Halo 2

 PC
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 310 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 148 out of 310
  2. Mixed: 69 out of 310
  3. Negative: 93 out of 310
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  1. dogday
    Jul 8, 2007
    3
    Sluggish controls causing lag in movement ruined it for me.
  2. mobius
    May 5, 2007
    0
    Awful. one thing to come from this is that i wont be linking my PC the the Microsoft live server. the single player element of this is just awful. to complete this game all you need to do is either spam the enemy with grenades and bullets or to just race to the next checkpoint. this game is a poor port of an old first generation xbox game . there is nothing here that shouts " hey im anAwful. one thing to come from this is that i wont be linking my PC the the Microsoft live server. the single player element of this is just awful. to complete this game all you need to do is either spam the enemy with grenades and bullets or to just race to the next checkpoint. this game is a poor port of an old first generation xbox game . there is nothing here that shouts " hey im an exclusive Vista game" as it dont show of the DX10 features and the microsoft live is a real joke , i cant belive microsoft are trying to get PC gamers to link up with the exspencive Xbox live servers. the graphics on this game are just shamefull and you would think that this being a next generation vista game it would beat half life 2 graphics hands down , but its no different from the original halo game exsept that that it plays worse than the original, im sure there will be some hardcore halo players that are looking foward to this game and will love to diss this review but the truth is that this is a poor mans conversion of a consol game, and to prove this is a straight conversion they still ask the player at certain points in the game to press either the A or B buttons.. . BTW i see that CRYSIS has some very serious crashing and compatability issues with Vista so look out for a review on that in the near future.… Expand
  3. DaveK.
    Jun 1, 2007
    2
    Nothing redeeming here, it was better on Xbox, forces Vista w/o D3D10, odd mouse controls, and nothing new aside from a rare texture. It still looks like a 3 year old game and is charging $50 for an old title. Don't bother. PCG said it well: Too little, too late.
  4. GlenClark
    Jun 12, 2007
    1
    We simply should be able to have server access like Halo PC and the play should feel the same. We should be able to use more profile names too without have to buy more gamertags. It cost 800 ($10) points to change a gamertag on a gold account. Greedy bastards!
  5. JonathanB.
    Jul 6, 2007
    0
    Halo 2 is about the least reliable game I have encountered in recent years. I have been unable to get it to run for more than 2-3 minutes, and judging by all the comments I see on the various boards, I am not alone. This game was released too soon and is not solid at all. Right now, I feel that I have wasted my money.
  6. PhilK.
    Aug 14, 2007
    0
    Commercial product made for forcing us to buy Vista, the game play is bad, gfx are hugly........ CSS is better.
  7. [anonymous]
    Oct 19, 2009
    1
    I kind of liked the first one, but this one completely ruined the game with its bad controls and I was dissapointed by the graphics. Also, why is this game so popular? It sucks!
  8. ErraticCommunist
    Aug 19, 2008
    3
    Horrible port, horrible graphics, horrible requirements, horrible singleplayer, horrible multiplayer, horrible engine, horrible AI and horrible controls do not make a good FPS in 2007, especially on PC.
  9. Barny
    May 29, 2007
    0
    I found that when playing against the xbox live players they have a totally unfair advantage, while the pc owners have to play with the floaty sluggish controls i discoverd that the xbox players all have auto targeting, so while the pc owners may have more acurate cotrol the xbox players only need to look in your direction to kill you, and the microsoft live thing for pc gamers is a total I found that when playing against the xbox live players they have a totally unfair advantage, while the pc owners have to play with the floaty sluggish controls i discoverd that the xbox players all have auto targeting, so while the pc owners may have more acurate cotrol the xbox players only need to look in your direction to kill you, and the microsoft live thing for pc gamers is a total joke and i recomend pc owners not to use it.… Expand
  10. Moby
    May 26, 2007
    1
    Sloppy port that keeps the floaty and sluggish feal of the xbox version (im sure it works fine on the xbox controler) totaly substandard for a vista game and the the xbox live thing is just a joke, if i can im gonna stear clear of all xbox live games for the pc.
  11. TommyK.
    May 27, 2007
    0
    I found it to be repetitive and not as compelling as the first one. There were a lot of things they could have done differently, and for starters, not making it Vista exclusive since it doesn't even require DX10 as was initially stated. I feel it's too little too late, as there are many better shooters out there to choose from. It sells on the Halo name alone imho.
  12. JackD
    May 19, 2008
    3
    What a waste of money. The controls are screwy and frustrating. The graphics are really crap. Storyline is pathetic. It forces you to use Vista. The whole MS Live is just retarted. Its not worth the money, the time or the headache. I think i might try and return mine. Its just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. I would suggest AVOIDING THIS GAME AND ANY OTHER MS LIVE XBOX360 REMAKES... ie Gears of What a waste of money. The controls are screwy and frustrating. The graphics are really crap. Storyline is pathetic. It forces you to use Vista. The whole MS Live is just retarted. Its not worth the money, the time or the headache. I think i might try and return mine. Its just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. I would suggest AVOIDING THIS GAME AND ANY OTHER MS LIVE XBOX360 REMAKES... ie Gears of War... Nothing but crap..… Expand
  13. Pete
    Aug 11, 2007
    4
    Horrible.....not nearly as good as the original and probably should have stayed on the shelf...yuck.
  14. ThomasT.
    Jun 12, 2007
    3
    Good multiplayer, but otherwise average or underperforming game in light of 2006/2007 games available for PC. Halo 2 looks shocking low-res and enemy AI is plain stupid (don't confuse aggressive with smart). Graphics are way underwhelming and single player relatively bland and uninteresting. It's hard to understand why Vista is mandatory (no DX10, poor DX9).
  15. Wormboy
    Jul 1, 2012
    0
    For those who loved the original, Halo 2 was a disappointment. The single player plot was very disjointed and confusing, and at some point it didn't really matter what was going on, the point was just to frag more. But doesn't that make it just a souped-up Doom-like shooting gallery? Game play was fairly good, but still put to shame by its predecessors like the Unreal Tournament series.For those who loved the original, Halo 2 was a disappointment. The single player plot was very disjointed and confusing, and at some point it didn't really matter what was going on, the point was just to frag more. But doesn't that make it just a souped-up Doom-like shooting gallery? Game play was fairly good, but still put to shame by its predecessors like the Unreal Tournament series.

    On the plus side, the colors and textures were improved and even more lush than the original. A couple new weapons, new aliens and truly beautiful level architecture helped redeem the game and keep the score in the "good" range. The cut scenes were interesting, but the disjointedness of the plot made those insufficient. Overall, well worth playing, but don't expect it to be particularly memorable.    … Expand
  16. firefox2
    May 18, 2014
    0
    Poor man's quake. I liked Halo 1 a lot because it was balanced and every gun felt unique. Halo 2 removed a lot of the uniqueness with more generic weapons. With no recoil and huge hitboxes the game basically plays itself and does not require any skill to aim. At least Halo 1 and Halo 3 had spread and projectiles forcing you to lead shots or aim with skill. This Halo also has the weakestPoor man's quake. I liked Halo 1 a lot because it was balanced and every gun felt unique. Halo 2 removed a lot of the uniqueness with more generic weapons. With no recoil and huge hitboxes the game basically plays itself and does not require any skill to aim. At least Halo 1 and Halo 3 had spread and projectiles forcing you to lead shots or aim with skill. This Halo also has the weakest storyline and campaign in the series. The music is the one great thing about this game, but a shiny turd is still a turd in the end.… Expand
  17. AlexD
    Jan 20, 2010
    3
    Terrible gameplay, awful bland copy/paste level design, terrible graphics and laughably bad story. Even if you're a huge fan of the first Halo stay well away from this train wreck.
  18. AnonymousMC
    May 30, 2007
    3
    The first Halo introduced a couple of good new ideas to the genre. It was, as console shooters go, among the best. But compared to even average PC shooters, it's nothing to be proud of. Now we've got Halo 2 which is about half as long and its major feature was that you could shoot two guns at the same time! Woohoo! Oh wait, that's been around since the first shooterThe first Halo introduced a couple of good new ideas to the genre. It was, as console shooters go, among the best. But compared to even average PC shooters, it's nothing to be proud of. Now we've got Halo 2 which is about half as long and its major feature was that you could shoot two guns at the same time! Woohoo! Oh wait, that's been around since the first shooter games, for instance Descent, which was a competitor to the original Doom from about 15 years ago! Halo 2, to begin with, was average at best for a console shooter. Then they "port" it without actually porting anything - they think you're actually going to push A and B on your keyboard for the menus! Weapons are still designed to be shot in the general vicinity of the square kilometer where your enemy is located and yield a kill shot. The sounds is average, the enemies look like something out of a kid's show, the controls are horrible, the physics are bad, and the graphics... oh let's not even touch that with a ten foot pole. And they actually think you're going to not only pay full price for this disaster, but also upgrade to Vista for it? Do you want one of my arms too, Microsoft?

    In conclusion, play through Half-Life 1 again. Heck, play Unreal, Jedi Knight, FEAR, uh, Pac Man... you'll find more original ideas in any of the above than you'll find in Halo 2, and you might actually have fun instead of feeling like you wish you were at the dentist getting teeth pulled by a blind co-op student.    … Expand
  19. RichardS
    Jul 4, 2007
    4
    WOW! When this came out it had straight 100s. Yet I HATED it. Still do. I LOVE Halo, the best game ever, I play it all the time and love everything (except the boring Library level). I hated Halo 2 it ruined everything about Halo 1 - the weapons were horrid and too numerous, the weapons had lost their sheen and power and were now like toys, the graphics were small and ugly, the levels WOW! When this came out it had straight 100s. Yet I HATED it. Still do. I LOVE Halo, the best game ever, I play it all the time and love everything (except the boring Library level). I hated Halo 2 it ruined everything about Halo 1 - the weapons were horrid and too numerous, the weapons had lost their sheen and power and were now like toys, the graphics were small and ugly, the levels were diabolical - the first level is messy, dull, confusing and pointless. The clambouring over the big gun just sums up the ghastliness of it all. This was the only game I have pre-ordered. I got the special edition tin too. And from the first minute I thought it was ****. I am trying to replay it now but all the time I think "I hate this". Everytime I play Halo? I think "I LOVE THIS!". The second most over-rated game of all time second only to ... Gears of War which is total garbage. Bad mushy graphics, bad AI, bad weapons, no atmosphere, a pathetic non-story, no character and enemies that are the same as your colleagues. Eugh.… Expand
  20. BrianM.
    May 29, 2007
    3
    Sloppy. Three years too late.
  21. arthur666
    Dec 12, 2012
    1
    awful graphics, stupid story, disgusting sounds and more... after the first halo this game is shame(microsoft) my 1 point for the chief . really heart breaker...
  22. [Anonymous]
    May 23, 2007
    4
    A terrible, sloppy port that manages to be worse than the original. Completely un-optomized for the PC platform (framerate problems galore, even on a 7800gtx), with broken mouse/keyboard controls that are no more accurate than using a gamepad. Spend your money on something else, don't make the same mistake I did.
  23. Marick
    Apr 15, 2015
    2
    Halo 1 was totally different. It not only manages to be very bad, but one with many problems. Since the frame rate to control mouse and a graphic of all embarrassment.
  24. elolugo
    Jul 1, 2020
    4
    The campaing is not as fun as the first game. Probably it is praised for its multiplayer
  25. baisyaanirban1
    Apr 28, 2021
    0
    The game is part of the infamous Halo series. I played the first game many times and absolutely loved it!
    After the success of Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie set out to develop their most ambitious project: Halo 2 for the pc. this game stands the testament of time. Amazing gameplay, great level design and a deeper story makes this game a must play for a Halo fan or any FPS fan for that    The game is part of the infamous Halo series. I played the first game many times and absolutely loved it!
    After the success of Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie set out to develop their most ambitious project: Halo 2 for the pc. this game stands the testament of time. Amazing gameplay, great level design and a deeper story makes this game a must play for a Halo fan or any FPS fan for that matter.
    The only complaint I had about this game is it's cliffhanger ending. It does not complete the story the game has started and it makes it necessary to play Halo 3 to completely experience Master Chief's journey. But that in no sense is a deal breaker.

    PROS

    ✓ Fantastic first-person shooting action

    ✓ Terrific, overhauled graphics

    ✓ Excellent sound design

    CONS

    - Visual stuttering makes the game jittery and disorienting at times

    - Multiplayer suffers from odd glitches

    - Occasionally lethargic enemy Al

    Bungie has truly set a standard for FPS games. This is a game that deserves at least one play through.

    Score: 9.5/10    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

78
#78 Best PC Game of 2007
26
#26 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007
45
#45 Most Shared PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. GamingTrend
    86
    While the single player may end like a car crash, the multiplayer seems to live forever.
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  2. GamerNode
    90
    The first Halo's roots shined through on the first port of the series, and once again the controls are tight and exemplary for use in PC or console style controls.
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  3. GameDaily
    70
    Although the game received a significant facelift with high-resolution textures to provide a sharper look, the graphical progression of more recent shooters leaves this improved Halo 2 feeling like a 2004 game.
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