Gameplay: Great. I didn't really took advantage of the dual wielding mechanic. lol
Story: Great
Controls: Great
Graphics: Great for its time
Length: Great. A bit longer than the 1st game, which is better.

Campaign Review

With Halo 2, I now understand why Halo as a series is such a big deal. Everything in Halo 2 is working in tandem to make you feel like an absolute badass and I love it. The way dual-wielding is integral to the game's design or how SNARKY they made Master Chief. He was basically a husk of a character in 1, and in this one, I absolutely loved him.

The story also really impressed me. In Halo 2, I felt like the science fiction was dialed all the way up. The lore involving the prophets and the mysteries of Halo was interesting to watch unfold and kept me hooked. The best compliment I can give is that the lore in this game made me want to read the books. And I don't like reading books. Keith David's Arbiter is also a highlight of the game. That man has a great set of vocal chords.

Specifically regarding the Anniversary edition, this is one of the best remasters I have ever played. The visual work 343 did is stunning and at times I felt like I was playing a current gen game. Very impressive stuff. The re-done cutscenes are honestly some of the best looking cutscenes I've ever seen in a video game. period. They look that good.

A few nitpicks. I'm still bummed out that subtitles in the MCC don't appear for in-game dialogue. They only work for cutscenes which is annoying. I don't want to miss anything! Also Halo 2 rules but somehow they decided to end the game on a glacially paced vehicle escort mission. It's terrible and the worst part of the game. Thankfully it wasn't enough to tarnish my overall opinion on the game.

I get it now. I'm fully on-board with this franchise.

Evolução natural que se espera de uma sequência em relação a gameplay, com pequenos ajustes e adições.

A história aqui também é bem mais interessante devido a adição de um certo personagem. O level design recebeu um baita upgrade, nada de sensação de andar em círculos igual ao primeiro jogo.

Ah, e as cutscenes refeitas são sacanagem, é de cair o queixo de tão bonito.

O que resta? "Finalizar esta luta"

While merely a remaster, H2A takes many more strides in providing a faithful experience to those looking to experience one of the greatest shooters of all time while still managing to faithfully modernized and up the ante on the original game. The game plays exactly the same as basically no changes were needed, unlike the Combat Evolved remaster, the art style is still latched tight while still providing a lot of new incredible detail and lighting. The sound is also a entirely new outing, with a completely remade-from-the-ground-up score that does a lot of justice to O'Donnell and Salvatori's original score from 2004. I know the Periphery-fronted jam sections replacing classic tracks by Incubus and Breaking Benjamin would be controversial to some, and while I am empathetic, I think they serve as a nice modernization. More empathetic am I towards those with a problem with much more loud, compressed, and modern military sound design, with classic iconic sound bytes being swapped out for sounds of action with little to no character nor resemblance to their 2004 counterparts. The remade cutscenes by Blur Studio are absolutely sensational and, while unfortunately creating an unobtainable standard for the graphics of the actual game (and from this, creating a slightly jarring chasmic transition between gameplay and cutscene), bring insanely textured life to Halo 2's cutscenes.

The multiplayer is also very sick. While it was obviously built on top of Halo 4's multiplayer, it plays a lot more like Halo 2 and brings out a lot of that original grit and pleasure, and all of the map reimaginings look and play incredibly. It's also not just a map pack for Reach, so...

Yet another Halo game where the more I play it, the more I love it!

A bit of a controversial opinion but I have never been big on the orginal Halo 2. I didn't like how the levels were split up and also thought the game was very ugly. This remaster though has only made me fall in love with this game though as it is perfect!

The art style and aesthetic has to be my favourite from any Halo game. The cutscenes and skyboxes are just beautiful and I have always said that this game stands as a prime example of how a remake SHOULD be made.

As for the story? Incredible and one of the strongest of the franchise. The story of both Chief and Arbiter contrast so well and the levels are just brilliant! There are so many memorbale moments and I can never get tired of the cutscenes, they look incredible still nearly a decade later!

Master Chief is one of the most iconic characters around, and despite being on a Western heavy console brand, everyone knows who he is. The green Spartan made waves back in November of 2004 with Halo 2. Halo 2 pretty much defined online console multiplayer and was the driving force for Xbox LIVE throughout the Xbox 1’s lifecycle. I still remember Peter Moore lifting up his sleeve and revealing Halo 2‘s release date as a tattoo on his arm; it was unique and cool and probably something he regretted later on. Halo 2 also received more hate than any other game I can think of, and sadly, I’m one of those people. See, I was a hardcore Sony fanboy at the time and loved my PS2. While it was a superior console, it lacked the show-stopping online games like Halo 2 and lacked an FPS exclusive (Killzone was not the FPS PS2 owners needed).

Halo has a fantastic sci-fi lore and I didn’t appreciate this until I got much older. If you read the comics and novels you will realize just how deep and fantastic the Halo universe is. Halo 2 expands on the first game tenfold in nearly every way. The story is more fleshed out, had fantastic pre-rendered cutscenes, and some incredible voice acting. The campaign was longer than the first game and offered more variety. For starters, dual-wielding was introduced and was one of the first games to make it work right. Each trigger on the Xbox allowed you to fire each gun independently as well as mixing and matching your favorite guns. More weapons were introduced as well as the new Brute enemy. From start to finish, Halo 2 is one of the most diverse FPS campaigns I have ever played from forests to interplanetary ships, to jungle ruins, and even cities; there’s so much to see in this game and it’s also quite beautiful.

One thing I could never get past was the continued use of the same Covenant over and over in each game. However, this allows you to remember and learn the AI quirks of each enemy so when you play the next game you already know their strategy and how to work the game. The Covenant are some of the best enemies ever made in an FPS because they require you to use strategy and use everything in your arsenal. Enemies will duck and hide and run away from you which was almost unheard of back in 2004. Of course with the Anniversary update, the AI is improved and it feels like a fully updated game that could release tomorrow and, despite the graphical age the games have aged very well gameplay wise (Halo 1 is up for debate on that one).

The story behind Halo takes place after the first game with the first Halo ring destroyed, however, a new protagonist joins us as the Covenant Elite Arbiter who was tasked with protecting the ring and failed. He’s made a martyr and must help activate the Halo rings to stop the incoming Flood. Sadly, the Flood are back and more aggressive than ever. I somehow didn’t mind them so much in this game as they are not thrown at you for several levels at a time, but given to you for a level here and there, and man is they some of the most annoying enemies in gaming history. The little tiny “poppy” Floods, the big “pregnant” Floods, and those ones that rush you. Now the Brutes have turned so expect these Flood to be even harder to take down. At least they are more balanced out and not thrown at you in seemingly endless waves.

Another huge update was the vehicles as in Halo 1 they handled like crap. Each vehicle now has a boost feature and they handle so much better and are easier to shoot with and maneuver. They are also given to the player more often and become vital tools in certain levels just like your guns. I also found the shield was used better in this game as it recharges much faster, and health packs are no longer a concern anymore. Master Chief can take a little bit more of a beating after his shield has been used up.

The visuals enhancement in Halo 2 is even better than Halo 1. The game looks amazing with completely redone environments, textures, lighting, and sound this time. Switching between classic and new modes were like night and day — I could never go back to the old Halo 2 again. With these new updates comes the Halo toys you can find as well as more skulls and terminals. These unlock achievements and are quite tricky to find. The worst thing I can find about this game is the difficulty spikes. Some segments required constant restarts to find the right combo of how to hit the enemy or retry a new strategy. This led to many frustrations, but they weren’t as frequent as the first game. I also didn’t like how most skulls can’t be acquired on anything but the hardest difficulty.

Overall, Halo 2: Anniversary is a must play for Xbox One owners or lover of the FPS genre. Halo defined the series for a reason and isn’t quite as shallow as haters would like to think. There’s a whole universe here that people are missing out on as well as some of the best FPS action known to man.

Great game. The weapon variety, vehicles, and moment to moment combat in general are an enormous improvement from Combat Evolved, there is significantly less backtracking, and the story was a lot more enjoyable for me. I didn't expect how Arbiter focused it ended up being and I really quite enjoyed how they put his story into perspective with Chief's.

On the flipside, the level and encounter design is mostly "just okay" with a couple standout areas, ending with 4 chapters that drag quite a bit and a fairly sudden and "eh" cliffhanger. But a really impressive sequel overall, you can absolutely see why this one was influential as well going back.

And the Anniversary updates were also improved! The art direction is kept much more intact in the updated version, and the new terminals actually give info that's interesting in the moment rather than talking lore and teasing sequels at you. I think either version of this one is worth experiencing!

(Played with the Classic Graphics)
While a part of me enjoys how simple the original was in comparison, this is a lot better by a mile.
The graphics are a surprising step up, Master Chief's armor being a specific example. The addition of extra vehicles and dual-wielding makes the gameplay a bit more frantic and enjoyable, and the story is...wow. It's a lot more interesting and fleshed out, specifically the stuff with Arbiter and internal conflicts within the Covenant. The cliffhanger tho is uhhhhh...god damn.
TLDR: play the game whenever you can, it's a true delight.

A magnificently frustrating experience on Legendary, Halo 2 was and still is a landmark achievement in both first person shooters and in science fiction.

While being one shot off-screen by Jackals with beam rifles was eternally frustrating, I had a blast getting giddy everytime Master Chiefs one-liners were soon to appear on screen. Each playthrough of Halo 2 feels like I'm transferred back to myself nearly twenty years ago when I experienced it for the first time.

The HD Touchups with the anniversary edition bring out the intricate lore and rich intrigue that the Halo universe holds. Cutscenes get a massive lift with the new graphics, though they feel now like they did to me way back when. I played in constant awe of the way familiar faces like Miranda Keys, Sergeant Johnson, and the Arbiter looked like with a fresh coat of paint. This game is beautiful, and even though its now nine years old in the anniversary iteration, fits like a glove in the current gamesphere. Another anniversary touchup that I greatly appreciated was the soundtracking. While Marty O'Donnell's initial flight was superb at the time, the updated soundfront and songs breathe a new life into the game that the annivesary desperately needed.

My qualms with H2A really just rest in issues I had with the main game (co-op deaths reset you to checkpoint on legendary for example) thus I cannot detract the anniversary for this per se. Overall I had an amazing time taking that trip through my childhood once more and had the right person to play with. I had a blast setting up cheese strats to hit checkpoints or avoid entire encounters because we were overwhelmed by enemy forces or low on ammunition, its occurrences like this that make the older school FPS' as fun as they are.

I'm glad I got to "Finish the Fight" once more.

They told me that Halo 2 was far better than CE, and they were right!

But don't be fooled, actually, a better sequel doesn't mean it's good. It's just better than the first one.

Everything is better, besides story that i still doesn't understand a single thing. Gunplay, graphics, level design are a pretty good evolution from the boring ones from CE.

But there is one thing that made me love this game a lot: STEALTH. Yeah, now i can skip all the 95% useless fight and get straight to the relevant plot points. That said, Arbiter >>>>>>>>> Masterchief.

Masterchief is a curious one, because he is almost a silent protagonist, no problem in that, but everything he says is a EPIC BADASS PHRASE. That too is not bad, but he does talk enough to the point of being more funny than badass, and sometimes just "yeah yeah, you are badass i understood".

Well, the game did get better in the sequel, so Halo still has chance to redeem itself and this one leaves with a positive balance in the end.

Halo 2 is what a sequel should strive to become. It keeps what works, improves upon that foundation, and built upon it and addresses certain criticisms. Even as a remaster it’s a significant upgrade from combat evolved. A big problem with that game is the upgraded visuals are just so drastically different from the original vision. The art style completely changed and, in many cases, lost the atmosphere of the original and looked worse in places. From a pure presentation standpoint, it's an odd remaster and not a good remaster. In the case of the anniversary edition for 2, it's substantially better. The art style is close to the original and makes updates if necessary. In this case, it seems like 343 understood the original Halo 2 and tried to present that vision in the best quality possible while retaining that atmosphere and it mostly succeeds, it looks stunning.

One of the biggest compliments I can give is that it’s bloody ambitious. The storytelling is so much superior in every sense. The narrative of the original is fine, but here it just takes what work and builds upon it in a compelling way. The Covenant is so much better, I didn't think much of them but here, due to a certain gameplay choice, it makes you think of this organisation in a new light. It gives them depth, and some humanity to the covenant so the struggles become more human as a result. It's not the most complex story just one executed brilliantly. This is helped by the beautiful cutscenes done by Blur Studio. It compliments this space epic so much when presented in this format while the new visuals in gameplay it's just breathtaking.

The gameplay is better than Halo 1. The guns feel snappier, the dual wielding makes it more fun, and the weapon variety is welcomed. I even enjoyed the unique weapon specific to this game and not just the typical rifles, shotguns etc. Though one change I'm a bit mixed on which are shields. I do as it regenerates faster, but the lack of HP makes it hard to indicate how much can you take before dying once the shield is gone. I assume the HP is equivalent to the max in Halo 1, it's just there's a lack of an indicator that gives uncertainty. Maybe have the bar and once the shield regenerated the HP regenerates? Though it's a small issue. The levels are a significant improvement, sure it's less open but it's also less empty as a result. The momentum in gameplay is just better, there's no stupid level as bad as the library and the pacing is just strong across the board. I'm not sure if the vehicle's improved drastically, but it did feel slightly improved. Lastly, the music is fantastic, Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori just get better and better. The tracks in this game just rules, full stop!

There are two major criticisms I have for the game firstly, the bosses, they suck. There might be one decent exchange, but it's not worth it at all. It's very anti-climactic and doesn't favour the strengths of Halo. Secondly, it just ends, I heard the reason is that they ran out of budget which is starkly apparent. Even without knowing that it just feels incomplete, you are in the final mission and the climax is beginning then it just ends. Now I have to praise other aspects there are some new alien entities and beings that are a welcome addition. I think it's in mission 12 the opening cinematic which is fantastic, another is that POV. Which makes those levels very interesting.

In Conclusion, this is the ideal sequel and it’s a must-play if you have played Halo 1, just prepare to install Halo 3 soon afterwards.

Halo 2 is a funny game. The story is just as insane as the first. Normal alien shit, but this time you know there will be zombies. But oops, now there's an eldritch beast underwater that teleports Master Chief and his new friend Arbiter the alien to stop Halo from firing again. Arbiter does, and Master Chief doesn't do much in the overall story despite most of the missions being Master Chief levels.

Gameplay-wise, Halo 2 improves so much upon Halo 1. It's got dual wielding, more weapons (I think), more vehicles (I think), you can board enemy vehicles and beat them up or hijack, the campaign is longer and you play as multiple characters. Arbiter lays the groundwork for armor abilities in Reach with the active camo. The SMG sucks and has way too much recoil even with console's absurd aim assist, but the battle rifle is cool and fun.

The campaign levels are a mixed bag. Environments tend to look pretty cool if a little too Halo-y. But it's the second in the series, so it's fine. Some of the areas within levels tend to blend together way too much and I ended up accidentally backtracking after a big fight because I got turned around and thought I was going the right way only to walk for a few minutes before stumbling upon some bodies I had already killed, then had to hightail it back the opposite direction. Still, there were plenty of fun sections in levels. The one level where you're riding this big hunk of space metal through the ocean and can board other big hunks of space metal and beat up aliens was very engaging and made me feel like a Master Chief.

I think this game is pretty solid and can definitely see why people might consider this the best Halo, although it isn't for me in large part due to playing on console. No idea how console shooters are even still a thing. Aiming with a stick is just not my bag anymore. I tried to play on MCC, but the game crashed mid-level one too many times for me and caused audio issues with other programs on my computer.

Halo 2 é sem dúvidas um salto de qualidade gritante partindo de Halo CE, ainda mais em relação à qualidade de seus remakes (Halo 2 deve ser o jogo mais bonito da franquia agora). Os mapas ficaram maiores, mais corajosos; a história toma uma rota bem mais interessante e engajada, especialmente com a introdução do Árbitro e um olhar mais detalhado sobre quem são os inimigos da humanidade nessa guerra. Sinto que a inteligência artificial ficou um pouco menos interessante de se jogar contra, com os Brutes não oferecendo alternativa tão engajante quanto os Elites do CE. Além disso, a história termina em um ponto muito baixo, coisa que não fere tanto agora que se pode imediatamente jogar Halo 3 logo após este - ainda assim, se julgado em uma bolha, é no mínimo uma escolha bem esquisita de ritmo narrativo.