Bungie's 20 Year Old Masterpiece - Halo 2 Review

[@BunkerDweller]

Longest review/retrospective I’ve ever put out. I thought Halo 2 deserved it, especially for its 20th anniversary So enjoy it a day early. Have a great weekend, lads

[@valiantvulture]

I was 3 months old when Halo 2 came out and it’s still my favorite minus sacred icon 5/10 yap session +5 if it was longer

[@xenosayain1506]

Andy - you want fun replay while keeping it fresh. Try mods like spve3 for hale ce and the mythic campaing overhauls. They add a ton of new fun and breathe a life of fresh air into them.

[@sekiko7183]

LOVE the touch of Marathon music throughout the video by the way. Been listening to those tracks and playing the games more recently. Definitely noticed a lot of inspiration from Marathon's art styles integrated into Halo the more I play both.

[@TheFakeBriskeh]

4:30 absolutely. Dont subscribe to these low tier sensation farming channels with no good insight or understanding of halo. Check out channels like shredded nerd or conrads multiplayer analysis videos, c3 sabertooth too, these should all be mandatory viewing

[@useyourimaginasean]

Great video. I appreciate your audio. It’s mixed well and not too plosive or poppy with fricatives. Your volume levels are consistent and the music is audible but not distracting. I relate to your experience and perspective with halo 2. I started to appreciate halo 2 almost ten years after it was out. All the praise you shared in this video I agree with. I have some memories when Halo 2 released, but I didn’t really appreciate it. I played Halo 3 for years, but I grew up playing World at War, Modern warfare 2 and black ops. When I played co-op campaign for the first time with some friends I understood how historically significant the game was for storytelling. Playing the campaign on halo 2 on legendary with some friends is one of my favorite memories from growing up. I hope people can have a similar experience like I did years ago with a bunch of friends on a couch just hanging out and handing off a controller hoping my friend would get through a section I couldn’t. I doubt video games and the industry around it will allow for a game that gives an experience like halo ce, 2, or 3. It’s good that it happened and I got a taste of it though.

[@HumbleHonkingEnthusiast]

Its amazing that bungie considered halo 2 to be a failure, due to the amount of content they had to cut, and yet remains the favorite of most fans to this day.

[@Sockren]

honestly, i agree becaus ethe multiplayer carried halo 2. i do not think anybody would be talking about halo 2 if it didnt have one of the best multiplayers in the series. the story is great, but executed like wet paper because the locations feel like you are teleported to random scenes connected only by the story instead of fighting through the world like in the rest of the halo games. not to mention the gameplay for some of the enemies are absolutely awful (sniper's, tartarus, etc). edit: i still agree with what i said but andy beautifully explains what i disagree with convincingly. it makes me appreciate halo 2 for what it does right instead of focusing on what it does wrong. its a rough game but its not like its 100% awful. its just not good to play for the first time

[@zachrowe6271]

​@@Sockrenobviously halo is synonymous with halo live multiplayer, but H2 has the best campaign in the series. Halo 2 speed running is still hugely popular

[@andydufresnefromshawshank5866]

My favorite game ❤❤❤

[@vertexvortex]

from fresh eyes that campaign is very evidently rough, I got that same feeling of wanting them to wrap it up in the second half as I did playing the library for the first time. the nostalgic superfans will hate me for it but marty was right

[@Oppen1945]

​@@vertexvortexYou do realise the game would've been longer not shorter if they didn't have to cut so much content right? I think your problem is that you just don't like the game that much in the first place.

[@recruit-legionary]

This is the best marathon 5 video of all time

[@CoyoteKnight]

Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened and you were there.

[@Masamune-JGb215]

Wise words to live by brother

[@peanutgallery4]

I was too busy... being a newborn

[@FordHoard]

Good thing the MCC exists.

[@gyurza__]

​@@peanutgallery4real asf

[@libertyprime8964]

Best midnight release ever!🥲

[@tsunderemerc2963]

I love the Arbiter as a character and its criminal that he took a back seat for Halo 3. Also wished we could have had a better "forerunners are humans" reveal that could let that realization sink in, especially for Arbiter himself. Still one of the best shooters ever made. A fun fact after watching through, Halo 2 did actually have a small balance patch after it came out. And Foundation was originally unlocked by beating the campaign, seeing as it was a Marathon map remake, it was more of an easter egg, but the patch auto-unlocked it. If only pre/post game lobbies were still a thing...

[@Nighterac]

Yeah Jamie Grissemer felt like the Forerunner reveal didn't make much sense for Arbiter since Arby's an alien and it's not as impactful and you'd have to think about everything the Covenant was as a religion (or something like that, can't remember exactly) and that's why they did the Spark reveal instead in H3 where Spark says it to Chief. He's mentioned this on Twitter. But honestly I think he IS wrong on that, because he missed the point. It absolutely does make sense for Arbiter, because the whole game has been following the Arbiter's personal journey. It's not necessarily about the reveal itself - it's about the Arbiter as a character. It's the ending to his story. It's the Arbiter learning that humans are Forerunners, the same race he's been genociding. Everything he had done for the Covenant for that point had been a complete lie. It's a final nail in the coffin that the Great Journey is a complete lie to him. Spark says that his "makers died - as planned". But words can only mean so much. When you have physical evidence however staring at you right in the face... Imagine what the Arbiter must have been feeling at that point, seeing that human skeleton and knowing that's a Forerunner.

[@stardust_2339]

Arby fell victim to several factors. He was initially disliked and him getting the flood levels didn't help his reputation much. His story also mostly concluded within Halo 2. Truth is left to be dealt with but there aren't any big revelations or questions left. I think he still does pretty cool stuff in 3, it's just him being controlled by the AI he can act stupid lol

[@gub4941]

Way more criminal that he was completely ignored in every game set after that 💀

[@a.p.3192]

Honestly think that it wouldn t make much sense considering that his story was for the most over at that point. The only thing left was killing truth witch he got to do.

[@yoturaliaz6205]

Halo 3 wouldve been better with more arbiter involvement

[@sekiko7183]

"Finally, some good fucking Halo games." - Gordon Ramsay probably

[@JannyBesmircher]

20 fkn years... I cant believe how old I am now.

[@AFarCryAway]

It 100% could be nostalgia, but as a kid playing Halo 2 for the first time, hearing Blow Me Away play during the fight between the Brutes and Elites REALLY hit home how intense a moment it was both narratively speaking and for gameplay. The game trained me to recognize that when the guitars kicked in, something BIG was about to or currently going down.

[@Phillibetrus]

Just finished playing the Halo 2 campaign with a friend who has never played halo before... It is not just nostalgia. The excitement he had when first playing the Arbiter, the shock at the Gravemind... man it is like playing it for the first time again back in 2004.

[@ThePilleroflightning]

I just played with a friend through CE and 2, she’d never really played games like that, but loved going through the series with me. It was fun

[@Jodie-G198]

So awesome, you guys sharing the ol' Halo 2 experience with a friend, in this year of 2024!

[@yoturaliaz6205]

Being called a bungie fanboy is weird to me cuz bungie made and popularized halo to begin with, ofc youre a fan of bungie if youre a fan of halo. They literaly made the damn thing

[@Slender_Man_186]

Wait wtf, Dee Bradley Baker is the Gravemind? You're telling me that the guy who voiced every single clone in Star Wars The Clone Wars is literally the voice of a hivemind? That's kinda ironic.

[@Popceto]

He also voiced most of the zombies in L4D

[@PANCAKEMINEZZ]

The guy who made every single clone in that terrible retcon mess of a show sound super corny is the Gravemind. Dude has range and is a good voice actor but he's the worst thing to ever happen to the clones in Star Wars.

[@Popceto]

@@PANCAKEMINEZZ Mad about a 2008 kid's show award

[@bryanleslie2617]

@@PANCAKEMINEZZclone wars was dope and you know it was

[@glyntaylor-williams3593]

Another reason why Halo 2 seems flat is because they designed the entire game thinking the stencil engine and shadows would be around and create these beautiful dynamic lights. However when they realised there would be no stencil shadows it was too late. They didn't have time to rebuild everything from the ground up.

[@4dxl]

Yeah. I was looking for a comment talking about this. Thank you for providing some context

[@ugoboom]

yup. ruby's rebalanced h2 will be using those dynamic shadows (not stencil shadows) to somewhat get the effect back along with other mod tool improvements. with this mod's release, we will finally have the ultimate cut of h2, which IMO could only be topped by the full addition of Covenant Ship and Forerunner Tank.

[@SeriousRyno]

I know you never would but I wouldn't mind you talking about Halo 2 Anniversary. Everyone knows how bad CEA was but I think H2A really isn't that much better and has many of the same mistakes as CEA. The anniversary games are just what someone else feels like Bungie's games should look like. No more than a fan texture pack. As for the Blur cutscenes they can be kind of cool but also have huge differences in tone and what's really supposed to be happening in original Halo 2. In engine cinematics will always win in my book.

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

3:45 Yeah this bothers me so much. Halo doesn't get the same discussion or love that other games get when it comes to conversation about it. Which unfortunately leaves a void for the discourse which then leads to 343 twitter shills that will try to gaslight and claims these games were overrated or bad. Just because they really dislike the early 2000s era of gaming. We need more halo videos that go into detail of what makes it good. Instead of the latest shop update for infinite.

[@ausaskar]

2:21:59 Neat, it's cool to finally hear the context behind this promo image. It was my desktop for years during the 2000s.

[@StarsAndSticks]

Great job on this, very few 3 hour retrospectives are ACTUALLY deserving of that run time. You have something genuine to say with every minute of your time.

[@DBLRxyz]

The sandbox is unmatched… nostalgia my ass.

[@-Monad-]

Random 3.5 hour Halo retrospective... this is why I am subscribed

[@coleabraham4350]

Oh, Halo 2 video, those are rare, this is going directly into my "EPIC and Interesting Stuff" playlist.

[@1024NIN]

When I used to play through this game on Coop with my uncle, he would actually have us both jump off the cliff at the end of the fight just to relisten to blow me away. And play the segment again😂

[@CatholicBossHogg]

I was there midnight 2004. You just had to be there

[@Alfenium]

Thank you for your service, fren. (^ ^)

[@joshuapurdy7065]

This is an amazing retrospective. Amazing production value. Also I’ve played halo 2 many times and yet I seem to miss the fact that high charity is grimy and how the brutes line up”my belly aches” was set up showing that the covenant was already failing on its own. I wish I was there for the launch and early days of the game but no I was born in a time to be perfectly set up to be a reach kid. But I look back at halo 2 and I see it as a perfect gem along with ce,3 and reach (along with odst and wars) halo 2 like you said had an insane scip but I’ve always thought that it was for the best the way it turned out, to live in a universe without halo 3 as it is would suck

[@wild6886]

This is easily the most well-put together retrospective on this game, and I really appreciate that you give a lot of insight, not only just the game from its ins and outs, but everything that surrounded it from Bungie, and the community also. I wish more Halo retrospective are more like it with how rich this franchise's history is that I feel gets overlooked overtime. I hope to inspire that with the vids I want to create one day. :)

[@yoturaliaz6205]

Bunkerdweller is my fav 343 fan

[@kutless45]

You know, I never noticed the stuff you said about the Covenant being an Empire in decline before. But it makes sense. A 25 year campaign of extermination against another galactic species probably sucks up a ton of resources. Most of the food they get goes directly to the ever expanding front. And they can't forage or harvest on the human worlds because they glass them the moment they find them and strip them bare of Forerunner tech (also an expensive endeavor since they have to fight the humans to get to it). This is not a war being fought strategically and thoughtfully. And the Covenant Empire is paying the price.

[@peradolia]

i will stand by this to the day i die that the anniversary graphics for 1 & 2(to a lesser extent) are way too busy and overdone, even the music is too grandiose. the songs are mastered so poorly some tracks even redline i think they should’ve just upscaled and touched up the old graphics instead of re doing them

[@blindvalkyrie9352]

Not a Hot take at all, maybe on 2. but overall very room temp almost chilly take

[@EthanTheDinoNerd]

I hate anniversary weapon designs and sound designs. Most are Reach assets and the new sounds are awful or straight up sound nothing like the original.

[@peradolia]

@@blindvalkyrie9352 never said it was a hot take

[@ThePilleroflightning]

Halo 2 anniversary is too busy, to bright and hard to see things. I never got why people LOVE it and give it endless praise. Even when you shoot guns, the flare makes it so the lighting darkens and you can barely past the bullets firing in a direction. Particularly the BR Carbine Plasma Rifle SMG

[@aschbam]

on god the remastered music was so unnecessary. it makes the soundtrack sound so much worse

[@Christian-lb2lv]

I relate to you so much being a “older zoomer” I was late to halo 2 but it’s always been probably my favorite game of all time. Its story and gameplay have crafted what my taists are as an adults. Me and my dad would play the campaign together when I was little and just recently I gave it a legendary play through and I still love it

[@awesomecheese5324]

You really did call the Halo cycle spot on with the last video. Seeing the hype from a rebrand is crazy. Halo after bungie has been the idiot that keeps falling for the get rich quick scams of the industry. Well, I guess the fans are for constantly falling for it.

[@theprototype1995]

It doesn’t hurt to hope that the game franchise you love can make a comeback. And imo, compared to the previous promises of better games, i have more faith this time purely because most of the upper management is gone and there is potential of something different this time Naive sure but I rather hope for the best

[@awesomecheese5324]

@theprototype1995 My brother, take a step back at what you are saying and compare it to infinite, and it is eerily similar.

[@thatoneguy8146]

I never heard of that interpretation that the covenant was in decline but now that you say it, it’s so obvious For me I originally thought it was the shock of there most holy sites being destroyed that gave everyone a reason for why they acted as they did

[@ReachTea]

Don't forget to pay 25$ for Halo 2 Armour in Halo Infinite!!!!!!!!!!

[@stormhought]

But wait! For 35$, you could pretend to be an elite too, eh?

[@TheNoobyNoob1]

Reading First Strike like 8 years after Halo 2 and learning Johnson’s true survival story is so funny to look back on. I always believed (even after the lore was in the public) that Johnson really did just activate plot armor.

[@burger_470]

Sad day being born in 2003 halo 2 looked so fucking good back then and the marketing gives me chills on my butt cheeks. People that got to experience this beautiful game are lucky and I’m happy they got to enjoy the hype

[@tomtheconqerur]

5:24 unfortunately, a familiar of line of thought also present within the halo community, specifically the 343 era fans. Many of them have shown disdain towards them for two frankly asinine reasons. One reason is that the Bungie era halo stories were not lore filled plots with “deep” characters. I encountered an idiot on social media that unironically thought that Halo Infinite was better than Halo CE because infinite has more lore and “better” gameplay. The plot of bungie era halo isn't meant to be a “deep” slop that Redditors eat up because it mentions multiverse theory. Halo was meant to be a space opera set in one of the most grounded hard sci-fi settings in fiction. A sort of modern Star Wars if you will. A sizable portion of the 343 era fans that despise the Bungie era stories, only consume halo media from books and never even played the games. They even have the audacity to claim to be big “fans” and understand Halo better than the very team that developed the original games. The other argument relates to gameplay. Many of the 343 era halo games grew up during an era where games and media in general were becoming much faster paced than what was developed pre 2010s for a variety of factors (one of them being shortened attention spans). This results in the 343 era developed games being design to not just follow trends, but also to be much faster paced than the Bungie era games ever were. Resulting in Halo “fans” that dislike the pre 343 developed games for not being direct copies of other modern shooters such as COD. But yeah, that's all I got to say about this issue. Don't get me started on how 343 bungled the handling of the forerunners.

[@jamesquinn6662]

343 fans are almost entirely compised of nerds who spend their free time reading snd editing halo wikis. The Greg Bear books and forerunner retcon are the biggest indicators that 343 never "got" halo is a series where the setting is the main character

[@glyntaylor-williams3593]

I think one of my favourite parts of the campaign is after the underwater lift. The prophet hologram starts chanting going mmmm mmm mmm.

[@gyurza__]

I almost cried when i played mcc multiplayer for the first time the other day and there were people shit talking me and having their mic on the whole game. I missed halo so much i didnt even get enough sleep for today cuz i kept saying '1 more game 1 more...' they need to make future games more social im so sick of games feeling like youre in a fucking court room

[@silvermasamune100]

I remember being excited for halo 2 after playing CE as a kid and absolutely loving it; campaign, multiplayer, everything about it. Thinking back on it as a 28 yr old man, it's both heartwarming... and bittersweet.

[@silvermasamune100]

Amazing review btw.

[@famalam943]

Love watching these retrospectives. Me and my brother got h2 the Christmas year it released, we were both pretty young and 20 years later I still distinctly remember how surprised we were at the arbiter mission reveal and how cool it was. Now we’re both in our 30’s and he lives on the other side of the world with his family so we hardly see each other, but I’ll always remember these little moments we shared as kids so h2 will always have a special place for me forever.

[@Gator159]

1:13:29 I keep telling everybody, Halo CE legendary cutscene shows Johnson and the arbiter hug while the ring explodes, and splits off into multiple pieces, arbiter gets launched all the way back to high charity and Johnson gets launched all the way to Earth. It's classified because it sounds absurd but it cannon because it sounds awesome.

[@Creatic58]

I’m trusting you will be alive in 2027 to make one of these for Halo 3s 20th anniversary

[@KamalJDavis]

God like video! I'll never forget experiencing this for the first time with my dad, especially Xbox Live. Fun fact about the early external bands, in the IGN interview with Marty O'Donnell he talked about how Nile Rogers heard Halo 1's music because Maroon 5? was playing it and decided to get in contact with him/Microsoft to get Halo CE's soundtrack released and supply Marty with any talent he'd want to have come on for Halo 2. John Mayer, Incubus, Hoobastank and Steve Vai came ready to go, especially with the former three being fans of Halo 1. John Mayer just wanted he gamertag in the credits as he didn't want to get agents and contracts involved.

[@gabrielhersey5546]

I was there. Day 1. Long live halo love

[@kjaere2313]

That bungie intro music man.. that took me for a ride :,)

[@Player3.]

The flood could have easily been a replacement imo. However, the combat gameplay would be radically different. The flood would be similar to the demons in Doom 2016/Eternal A hive mind that possesses the mind, skills, and battle knowledge of its host? Yeah, the flood could have easily been a replacement. You have so many unique character designs and gameplay encounters with the flood -floodified marines, elites, grunts, pure forms etc…Doesn’t have to be that frantic as D2016 and DEternal, but just let the flood have similar combat encounter design to the covenant. Don’t make them rush the player, lean into that push and pull gameplay. There were already shades of that in H3 with more ranged flood types. Tankers are similar to the hunters…you get my point. I would’ve liked to see it.

[@nonamejester]

Saying the anniversary graphics are better is like taking a iPhone picture of the sky and saying its better than Van Gogh's Starry Night cause it's more realistic

[@Masamune-JGb215]

I like muddier older graphics. It leaves a gap for your mind to fill in the blanks

[@redcrown5154]

the cutscenes tho

[@peanutgallery4]

The Blur cutscenes' art style is really the best Halo and maybe any videogame has ever looked. However with the in game remastered graphics, they are quite flawed just like the og H2 graphics, and it really depends from place to place which graphics are better, whereas this video cherrypicks the good from og graphics and the bad from new graphics. Except for when he talks about High Charity, there he's just wrong. He reads in an artistic meaning that wasn't intended and doesn't even make sense, the idea that the Covenant is falling apart, that one Brute saying he's hungry means that the whole Covenant must be hungry, and that would somehow reflect on the highest levels of society looking grimy and grey. No the game just looked bad, or should I say not as good as Bungie intended. They didn't get their lighting engine right. Given the fact Truth was intending to leave the Covenant for dead, maybe he saw it as a lost cause that would inevitably collapse, and maybe you could see that by going into the more common areas, but that's not where you are in the High Charity missions.

[@redcrown5154]

@@peanutgallery4 too long, didn't read

[@peanutgallery4]

@redcrown5154 cutscenes good, og and remaster sometimes good sometimes bad, Andy is cherrypicking a bit

[@shrunkenderp]

Mannn I really miss prime bungie. That run? These stats? Under THOSE conditions?! One of one

[@AnakinSkywakka]

I've always liked the brutes in Halo 2. Unlike Halo 3, where they're essentially elite clones, here they are appropriately their own class. I enjoy the shake-up to the game play they provide, being the complete opposite of elites while providing a difficulty spike for late game. That said, I probably enjoy Halo Reach's iteration of brutes the most. As far as the anniversary goes, I LOVE the blur cutscenes. They are what the original cinematics felt like to me back in the day. I do have some grievances, like with the elites' armor looking less sharp compared to OG. And especially with the sound design, God I loathe the new energy sword's audio. And I understand the whole licensing issue with some of the songs, but I still prefer Blow Me Away and Follow over the new tracks. They are fantastic editions, who cares how campy they are, they just work.

[@wastelandblue1343]

We finishing the fight tonight

[@hguy4411]

hell yeah

[@Jodie-G198]

Hell yeah!

[@CreedofDarkness]

Halo 2. I had that at launch as a kid. I never got to play the MP online, but I played the hell out of it, it's easily one of my favorite campaigns, despite the issues. The wizardry Bungie pulled off on the OG Xbox was astounding to me.

[@clokkoflokko318]

2:56 oh my, you did not just use the track " Swirls " from Marathon One in this video hahaha I love that game so much. Beautiful easter egg, man! Edit: I just finished this amazing video. Thank you, Andy.

[@Ashley-graves1984]

3:54 I remember hearing that it's harder to praise a piece of media and show the good in it than it is to criticize and show the bad in a piece of media so that's probably the reason why most people shy away from doing it

[@themacintoshnerd]

I really, really, really, really love the arbiter's story. A lot of people I think say it's good and don't think about it past the vibes. But and maybe this wasn't what Joe Staten and Bungie wanted his and the elites story to be interpreted as but I've always taken it to be a cautionary tale about how the people that lead you will use the things you love and are important to you to lie and lead you to do things that are wrong and cloud your ability to see that you're doing the wrong thing. And even lead you to tragedy as everyone follows until they can no longer believe the falsehood fed to them. Again maybe that's not what bungie meant with the story but that's always how I interpreted it. Another thing is how I think way too many people think Halo 2 is an allegory for the war on terror and overstate the commentary about religion in these games.

[@StupidJellyfish]

Your mixing of OG Xbox footage and modern PC footage is fantastic.

[@ScottE-2]

Crazy to think Halo 2 turned 20 this year... wonderful review Andy! Happy to see your work in my feed be it by recommendation or subfeed (I missed it sadly) but every time a smile grows big each time. I hope you have been well.

[@EthanTheDinoNerd]

I remembered liking H2A graphics until I played the campaign and swapped the graphics on the bridge and noticed that OG has a fiery red sky while anniversary is just a normal sunny day...the fuck? Gun sounds are awful and fucking reach models. Also bet the people that like H2A or think it looks better barely care about the actual game graphics but the blur cutscenes. Every time they say it's an upgrade only talk about and show the blur cutscenes. Wanted to play the Bungie games in their original unbutchered form. Sadly found out that yes you can play Halo 2 on 360.... But it's very buggy and the image is fucked.

[@EthanTheDinoNerd]

Funny....I liked Blow me away before I found out it was in Halo 2

[@EthanTheDinoNerd]

Glad you're going in depth about Halo 2 and not half arse it. Still can't believe some dickhead(not going to say names) say Halo 4's story is better than Halo 2 which many will blindly agree with. This video makes me want to go back to Halo 2. It was my least favorite Bungie Halo but lately (before the hackers) I was enjoying Halo 2 multiplayer alot. It wasn't because I didn't like the game it was because I didn't know the 360 had backwards compatibility also didn't play Reach because GameStop was always out of stock. On my 23th birthday my uncle gave me an OG Xbox and bought Halo 2. Just waiting to move out so I could play it along with other OG Xbox games I got.

[@Ashley-graves1984]

​@@EthanTheDinoNerdI think I know who you're talking about but you should still name them

[@Nighterac]

H2A is full of weird quirks like that unfortunately. They have the completely wrong song playing during one section in the Oracle (it's the hold-out section with the turrets). They're still obsessed with those stupid ass jerry cans on the back of the Warthog that just looks awful. And just look at what they did to Cortana. It's a shame that Cortana looks like shit in the Anniversary graphics. She literally has no neck! H2C Cortana looks so much better despite being a decade older at that point. Even in the Blur cinematics, she looks fine! What the hell happened? It's much better than CEA and is much more faithful than CEA ever will be, but it is not perfect and should definitely be criticized a bit more, instead of constantly being glazed about. Sometimes it can be just as bad as CEA is in some areas, with the same obsessive lights everywhere where it's supposed to be dark. I'd go a step further and say the Blur cutscenes do deserve some scrutiny too, even if they are generally good. Backwards Phantoms, Miranda not dual-wielding when they made a callback to that in H3 (are they going to remove that in H3A then?) so it's very much a thing she can do, no cross-fades so things go by much quicker in the Blur version (because they based the cutscenes off of the Vista port for some reason which lacked cross-fades instead of the original Xbox version) or excellent original shots being altered for no real reason other than to look different. There's a cool cross-fade in the original where it fades from Truth's helmet, to the Halo ring. That isn't a thing in Blur's cutscenes. Also, the entirety of The Heretic cutscene is completely different. Arbiter being escorted away by the Brutes at the end of the Heretic cutscene is a key example. It looks so much better when the focus is on Arbiter instead of the Prophets. In the Blur version he just walks off-screen with the Brutes?? And that's not to mention how the Brutes never lay a finger on Arbiter in H2C until after he's had the Mark of Shame and warned them off with his body, but in H2A that's changed. Even Arbiter himself is weird! When he's getting branded with the Mark of Shame, he screams in the Blur versions when he doesn't in the original, but then doesn't when he should in the original! Generally the Blur cutscenes go by much faster than the original does (I chalk this up to the cross-fades being missing though, thanks H2V), and that doesn't allow the cutscenes to breathe as they did in the original. Hell they even screwed up the fact that Miranda is grabbing a Gravemind tentacle when retrieving the index. There was speculation for a while on what Miranda was holding on to, with some people saying it's a cable, while others saying it was a Gravemind tentacle. Well, if you check the H2 files themselves, you can see it's clearly not a cable. It's a Gravemind tentacle. But then in Blur's version it is a cable in the cutscene, when it's meant to be foreshadowing for the Gravemind reveal. We already know what cables in H2 look like, and they do not look like Gravemind tentacles. One thing I will give them credit for is that they buffed Johnson when he fights the Arbiter. It's easy to forget Johnson is a Spartan-I, after all. The two have a fist-fight for a tiny bit that isn't present at all in the original, and Johnson for just a moment was able to go toe-to-toe with Arby. But I feel like that has the accidental side effect of nerfing the Arbiter too, since Arbiter didn't even break a sweat in the original (only with Miranda because he was taken by surprise), and just casually tanked all of Johnson's shots where as in Blur's version he has to actually try and fight the two of them. What I don't like is that Arby then pinned him to a wall and roared in his face after Johnson's little comment of "How you doin'?". Johnson isn't pinned to a wall either, and Arbiter holds him up directly. In the original, he does a intriguing but condescending "hmm".. not too dissimilar to what R'Tas did to him after Arby says "That makes two of us". I have a feeling this was a callback to that cutscene, but in Blur's version, he was triggered by the comment. Arbiter isn't supposed to actually get mad at that comment. Johnson is beneath him at that point. He's wiped out millions of humans at that point. They really aren't a threat to him. But he also knows when to take cover from TWO SMGs firing directly at his shields that can actually kill him on higher difficulties if you listen closely, lol. But eh, for some reason Miranda is no longer dual-wielding (probably because the later games don't have dual-wielding, which is a weird reason for why you would remove it from Miranda in this cutscene) and it takes away that cool moment of a human actually getting the upper hand on Arby. So yeah, mixed opinions here really.

[@SeriousRyno]

Finally someone talks about the Blur cutscenes and why they have moments that are VERY different from the original game. It's almost like a different director directing the same scene. Actually that's exactly what it is.

[@ElephantsDoingCrack]

Whenever you get to the closing parts of your videos for Halo, I breakdown crying man. You put it into words that no one else can do or where others can't find them. I still remember the first time I saw Halo 2, when I saw that ship blow up in space because of that bomb... I felt like I was on another level of gaming. In fact looking at Halo 2 feels like I got teleported back in time to the memories. I could only experience Halo by going to one of my crappy cousin's house. It's the only reason I would wanna go as a kid, despite that dude sucking I just wanted to play Halo.

[@SirLordMasterSaverKangDrPaulAs]

I was wondering why there wasn't a halloween video/videos, but now i know, and Christmas has come early this year 👌

[@muwuny]

I agree wholeheartedly, I really despise this false notion that Halo was always mid and that people just have nostalgia for it, especially when it's used as a defence for the new games that are objectively awful. And props for the use of the Marathin soundtrack, very based taste

[@deadpan2866]

the issue with halo 2 is that imo its the only game that understands the brutes in regards to design in a good way. what makes the covenant so alien is that well, they look alien. grunts, elites, prophets etc all look alien and not like anything on earth. but for most of halo brutes just look like gorillas or in the case of reach just space orcs. halo 2 having the brutes with these slopped komodo dragon like faces that stick out from the head, they look alien.

[@thebrodator]

1:31:10 I find it funny that you mention God of War, because even the old God of War games are looked down upon because of the over the top gore and the fact it isn't as "deep".

[@niccr4279]

the real halo were the friends we made in the way, also a huge fucking weapon in space

[@docskiDev]

heck yea, looking forward to this... this game is literally responsible for my current life... if anyone cares to show some love, i'm the developer of repuls io, a web based halo inspired fps.. i know its janky but hey, i'm a solo dev and i guess i like to compare myself to the olden days of bungie when they were just friends banging out awesome ideas... oh how i wish i had a friend or 2 as passionate about this as I was as I really believe people would appreciate a modern game that has that classic halo feel

[@noface8404]

I wasnt old enough for halo 2. Grew up on halo reach and halo 3 one of the first games i ever owned i remember playing the life out of it even tho i was 4 or 5 years old i was absolutely obsessed with them. When i got to around 14 i bought an og xbox as i got a thing for console collecting bought halo 2 started playing it on a friday and was just gobsmacked considering i grew up playing games like bo2,portal gears of war 3 (i think so long ago now) in that golden age of xbox 360 with so many hit classics. I was blown away by the soundtrack the gameplay the missions just absolutely everything with it was so amazing. You could see within the first 30 mins you were hooked and I was. I couldn’t imagine how amazing it was to play online at that time. You can feel the love for this. Words cant describe that very first time playing though it was only 6 or 7 years ago now it definitely was one memory that sticks out being so positive. I was always an xbox fan boy just from nostalgia i was once again shown why i love xbox and will continue to no matter what thank you bungie for all those amazing memories during my childhood.

[@Julenissen117]

I hope you will do a similar video for Halo 3. Bungie really double downed on making a game for a large, diverse community by expanding existing features, such as custom games and adding new features such as forge mode and theater mode. Halo 3 was such a juggernaut in terms of features in an FPS game, compared to its contemporaries.

[@5hane9ro]

Halo 2 was the game I always wished to own as a young kid, but played religiously at a friend's house. When I finally got a 360 at age 13, I started with Halo 3. Halo 2 though, now, is a story that inspires me to this day!

[@TheFakeBriskeh]

4:30 absolutely. Dont subscribe to these low tier sensation farming channels with no good insight or understanding of halo. Check out channels like shredded nerd or conrads multiplayer analysis videos, c3 sabertooth too, these should all be mandatory viewing

[@Jodie-G198]

This doc is gonna go down as one of the best analyses of Halo 2 ever done. Holy crap, it was good!

[@sensufr219]

I’m 26 and remember playing this with my brother when it came out played this and Mortal Kombat Shaolin monks and both are golden games I’ll always love

[@Traveler-VII]

Finally finished this, and as someone too young to have experienced Halo at its prime, this was amazing. I sat down 3 hours ago just planning to watch a little bit and ended up hooked all the way through. My new favorite video from you and easily one of the best video essays I have ever seen. I really wish I could have been there to experience Halo 2 in all its glory.

[@robertwhelan6976]

Masterful video. Covered every conceivable point about the profound impact this game had/has.

[@narainsingh2525]

When i played Halo 2 for the first time this year after CE i wasn't expecting that you not only play the Chief but also the Arbiter. I was blown away you get to play him. Also i'm young and i played Halo for the first time this year, and i'm glad i did.

[@recruit-legionary]

LET'S FUCKING GO PEAK IS BACK ON THE MENU

[@1984Contra]

Loving the Marathon music.

[@DirtyBelter]

The use of Marathon music is a nice touch. I look forward to watching the rest of this.

[@jamesgrose510]

Is that Marathon music I hear in the preamble? And you're not the only older zoomer who loves Halo. I was born in 1997, but I was there in Halo's heyday. I missed out on Halo 2 matchmaking, but I was playing Squad Battle day in and day out in Halo 3. But even with it effectively being single-player to me until 2014, I like Halo 2's multiplayer.

[@Sockren]

im not a halo 2 campaign fan, but you beautifully described why somebody who loves it loves it. i thought of it as a great story, but it felt like you didnt know any of the locations. i just knew i was in forerunner areas or on earth or on a halo ring, but never really knowing why or when you were there unlike the rest of the halos. now that i understand the locations from this video i can appreciate it. especially the delta halo theory and what the hell is going on in the quarantine zone.

[@purefoldnz3070]

listening to this in background while playing through Halo 2

[@Nailfut]

I know games nowadays require a heck ton of people working on it, but damn the Halo 2 OST works so well compared to modern titles also because Marty was audio director as well. What we hear was perfectly conceived and crafted for those specific moments. And every specific moment hits the landing, every single time.

[@specter_of_thestars2500]

Blow me aways percussion would actully make its way into HALO 3 via the Tsavo Highway level. The track in Halo 2s mombasa suite, broken gates is blow me away and would be reused slightly. Marty and Michael just couldnt help that it sounded fine, no lyrics obviously

[@andydufresnefromshawshank5866]

Can’t believe that it’s been 20 years 😢 My favorite game of all time ❤

[@DeGreippi]

Damn I just got goosebumps when Bungie's logo started to appear after Microsoft's, then that heavenly riff. Whoof, took me back for a while. Cheers!

[@SentinelEx]

I was still gaming on the OG Xbox when the 360 and PS3 were a few years in since their launch. My Dad was coming home from a trip so he asked what kind of games and Xbox I had specifically. When he got home he handed me Halo 2 and Scarface:TWIY. This was a time when Gamecrazy was around and pawnshops had an abundance of old games. I know I was very late to the party, but hell I was happy I finally got a copy of H2. I spent countless hours playing and being immersed into the story. The gameplay, music, etc. The times I would simply sit and listen to the menu music before I continue the journey. Finishing the fight. Halo 2 is solid. It’s beautiful.

[@waifu9501]

I still remember being at Blockbuster the night this came out, I was struggling to make a selection when one of the workers comes and put this on the shelf, all i could think about at school the next day was getting home and playing.

[@shrekneutron1587]

Master Chief? You mind telling me what you're doing on that ship? So many local multiplayer rounds as a kid lol, good times...

[@00-JT]

This is a really fantastic video. Halo 2 is my all time favorite game and I enjoyed watching this dive into every aspect of the game.

[@TanksyTube]

Lmao. Yet again my favourite level from a halo game, everyone calls dull and boring. I loved quarantine zone and those areas!

[@calvinfishermedia]

Hey, thanks for this awesome deep dive into Halo 2! Really love your video essays, especially your Halo and Lost Planet videos. Your intro really resonated with me, since I'm in a similar place. I'm also a (much smaller) video essayist, on the older gen Z side. I missed the games in their prime, but last year I dove really deeply into the campaigns and came to understand what made each game in the series so special. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had on KZbin so far. Not to shill my own channel, but given what you said in your intro, I think you would appreciate those videos. Either way, I appreciate the content, and hope you have an awesome weekend!

[@TanksyTube]

To your point on the Assault Rifle; it didnt get replaced by the battle rifle. it got replaced by the SMG. the stats between halo 1 and halo 2 are identical, except in halo 2 you can dual wield it.

[@akaneki7234]

For the multiplayer, it's also important to recognise that there really was no Competitive vs Casual community because the game played the same at the both low and high levels of skill; every game was determined by who was better at King of the Hill.

[@ChairmanKam]

3:37 Good Marathon music.

[@GagGreene]

2:25:43 Briefly when Bungie were working on Halo 4, before scrapping it and making Halo Reach, the story was going to be about The Covenant and humanity teaming up to fight The Flood. Had Halo 3 not become about resolving the story for 2 we would have likely seen this. Why 343 Studios didn't run with this idea but did use it in Halo Legends is beyond me.

[@azrielsatan8693]

I think that all the games after it going back to more open levels shows the streamlined approach was not the answer. They also improved the defense sections by not having them be so narrow.

[@TitaniumGrass]

Thank you for mentioning Halo 2A color temperature changes. Like yeah I think we'd all appreciate higher fidelity textures with the original color and artistic intent but that wasn't what was done. I never liked how the anniversary editions turned out because they look completely different. It's always been my biggest gripe, because I also think the "new" graphics looks bad, they're certainly more detailed but aimless

[@seth3491]

20 years already?! Jesus... I'm having an existential crisis

[@thegreatgoatking.kingofall4001]

The Movement of the odysseys are good music, Fight me .

[@idunnoay]

Regarding the arby missions and using the active camo for stealth, I think there are a couple of flood missions that are fully intended to be bypassed by stealth and they’re a lot more tense and fun if you’re trying your best to just run past the flood and sentinel battles. The opening music number in quarantine zone ends super early if you try to battle past all the flood controlled vehicles, but if you just hop in a spectre and try not to get rolled, it ends when you reach the downed sentinel wall. I agree that the active camo is not a full on stealth mechanic, but it aids in those levels where things are just too frantic and the encounter design is overwhelming, so you’re encouraged to run and avoid combat.

[@Romulo_Andrade]

I love the amount of work and love that went into making this. Great video!!!!

[@TechnoTron_]

I first played Halo custom edition in 2021, it was my first FPS shooter. After playing the (some how still alive) multiplayer, I got my hands on halo 2. And when I started playing the campaign that's when I realized how special the franchise was.

[@woollywoolwoolz]

The library level is PTSD incarnate

[@Fulgore201TecGames]

Great video bro, I am at the same spot and glad that I dont feel I was the only one that I was too young to experience the peak halo experience. Still have my halo 2 copy from +10 years ago.

[@ballershazoo]

What was missing for me is the sheer amount of fun you could have with tricks, launches, all the easter eggs, superbounces, jumpglitches, buttoncombos. It was incredible how wonky the game was and how much it actually ADDED to the game.