Remaster

Halo 2: Anniversary

11 Nov 2014

PC (Microsoft Windows) Xbox One Xbox Series X|S
Add to wishlist
8.0 rating
191 want
1248 played
42 playing
73 reviews
Developer
343 Industries
Developer
Bungie
Publisher
Xbox Game Studios

Tags

Time to beat

Main story icon

Main story

8h
Main story and extras icon

Main story + extras

-
100% completion icon

100% completion

-
Based on 9 answers
Summary

Experience the impeccably remastered edition of the original Halo 2 game. Following the destruction of Halo, humankind experiences a short-lived victory. Eager for revenge, the Covenant launches a surprise attack on Earth, but they find themselves ill-prepared to defeat the UNSC’s home fleet and are forced to flee into slipspace. When the Master Chief pursues his overzealous enemies, they discover yet another Halo ring, uncovering long-buried secrets, including an unlikely ally, that will dramatically alter the course of the Human-Covenant Conflict forever. Game Features: • PC Settings/Optimizations: Halo 2: Anniversary is now optimized for PC and looking better than ever at up to 4k UHD and at 60+ FPS.* Other PC native settings include customizable mouse and keyboard support, ultrawide support, FOV customization, and more. • Campaign: Experience the next chapter in the Halo saga and fight your way through 15 unforgettable missions. Play as both Spartan-117, the Master Chief, and for the first time, the Covenant Elite, known as the Arbiter, and experience the Human-Covenant Conflict in a whole new way. • Anniversary Edition/Update: Toggle between the remastered graphics in the Anniversary edition and the graphics from the original Halo 2 campaign. In the Anniversary edition, view Blur Studio’s spectacularly remastered cutscenes from the original Halo 2 game. • Multiplayer: Continue your Halo adventure with 7 remastered multiplayer maps from Halo 2: Anniversary and 25 multiplayer maps from the original Halo 2, featuring a completely updated progression system.

This game gives you SO much. So much cool lore and backstory on the covenant. So many beautiful levels and backdrops. The Gravemind is so frickin cool. Introducing duel-wielding was an excellent decision as was the ability to use Energy Swords. It doesn't need to be stated but these cutscenes are the coolest things of all time. Would have loved more MC and best girl Cortana but we'll get plenty of them later. The Arbiter is such a fascinating and well developed character and I certainly did not mind playing as him, although apparently many people did. Also the music slapped, as always.

"Don't make a girl a promise...if you know you can't keep it."
More
20 Jan 2024
I really didn't enjoy this game.

I spend the whole time simply running from the encounters because they weren't fun. The levels...well I kid you not...they looked better in the old graphics. The story is meh with way too many Deus ex machinas (like wtf is the worm thingie???? How can he teleport things???? How does he know everything????). Also who the hell is the black dude with cigar??? He acts like we know him but he wasn't in the first Halo????? (I played it like a week ago I would remember the dude...)

And once again no subtitles except in cutscenes 😑

Honestly the only redeeming quality is that they let us play as an alien (only from the story perspective)...and the new captain or...whatever the lady who isnt Cortana is...
More
13 Dec 2024
Now, THIS is how you do a remaster.
04 Dec 2023
I played through the Halo games for the first time about a year ago, and Halo 2 was probably my least favorite of the bunch. Compared to the first game, Halo 2 felt a lot like its dialogue - cheesy and over-the-top in all the wrong ways (Edit - this does not include Johnson, everything out of his mouth is gold). Dual-wielding felt superfluous, low-gravity environments made traversal more jittery than it already was, and playing as the Arbiter was boring.

The dialogue is still painfully terrible (Edit again - not including Johnson), but revisiting the gameplay itself a year later I see the vision and it clicks much, MUCH better. It's the cleanest of the original Halo trilogy - enemies feel thoughtfully placed, environments and objectives bring much-needed variety, and the weapons all feel punchy, even if the bouncing brute cannon is... a choice. And after playing through all the other games, getting to be the Arbiter is pretty cool, too. The character just needed time to make an impression.

By the way, the anniversary remaster is killer, and the added lore drops are a lot of fun
More
21 Feb 2025
This didn’t grab me as much as the first game (worth noting I’m playing the remastered version for the first time in 2024/24, so all considered it still holds up well).

Again, multiplayer/co-op campaigns are always a big win and I miss the era where they were coming out regularly.
08 Feb 2025
A perfect follow up.
25 Jan 2025
Load more