Game

Halo 2

2004 · Xbox · PC (Microsoft Windows) · Xbox One · Shooter

82IGDB player score
698 ratings

Previously Take

An 82 average from 698 ratings: not perfect, but the kind of game people keep recommending anyway. A shooter with science fiction, warfare in its DNA — loud, fast, and built for repeat runs. A full single-player game with a multiplayer side that refuses to die. Released in 2004 and aging better than most games from last year.

About this game

Halo 2 is a first-person shooter developed by Bungie and the sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. The campaign alternates between two playable characters: the human supersoldier Master Chief and the Covenant warrior known as the Arbiter. The game introduced online multiplayer via Xbox Live with an automated matchmaking system, dual-wielding of certain weapons, and vehicle hijacking. It supports both cooperative campaign and competitive multiplayer modes, and was the best-selling game on the original Xbox.

In the 26th century, the Covenant, a powerful alliance of alien races, launches a surprise attack on Earth. Master Chief defends the planet's orbital stations before pursuing the Covenant fleet to a second Halo installation. Meanwhile, a disgraced Covenant Elite commander is branded a heretic for failing to prevent the first Halo's destruction and given the suicidal rank of Arbiter. As both warriors pursue their separate missions, they uncover a brewing civil war within the Covenant and a parasitic threat that endangers all sides.