Exploring Halo 2 Xbox Live Multiplayer 20 Years Later

[@Dorian_D1990]

Gaming preservation is so crucial now with many things going digital and games geared to be a live service model. The team at Insignia have done nothing short of a spectacular job to reverse engineer the online functionality for the original Xbox console and Halo 2 is the cherry on top! 170+ games revived as of March 2024! Many of us enthusiasts and players being able to play online games and experience it like it is 2004 is the best part! Great video Mawk3 and thank you for the shoutout regarding Xemu!

[@MAWK3]

Couldn't of said it better man! Anytime Dorian, your video really helps out the community.

[@term-827]

As someone who played halo 2 when it launched on insignia, it was the most fun I've ever had in a single game ever. We even had some ex Bungie and Microsoft devs show up to play, it was the coolest thing ever.

[@nuguns3766]

So cool

[@mrenzyme9715]

This was truly the golden age of online gaming and couch and LAN gaming.

[@MAWK3]

Bring me back man

[@mitchsterling3266]

its free now. everyone is playing

[@trentmurphy1705]

And it never will

[@suntzu6122]

Back when halo was a PERFECT 1000/1000 quality game.

[@CobatineYT]

It’s amazing what the modding community is capable of doing for these old gems. Great coverage 💯🔥✨

[@MAWK3]

Absolutely man. Keeping these games alive for us to revisit and newer generations to experience for the first time. Thank you! Keep up the great work dude, love your classic 360 streams 🙏

[@CobatineYT]

@@MAWK3 Likewise bro! I appreciate it a lot 😁🫶🏻💯✨

[@wutangtimmy3064]

Between the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 I think was honestly the peak of video games. Gaming has never been the same as back then. It’s not even just me being older now either. I’ll never forget those hours with my friends. Genuinely the best time of my life.

[@AustinOgonoski]

Party chat was the beginning of the end.

[@Deluca-Piano]

I totally agree dude.

[@kingchongy1712]

Back when we had all the hours in the world with little to no responsibilities. But I do agree, games made today don’t bring in that addiction feel we had when we were younger

[@wutangtimmy3064]

@@kingchongy1712 yeah exactly mate

[@equimanthorn6185]

Man. I miss playing Halo 2 splitscreen with the homies after school. Dozens and dozens of Pizza slices, Mtn Dew bottles and having the times of my life. This video is bringing tears to my eye. Thank you Mawk.

[@MAWK3]

Man bring me back to those days. I remember there was always that one dude who would unplug your controller if they started to lose 😅 Thank you for watching ❤️

[@jordonsky]

@@MAWK3try world at war on ps3

[@MAWK3]

@@jordonsky Thinking about covering the coop campaign in a video one day!

[@Slavic_Slavage]

Pure insanity, 2 is the only game I wouldn't play on co-op due to the checkpoint reset on all players when one person dies

[@jeffyjenoski7924]

You have lived a sad drab typical existence npc Uninstall

[@mattwilliams8733]

You did Halo2 so much justice with this video. You brought back so many good memories that were nearly gone. THANK YOU for making this video! Liked and subbed.

[@MAWK3]

Glad you enjoyed it! Halo 2 XBL was truly special

[@RetroRivera]

Solid dude, thanks for the links to the other tutorials, i dont have an OG xbox atm but I do have a PC and the second guide for Xemu setup was super straight forward!! keep up the good work your guides and updates are fire!

[@MAWK3]

Thank you so much man!

[@saintxrage2311]

Halo 2 is my favorite game of all time. So many fond memories with that game. Fun fact 2 of the maps are remakes from Marathon. Foundation was a map called Thunderdome and Gemini was called Duality.

[@SOF006]

I've been playing on Insignia recently, its so good. I am so glad this project exists, what amazing work they've all been doing.

[@MAWK3]

Absolutely! Being able to revisit these games again in their former glory is just so damn cool.

[@Blueovalguy]

Me too. Just wish we had more players active on it.

[@damightybenstein]

Hey, MAWK3, thanks for the shoutout! I have some ambitious plans for content creation with this game, but I'll officially announce it at a later date.😉

[@MAWK3]

Great playing and talking with you dude! Excited to see what you have in store

[@LunatikLucas2024]

As soon as my new xbox (old one broke, but covered under warranty) i am spending all night playing halo 2

[@LunatikLucas2024]

Used to have it on emulator, but i raged and just bought an xbox

[@xavierharvey4961]

I had the beautiful opportunity of playing Halo 2 when I was only 5 to 6 years old. I still remember playing 4 players with my family and even lan at one point with 2 tvs.. Also I got the chance to see Xbox Live! which by far was the coolest thing growing up..but outta all that, my favorite thing to do when I got home from school was to set my character up next to grav lifts and throw plasma grenades at my body😂, I think that's what made me like ragdolls and games like flat out and Burnout 👍

[@richardcranium1040]

it's wild how good the xbox still looks 20+ years later

[@IIOver9000]

Man I remember staying up all night watching G4 and playing Monster Hunter freedom 2 on PSP, only to pretendo to be asleep when my mom came in at like 10am, no responsabilities just good vibes 🤙🏼

[@MAWK3]

Nice!! I used to play Fireteam Bravo 2 while watching Xplay back in the day 😅 life was a lot simpler that is forsure.

[@IIOver9000]

@@MAWK3 that game was so fun online, I spent dead hours on it, and actually met people thru the weird voice chat it had, great game 🤘🏼 Xplay was boss

[@winlover37]

Ayyyy I was so surprised to see my GT here. Love the video!

[@MAWK3]

Thank you so much! Hope to see you on Halo 2 again 😁

[@winlover37]

@@MAWK3 You will! Just gotta finish a move and get settled. I'll be back

[@Michael.Hunt.14-52]

Thanks for covering all these private servers and games

[@jrodd2459]

Lol Yellow teams comeback was nuts!!! Thanks for capturing this 💫💫⚔⚔

[@MAWK3]

No problem! Match was nuts 😅

[@jordychinchin]

5:05 Casually killing Mint Blitz

[@riskiestsole1583]

Awesome video! Its such a trip experiencing Halo 2's matchmaking. I never got the chance to play it back in the day, so its sick af to now have the oppertunity to play the OG halo 2, on OG hardware🔥 lol

[@MAWK3]

Thanks man! I remember when it shut down I never thought I'd be able to experience it again 😅

[@pahriia]

They should add a playlist exclusively for glitches (super jumps, out of maps, etc).

[@punny88]

Great Video! Thank you so much for shouting us out!

[@MAWK3]

Anytime Punny! Glad to help 😊

[@Buckettoli]

Yo! Love the vids btw, didn't know you made these videos! Me and my buddy IUseAController loved playing with you guys! That night was unforgettable, I'm glad we all got to be there! This community rocks.

[@MAWK3]

Hey Buckett! That was a lot of fun. Launch night was truly something special

[@seifergamer057]

"One major thing lacking in the MCC multiplayer experience is people talking! It's so quiet, nobody talks. I could play against bots and it would be the same! I hate playing multiplayer FPS without anyone talking; it's somehow awkward.

[@MAWK3]

I remember that some game modes in MW2 even required you to be in game chat!

[@noobishmacgaming]

This can’t be said enough, it’s so bizarre. Nearly everyone that plays halo CE in mcc is around age 30, and they’re almost all silent. Eventually one of the updates broke team chat, and then no one communicated at all.

[@seifergamer057]

@@noobishmacgamingNo it's not a bug, it's just people , they don't care to talk. Several times I tried to establish a contact ("Hi team! Hello There! Hey, can you hear me??"). I seldom get any answer lol

[@noobishmacgaming]

@@seifergamer057 the team chat thing is a bug, at least in custom browser (where the majority of ce players hang out now). It’ll work in your first match, but not subsequent ones. So you won’t have it unless you leave and come back every round. That broke that in the last big 2023 update I believe. Since the team chat thing doesn’t hurt matchmaking (loads a fresh instance out of menu every time), they didn’t bother fixing it.

[@craigachuff6087]

I mute a lot because there are too many people having loud music or conversations in the background. I do miss talking and meeting people.

[@KinnArchimedes]

I still have dreams occasionally(rarely) 20 years later where I'm actually in these maps jumping around for real. 😂

[@CarlosEduardo-gf4my]

Venezuela in da House, Baby!, but anyways this is incredible and big w for game preservation

[@davidhartley9115]

Your a gem dude what a vid.

[@MAWK3]

Really means a lot man thank you for watching 🙏

[@noaharkadedelgado]

The intros are constantly more unhinged than the last video, love it 😂

[@MAWK3]

It's really rewarding to make them 😅

[@Bk2fut100]

Thanks for making this video. The original Halo 2 matchmaking left an emotional hole

[@TheDustinBrann]

it's crazy to think a 20 year old game being played in 2024 is actually a hint at the future of gaming

[@CapnCrunt]

Awesome video man 🙌❤️💯

[@MAWK3]

Thank you brother!!

[@HaloBouncMC]

We need more permanent population on halo2 insignia 🤔😌

[@KurtLeeKitchens]

As I’m watching this I decided to hop on Halo MCC and the first match I got into was a Halo 2 game on Backwash. Too funny

[@eddhernandez3084]

Thank you, Insignia

[@don2nd650]

Going hard 🔥🔥🔥

[@Dark_lord_Gaming]

Hey that's my GT in the video Darklordgamingz

[@daxmoney5011]

Never played og xbox or halo 2 but I am Glad that people who were sad when Halo 2 multiplayer was shut down in 08 can now play there favorite game online again!

[@Phantom_Aspekt]

I never got to play Halo 2 on Xbox Live during its prime, but this does help me understand why some people adore it over Halo 3. It definitely has its own charm, and Halo 2 certainly had a great selection of maps, wonder if people have ported them to Halo 3 on MCC yet? Would love to see how Backwash and Containment play on 3.

[@ltsJoeMama]

How has it been 20 years since Halo 2 already..

[@MAWK3]

Simpler times 😞

[@beansh00ter]

Thanks for the shoutout ❤

[@ITSSIRWAN86]

im getting a og xbox to play this again thank god i have my halo 2 limited edition still

[@hazzak4354]

0:48 'Callsign, as a part of this mission you will be taking down memory lane'.

[@timothy9969]

Just picked up my og Xbox and halo. Now to figure out how to get online

[@james-ch]

Wish you could use insignia on a modded 360 but that would be really hard to implement I reckon 😅 Might have to get an og xbox since they're still cheap I believe. I only had a ps1/ps2 growing up so I want to see what I have missed out on.

[@MAWK3]

I really hope they eventually get it to work on the 360 one day. I recommend trying to find one at a thrift / Secondhand shop. Gumtree is a good option to!

[@bigdogalldayeveryday]

The good old days before everything became gay.

[@Asaylum117]

What is it about older online games that are just more fun?

[@ITSSIRWAN86]

btw amazing video

[@MAWK3]

Glad you enjoyed it 😁

[@LumbyMcGumby]

I was just playing this last night I wonder if we BATTLED

[@MAWK3]

Probably a good chance that we did!

[@hedgehog11953]

Halo infinite has nothing on this game

[@arelr6822]

Yes it does.

[@Solidmarine21]

@@arelr6822like?

[@hedgehog11953]

@@arelr6822 delusional

[@gamerkid2329]

I like infinite multiplayer more than 2 sue me

[@Solidmarine21]

@@gamerkid2329 I liked 3 more than infinite and not having to pay for gear cosmetics and being locked to an armor core at launch till season fricking 6 when they realize it’s fun to customize how we want it. But to each of its own cause Infinite has promises it just never landed right

[@xLuVo]

very nice video 🙏

[@MAWK3]

Thank you for watching! 😊

[@xLuVo]

@@MAWK3 🙏

[@Ryankurwa]

do you fw it

[@BlyatimirPootin]

To this day the pinnacle of online gaming. However, if your team didn't have host you were pretty much gonna lose.

[@VidiverseExplorer]

Back when Microsoft gave a shit about video games!

[@bears4671]

The Holy Grail of multiplayer

[@EpicYT-GAMERFORLIFE]

Are you gonna be in cobatines live on Friday?

[@MAWK3]

Planning on streaming with him in the future!

[@EpicYT-GAMERFORLIFE]

@@MAWK3 Sounds cool 👍

[@benriquez615]

Halo 2 is the multiplayer GOAT

[@juthecomedian]

I got an OG Xbox recently but I didn’t know programs like this existed to play Halo 2 online. It’s cool but I can just play it on MCC. Not enough people online either.

[@PabloBudgaga-ui9gu]

Yeah but with those programs idk but people talk and shit. It’s really halo from 2006, mcc feels nicer tho

[@RetroSmoo]

I have halo mcc on steam but it's annoying you need a seperate Microsoft email for it lol

[@ShiroColdkeyesTheHedgehog]

Halo 2 original Xbox Live play was awesome

[@eddhernandez3084]

This was my first game to play without LAN

[@zephyrsimon]

I'm guessing Project Cartographer is the superior choice here...

[@RitzStarr]

Nobody tell these guys the Master Chief Collection exists lol. The community is small because everyone just plays there

[@Mixwell1983]

Used to play Halo 2 back back in 2006.. i have halo 3 that works on xbox one.. can you download halow 2 or if you had the disc play it in a LAN game? My 8 year old plays gta and CoD and when i told him about OG Counter strike 1.3 and Halo 2 he wants to play with/against me.. We can play Halo 3 on LAN but I wanted to show him 2 which is what I used to play and i preferred the maps.. So. If i were to find a halo2 cd can you play it like 3.. i hear it's not backwards compatible but halo 3 came out 2007 and is still essentially backwards compatible

[@burger_470]

I was born in 03 but at least I played a little bit of halo 3 prime🥲

[@goevop441]

Bro can u uploud video again

[@MAWK3]

Just dropped a new one! Thank you for watching

[@dawgwiddaglasses]

I love bees. 🐝

[@AbstractS04]

I still play halo 2 multiplayer via project cartographer bc pc tends to lag with MCC

[@tylerty617]

Can't wait to set this up its much easier now

[@CaptainCrowFPV]

By far the best Halo

[@Popceto]

ITS ALL ABOUT THE HE SAID SHE SAID BUUULLLSHIET

[@MAWK3]

I listen to a lot of limp biskit playing this online 😅

[@shahnoorahmed1462]

Do you play these on a CRT?

[@MAWK3]

Nope! 4k TV. If I had the space I would get a CRT tho.

[@skoomagohard2789]

amazing, just amazing...

[@erikjohnson2558]

Can you still superbounce?

[@MatthewCenance]

Suggestion, don't stretch 4:3 footage to a 16:9 aspect ratio. It's not how it was originally intended.

[@MAWK3]

Thank you! I decided to opt to use the original ratio in my PS2 video. Looks a lot better

[@cartman1226]

6:02 ayy there i am

[@pokiblue5870]

Is it possible to play halo2 story mode with a random person online ?

[@SensatiousHiatus]

You not cooking

[@VeganChiefWarrior]

I can't stand how complicated online fps are these days with all the classes and crap ranking systems I need halo 2 available do download on play on Xbox one right now.. or even on mobile.. PLEAAAAAAASE

[@k9vendettathewolfofmordor529]

Saw mint blitz!!

[@hazzak4354]

Duel welding refined??!?!?! You gotta be trying to jump on the hype without actually knowing anything about this game

[@JeffPhrost]

Lol mint blitz got killed

[@fifiyep]

We need a ps3 gta 5 updated vid as gta og was shut dow

[@fifiyep]

Down

[@MAWK3]

Definitely in the works!

[@fifiyep]

@@MAWK3 thanks

[@hazzak4354]

The way u talk and the words u choose completely miss sensibility

[@Sheikah_Architect]

Halo 2's been playable 'online' for years. It just used XLink Kai to play system link over the internet. Weird that people didn't know about that. Best part though is that with so many new players the lobbies won't be so sweaty. People have been playing for decades and get really good... but also completely lack sportsmanship.

[@suntzu6122]

Whats the netcode like? Is it laggy? Theoretically it should be better NOW than it was back then if done properly.