Halo 2 is the second instalment in the Halo franchise (released in 2004) and
continues the story from the first game with the Master Chief fighting for
humanity against the formidable collection of alien races known as “The
Covenant”.
The PC version is a port from the original Xbox version and at times this is
obvious in a way that is not complimentary to the experience, for example in
menus at times the mouse pointer will become invisible and you are forced to try
to select the options as you see them highlight magically from your invisible
pointer. Also, the mouse sensitivity leaves a little to be desired; even with
the sensitivity turned up to max there is nowhere near the same feeling of free
movement as in other purely PC games and this leads to a little bit of
frustration with the feeling of restriction. As part of this, sometimes whilst
looking around the screen movement can feel a little jumpy, and when the
computer that is running this is capable of running today's games on high
graphics detail, this is a little disappointing.
After bringing the mood down with the negatives of this version, it should be
pointed out that the PC version Halo 2 is still an excellent game. The graphics
are nothing on today's, but bearing in mind it is a 2004 release, turned right
up they are pretty good. The AI are reasonably intelligent, and overall the
gameplay with regard to interaction with the enemy is top knotch.
The best part of the PC version of the game is the multiplayer. With the
recent (at the time of this review) shutting down of the original xbox servers,
being able to still play Halo 2 online on the PC is a great bonus. The maps are
the same as those on the xbox with the addition of two PC only maps.
Were I to rate Halo 2 for xbox it would have got a 5 out of 5. With an
interesting story, great gameplay in the single player, and an excellent
multiplayer, it has hours of potential enjoyment in it. However, the less than
optimal port job for the PC lets it down a little and leaves it deserving no
more than a 4, and if I could I would probably rate it at 3.5.