Product Description

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the bestselling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier who is the only man that has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth.

Halo 2 surpasses its predecessor both in graphical beauty and combat intensity. The Master Chief and his marine allies return to battle the full complement of Covenant forces, as well as new enemies who have not yet revealed themselves. Halo 2 also expands the Master Chief's already-substantial arsenal with powerful new weapons, many pried from the twitching claws of defeated enemies, as well as more than twice as many drivable vehicles for exploring vast landscapes or speeding into battle. In addition to its epic single-player campaign, Halo 2 will be playable online through Xbox Live.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1031 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2004-11-11
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Xbox

Amazon.co.uk Review
The original Halo was one of that rare breed of games that was so compelling it persuaded millions of people to go out and buy a new console just to play it. Without Halo the Xbox would probably have failed instantly, which gives this long awaited sequel an incredible amount to live up to. So far relatively little has been seen of the game but what has been revealed seems to surpass the original with startling ease.

Widely regarded as the best first-person shoot-'em-up ever made for a home console, Halo 2 follows in its forebear's footsteps with a perfect blend of single and multiplayer action. The former offers far more variety than the first game as the battle is brought to Earth and the incredible advances in the game's AI, as well as just its graphics, become immediately obvious. There are now a lot more friendly troops to help you out and the evil Covenant invaders have become even more organised and intelligent.

In the all-important multiplayer mode, the most significant change is that you can now play the game online on Xbox Live against anyone in the world. This is the feature fans have been clamouring for and it's supplemented by new gameplay features such as the ability to steal vehicles, man fixed gun emplacements and play as the bad guys. If you don't yet own an Xbox, Halo 2 is all the reason you need to change that.--David Jenkins

Manufacturer's Description
Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief - a genetically enhanced super-soldier - is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.

Customer Reviews

You have to make the game great yourself!!!!!
Halo 2 on Xbox live, ofcourse its gonna be quality. If thats your main selling angle for this game then you're in for a real treat. I'm going to hopefully give a fresh angle on single/cooperative mode.

The WOW factor of the first Halo is always going to be hard to reproduce. The graphics are slightly improved (apart from some dodgy pop-up in the early cut scenes) and there's a lot more going on in the background. I found myself staring out the window watching the space battle for a couple of minutes extra entertainment, but the game still ultimately looks and feels like halo.
The levels are still big and bad, but the biggest seem to be rolling vehicle battles, another element which has been focussed on and vastly improved, therefore you tend to get through them quicker (anyone remember back tracking quite a lot in the first halo?). ALL the vehicles can now be destroyed, there are more of them, and there are more to drive. There are more bad guys to kill, more insight into the covenant side of the story and you get to be the covenant. There are a lot more weapons, including grenade launchers and covenant sniper rifles, but the best part is dual wielding, where you can hold 2 weapons at once, the down side being that you can no longer throw grenades, an extra tactical element.

My annoyance with some of the reviews are that they're saying that the game is too short, then adding "granted I only played it on easy/ normal". Why would you want to just breeze through a game you just spent hardcore money on? put it on a hardcore difficulty level. The beauty of halo 2 is that there are checkpoints after every mini-battle, and once you get to a checkpoint progress is saved, so why not make that mini-battle hard as nails? At the end of the day, yeah multiplayer is good fun, but there is no better fun than playing co-op with a mate on the single player game, on LEGENDARY setting, and within 20 minutes you're screaming at each other until you get to the next checkpoint where the relief is as much as completing the whole game on easy level. Its the only way to play halo 2 and get the proper experience. It'll take forever to complete, it'll boil your blood and you wont even notice or care that the levels are slightly shorter in size to the first game, coz they've thrown in a lot more bad guys and this game is a lot tougher than the first, which doesn't make up for it, it makes it a better game. If you're playing halo 2 completely by yourself, do the same thing, stick it on legendary and within half hour you'll be throwing your gamepad on the floor, walking away from it red-faced, then coming back for more within 5 minutes coz you've had time to think about your tactics. Isn't that the sort of emotion a great game is supposed to bring out? Dont play it on easy, whats the point. You'll probably think the games too short and be disappointed. Stick it on legendary, get a mate round and play halo 2 the way it's suppposed to be played.

Halo 2 rules
Whoever on this earth doesn't have HALO 2 don't know what there missing. It is the best video game EVER made. The fast pace shooting action is thrilling and exciting. The storyline is dark and complex, with many twists and turns. The characters are diverse with the Master Chief, clad in green SPARTAN MARK V armour, the coolest and most awesome video game character. The Arbiter a troubled, duty filled ELITE who can turn invisible and silently exstinguish his enemies with his deadly energy sword. The enemies are tough and smart especially on difficulter level settings. With the alien races of Grunts, Jackals, Elites, Hunters, Brutes and Drones. Along with some forerunner sentinels and the divulged, sickly looking Flood. The weapons at your disposal are many from human rifles, rocket launchers and shotguns to alien sniper rifles, plasma guns and sticky grenades. Commandear vehicles like Warthogs, Ghosts, Wraiths, Scorpions, Banshees and Spectres, each with its own unique firepower and manuverabiliy. There are many levels to finish with hardcore FPS action. And if not all thats enough the multiplayer is SO AWESOME. Battling out against friends on FFA matches or working together in Team Games. You can split screen, system link or even test your skills to their fullest on Xbox live the best internet gaming thing ever. So if your reading this and you don't already have Halo 2 or 1 then get out there and buy it. Believe me if First Person Shooters are your favourite video game types then Halo will seem like a gift from god hence the title 'Halo'which is a ring weapon. So please don't waste time, please buy it

More of the same from Bungie...
The original Halo game was a groundbreaking installment in videogame history, casting a shadow over all other first person shooters to date. The much-hyped sequel is no exception.

Halo 2 is basically a tarted up version of its predecessor - no more no less. The graphics are smoother and the sound is more atmospheric, yet in both cases they are near identical copies of the original character designs and soundtrack. You can play as a covenant elite in single and multiplayer, but there is no real difference to playing as the master chief. Its the same old first person gameplay at the end of the day. Oh, except you can turn invisible for 5 seconds instead of having a flashlight. Id say 85% of the game has been seen and done before in the orignal.

But to be fair, if you had never played Halo 1 before (problem: who hasn't...), then Halo 2 would leave you speechless for a month after five minutes of the rich scenery and classic gameplay. The scale of some of the battlefields in the sequel is something yet to be seen in any other video game. Think of the epic battle scenes in the first game and multiply. The detail and sheer size of some of the environments truly exhibits the XBOX's claim to the title King of the Consoles. Aint no way a PS2 could cope with some of the stuff witnessed here.

There are also nearly twice as many weapons and some imaginative new enemies with which to tango. As a result, even if you have played Halo before, there are a few new tricks and tactics you will need to develop to get through. As a veteran of the first game, having completed it on the most difficult setting, I started Halo 2 not on normal but one grade higher (heroic), but still managed to finish it within a week. Probably about 25-30hrs gamplay all in all.

The one and only fault with Halo 2 is that it is too much like its Pops. The four star rating above is an average of two marks. Five stars (and beyond) if you have not played Halo 1, three stars if you have. Either way, however, you will not be disappointed, and there is also a whole world of multiplayer to discover and extend the lifespan of this very accomplished and technologically advanced game.