Halo 2

Halo 2
Developer(s)	Bungie (Xbox) Microsoft Game Studios (Microsoft Windows) Pi Studios (PC editing tools and two new maps)[1][2]
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Artist(s)	Marcus Lehto
Composer(s)	Martin O'Donnell Michael Salvatori
Series	Halo
Platform(s)	Xbox Microsoft Windows Xbox One
Release	November 9, 2004 Xbox NA: November 9, 2004[3] JP: November 11, 2004 EU: November 11, 2004 Microsoft Windows AU: May 17, 2007[4] NA: May 31, 2007[4] EU: June 8, 2007[4] JP: June 21, 2007
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Halo 2 is an award winning first-person shooter video game made by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft for its own Xbox console. It was released all over the world on November 9, 2004.^[5] It is the second game in the Halo series the first being Halo: Combat Evolved and the third being Halo 3. A Windows Vista version of the game was released in 2007.

The game's story is based around a future war between a fictional confederation of alien races known as the Covenant and the human race. The player takes the role of Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier who fights for mankind. The player is helped in their fight against the Covenant by human marines. The game had many features that were not in the original Halo such as extra vehicles, weapons and a greatly improved multiplayer mode, including the ability to play over Xbox Live.

Halo 2 was the most popular Xbox Live game on its release.^[6] It held that title until the release of Gears of War nearly two years later.^[7][8] By June 20, 2006 over 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played over Xbox Live.^[9] It was, and still is, the best selling Xbox game of all time with over 8 million copies sold worldwide.^[10] It broke sales records in the US, many of which were only broken by its sequel Halo 3 in 2007.^[11] The Windows Vista version in 2007 was less successful as the fact it was released 3 years after the Xbox version gained many negative reviews.^[12]

1. ↑ Matei, Robert (December 11, 2006). "Vista Halo 2 Plans Details". Softpedia. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
2. ↑ "Halo 2 for Vista -- Uplift". GameSpy. April 3, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
3. ↑ O'Connor, Frank (November 9, 2005). "Halo 2: One Year Later". Bungie. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "Halo 2 for PC – Release Summary". GameSpot. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
5. ↑ "Halo 2 - 1 year on". Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
6. ↑ "Halo 2 tops most played on Xbox Live". Eurogamer. 21 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
7. ↑ "Gears of War takes top spot in Xbox Live chart".
8. ↑ "Halo 3: Does It Live Up To The Hype?". Archived from the original on 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
9. ↑ "Halo 2 hits 500 million games". Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
10. ↑ "Prepare for all-out war". 30 August 2007.
11. ↑ "Halo 3 launch gains $170 million". Archived from the original on 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
12. ↑ "Halo 2 for PC review".