Halo 2

 Xbox
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2394 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,035 out of 2394
  2. Mixed: 192 out of 2394
  3. Negative: 167 out of 2394
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  1. wesker2012
    May 27, 2012
    10
    Probably my favorite war shooter multiplayer game. Had so much fun with this one. One of the best multiplayers ever.
  2. Itztoxin
    Jun 2, 2012
    10
    Halo CE came out and it was awesome and I couldn't think it could get better. But it did, Halo 2 will forever be in my mind the greatest FPS of all time. The campaign was well thought out and a great continuation of the first. And the multiplayer was so addicting. Its the one game I have played until that sad day when the shut down the servers. I will miss you Halo 2 MP.
  3. bradtheman123
    Jun 12, 2014
    10
    This game didn't only change my life but I'm sure it changed other peoples too. This was not only the start of Xbox Live and Xbox, but the start of something bigger. Life. Yes Halo 2 was life for me back then. What I like about this game is that everybody can relate to it. It is by far the best Xbox game created. It really changed how gamers thought (Considering there werent a lot backThis game didn't only change my life but I'm sure it changed other peoples too. This was not only the start of Xbox Live and Xbox, but the start of something bigger. Life. Yes Halo 2 was life for me back then. What I like about this game is that everybody can relate to it. It is by far the best Xbox game created. It really changed how gamers thought (Considering there werent a lot back then). This game not only boosted its series but it boosted Xbox, gaming, and even some peoples lives. Including mine. I know they will continue to make Halos and I believe it will continue to succeed. I… Expand
  4. GamerSpin
    Mar 31, 2014
    10
    Halo 2 is the best games that have been created in history, by the fact the gameplay, story, soundtrack and others, this is my favorite video game, and no one can change it
  5. bxrHalogod
    Mar 11, 2014
    10
    better tahn teh butt seckz. halo 2 was perfect, is perfect, and halo 2 anniversary will save the franchise. 343 made a terrible game called halo 4 and killed our franchise. let's get it back by pressuring microsoft to release a halo 2 remake. halo 2 is better than halo 5 because we know 343 can't do anything right.
  6. Cazanator
    Jul 21, 2013
    10
    Halo 2 to this day is one of the greatest games I have ever played. And to my personal opinion it is the best Halo game. There was such hype for this game upon release because the first Halo redefined the FPS genre and put Xbox on the map so much was expected of this game, and it did not disappoint. It returned with some innovative features such as dual wielding weapons, hi-jackingHalo 2 to this day is one of the greatest games I have ever played. And to my personal opinion it is the best Halo game. There was such hype for this game upon release because the first Halo redefined the FPS genre and put Xbox on the map so much was expected of this game, and it did not disappoint. It returned with some innovative features such as dual wielding weapons, hi-jacking enemy vehicles and new weapons. This may not seem like a big deal but it really did change the experience.

    It not only tells the story of the main character Master Chief but also a new protagonist called the Arbiter. He is a disgraced Elite from the Covenant who has been given one last chance to redeem himself. Some people did not like the Arbiter's side of the story but personally I felt it was the highlight of the game, the political struggle for the Covenant was incredibly interesting. In my eyes its an almost faultless game, the most fun I have ever endured in a campaign and had the best and most intriguing story line.

    10/10    … Expand
  7. Jonathan117
    Aug 5, 2013
    10
    The best Halo in my honest opinion, no game has thus far been able to beat this games amazing story, amazing gameplay and amazing characters. This is where the amazing halo games ended and started going down the hill.
  8. savagejoe444
    May 26, 2013
    10
    This was the first Halo game Iv'e played on the Xbox when I was young and this one will always be the best Halo game in the franchise! Dual wielding weapons in this game was exciting, especially with SMG's, which were my favorite weapons in the entire game. Just to bad that Halo 3 didn't have the same spark this one had.
  9. Montes6384
    Dec 22, 2020
    10
    Sinceramente, este fue el primer shooter que jugué. He jugado el juego unas 8 veces y de verdad nunca me aburro al jugarlo nuevamente. Creo que es el unico shooter que de verdad considero un gran y maginifico juego.
  10. Cyborg_TDRK
    Dec 17, 2020
    10
    O melhor jogo da franquia Halo, a remasterização ficou linda também, o tema musical de Halo em guitarra me deixa arrepiado até hoje...
  11. vinhemman
    Dec 18, 2020
    10
    halo 2 is a true fps exprience and i love it for that, it's a great game in every way.
  12. RumCritic
    Dec 25, 2020
    10
    Halo 2 boasted the first person shooter genre to the next level. Between Half-life 2's story and halo 2's i really think halo 2 wins, about the Gameplay halo 2 might be inferior to Halo Combat Evolved but still it felt so innovative amd fresh.
  13. ChipsAreGood
    Jan 10, 2021
    10
    Amazing sequel from an amazing game, more weapons, more enemie types, more vehicules, great story and a better gameplay with the introduction of dual wielding.
  14. JoseQ.
    Nov 5, 2004
    10
    Absolute perfection!
  15. GodComplex
    Feb 1, 2005
    10
    I would like to state that this game is not broken. You H2-haters are. You are broken because you are blind, and comfortable in being that way. I hate people that are ignorant because they want to be. Any real Halo fan would know this. I lost many hours of my life at lan-parties for years because of the first game, and many things that made me say: "bullsh.t" were taken out. Face it. The I would like to state that this game is not broken. You H2-haters are. You are broken because you are blind, and comfortable in being that way. I hate people that are ignorant because they want to be. Any real Halo fan would know this. I lost many hours of my life at lan-parties for years because of the first game, and many things that made me say: "bullsh.t" were taken out. Face it. The pistol took too little skill to be effective. I could kill you in 2-3 shot all the time, everytime. Even noobs could kill you in 5-7 shots. Were's the skill in that old-school fans? Hell, you could snipe a Spartan from a Scorpion tank. Yeah right. They fixed the Devil-pistol. In Multiplayer you cannot go Lone-Ranger as much anymore. You can be good, but any team that works well together will make short work of you. They will hunt you in packs. Have all the weapons. They will own you. I owned people by myself in the first game. I can't do that as much now. I need tactics, not just brawn to win. As for match making, it's good. You play against people of your lv. They system works. People also complain about online problems, like swearing and glitching. Bungie fixes these problems. People can also report you if you are bad! YOU WILL BE EXPLELLED OR WORSE! Trust me, I see it everyday. I also haven't had much problems with lag, which surprised me. Also old-school fan's bitch about duel weilding. Old-school fans can be idiots and not try things, because they are afraid of change. Besides, duel-weilding isn't that effective! I own people that do that! A well place nad' and a single smg clean house all the time, everytime. You guys could also try a battle rifle with a plasm gun. So deadly it's scary! Owns the duel-weilding freaks so much it's scary! I don't understand people hatred for the single player mode. Halo had me going "holy shit" everytime. Halo 2 did that for me and more. I love the Arbiter too. I guess people expected a different game. I feel sorry for these pathetic masses of rage and hatred. They are broken relics. Note: Pc games and console are like judging fresh water from salt water. That's why I don't mention Half-Life 2 or World of Warcraft.… Expand
  16. AidanB.
    Mar 20, 2005
    10
    The game is an exellent sequel to halo, and both multiplayer modes are amazing.
  17. Charlie
    Jun 15, 2005
    10
    This is the best game ever. The graphics are some of the best ever on X-Box. I see that Nathan complained about plants? Who cares about plants materializing 5 feet in front of you when every other part of the game looks simply amazing? Nathan didn't like the multi-player because he got his ass handed to him. If he won he would say it was great. I dont know how you could say something This is the best game ever. The graphics are some of the best ever on X-Box. I see that Nathan complained about plants? Who cares about plants materializing 5 feet in front of you when every other part of the game looks simply amazing? Nathan didn't like the multi-player because he got his ass handed to him. If he won he would say it was great. I dont know how you could say something is wrong with the maps when they are beautiful. The gameplay sucked? The gameplay definitely doesn't suck. It is action packed and fluent. Even on x-box live there aren't problems with framerate or anything. Shoaib complained about not really saving earth. You saved earth by forcing the covenant to leave earth. Then you followed them to stop them from ever coming back to earth. Yes, being the arbiter sucked, but the gameplay with the arbiter was awesome. Being invisible was freaking sweet! When the arbiter talked then it was stupid, because i agree with you. I just want to kill elites, but you barely notice them when you are playing as the arbiter. in first person as along as you dont look straight down you dont even notice. To wrap it all up Halo 2 is the best game ever and everyone who doesn't agree with me and complains about the game are ...… Expand
  18. JasonM>
    Nov 6, 2004
    10
    as the xbox official will agree this is quite possibly the best first person shooter game ever to be released on this generation of consoles.
  19. Two-YearOldAdult
    Nov 8, 2004
    10
    Got this game one hour ago. This is better than Halo 1, and is one of the Xbox's very best.
  20. PatrickW.
    Nov 9, 2004
    10
    Fantastic only people who dislike it have never played it.
  21. Seriosity
    Mar 22, 2013
    10
    Following up Halo: Combat Evolved is no small feat. Luckily, Halo 2 was open to the challenge and succeeded in every way. The multiplayer speaks for itself. The only nitpick is the brevity of the campaign and the cliffhanger ending. Still, the campaign, while short, is incredibly original containing a twist you will never see coming.
  22. emoney
    Nov 28, 2012
    10
    This game will make your dick hard and thats not a lie. You can debate on weather this halo or halo 3 being the best halo. The gameplay was insane. Did I mention it makes your dick hard?
  23. CineAutoctono
    Jul 21, 2017
    9
    Halo 3 was a very good video game that is part of this incredible franchise, the story, the gameplay, and the graphics were great, just as now it is still a classic.
  24. draxlink
    Apr 1, 2017
    9
    The best game of Halo saga!! Halo 2 is amazing, good history, good graphics, excellent controls and the action never stop after this game Halo saga fell in bad games, boring history and nothing to enjoy! Bungie we miss you con Halo saga
  25. SparkzPlayzGame
    Jan 20, 2018
    9
    The next installation in the Halo Series, it is great like its big brother combat evolved

    Graphics=9.5, AMAZING FOR THE TIME, So good Music=10, STILL EPIC LIKE CE Story=10, Just like CE, EPIC Story and amazing Replayability/Length=9, Worth it so good Gameplay=8, Very good, BUT **** HIGH CHARITY ON LEGENDARY IS SOOOOOOO **** HARD, very hard on legendary but fun, especially the    The next installation in the Halo Series, it is great like its big brother combat evolved

    Graphics=9.5, AMAZING FOR THE TIME, So good
    Music=10, STILL EPIC LIKE CE
    Story=10, Just like CE, EPIC Story and amazing
    Replayability/Length=9, Worth it so good
    Gameplay=8, Very good, BUT **** HIGH CHARITY ON LEGENDARY IS SOOOOOOO **** HARD, very hard on legendary but fun, especially the multiplayer

    This leads to a grand total of .......

    93!

    Very fun and worth the experience, do it and you wont regret it    … Expand
  26. halo124
    Apr 3, 2019
    9
    This game has the best campaign cut scenes but however great you make the weapon sandbox, you cant get past the fact that the difficulty settings in this game are unfair and for once i am not saying that because i am trash at the game. I have 2 problems with this game but there are 200 positives starting with the best part of this game the boss battles which i can not spoil but they areThis game has the best campaign cut scenes but however great you make the weapon sandbox, you cant get past the fact that the difficulty settings in this game are unfair and for once i am not saying that because i am trash at the game. I have 2 problems with this game but there are 200 positives starting with the best part of this game the boss battles which i can not spoil but they are better than the warden eternal and 343 guilty spark. Another positive are the flood and to be honest i hated the flood in Halo CE probably because of the library level and rocket launcher flood but in this game they added a lazer which lets you cut off body parts which is so satisfying the flood will become the best enemy to fight. Now the bad stuff which starts with the difficulty and one of many examples of this is there are one shot kill sniper jackels which have such good aim competitive players would have about as much chance as the master chief vs a single grunt. The other problem is a spoiler so i can not say it here. The master chief collection does have this game with improved graphics and a multiplayer so i would recommend playing it on there. The multiplayer of this game is worth buying the game without the campaign and for a halo game you know its good but the multiplayer has got one huge problem as button combos are in the game and are very annoying… Expand
  27. Robert88
    Jan 16, 2021
    10
    The game that defined what modern fps are today , a game that paved the way for every single title of fps . Halo is king of all first person shooters .. with out it we would still be playing genres like quake , and doom in 2d .. bungee opened open a whole new world of possibilities for the first person shooter genre . Love it or hate it you can not , nor any body can not deny what it hasThe game that defined what modern fps are today , a game that paved the way for every single title of fps . Halo is king of all first person shooters .. with out it we would still be playing genres like quake , and doom in 2d .. bungee opened open a whole new world of possibilities for the first person shooter genre . Love it or hate it you can not , nor any body can not deny what it has brought to the table and what it has contributed to gaming as whole Greatest fps series ever… Expand
  28. Skurttish
    Dec 21, 2020
    9
    An improvement over Halo: CE in nearly every way.

    The biggest improvement was in the story—it was very interesting. It did a great job of fleshing out and expanding the Halo universe, something I loved. The gameplay was the same great, classic Halo FPS. Don’t fix what ain’t broken. The graphics were good, certainly good enough to do the job, and the cutscenes looked really great.    An improvement over Halo: CE in nearly every way.

    The biggest improvement was in the story—it was very interesting. It did a great job of fleshing out and expanding the Halo universe, something I loved.

    The gameplay was the same great, classic Halo FPS. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

    The graphics were good, certainly good enough to do the job, and the cutscenes looked really great. Finally, the music and sound never got in the way (although I didn’t like the bits that sounded like they could have been from a Phil Collins outtake—stay away from acoustic percussion, Halo, and stick to synthesized sounds! It fits the genre better).

    I did take off one point, and it was because the game was too difficult. There were some sections that were overly challenging. But other than that, it’s a game I absolutely recommend.    … Expand
  29. wiredspore44
    Dec 28, 2020
    9
    Great follow up to a perfect Xbox launch title. The level design feels a lot more restrictive than the first game and it feels a little jarring that it ditched the open world style from the original. The arbiter was also a cool addition to the halo series.
  30. Carmina45
    Dec 21, 2020
    10
    Probably the best sequel ever.!? This game is so good, i just couldn't stop playing it, the story and dialog are top-notch.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Xbox Game of 2004
1
#1 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004
2
#2 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
95

Universal acclaim - based on 91 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 91
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 91
  3. Negative: 0 out of 91
  1. Xbox Nation Magazine
    100
    Microsoft and Bungie have created a gigantic bell that sounds like thunder and reverberates with a fury worthy of a gale-force hurricane. It's not perfect, but get in front of it, and wonderful things - wonderful destructive things - are bound to happen. [Dec 2004, p.72]
    Read full review
  2. GMR Magazine
    100
    The digital surround sound is phenomenal (and the voice-acting peerless), and players with a good A/V system will enjoy hearing enemies approach from all sides due to the sharp positional sound.
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  3. Gamestyle
    100
    One of Halo 2 Online's best features - if not the best - is the statistics tracking system. [Online review]
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