They fall in line, one at a time, ready to play
(I can't see them anyway)
No time to lose, we've got to move, steady your hand
(I am losing sight again)
Fire your guns, it's time to run, blow me away
(I will stay in the mess I made)
After the fall, we'll shake it off, show me the way
Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven when we die
I am a shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all
There's nothing left, so save your breath, lying in wait
(Caught inside this tidal wave)
Your cover's blown, nowhere to go, holding your fate
(Lonely, I will walk alone)
Fire your guns, it's time to run, blow me away
(I will stay in the mess I made)
After the fall, we'll shake it off, show me the way
Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven when we die
I am a shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all
Wanted it back
Don't fight me now
Here it comes
Die
Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven when we die
I am a shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all
Save us all

From the iconic soundtrack, the incredibly fun campaign, and the trailblazing multiplayer. This game is a juggernaut. Anytime I want to revisit the days when Halo ruled the world, I look up the launch day video where people created lines as long as continents to get their copy. I still have the exact copy my mom got me in 2006 sitting on my shelf. Sure, the campaign ends of a cliffhanger and the game was rushed. But did my 10 year old dumb brain care? No. I was too busy hearing racial slurs on Xbox Live to notice.

Halo 2 takes just about everything that worked about Halo: Combat Evolved and expands on it, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, creating something that's... weird.

Jumping into the very first level, I immediately noticed a slight graphical bump, textures are more detailed while polygon counts remained fairly similar, if a bit higher in places. The new HUD is a generally welcome change, removing the health indicator and moving the shield indicator to the radar in the bottom left does put two pieces of essential together, but removes a critical piece of information about your current health. For that matter, it seems like you officially have regenerating health, as opposed to just a regenerating shield and health packs around.

Because of this change, it's easy to see Master Chief's advanced shield systems as paper-thin and easy to break, with an extra (much better against energy shields) health bar that's invisible, which can be pretty dang frustrating in gauging 'when' I should be dead.

The new weapons are very fun though, the Battle Rifle, Submachine Gun, Covenant Carbine, and Brute Shot are a great joy to use, but the enemy factions you use them against can suck out a lot of the crazy fun this game has. The Flood (again) and Brutes are particularly bad offenders, having pretty limited tactics and just shoving tanky high-damage enemies in your face.

But the places you fight them! Halo 2 looks at the gorgeous 3D rendered vistas of Combat Evolved and says "hold my beer." The sheer variety and depth of it all is incredible, and it truly feels like a galaxy-spanning adventure. The enormous set-pieces (particularly anything involving the all-new Scarabs) are absolutely show-stealing, really pushing Halo 2's more cinematic narrative.

And oh my God that narrative, a huge step-up over Combat Evolved, 2 features fully fledged in-engine cutscenes with characters and worldbuilding that go much further than the events of each level. Although character development and writing quality isn't quite perfect, it's cheesy, badass fun when it needs to be, and plays the more deathly serious parts well.

Overall, had a wonderful time playing on Heroic, very excited to Finish the Fight in Halo 3 !

9/10 - "When you first saw Halo [2], were you blinded by its majesty?"