destroys the ship, before being picked up by the UNSC frigate, In Amber Clad.

The battle is then taken to the surface of Earth, at New Mombasa, where Master Chief and the UNSC Marines attempt to push back the invading forces. Originally, John's mission was to attempt to board Regret's Carrier and capture the Prophet, but once the Scarab leading the Covenant attack is destroyed, Regret's ship attempts to escape. This led to In Amber Clad, with Sergeant Johnson, Miranda Keyes and the Chief aboard, following the ship, as it made a Slipspace jump inside the city.

The Arbiter
The Elite branded in the opening cutscene was sentenced to be executed; however, rather than have him slain outright, the Prophet of Truth and Mercy made the decision to give him a chance to regain his lost honor and serve the Covenant again.

The Prophet's offered him the role of Arbiter, the highest honor for an Elite during a time of instability. As the Arbiter, he must conduct missions for the prophets that are almost certainly suicidal in which the current Arbiter will die as a martyr for his race. This is part of the Great Journey, which is a religious series of events that the Covenant heavily believes in. In order to complete their "Great Journey", the Covenant must activate the Halo installations. It is assumed that the "Great Journey" is referring to a space age rapture that will kill all life in the galaxy, and there will be a "Judgment Day" where all will be judged and the ones without sin will join the gods of the Covenant.

As his first mission, the Arbiter must eradicate a group of Heretics who have separated themselves from Covenant society. They reside in a gas facility near the destroyed Alpha Halo. The Arbiter was to die during this mission, but he escaped death and succeeded in killing the Heretic leader and his followers. This is the first time we witness conflict within the Covenant society as the Heretic leader tries to convince the Arbiter he is a fool for believing in the "Great Journey" and the lie of the Prophets.

Discovery of Installation 05
During this time, the Master Chief and company, aboard the UNSC ship In Amber Clad, are transported through the slipsapce portal to the vicinity of another Halo ring which is dubbed Delta Halo - on which they land and attempt to track down Regret. This time, the humans are well aware of the dangers Halo presents. While tracking Regret, Cortana and the Chief learn that he is planning to activate the ring. As Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson begin to search for a way to disable the installation before the Covenant are able activate it, Master Chief discovers Regret's location, infiltrates his temple, and takes him down. Rather than aiding his fellow hierarch, the Prophet of Truth calls back the Phantoms that would have provided Regret with help and instead destroys the temple with an Energy Projector. Narrowly escaping the destroyed building, Master Chief is then captured by Gravemind.

The Index and Gravemind
On High Charity, the Prophets have stripped the Elites of their role as the Prophets' protectors in the wake of Regret's death and give the honor to the Brutes, casuing more friction within the Covenant. The Arbiter has returned and is sent by the Prophets to Delta Halo with a new mission - to lower the contamination shields surrounding the ring's Library and retrieve the "Sacred Icon" located within. The icon is actually an object called The Index, which is needed in order to activate the ring. Once the shields are lowered, it is revealed to the Covenant forces that the Flood have been released. However, the Arbiter continues to press forward, aided by Tartarus. To further complicate things, the humans are also heading for the Library to retrieve the Index before the Covenant do so they will be unable to use it. Admist the chaos of the fighting Covenant, Humans, and Flood, the Arbiter eventually reaches the Library. Johnson and Keyes have got there first and sieze the Index, forcing the Arbiter to combat them, knocking them both unconcious. After retrieving the Index, Tartarus takes it from The Arbiter and has his Brutes surround him. The Arbiter objects, saying the Prophets will not stand for his actions, to which Tartarus laughs, informing him that the Prophets sent him to kill the Arbiter. Tartarus then blasts the Arbiter into the seemingly bottomless core of the Library and takes Keyes and Johnson captive.

In the next cutscene, the Master Chief regains conciousness to find himself caught in green vine-looking tenacles. The Arbiter is also being held next to him, struggling to break free. A giant hideous being known as the Gravemind, a highly intelligent form of the Flood, holds the two captive. He comments on the differences between Humans and Elites and informs the Arbiter of the Prophets' treachery and Halo's true nature, to which the Arbiter still refuses to believe. The creature then reveals that he has reanimated the corpse of the Prophet of Regret as part of himself. He also has with him 2401 Penitent Tangent, the monitor of Delta Halo. 2401 and Regret argue about the truth behind the "Great Journey", Regret saying it will bring salvation while 2401 disagrees with the Covenant's responsibility in handling Halo and the Flood. Gravemind says that the Covenant will not find the salvation they are looking for. Master Chief backs this up, telling the Arbiter that Halo is a weapon. When the Arbiter still finds this hard to accept, Gravemind says he will show him the truth and transports both the Master Chief and the Arbiter to seperate places where they will likely find the Prophet of Truth and the Index. It is now that the Arbiter truly realizes the Elites have been betrayed.

High Charity
Master Chief is transported to High Charity where he interrupts the Prophet of Truth's announcement to the Covenant that the "sacred icon" has been found. Truth flees and after fighting off several Brutes, the Chief inputs Cortana into the Covenant network, separating himself from her. She discovers that the Covenant are in the middle of a civil war with the Prophets, who are executing a genocide against the rebelling Elites. Brutes are put in charge and sent to wipe out the remaining Elites. Knowing Truth has the Index, Master Chief races after him. As the Chief travels through the ancient planetoid, he encounters much conflict between Covenant, allowing for less resistance against himself and making it easier for him and Cortana to infiltrate the area. The Flood suddenly arrive on board the human's ship In Amber Clad and start infesting the city.

Guarded by Tartarus and his Brutes, Truth and Mercy prepare to board an ancient Forerunner ship in the middle of the city, with Johnson and Keyes brought along as captives. Flood infection forms attack and one of them latches on to Mercy. When Tartarus attempts to assist, Truth says to leave him and tells Mercy "the Great Journey waits for no one, brother. Not even you." Truth and the Brutes leave Mercy to die. Master Chief arrives just as they are heading for the ship. The dying Mercy tells him that Truth is going to Earth, to fini sh what they started. Cortana tells Chief he has to stop him. Not wanting to risk a remote detonation of In Amber Clad, she decides to stay behind as Chief races after Truth.

The Great Journey
The Arbiter is transported to a forest and finally realizes the truth in Gravemind's words after being attacked by a group of Brutes, who were once his allies. He rallies Elites and makes his way to the entrance of the structure. Once making his way through the cavern, he reunites with Rtas 'Vadumee, an Elite Commander. They combine forces with Sergeant Johnson and help get the Scarab to the middle structure to make an entrance for the Arbiter to get to Tartarus. He then makes his way to the center of the structure to stop Tartarus from activating the ring.

The Halos, we learn from 343 Guilty Spark, were built to prevent the Flood from spreading throughout the Galaxy, and that the Forerunners who built it were wiped out when they fired it as a "weapon of last resort" at some point in the remote past. In spite of this, the Brute leader Tartarus forces Miranda to activate the ring in preparation to fire, to bring about - in his eyes - the Great Journey. The player must fight Tartarus (and on higher levels other Brutes) to retrieve the Index and stop the activation of Installation 05.

The Index is retrieved and the Installation cannot fire. 343 Guilty Spark reveals that although the Index was removed before Delta Halo had time to complete its firing sequence, it sent signals to other Installations in the Galaxy, putting them on standby mode. Now, they can only be activated remotely from the Ark.

After that scene the camera moves to a picture of Master Chief apparently aboard the Forerunner ship. When asked by Lord Hood why he is on the ship all he says is, "Sir, finishing this fight."

After the credits roll, a teaser for Halo 3 shows where the Flood has completely taken over High Charity with the Gravemind saying "Silence fills the empty grave now that I am gone, but my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on." The scene then changes to a stand in the council chambers of the Hierarchs the Gravemind then says "Now I shall ask, and you shall answer." It then changes to Cortana saying "Alright, shoot".

There is no novelization of this game yet. It is possible that a novelization that follows the canon laid down by the previous three novels might differ somewhat plot wise from the game, due to various differences between the game and the other novels.

Campaign
The campaign in Halo 2 picks up directly after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The story dives 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.

The 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: CE because the player will play as both the Master Chief and a new character, a troubled Covenant Elite known as The Arbiter. The player has an adjusted arsenal of weapons, some of which have been altered or removed from Halo: CE, and new weapons being introduced. The biggest alteration to gameplay 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. In terms of vehicles, all vehicles from the first game remain with a few new vehicles being introduced. In Halo 2, however, vehicles can be destroyed and the player is able to "board" an enemy vehicle by climbing on and knocking the driver out. The same can be done by an enemy to the player when driving. As the Arbiter, the player is not equipped with a flashlight and instead a rechargeable Active Camouflage that last for short bursts, giving the player a preemptive advantage on unsuspecting enemies.

There are four levels of competition: Easy, Normal, Heroic and Legendary.

You can have a variety of allies; if you are the Master Chief, you are accompanied by UNSC Marines and occasionally Marine ODSTs and you mainly battle all Covenant species and for one time, the Flood. But if you are the Arbiter you are joined by Grunts, Jackals, Hunters, and Elites but do not fight humans, instead you combat the Heretics, the Flood and occasionally Sentinels and Enforcers.

After a number of levels you will begin to fight the Covenant Loyalists which include the following: the Prophets as the leadership group, the Brutes as the commanding group, and the Jackals and Drones as the followers.

Multiplayer
There are a wide variety of multiplayer game types, several of which have returned from the original Halo game. A typical death match game called Slayer, two team based Capture the Flag Team Slayer games, an offense/defense version of capture the flag called Assault, a more esoteric free-for-all form of capture the flag called Oddball, a game extrapolated from a child's game of "tag" called Juggernaut, and a game of capturing certain parts of the map called Territories, as well as others and the ability to create one's own variants. Of the preset variations present in the original game, only Race is missing, replaced by a similar but different game. You also have the option of choosing an Elite skin to play as and have the color changes just like the Spartan skin if you chose them in the edit menu.

Multiplayer (Online play)
Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 allows players to compete with each other over the Xbox Live online service, in addition to the originals support for split-screen and System Link multiplayer. Halo 2's Xbox Live mode offers 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 uses 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 "every man for himself" 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. Note: It appears that the host has some advantages over other players during the game due to lag (giving him the ability to move/react faster than the other players, and for certain glitches to work), resulting in a form of cheating called bridging in which somebody uses their PC to get host.

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 up by skill level, which tends to eliminate the kind of severely imbalanced games that less-skilled players often consider unfair and unenjoyable. The automatic host selection process also eliminates the ability of the host to exert outsized 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.

On April 25, 2005, Bungie released the first four of nine new multiplayer maps over Xbox Live. The first four were Containment and Warlock for free and Sanctuary and Turf for $4.99 until they were made free on June 28, 2005. On July 5, 2005, the final five of the nine new maps: Backwash, Elongation, Gemini, Relic, and Terminal, were released for $11.99 until they were made free on August 30, 2005.

On April 17, 2007, Desolation and Tombstone were released via Xbox Live, and again on May 7, 2007, after several glitches on the maps were found and fixed. The maps initially had a fee of $4.00 until July 7, 2007 (a.k.a Bungie Day) when they were released for free.

Updates and Map Packs
Through Xbox Live, players receive mandatory updates for Halo 2 which fix bugs, exploits and tweak features to ensure fair gameplay online and offline. The latest version of Halo 2 (on Xbox) is version 1.5. The Auto-Updates and map packs are as follows:


 * Bonus Map Pack
 * Killtacular Pack
 * Maptacular Pack
 * Blastacular Pack
 * Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack (A collaboration of all map packs and Auto-Updates excluding the Blastacular Pack and Auto-Updates 4 and 5.)

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.


 * Shields: The Shield in Halo 2 is slightly weaker than it was in Halo: Combat Evolved, but recharges at a higher rate. It slowly decreases in power as it sustains damage. After it takes damage, it starts to recharge 2 seconds after the last time damage was sustained. The power is displayed above the motion tracker in the bottom-left of the screen.

Note: the amount of protection/recharge time it provides varies with difficulty, decreasing as the difficulty is raised.


 * 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 word on 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. (note: on multiplayer, 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)

More unique powerups known as skulls exist in campaign mode, as hidden items for the player to find.

UNSC Weapons

 * M6C Personal Defense Weapon System
 * M7 Caseless Submachine Gun
 * M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade
 * M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher
 * M68 Gauss Cannon
 * M90A Close Assault Weapon System
 * M247 General Purpose Machine Gun
 * BR55 Battle Rifle
 * SRS99C-S2 AMB Sniper Rifle

Covenant Weapons

 * 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-52 Automatic Plasma Cannon
 * Scarab Gun (Only found in the Metropolis and in the Great Journey using mods)

Jiralhanae Weapons

 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Fist of Rukt
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Jiralhanae)
 * Type-25 Grenade Launcher

Forerunner Weapons

 * Sentinel Beam

Usable

 * M12 Warthog LRV
 * M12G1 Warthog LAAV
 * M808B Scorpion MBT

Non Usable

 * D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship
 * Albatross Heavy Dropship
 * C709 Longsword Interceptor
 * UNSC Frigate
 * (FFG-142)
 * Orbital Defense Platform
 * ODA-142 Cairo
 * ODA-143 Malta
 * ODA-144 Athens
 * ODA-144 Athens

Usable

 * Type-?? "Shadow" Troop Carrier (only with a mod)
 * Type-?? "Spectre" Infantry Support Vehicle
 * Type-25 "Wraith" Main Battle Tank
 * Type-26 "Banshee" Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-32 "Ghost" Rapid Assault Vehicle

Non Usable

 * Assault Carrier
 * CCS-class Battlecruiser
 * High Charity
 * Seraph-class Starfighter
 * Type-47 "Scarab" Ultra Heavy Assault Platform
 * Type-52 "Phantom" Troop Carrier

Campaign Levels

 * The Heretic
 * Armory
 * Cairo Station
 * Outskirts
 * Metropolis
 * The Arbiter
 * Oracle
 * Delta Halo
 * Regret
 * Sacred Icon
 * Quarantine Zone
 * Gravemind
 * Uprising
 * High Charity
 * The Great Journey

Multiplayer Maps

 * Lockout
 * Ascension
 * Midship
 * Ivory Tower
 * Beaver Creek
 * Burial Mounds
 * Colossus
 * Zanzibar
 * Coagulation
 * Headlong
 * Waterworks
 * Foundation
 * Containment
 * Warlock
 * Sanctuary
 * Turf
 * Backwash
 * Elongation
 * Gemini
 * Relic
 * Terminal
 * Desolation (Exclusive to the Xbox version)
 * Tombstone (Exclusive to the Xbox version)
 * District (Exclusive to the PC version)
 * Uplift (Exclusive to the PC version)
 * Example (Example map for the PC version's map editor)

Trailers
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 s in orbit. The battle appears to have the UNSC losing. 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.


 * Halo 2 Announcement Trailer
 * Halo 2 Cinematic Trailer

E3 2003
In 2003 at E3, 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, and Sergeant Banks were all seen/heard in the demo. The demo showed off new features like Dual-Wielding (the 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. 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. Most of this now appears in the Halo 2 level: Metropolis.

E3 2004
In 2004 at E3, 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 model and the Elite 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 Duel-Wielding ability, Explosive Barrels, Ghost's boosting, Warthogs horn and Gauss Cannon and Sword Lunging. Afterwards fans were allowed to try out the demo.

Halo 2 Versions
Halo 2 shipped in two versions:

Halo 2 Regular Edition ($49.99 at launch, now $29.99)


 * Standard Xbox game case with Halo 2 box art.
 * Halo 2 for Xbox.
 * Halo 2 game manual from the Humans' perspective.
 * Pamphlet advertising Halo 2: The Official Guide and Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume 1.
 * 2 month Xbox Live trial card.

Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition ($54.99 at launch, now discontinued)


 * Sleek metal case with outer plastic slipcover.
 * Halo 2 for Xbox.
 * Halo 2 game manual from the Covenant's perspective (written as a report from the Arbiter to the Prophet of Truth)
 * "Making of Halo 2" DVD with other featurettes including game design, deleted scenes, concept art, deleted content and more.
 * Pamphlet advertising Halo 2: The Official Guide and Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume 1.
 * Booklet called Conversations from the Universe.
 * 7-Eleven Slurpee coupon (advertising the three Limited Edition Halo 2 Slurpee cups).
 * 2 month Xbox Live trial card specially printed with Halo 2 imagery.

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 can not 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 Elites. 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. 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 privative 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 plotline 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 the 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.

The elements of sacrifice and honor are both present. Cortana has sacrificed her safety to remain in the clutches of Gravemind, while The Arbiter accepts a suicide mission in order to regain the honor he lost when he failed to stop the destruction of Installation 04.

Reaction
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 lower than Halo: Combat Evolved, citing enhanced multiplayer and more repetitive gameplay. Halo 2 received multiple awards, including Best Console game of the month.

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 a new 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 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 has 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. On the morning of October 14, 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 preorders 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.

Trivia

 * Due to the limited time before release, the original last three levels were cut.
 * A gameplay video was released before the game was shipped showing an extended version of an on-Earth level after landing in the city from a Pelican, Master Chief would meet Brutes and escape down a highway, only to see Elites falling in pods from the sky all around him. The cutscene that it ended with featured a popular line from Cortana, who when Master Chief pulled out a plasma grenade, she said, "Betcha can't stick it." to which Master Chief said, "You're on" and the trailer ended. The level was edited down and did not include most of what the trailer showed.
 * Originally, there were to be several kinds of Warthogs including an Arctic model, 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. A rocket-launcher enabled Warthog was included in Halo: PC and the ATV and variations of the Warthog appear in Halo 3.
 * Bungie has referred to Halo 2 as "...a lot like Halo 1. Only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 120 miles per hour in a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas. And the ninjas are all on fire too." This phrase inspired various references, in the game and throughout the community, to burning ninjas.
 * A song, known as "Remembrance" at the start up screen, (The un-edited version found on the "Halo 2 Original Sound Track Volume 1") just happens to play for exactly 1:17 (John's serial number) or 77 seconds.
 * There are 21,090 lines of dialog, most of them randomly triggered during combat.
 * John-117's armor gets damaged throughout the game and you can see paint coming off more each level.
 * Unlike Halo 1 and 3, Halo 2 is the only game where the weapon shown in the cutscene corresponds with the weapon held by the player.
 * A Windows Vista version is available with enhanced graphics.
 * The main menu plays music, but if left alone for a while then a video will come on, which is the trailer.
 * Originally, at the end of Cairo Station there was going to be no bomb, but another level taking place on the Covenant carrier where you would fight a Drinol. At the end of the level when you destroy it you get to freefall onto In Amber Clad, and can look around when falling. The level was deleted.

Halo 2: Original Soundtrack
There are two volumes of the Halo 2 soundtrack, one released alongside the game, and the other released in Early 2006.

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