Halo 2 Preview – The Master Chief Returns!

“Halo 2” continues the story of the
Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier who is the only
human ever to successfully defy the Covenant—a coalition of alien
races on a murderous march toward Earth. To the mysterious leaders of the Covenant,
the human victory at the ancient ring structure known as Halo was an unacceptable
failure. They will not fail again.

Featuring more weapons, more vehicles,
and Real Enemies through Xbox Live, this will be a must-have! Read the full
article for a better taste of what to expect . . . and keep your eye
on this preview. As more information develops, we’ll add it to the
article, including the upcoming Halo 2 Trailer.

“Halo 2″ surpasses its predecessor in graphical beauty and combat
intensity. “‘Halo 2′ is a lot like ‘Halo’, only it’s ‘Halo’
on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased
by helicopters and ninjas,” explained Jason Jones, the head of Bungie
Studios, “and the ninjas are all on fire, too.” The Master
Chief and his marine allies return to battle the full complement of Covenant
forces, as well as as-of-yet-unrevealed foes.

“Halo 2″ expands the Master Chief’s already substantial arsenal
with powerful new weapons, many pried from the twitching claws
of his defeated enemies. This sequel also increases Halo’s number of drivable
vehicles giving players many more ways to speed into battle or explore
the game’s vast landscapes.

“Halo 2″ is powered by a completely new graphics engine
designed specifically for the Xbox hardware. “Our code squeezes every
drop of power out of the Xbox,” said Chris Butcher, one of “Halo
2’s” engineering leads. “We’re doing dynamic lighting and shadows,
per-pixel everything, rendering gigantic, lush environments. The graphical features
we’re using are so advanced we don’t even have buzzwords for them yet.”

In addition to an epic single-player campaign, “Halo 2″ has support
for multiplayer action via split-screen, Xbox “System-Link” and online
through Xboxâ„¢ Live. “We still have the multiplayer game-types
that people loved in ‘Halo‘, but we’re planning something special for
multiplayer in ‘Halo 2,’” hinted Jaime Griesemer, “Halo 2’s”
lead designer. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but imagine the
essential ‘Halo’ single-player experience: pitched battles between the humans
and the Covenant, massive vehicle and infantry engagements. Now imagine that
every combatant is an actual person playing over Xbox Live!” “Halo
2’s” online multiplayer will feature squad-oriented team-play, real-time
voice chat and extensive community support when it ships at the end of next
year.

Media:
Screenshots
@ XboxSolution
Wallpapers
@XboxSolution
Halo 2 Trailer – Finally!
Master Chief – Graphical Construction

Our Take:
Halo was the most successful Xbox launch title, it is still the best-selling
Xbox game. Halo 2 will be exactly the same – Awesome! You may want to pre-order
this one as early as possible. With more weapons and guns, online play through
Xbox Live, a new game engine, Halo 2 is going to revolutionize online FPS gaming!
Expected release date: Holiday Season, 2003.

Related Links:
Bungie
Microsoft Game Studios
Official Site: Not Announced

Look for the Official XboxSolution Review
shortly after this games’ release.
Discuss this game in our Forums.

Filed under: Previews

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!