Halo 2: The Game Itself



Easily the most anticipated product in the history of video gaming, Halo 2 hit the US shelves on November 9th, 2004 like a new batch of popular candy in a candy store.

On the morning of October the 14th, one month before release, a leak of the French version of Halo 2 was spread through a large portion of the internet. Bungie attempted to contain the spread, but it did not affect sales anyways.

In the first 24 hours of release, Halo 2 sold 2.4 million copies ($125 million dollars, beating "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" for highest grossing release in entertainment history.) and on November 9th the following year had sold over 7 million copies worldwide. Halo 2 immediately began raking in the awards such as "Game of the Year 2004" at GPhoria.

A common question is: "Will Halo 2 ever be released for the PC?" Bungie answered that question early this year on February 9th. They announced Halo 2's release exclusively for the Windows Vista operation system. A small team from Bungie would be working on porting the game from XBox to PC.

Gameplay changes from Halo 1

Massive graphics improvement: graphics are upgraded to looking nearly "next-generation" with realistic lighting and special effects. Utilizes the Havok physics engine (seen in games such as Half-Life 2).

More Weapons and Vehicles: blow up your enemies in more ways than ever!

Improved A.I.: try to hide from an elite behind a box and the elite will jump over it to smack you upside the head for running, while your fellow marines take tactical cover behind wrecked cars and slowly advance to your aid.

5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound: you're running to a Warthog when you hear beeping from behind, you spin yourself around and see teammates beckoning you into their own Warthog, suddenly you hear a rocket from your left. BOOM! Too late you're dead.

Free Content From Bungie: get free updates and content for Halo 2 over XBox Live.