Halo 2 (2004) by Bungie

Halo 2's remastered PC port improves noticeably on its predecessor, Halo: Combat Evolved in several aspects, but falls short to some of the same flaws.

The story is more fleshed out here, with a split narrative that is welcomed after the drudgery that was Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign. It's far better paced as a result, but unfortunately falls victim to some of the same level design pitfalls. Often times it seems as if you're running through repeated templates which make up an entire level. There is some added freshness as far as some more aesthetically pleasing levels and some additional variance, but I still found myself bogged down in running through several similar-looking hallways repeatedly. This campaign is also far longer than Combat Evolved's, and while this is welcome in terms of its better story, it doesn't do any favors for the player when it's padded with these kinds of repetitive levels.

Another complaint I have is that the soundtrack seems to ditch most of the incredible orchestral work of Combat Evolved for a heavy, driving rock soundtrack. It's not terrible, but it also doesn't 'feel' like I've come to expect a Halo campaign to feel. Games in this series such as Halo Reach, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Combat Evolved have much, much better soundtracks. Reach and ODST in particular are some of the greatest soundtracks of all-time, so Halo 2's soundtrack feels far poorer by comparison than it does in a vacuum.

Those are only minor complaints, though. The remastered work done to the original graphics remains stellar and breathes new life into Halo 2's arenas. Additionally, the newly rendered cutscenes are stunningly gorgeous and impeccably crafted. They're state of the art, adding new depth and investment in Halo 2's story. The story of these games has always been underrated, in my opinion. People seem to find Reach predictable, whereas I found it somber and affecting. And Halo 2, despite its campaign being criticized for its cliffhanger ending back in 2004, seems to have stood the test of time and is now praised with the release of Halo 3 assuaging players' collective hunger for an end to the story. Combat Evolved's story is relatively bare-bones, so Halo 2 is where the story that so many players now love all began.

As with the other two games, this one runs phenomenally on PC. The mouse controls feel fine to me, and the framerate runs rather high without stuttering issues. The sound, which was poor in Reach, is fine here. Gunshots have impact, the score is remixed and well balanced.

Despite its flaws, Halo 2 remains compelling both from a storytelling standpoint, as a gorgeous science fiction adventure, and as a pulse-pounding action shooter. If you're considering playing Halo 2 on PC, there's not really any reason not to pick this up. It's a bargain at full price (currently $10 on Steam) and a steal on discount.

⭐⭐