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Halo 2 - 20 year anniversary today

S

Syphon Filter

Member
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Released: November 9, 2004 (XBOX)
Developer: Bungie


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Today is the 20 year anniversary of Halo 2! It's wild to think that it has been that long ago. I will never forget that date and the impact that Halo 2 had for gaming. It was one of the first times I saw people waiting in line for a game and the news covering it,etc. I remember staying over a friends house playing till like 4am. The soundtrack is amazing starting from the menu and my favorite of the Halo franchise. I can remember different things going on around that time from music,sports,etc and those trigger memories of Halo 2 in a way because of both happening around the same time. I will never forget this game and it will always have a place in my heart. I can be walking around certain areas today near where I live and I remember being in that area as a teen when Halo 2 was releasing or just released! Post your memories and thoughts about Halo 2 and the impact it had on you!



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simpatico

simpatico

Member
Halo 2 was my first ever midnight launch. Bought the steelbook version in the OP. Gotta say, even the first night, I was a little underwhelmed. Anyone else?
 
clarky

clarky

Gold Member
DragoonKain said:
Greatest pure shooter ever made for my money. Might play TMCC version again this winter with a friend on multiplayer again. This is the only game I've ever been able to consistently go back to and play whenever.
Click to expand...
MP for its time yeah i'd agree, but the campaign wasn't as good as CE.
 
Timberwolf25

Timberwolf25

Member
I remember playing through the whole campaign in 1 sitting. Was uber pissed at the sudden ending because I was having a blast. That finish the fight line was so epic for me.
The wait for Halo 3 seemed to take forever.

Halo CE was my first fps game as all others prior to that gave me bad motion sickness. I didn't even get it til 2 years after launch because every other fps sent me to hurl city. So glad that some friends invited to me to my first ever LAN party and got me hooked.

Although I put a lot time in Destiny 2, the OG Halo Trilogy, Reach and ODST was peak Bungie for me.
 
BigLee74

BigLee74

Member
Great game! Missed it on release (Halo 3 was where I joined in), but I do like to blast through the campaign every couple of years or so!
 
Grildon Tundy

Grildon Tundy

Member
Halo 2 is my least-loved of the original trilogy. If I had Xbox Live, that might've changed my opinion on it.

Halo was a sandbox that I'd load up and replay the open-ended levels over and over.

Halo 3 was my first online multi-player Halo game.

Halo 2 was that one I played through once and remember being vaguely disappointed by the abrupt ending.
 
sainraja

sainraja

Member
I just remember playing Halo 2 anytime I was over at my one of my friends' who had an Xbox and I was always losing, lol. I wasn't that into first-person shooter games at that time.
 
S

Syphon Filter

Member
clarky said:
How good were the maps in this game?

Turns out my dad was right, they really don't make em like they used to do they?
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what is your age? In terms of the maps, they were good and memorable mostly. lockout, ivory tower, midship,ascension,beaver creek,colossus.
 
Northeastmonk

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I was the 2nd person in line at the local game store here in town. I waited 6 hours and it was cold.

This game had my favorite maps. Lockout was my favorite. This was the game where we met up in maps to try and escape the levels. Overshield against the wall and a Wraith boost toward you sent you flying in the air. One of the best multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had.
 
DownLikeBCPowder

DownLikeBCPowder

Member
Hard to believe it's been 20 years. I was in college and a friend would stay up way late night drinking the evenings before playing Halo 2 on Xbox Live. We met a random dude in matchmaking that we ended up visiting in Ohio a year or so later on a trip to Canada. Cool dude. 👍

Online play was a lot of fun.
 
Timberwolf25

Timberwolf25

Member
Syphon Filter said:
Halo 5 mp was terrible and an insult to the franchise. They copied call of duty and it didn't feel like Halo at all. That is why it failed and nobody stayed online for long and sold bad.
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Different strokes I guess, but I did like the spartan abilities compared to the previous titles. But I didn't put too much into the PvP except playing a lot of custom games with friends. SWAT was always a standout for me.

Edit: CoD mp never vibed with me. It was always so much easier to see friend vs foe in Halo games compared to CoD. Although I always did pick the hardest to see skins in Halo 5 :)
 
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DragoonKain

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
clarky said:
MP for its time yeah i'd agree, but the campaign wasn't as good as CE.
Click to expand...
I used to feel the same way, but after playing through both again multiple times I moved 2's campaign ahead of it. Major reason is because CE has too many missions that just drag on and on and are so repetitive. The Library mission goes on forever. And Assault on the Control Room does the same thing. You go through those corridors and rooms over and over again.

To me Halo 2 had so much more variety in its missions. It wasn't quite as sandbox-y as some of CE's missions, but it was sandboxy enough for my tastes. And the vehicle additions and weapon additions made it overall a better experience for me.
 
Hawk The Slayer

Hawk The Slayer

Member
Still one of the best games of co op type games out there. Gave me many hours of fun co-op fun and 4 player splitscreen during my childhood years with my friends and cousins. Space Marine 2 kinda reminds me of it except for the splitscreen part. Halo 2 and Timesplitters 3 Future Perfect makes the ultimate splitscreen and co op combo during those times.
 
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IntentionalPun

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Honestly one of the most disappointing games I ever played. Halo CE "Legendary" difficulty was like this perfectly crafted co-op experience, where you would think it was impossible to beat, but with practice and skill you could master it. My buddy and i would play and if we died, we'd start the entire game over.. and we beat the game like that several times.

With a combo of dual-wielding enemies and enemies that are basically snipers they totally ruined the feel of the game. The next-level down difficulty was just brain dead easy too.. so poorly balanced and so much less "fun" to me.

That and GTA IV might be tied for my biggest gaming disappointments.
 
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clarky

clarky

Gold Member
DragoonKain said:
I used to feel the same way, but after playing through both again multiple times I moved 2's campaign ahead of it. Major reason is because CE has too many missions that just drag on and on and are so repetitive. The Library mission goes on forever. And Assault on the Control Room does the same thing. You go through those corridors and rooms over and over again.

To me Halo 2 had so much more variety in its missions. It wasn't quite as sandbox-y as some of CE's missions, but it was sandboxy enough for my tastes. And the vehicle additions and weapon additions made it overall a better experience for me.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but the magic of CE was one in a million, and the reason i bought and xbox. When Edge magazine 10's were actually 10's , i'd never played anything that came close. A true successor to Goldeneye.

It was an evolution of console FPS's thats never been bettered imo. The AI was on another level, recharging shields, 2 weapons, the introduction of the flood. 3 way battles, the marines that played with you and their banter, the way the warhog controlled etc.

I think it was a fluke in the best possible way.
 
Verchod

Verchod

Member
The worst of the bungie Halo games. But still great fun. Dual SMGs rocks!
Maybe I'll have I play tonight.
 
IntentionalPun

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
clarky said:
It was an evolution of console FPS's thats never been bettered imo. The AI was on another level, recharging shields, 2 weapons, the introduction of the flood. 3 way battles, the marines that played with you and their banter, the way the warhog controlled etc.
Click to expand...
Yup, been saying the same for years. All of those things, particularly the "you can only carry 2 weapons, therefore you only need 1 weapon switch button" really was a great evolution of the console FPS experience. The way grenades were implemented was also very satisfying and was enabled by needing less buttons for weapon management.
 
salva

salva

Member
I also still have my original Xbox Halo 2 limited addition steelbook.
So many fond memories of Halo 2, the OG Xbox and just all the different games around that time. I remember I didn't have enough money for Xbox Live so I played on Xlink Kai and it worked perfectly.

But shit, TWENTY YEARS ago. Man, I have seen some shit since then
S1ZTFa0.png
 
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DragoonKain

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
clarky said:
Agreed, but the magic of CE was one in a million, and the reason i bought and xbox. When Edge magazine 10's were actually 10's , i'd never played anything that came close. A true successor to Goldeneye.

It was an evolution of console FPS's thats never been bettered imo. The AI was on another level, recharging shields, 2 weapons, the introduction of the flood. 3 way battles, the marines that played with you and their banter, the way the warhog controlled etc.

I think it was a fluke in the best possible way.
Click to expand...
Both are so much fun to play campaign co op with a friend. The level of freedom you have and how you can play at your pace and take your time and tackle areas in so many different ways isn't found in most shooters. Other shooters always feel like they're nudging you to the next checkpoint or next destination. Halo doesn't. It rewards taking your time and also rewards trying to exploit the maps to your advantage.

I think I'm gonna play both again this winter.
 
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