A massive step up from the first Halo, and the first Halo was already pretty great. The mission/level design feels much better and dual wielding is such a cool addition to the combat. The story also feels much more engaging with the introduction of the Arbiter. The multiplayer of Halo 2 was also incredible, with better maps, a more fleshed out and interesting sandbox to interact with, and online multiplayer, which at the time was still a relatively new concept for console gaming.