After a hard fought campaign against the forces of the Covenant, the Flood that our conflict had unwittingly unleashed, and the mechanical guardians created to genocide all organic life, we managed to escape alongside the Master Chief.
Now, our brief reprieve in the small, scenic town of Little Hope has come to end, and it’s time we returned to the frontlines of battle. Earth, and humanity, are once again under attack, and once again the Master Chief stands as a bulwark again the incoming threat.
Welcome to Halo 2.
Both in terms of Bungie’s original jump from Halo: Combat Evolved and in 343’s ability to remaster games, judging by the leap in quality from their remaster of that game, Halo 2 is a triumph. The sheer amount of work both teams must have put in during their respective dev cycles cannot be overstated.
Something that was sorely lacking in the original Halo: Combat Evolved, was anything resembling lore and world-building, to give players something to sink their teeth into. The plot was bare-bones, giving us just enough to justify gunning down a bunch of mooks. Here, we begin to learn a lot about the Covenant, their culture and what drives them. And for that reason, the role of the Arbiter is a crucial one.
The updated cut scenes provided by 343 also go a long way to improving the presentation of these details. I’m thankful that the ability to hotswap between the old and new graphics style extend to the cutscenes in Halo 2, because otherwise I would never be able to appreciate just the amount of work that must have gone into this complete recreation. Rather than just upscale the graphics and call it a day, they put in the extra effort to create all new, high resolution models and texture work, and restage everything with a more cinematic flare, incorporating shot composition and re-scripting entire scenes for improved legibility. I don’t say this to disparage Bungie’s work, because they did an excellent job with the resources they were given. Rather, this is intended to acknowledge and respect the extra effort put in by the mastering team.
And it’s equally impressive how much better the game plays compared to its contemporaries. The game may be more lethal, but that just makes duel-wielding SMGs or Needlers that much more gratifying. Sure, I can’t melee or grenade anybody unless I’m willing to ditch the weapon in my left hand, but that’s okay because more bullets is better for me. That’s all before we even get into the changes made to make driving vehicles in this game a lot more bearable than it was in Halo 1. We can even steal them from out enemies now.
On that subject: I promise you, I will jack the Wraith if it’s the last thing I do.
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