Halo 2 (Windows Vista)

Bungie Studios, along with Hired Gun, a division of Microsoft Studios, is currently working on porting Halo 2 for use on the Windows Vista operating system, as a release title for the "Games for Windows" category. No Mac or XP version is planned as of now.

Main Additions
Halo 2 Vista has been reworked graphically for the PC, including high-definition textures and support for very high resolutions. While the single player campaign does not differ from the Xbox version, if the player has a gamertag for Live, they can earn single player achievements to be displayed on their account.

One of the selling points of Halo 2 Vista is an included map editor. It will include the same programs as previously used in the Halo Editing Kit (HEK). These programs are Guerilla, Sapien and Tool. The full extent of the map editor's capabilities have not yet been made available.

The release date was originally planned for May 8th, 2007. The release date has been delayed for May 22, 2007 (May 29, 2007 in Australia) because the team needs "to make some improvements to the install experience and address other technical issues.". However, release dates have been erratic, as Australia has publicly available copies, and some stores in the United States are selling copies, as well. No official word has come from Bungie, Microsoft, or Hired Gun regarding the release date.

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. It allows the end-user to play the game as it is installing.

Multiplayer Additons
Halo 2 Vista, being a release title of Games for Windows, includes support for the Live for Windows system. It intertwines with the Xbox Live system, allowing communication with someone who has an Xbox. Instead of using matchmaking, players will be 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, silver account can be registered for a player. For $50 a year, a silver account can be upgrades to a gold account.
 * Features for Silver Accounts
 * Free.
 * One Gamertag can be created
 * Common gamer profile
 * Common gamerscore
 * Single Player Acheveiments
 * Private Chat
 * Friends List


 * Features for Gold Accounts
 * $50 a year
 * All Silver Features
 * Multiplayer Achevements
 * Can play on own dedicated servers

Exclusive to Halo 2 Vista are 2 new maps, Uplift and District. Users can also create their own custom maps using the new map editor, and then host games with those. Players who join will automatically download those maps, and then will be able to play.