Editorial Review
The entertainment phenomenon that conquered the digital universe is once again out to save the planet as the award-winning, best-selling
Halo 2 is coming to the
Windows Vista platform. Optimized for the advanced gaming features in Windows Vista,
Halo 2 promises to revolutionize the first-person shooter experience for Windows gamers, as it did for consoles. With its classic story, enhanced visual presentation, multiplayer excitement and all-new Map Editor,
Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers more game customization and new content than ever before.
Windows Vista gamers will be able to experience the epic story of
Halo 2 as Master Chief delves further into the mystery of the Covenant in the aftermath of Halo’s destruction. What he discovers will soon threaten the fate not only of Earth, but of the Universe itself.
Features:
- Epic Narrative: The saga continues with Halo 2, the international award-winning sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In this sequel, the battle comes to Earth, and Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier, is the only thing standing between the relentless alien Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
- Exciting Single-Player Gameplay: Experience first hand the epic struggle between Master Chief and the Covenant armada. Brandish dual-wield weapons Covenant arms and pilot human and non-human vehicles and aircraft to battle intelligent AI alien enemies.
- Unmatched Online Gaming: Halo 2 for Windows Vista will tap into the power of Live Anywhere, a service similar to Xbox Live, to deliver online matchmaking for PC gamers. The service will enable Windows Vista gamers all over the globe to connect via their PCs and play on an innovative and competitive online forum.
- New Multiplayer Map Editor: The game will also feature the all-new new Map Editor, guaranteeing additional new, fan-generated content in the future. The Halo 2 community can now tap their endless creative potential to develop an unlimited number of user-created multiplayer levels.
- Complete Community Freedom: Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers gamers the freedom to host their own dedicated servers for maximum multiplayer action.
- Superior Presentation and Cinematic Excellence: Bring the vast, imaginative world of Halo 2 to life on the Windows Vista platform through higher-resolution textures and improved lighting effects. Experience the unmatched cinematic quality of Halo 2 through the power of Windows Vista.
- Unprecedented Pedigree: The Halo franchise is one of the best selling and monumental entertainment experiences in history with more than 14.5 million units sold worldwide, more than 18 Game-of-the-Year awards, 750 million hours and 500 million matches logged over Xbox Live. Halo 2 was also one of the most successful entertainment launches of all time – including books, films, graphic novels, games and music. Halo 2 for Windows Vista brings this incredible experience to Windows Vista gamers everywhere.
Cached date: AWS Called=true
Customer Reviews
The Oddities of Life!!! 
2008-07-17
How odd that one of the worst software companies in the world, Microsoft, who can't develop a decent operating system to date (Vista!) could actually be a part of the incredibly brilliant production of Halo2. I actually enjoyed this amazing work of art, an A in every catagory from the getgo. If there was ever a standard that all game developers should strive for, its this game. How about a novel idea, fire the morons at the microsoft operating system development area and let the Halo crew write the next operating system! Now thats crew ready to take off!
Great Game, Not So Awesome Price 
2008-06-19
This game was great for Xbox and I still think it's great for the PC.
Installation - this game may not install well on some machines. If you do have trouble installing it, Microsoft Customer Service are a great help. I, personally, had some trouble and the issue was resolved in around forty minutes (considering my PC is basically trash).
Sound - great music and great quality.
Graphics - here's where this game gets a little crappy. If you don't have a good machine, the graphics will be choppy. The cut scenes seem to stay awesome, but game play slows down enormously.
Controls - I really recommend buying a controller to play this game. I find the keyboard controls a little difficult to use. It also gives you a quicker reaction time.
Single Player (Career Mode) - great story and very exciting. It's a little short, but if you take the time to beat it on all the difficulty levels, you'll keep yourself busy for a long time.
Multilayer - this version of the game supports local LAN play and online play with up to sixteen (16) players. It's really fun but you need at least a broadband connection for tolerable lag. I would also suggest signing up for a gold account because it gives you more options and a better connection.
Overall, I recommend buying this game for the PC if you don't have a Xbox or Xbox 360. Try to find it used, as it's price for new is, in my opinion, too steep. It's a great game if you don't mind some minor lag.
Never Again 
2008-06-09
I bought Halo 2 for the PC excited about trying it on my brand-new Vista machine. I have had it for over a year now and have yet to be able to actually play the game all the way through.
I went through the agony of having to create a Live account, and then having the game not "see" the account (but not let me log in because I'm "already logged in"). I experienced the unfun joys of having Halo 2 randomly tell me my savegame file is corrupted and I have to start again. I had updates crash the game, my license key invalidate itself, and after unanswered support e-mails, it took me multiple calls and over 3 hours on the phone to get someone to fix the problem. They had to do this by removing my license key, issuing me a new one, and telling me I'd lose all my "achievements" and account info. That wasn't a great loss, since the program would regularly log me into Live, then say, "You are not logged into Live. You will not be able to have any Achievements. Sorry about that." A lot of the messages I get in Halo 2 say, "Sorry about that." Sorry, indeed.
By the time I actually got the game to work (with shuddering framerate and random dropouts in sound), I was just angry. Angry at all the "Sorry" messages, angry at the hassle I have to click through just to load a saved game, and angry at the constant savegame level resets. I see new Microsoft Games for Windows titles, and I feel I'd be stupid to put risk putting myself through that again.
This game is a disgrace to halo 1 and 3 !!! 
2008-06-03
I bought both halo 1 and 2 the day it came out. I have to say, its pretty disappointing. I mean, halo 1 was GREAT! Good story line, multiplayer mode, good controlls and etc. But on the other hand, halo 2 is just a waste of money. The grphic is pretty much the same as halo 1 (microsoft didn't even try to improve the quality of the graphics after 2 long years). Its no comparison to games like Bioshock, Crysis, Call of duty 4, and etc. The only reason that they made this game is to attract Vista buyers. You can't even host a multiplayer game on halo 2 without buying their "golden accout". And i was foolish enough to buy it, and it didn't do crap. The only reason that i gave it a 3 for fun, is because of that you can have 2 weapons instead of 1. And the instant kill sword is pretty fun to use. Otherwise, everything else is a 1. SO DON'T BUY THIS GAME. I WOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT IT IF I HAD KNOWN HOW BAD THIS GAME REALLY IS.
PRO:
*INSTANT KILL SWORD
*CAN USE TWO WEAPONS AT THE SAME TIME
CON:
*EVERYTHING ELSE
Doesn't work on Vista system 2008-05-20
I received Halo 2 and wound not work on my Vista Home system..
Tried to install it twice and gave up!!!
EPIC 2008-05-19
The entertainment phenomenon that conquered the digital universe is once again out to save the planet as the award-winning, best-selling
Halo 2 is coming to the
Windows Vista platform. Optimized for the advanced gaming features in Windows Vista,
Halo 2 promises to revolutionize the first-person shooter experience for Windows gamers, as it did for consoles. With its classic story, enhanced visual presentation, multiplayer excitement and all-new Map Editor,
Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers more game customization and new content than ever before.
Windows Vista gamers will be able to experience the epic story of
Halo 2 as Master Chief delves further into the mystery of the Covenant in the aftermath of Halo’s destruction. What he discovers will soon threaten the fate not only of Earth, but of the Universe itself.
Features:
- Epic Narrative: The saga continues with Halo 2, the international award-winning sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In this sequel, the battle comes to Earth, and Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier, is the only thing standing between the relentless alien Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
- Exciting Single-Player Gameplay: Experience first hand the epic struggle between Master Chief and the Covenant armada. Brandish dual-wield weapons Covenant arms and pilot human and non-human vehicles and aircraft to battle intelligent AI alien enemies.
- Unmatched Online Gaming: Halo 2 for Windows Vista will tap into the power of Live Anywhere, a service similar to Xbox Live, to deliver online matchmaking for PC gamers. The service will enable Windows Vista gamers all over the globe to connect via their PCs and play on an innovative and competitive online forum.
- New Multiplayer Map Editor: The game will also feature the all-new new Map Editor, guaranteeing additional new, fan-generated content in the future. The Halo 2 community can now tap their endless creative potential to develop an unlimited number of user-created multiplayer levels.
- Complete Community Freedom: Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers gamers the freedom to host their own dedicated servers for maximum multiplayer action.
- Superior Presentation and Cinematic Excellence: Bring the vast, imaginative world of Halo 2 to life on the Windows Vista platform through higher-resolution textures and improved lighting effects. Experience the unmatched cinematic quality of Halo 2 through the power of Windows Vista.
- Unprecedented Pedigree: The Halo franchise is one of the best selling and monumental entertainment experiences in history with more than 14.5 million units sold worldwide, more than 18 Game-of-the-Year awards, 750 million hours and 500 million matches logged over Xbox Live. Halo 2 was also one of the most successful entertainment launches of all time – including books, films, graphic novels, games and music. Halo 2 for Windows Vista brings this incredible experience to Windows Vista gamers everywhere.
Think before you PORT! 2008-03-11
Like most console ports, this game sucks. How can you even compare crappy console games like this to FEAR, Crysys, and Half-life?
The graphics look like 1999, and the game play is much the same.
People who play console game must have incredibly low expectations if this type of game can sell millions of copies.
Game wouldn't even install 2008-03-11
I wasted 4 hours trying to get this game to install on my computer. I would put in the disc, click on install and the window would go away and nothing would happen. I even checked and updated all my drivers and still nothing.
My computer is a top of the line Dell XPS system that more than meets the system requirements. There is no reason this game shouldn't work.
64 bit Vista woes 2008-02-27
Chances are you've heard that Vista comes in two flavors, 32 bit and 64 bit. The vast majority of consumers use 32 bit Vista, while early adopters like to run 64 bit because it has a few advantages over 32 bit. If you are like most consumers, you have the 32 bit version of Vista, so this review does not apply.
I installed this game on my new Vista x64 rig and was looking forward to some great Halo 2 online multiplayer, just like when I used to play four-way split screen on Xbox with friends. You can't play split screen on this, but I presumed the advantage of aiming with keyboard and mouse would make up for it. When I started to play the game (after the long installation/update process), I noticed the game was not rendering correctly. Despite a solid frame rate of 75, the entire Halo world was not rendering smooth enough to enjoy playing in it. On some maps the walls look like they're popping out of place. On every single map you have problems looking around and getting your crosshairs to move where you want them. I have adjusted numerous mouse settings but nothing works.
If you have 32 bit Vista go ahead and buy this, the graphics look better than Xbox from what I can see on this setup. But, if you have 64 bit Vista expect poor performance overall as Microsoft was probably too busy to bother writing decent 64 bit code for this game. To be fair, there are lots of games advertised for Vista that don't run quite right on 64 bit. Still, this is the only one I've played that is advertised solely for Vista that has a severe problem.
Worse than 1, but still OK 
2008-02-22
Well, where to begin...the story is short, i beat it in 2 days, the HUD is simplified for the console kiddies, the is no HEALTH, you have your shields then 4 or 5 hits then your dead, and the worst thing of all, online play is NOT FREE! The best thing about Halo 1 is that you could go online all the time and fight it out...but now with PAY multi player? Its sad to see this game sink so low...The graphics are alright at best, nothing to exciting...considering this is a game for windows VISTA i expected DirectX 10 but nope, its Dx9...i wish wal-mart had a return period on games if you weren't satisfied, I'd take it back in a heartbeat...AVOID THIS GAME! The two-prong storyline is good, but that can't make up for the downfalls...
