Information AboutHalo 2 |
''Halo 2'' is a ''. After its initial release, ''Halo 2'' was the most popular video game on Xbox Live ,1 holding that rank until the release of '' Gears Of War '' for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later.2 By June 20 , 2006 , more than 500 million games of ''Halo 2'' had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live ;3 by May 9th , 2007 , this number had risen to five billion, with more than five million unique players on Xbox Live .4 The game features a new travel and colonized hundreds of worlds, have been engaged in a war against a collective of genocidal alien races, the Covenant .5 The player assumes the roles of Master Chief and The Arbiter , and fights enemies on foot or with a collection of alien and human vehicles.6 As of November 9 , 2005 , more than seven million units of the game had been sold worldwide; on the eve of the release of '' Halo 3 '', the number had grown past nine million.7 A Windows Vista version of the game was released on June 1 , 2007 in North America .8 It was developed by team at Microsoft Game Studios who are referred to internally as ''Hired Gun''. Game developer Pi Studios will be producing editing tools for this version, which will allow users to create unique multiplayer maps. GAMEPLAY ''Halo 2'' is a story-driven action-shooter game with a First-person perspective.9 The game features an expanded range of vehicles, as well as other gameplay changes compared to its predecessor. In the original ''Halo'', health and shield bars are visible on-screen. In ''Halo 2'', the Health Bar is no longer visible; instead, health regenerates quickly when the player is not taking damage. ''Halo 2'' features more than fourteen human and alien weapons, many new to the series. Certain weapons can be dual-wielded, which allows the player to sacrifice reload times and accuracy plus the ability to use Grenade s for raw firepower. The player can carry two weapons at a time (or three if dual-wielding; one weapon remains holstered), with each weapon having advantages and disadvantages in different combat situations. For example, most Covenant weapons eschew disposable ammo clips for a contained battery, which cannot be replaced if depleted. However, these weapons can overheat if fired too rapidly in a short time. On the other hand, human weapons are less effective at penetrating shields and require reloading, but cannot overheat due to prolonged fire. The player can also carry a total of eight grenades (up to four of each type: plasma and fragmentation); however, grenades can only be thrown when single-wielding. Another new ability found in ''Halo 2'' is the ability to Board enemy vehicles that are near the player and traveling at low speeds. The player or AI latches onto the vehicle and forcibly ejects the other player or AI from their position. Campaign The game's "Campaign" mode offers options for both Single Player and cooperative Multiplayer participation. In campaign mode, the player must complete a series of Levels that encompass ''Halo 2'' There are four 's active camouflage; a decrease in the player's health and shields; and occasional changes in dialogue.10 The plot of the game takes the player from a futuristic version of Mombasa , Kenya , to a space station in orbit around Earth, to a massive floating city called High Charity , light-years from the solar system. Areas of the maps that players would normally never see due to design constrictions are still fully modeled and detailed, and experienced players can exploit gameplay flaws or glitches to explore new areas; notable examples are the mountains of Delta Halo and the skyscrapers of Metropolis. There is a great amount of hidden content within the game, including Easter Eggs , messages, hidden objects, and weapons. The most well-known of the hidden content are the skulls hidden on every level. The skulls, which can be picked up like a weapon (or "ball" as in the '"Oddball" multiplayer gametype), are located in hard-to-reach places. Many are exclusive to the Legendary mode of difficulty. Once activated, each skull has a specific effect on gameplay. For example, the "Sputnik" skull found on the Quarantine Zone level alters the mass of objects in the game; for instance, explosions can launch these objects across larger distances. Skull effects can be combined to provide various new levels of difficulty and/or novelty.11 Multiplayer Unlike its predecessor, ''Halo 2'' allows players to compete with each other via Xbox Live, in addition to the original game's support for split-screen and System Link multiplayer. ''Halo 2'''s Xbox Live mode offers changes from earlier online first-person shooters. Traditionally, one player sets his or her computer or console up as a game Server or host, specifying the game type, Map , and configuring other settings. The game software then uses a service such as 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'', however, Xbox Live players do not choose to host public games, and they do not specify individual maps and options to search for. Instead, players select Playlist s that are geared to different styles of play. For example, the "Rumble Pit" playlist offers "every man for himself" game types, and "Team Skirmish" offers 4-on-4 team games, which are primarily objective-based games like Capture The Flag . Bungie occasionally deletes the unpopular game types and adds new ones. The Xbox Live servers create games automatically from the pool of players that have chosen each playlist, choosing a game type and map automatically and selecting one player to serve as the game's host. If the Xbox console hosting the game resigns, the Xbox Live service automatically selects a new host from among the remaining players so the game can continue. Players can create small parties with their friends and/or clan and enter games together as teammates in Team based games. Players may also set up games for their own party to their own specification, and invite others into that game from their Friends and Clan lists; however, these games are not made publicly available. For fairness and balance reasons, certain gameplay aspects from the Campaign mode are disabled or missing in Multiplayer: an example is the absence of the hand-held Fuel Rod Cannon and the removal of the Banshee's fuel rod cannon. Technical lead designer, Chris Butcher, commented on the development of ''Halo 2'' SYNOPSIS Setting See Also: Halo universe ''Halo 2'' takes place in the same science fiction universe as ''Halo''. According to the story, humans have colonized numerous worlds due to the development of Faster-than-light travel. Twenty-seven years before the beginning of ''Halo 2'', the outer colony world of Harvest was destroyed by a collection of alien races, called the Covenant. Since then, the humans and Covenant have been locked in a bloody war, with the UNSC forces continually losing major engagements. The Cole Protocol was created in the hope of preventing the Covenant from discovering human population centers, particularly Earth itself. However, shortly before the events of ''Halo 2'', the Master Chief heads to Earth after destroying a Covenant fleet to warn of an impending Covenant attack on humanity's home planet.14 Characters See Also: List of Halo series characters The ''). The Arbiter, meanwhile, is assisted by the varied races of the Covenant and the Special Operations Commander, Rtas 'Vadumee . The Covenant are the story's antagonists, although due to the action shifting between the Master Chief and his Covenant counterpart, the Arbiter, these enemies are sometimes allies. Playing an antagonistic role in the later stages of the game to both sides is the entity called Gravemind , a Flood intelligence of unknown motives. Plot The story of ''Halo 2'' is told through in-game dialogue as well as , the game opens with the judgment and torture of the former Covenant Elite Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, who is being punished for his incompetence of safeguarding Installation 04 . This is juxtaposed with the recognition ceremony of the Master Chief and Sergeant Avery Johnson receiving awards aboard Cairo Station, a MAC Gun platform orbiting Earth, alongside Miranda Keyes .Lord Hood: Commander Miranda Keyes. Your father's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service. His bravery in the face of impossible odds reflects great credit, upon himself, and the UNSC. The Navy has lost one of its best. 16 It is revealed that the Covenant's interest in Halo lies in the belief that the activation of Halo would bring about the "Great Journey" , which would cleanse the universe of lesser lifeforms (including the Flood ) and allow them to follow the Forerunners to their mysterious destination, where they would exist as gods.Prophet of Regret: The Forerunners, our most exalted lords, used the seven sacred rings to flee a doomed existence, to escape their endless struggle against the flood. 17 Soon after the commencement of , while the flagship of the Covenant fleet speeds past Earth's defenses and heads toward Earth itself. Master Chief and Cortana join the UNSC ship '' In Amber Clad '', which is en route to New Mombasa to deal with the Covenant flagship. Before reaching New Mombasa, Cortana decodes transmissions revealing that the flagship carries the High Prophet of Regret. The UNSC successfully repels the Covenant invasion force with the help of Master Chief, and the Covenant ship begins preparations for a slipspace jump to an unknown destination. The ship makes the jump, and the city is destroyed in the shockwave. To avoid destruction, '' In Amber Clad '' follows and discovers a second Halo installation dubbed " Delta Halo ". The crew of ''In Amber Clad'' learns more about the Covenant's belief regarding the Halos, and Master Chief ultimately slays the High Prophet of Regret while Keyes attempts to secure the Index to prevent the activation of Delta Halo.19 The action switches to the condemned Covenant fleet commander assuming the role of the , not the religious artifacts the Covenant believes them to be.Gravemind: Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before. / '''Master Chief:''' This thing's right. Halo's a weapon. Your prophets are making a big mistake. 20 (left) and Master Chief , the game's protagonists, in the tentacles of Gravemind .]] The Master Chief and the Arbiter meet upon the release of the and setting the tone for '' Halo 3 ''. SOUNDTRACK See Also: Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume One Halo 2 Original Soundtrack: Volume Two The ''Halo 2'' soundtrack was composed primarily by Martin O'Donnell and his musical partner Michael Salvatori, the team that had previously composed the critically-acclaimed music of ''Halo''. O'Donnell noted in composing the music for ''Halo 2'' that "Making a sequel is never a simple proposition. You want to make everything that was cool even better, and leave out all the stuff that was weak."24 O'Donnell made sure that no part of the game would be completely silent, noting " Ambient Sound is one of the main ways to immerse people psychologically. A dark room is spooky, but add a creaking floorboard and rats skittering in the walls and it becomes ''really'' creepy. " ''Halo 2'', unlike its predecessor, was mixed to take full advantage of Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Sound .''Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume 1'' liner notes; supplemental by Martin O'Donnell In the summer of '', containing all the music present in the game organized in Suite form, was released on April 25 2006 . DEVELOPMENT AND RELEASE ''Halo 2'' was officially announced in September 2002 with a cinematic trailer. The trailer was subsequently packaged with later ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' DVD s. A real-time gameplay video was shown at E3 2003 , which was the first actual gameplay seen by the public; it showcased new features such as dual-wielding and improved graphics. Bungie informed the public on development with weekly ''Halo 2'' development updates which started on January 16 , 2004 and ended June 25 , 2004 ; the weekly updates became standard on the Bungie website even after the release of ''Halo 2''.25 The release of ''Halo 2'' was preceded with numerous promotions, product tie-ins, and movie trailer-like commercials. There was a ''Halo 2'' Celebrity Pre-Release Party at E3 2004 , in which a private home was transformed to replicate the world of ''Halo'', complete with camouflaged marines and roaming Cortanas.26 In addition to more traditional forms of promotion, ''Halo 2'' was also part of an elaborate Alternate Reality Game project titled " I Love Bees " which cost an estimated one million dollars. This 'game' centered around a hacked Website , supposedly a site about Beekeeping , where an AI from the future was residing. The project garnered significant attention from sites including Slashdot and Wired News ;27 Wired noted that the game was drawing attention away from the 2004 Presidential Election .28 The game won an award for creativity at the 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards 29 and was nominated for a Webby award.30 On the morning of October 14 , 2004 , a Leak of the French version of the game was posted on the Internet , and circulated widely.31 ADDITIONAL CONTENT ''Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition'' The ''Limited Collector's Edition'' features the regular edition, but includes several promotional offers, a special cover and a special DVD of the making of ''Halo 2''. The instructional booklet is also written from the Covenant point of view rather than from the UNSC point of view as in the regular edition. Also enclosed is the " Conversations From The Universe " booklet that contains additional information from both the human and the Covenant side of the ''Halo'' storyline; transcripts are available online. The game is enclosed in an aluminum case with the ''Halo 2'' logo. Xbox Live updates A common complaint regarding ''Halo 2's'' online play has been the widespread Cheating , which began occurring almost immediately after the game's release. Users exploited bugs in the game and vulnerabilities of the network to win ranked games and thus increase their matchmaking rank.32 Some players used "standbying" to cheat, in which the player hosting the game intentionally presses the standby button on his or her modem; this results in all player except the cheaters freezing in place. This way, the cheater would be given time to accomplish an objective in the game. "Dummying" involves using an Elite character and a vehicle, exploiting a glitch which would cause a Doppelganger of the player to appear. Cheating also includes Softmodding , in which a player uses devices such as Action Replay and computer programs to gain unfair advantages, and bridging, which uses computer programs to give a player 'host' status, and therefore the ability to disconnect other players from the game session. Many players became frustrated and demanded that Bungie create solutions to the widespread cheating. In response to these complaints, Bungie released an automatic, mandatory update for ''Halo 2'' on Monday, April 18 , 2005 , which eliminated many of the bugs and cheats. In addition, the update reduced the split-screen HUD information, and rebalanced certain weapons to promote use of single-wield weapons, grenades, and melee attacks over dual-wielding. For example, the melee attacks and grenades were made more powerful than they previously were, and the battle rifle now shoots more accurately. Bungie maintains a full list of updates. A game exploitation called "superbouncing" or "superjumping" is labeled cheating by many in the Xbox Live community, and Bungie employees have described it as cheating when used in Matchmaking.33 Another group of glitches, which involve the use of certain button combinations, has similarly been described as cheating by both fans and Bungie employees.34 Despite the condemnations by Bungie employees, players still dispute whether or not superjumping and the use of button combinations is cheating. ''Halo 2'' supports downloadable content, which allows for new multiplayer maps to be retrieved offline. Four maps were made available to download for a fee on April 25 , 2005 ; in subsequent weeks, five new maps were also made available for free on Xbox live. The '' Multiplayer Map Pack '' was also released on that date, as an alternative for those who did not have Xbox Live. Another update was released in July 2005 (a week after the release of the map pack). The update added a detection tool that would automatically detect and ban Modders using modified Xbox's. Modified versions of the downloadable maps allow people to use cheats such as ''auto aim'' and ''automatic reload'' during matches on Xbox Live. Any players who are detected using modified content are automatically banned from matchmaking on Xbox Live within six hours. Anyone who knowingly and willingly plays with modders is banned from matchmaking. Online matchmaking was updated again in June 2006 . This update removed several game playlists, and made other changes within existing playlists. ''Multiplayer Map Pack'' The Multiplayer Map Pack is an expansion pack intended to make Xbox Live content and updates available to offline players. The disk contains the game's Automatic Update , all nine new multiplayer maps, a Documentary about the making of the maps, and a bonus cinematic called "Another Day on the Beach", amongst other features. It was released on July 5 , 2005 . At release, it cost £15 in the UK and $19.99 in the U.S. , available at par in Canada . The new multiplayer content can be used on Xbox Live, System Link and Split-Screen modes. Five of the new maps (Elongation, Terminal, Backwash, Gemini, Relic) were released online through Xbox Live 's downloadable content service on July 5 , the same day as the map pack. The other four maps (Turf, Sanctuary, Warlock, Containment) were released earlier that year. All of the multiplayer maps are now available as free downloads on Xbox Live, except the later released maps (Tombstone and Desolation), which were available on Xbox Live download for US$ 4. Blastacular Map Pack On , Bungie commented that a new update to the servers will be implemented, due to the new maps and playlists. The update was scheduled to be released on April 24 , which would have made the new maps a mandatory download to continue playing most of the playlists in matchmaking.37 However, on April 25, 2007, Frankie announced that due to issues with distribution of the maps to both original Xbox and Xbox 360 owners (the most common problems being unable to turn on 'Premium Content' or the maps failing to install properly). The update was released on May 9 , 2007. Bungie also reset all ranks for ''Halo 2'' at the same time.http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=news&cid=12427 On July, 7th, a.k.a. "Bungie Day", Bungie released the Blastacular pack for free.http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=12625 RECEPTION The first official release of ''Halo 2'' was in '' as the highest grossing release in entertainment history.46 As of November 9 , 2005 , exactly a year after its release, ''Halo 2'' had sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. '' Official Xbox Magazine '' reported that the ''Halo 2'' launch was the biggest event in entertainment history, grossing $ 125 million on the launch date alone.47 The game sold 260,000 units in the United Kingdom in its first week, making it the third fastest-selling title of all time in the UK. On June 20 , 2006 , Xbox.com reported that more than a half-billion games of ''Halo 2'' have been played on Xbox Live since its debut; it also reported that 9.2 million units of ''Halo 2'' have been sold worldwide.48 From the day of its initial release and up until mid-November, 2006, ''Halo 2'' was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, even after the release of the Xbox 360; its position was eventually surpassed in 2006 by the 360-exclusive '' Gears Of War ''. ''Halo'' and ''Halo 2'' are still some of the most played games for the Xbox console. Generally, the game was positively received; many reviewers praised the audio for being especially vivid. Multiplayer especially was noted in being the best on . 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.49 The game's Campaign mode has received some criticism for being too short,50 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'' WINDOWS VISTA VERSION On (where no installation is required) and is unique in the PC market to date. ''Halo 2 for Windows Vista''53 was originally scheduled for release on May 8 , 2007 , but the release was pushed back to May 29th. This delay was apparently due to the insertion of Nudity into the game via a "content error".54 Microsoft will be offering patches to remove the nude content and is revising the boxes to reflect this. Many retailers were not given the notification in time and have sold copies to consumers since as early as May 20th in a few United States Circuit City stores. The offending nudity was a photograph of a male's bare bottom (presumably of a Microsoft or Bungie employee) which appeared as a ".ass" error when using the map editor in ''Halo 2'' for Windows Vista.55 ''Halo 2'' is the first Games For Windows game to feature Achievements . It also includes improved widescreen support, one of the standard features for Games for Windows titles. (While the Xbox version already had this, the PC version fixes stretching of the in-game menus and HUD.) SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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