Halo 2 - PC

Halo 2 for the PC is an awesome game (though I haven't tried the Xbox version, I assume everything is about the same except for the controls and some of the graphics). To be concise, in this review, I will evaluate the pros and cons of buying this game, analyze different people's viewpoints and complaints about the game, and give an extensive conclusion over whether buying the game is worth it or not. Pros: Halo 2 has great graphics for its time (2007), and has better graphics than its predecessor, Halo: Combat Evolved. Its graphics are satisfying and make for a great environment in a first person shooter. Halo 2 also has a good choice of weapons, ranging from the UNSC Battle Rifle to the Covenant Particle Beam Rifle. The two sides, the UNSC and the Covenant, each have their own unique weapons, and those weapons have their perks. Choosing is completely your decision, but the selection is large, and there is something for everyone, whether you want to go in guns blazing or sit back at a vantage point picking off enemies. Halo 2 features some new vehicles. In Halo: Combat Evolved, Wraiths were not able to be driven, but in Halo 2, Wraiths can be driven by the player. Other new additions, like the Spectre, can be used for transport and offense, depending on which vehicle the player needs and what the vehicles will be used for. The Scorpion, Machine Gun Warthog, Ghost, and Banshee remain the same, while the Rocket Turret is modified with the introduction of a faster rocket with the Gauss Cannon (though there may be a tradeoff with speed and damage). Halo 2, with the introduction of dedicated servers, has many, many servers in the Halo multiplayer network. This extensive multiplayer network allows everyone to find the game he/she wants, regardless of whether he/she wants to host a network or not. Also, a wide variety of people play Halo 2, letting players make friends through playing together cooperatively or competitively. Halo 2 continues the plotline of the Halo series, continuing the plot from after the events of the book Halo: First Strike. The game continues a big cliffhanger from the end of Halo: Combat Evolved, and features a new, well-made story in the Halo world. Cons: Halo 2, though it has an extensive multiplayer network, has a limited number of people playing on its servers. At certain times of the day, it is relatively hard to find a game with the full set of 16 players playing on its servers. If you do manage to find a full set of people to play with, these all out clashes are competitive and very fun. Because of the limited number of people playing on Halo 2's servers, Microsoft once considered shutting down Halo 2's servers. Though Microsoft reconsidered and the servers are still up, this issue is a serious consideration into playing the game. If you enjoy the campaign as much as or more than multiplayer, then you should definitely buy this game. But if you only like the multiplayer in Halo 2, then you should seriously consider this issue. Halo 2 has unusually high requirements, which means that if your processor and graphics driver are not up to speed, then Halo 2 will definitely experience some lag on your computer. As personal experience, my computer tends to skip some of the frames while playing multiplayer, though this issue occasionally happened in campaign too. In the original Halo: Combat Evolved, moving your mouse across the length of a normal mousepad caused Master Chief to turn 180 degrees from left to right, and sensitivity wasn't a problem. I don't know if this problem will plague other players, but on my own computer, I had to move my mouse across the length of my mousepad approximately two times before my head turned 180 degrees, and the sensitivity is horrible, even up to the highest setting. If you have an Xbox Controller and an adapter to use it for Windows (or a Wired Xbox Controller), then I suggest you use that. Otherwise, the sensitivity may be a problem for you. Analysis: 1, People have claimed that their product keys are invalid, sometimes even after opening a completely new game. Though I do not know what causes this to happen, all I can say is that I bought a pre-owned game from Amazon, and the product key worked fine on my computer. Also, many people complain that Halo 2 doesn't work on their Windows 7 or 8 computers. Though I haven't tried installing Halo 2 on a Windows 7 computer, it worked fine on my Windows 8 computer, installing in less than 15 minutes. The only thing I had to install to make it work was the Windows - Games for Live Client, which also installed very quickly. Creating a Live account does not take a long time, as some seem to think. If you have a Microsoft account, you can easily create one, and if you have an Xbox Live account, that account can be used on the Windows Live client. For me, everything was a breeze, and I easily started playing the multiplayer after logging in to the Windows Live Client and creating a player. Conclusion: Though some people seem to have problems installing Halo 2 for PC on their computers such as invalid product keys and incompatible operating systems, I have not had any of these problems, even though I bought a used game, am on a Windows 8 computer. Though some of the cons can be serious at times, the pros far outweigh the cons in this game. My final words are, even though the price tag is a little hefty, Halo 2 is definitely a game worth buying. Fans of FPS games should definitely buy this game, even though the graphics may be a little old for the current generation. Again: Buy this game, and don't hesitate! Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this review!

I just got Halo 2 working on my Windows 7 machine and am getting into the gameplay. The play is, frankly, a big step down from Halo 1 in several ways. Most irksome, the mouse sensitivity (I have it set at 10, what the game calls "insane") is excruciatingly slow, especially when driving the ghost, which seriously affects playability (you literally have to swipe the mouse across the pad three full times in order to turn 180 degrees). Beyond that, the movement is awkward and clumsy (you cannot crouch while running, you have to come to a full stop first), and it becomes clear from the first cutscene that the story line has taken a drastic turn for the campy. As disappointing as the gameplay is, it does still retain your interest, and does not itself warrant the worst possible rating, which I have given. So why did I give this one star? Because getting the game to run in the first place was like pulling teeth--an unacceptably difficult process. First, the game is simply not compatible with Windows XP, which a lot of people are still running. Some people will not encounter the problems that I encountered, but most--yes, most--do. The game does not run when installed out of the box. It continually gives you an error message saying that it could not connect to Windows LIVE (an awful system that is required to play the game, which also means that if you don't have an internet connection, Microsoft has decided not to allow you to play the game you just paid for), and suggests erroneous reasons. The reality is that you have to uninstall the Windows LIVE that came pre-installed on your computer and install the latest version. I found a Microsoft support page with instructions on how to do this, linking to a download page for the new version of LIVE. The link was wrong, and I had to go to lengths to find the correct download in Microsoft's labyrinthine "support" pages. All this just to get the game to run, which is a service that the developer (Microsoft) is, really, obligated to provide. Bitterly ironic, then, that the only game I have ever had trouble even getting to install and launch correctly on a Microsoft system is one made by Microsoft. It is painfully obvious that the game is a port from the XBox 360, and I found myself wondering if Microsoft even bothered to beta test it, or if they just copied and pasted the files onto CDs and sent them off to market hoping not for a good product but for good profits. They couldn't even be bothered to change the "Select" and "Back" icons on the menu pages from the XBox icons that don't make sense on a PC. The feeling that their attitude toward the PC release was "Hell with it, just get it to market and hope no one reads the reviews before they buy it. It's just the PC version, anyway" is inescapable. The ultimate test of a game sequel is the answer to this question: would it be a success if it was a brand new game without a successful name attached to it? Given the disappointments in gameplay as well as the arrogance of releasing a game that doesn't work once installed, the answer here is absolutely not. The only reason Halo 2 could make a splash on the PC platform was because of Halo 1. You're better off sticking to the original.

10/10 would buy, packaged in perfect condition and yes it can run on Windows 7 (not just for VISTA) which is a useless depleted broken operating system. Runs very smooth on a maxed out gaming system, brings back all the nostalgic feels playing the campaign. You'll def want to cry everytime, online servers are still up and theres a small community online that still plays all the time. I get 1v1'ed get people that are awesome to play on servers, worrying about campers or hackers will always be an issue. But theres nothing you can do about it the same happens in every single FPS game period. So if you don't like the gameplay because you're getting a bad kdr go cry to your mommy about it its just a game. Its capable to connect with a XBOX controller but i prefer WASD and mouse which is very difficult to get use to but its definetly worth it, you get very good hand eye coordination from doing it. After you customize your settings for your spartan or covenant class, its very smooth with character design and Games for windows Live is still running and the achievements and in game content linked to it are fantastic it feels like your playing xbox live for free with just exclusively pc gamers. So overall its a good game, i see nothing wrong with it at all I would highly recommend it to someone thats been wanting this game on their pc. Theres a few glitches here and there but overall quality the game is fantastic easy breazzy to go through, and enjoy yourself and have a good time.

Perfecto 👌👌👌 corre bien en Windows 10 lo único que tiene que hacer es descargar una aplicación de Windows live de Windows 7 y listo el juego no tiene probalema añguno

The game itself is 5 stars handsdown. However. Windows tryed to add some stupid online community or whatever to it that just makes the first runs of the game a total mess i had to switch my keyboard language for it to play properly and the online isn't supported anymore to a lot of achievement aren't obtainable. I suggest downloading the H2online.exe from Project Cartographer. It turns off all the stupid Windows added mess and provides some servers for you to play onto. If it wasn't for the stupid Windows added bits this would be 5 star but the once again tryed to ruin a great game so eat my star!

Purtroppo nn ho potuto utilizzarlo perché i requisiti richiesti per scheda video nn corrispondono ma necessita di scheda grafica specifica per i giochi

I have played Halo 2 on the Xbox before and this PC version is much better! Playing at 1920 X 1200 resolution the game looks great. I installed it on Windows 7 (64-bit) and ran into a small problem with the game loading. It was a problem with the old version of the games for windows marketplace that comes with the game. Just do the following: install the full game first (DO NOT select play while installing) then uninstall the old version of the games for windows marketplace client that comes with the game. Then install the new games for windows marketplace from the Microsoft Website [...] Then you should be able to play without getting an error message. I just hope they bring Halo 3 to PC soon!

It's a great game, but then it says "Optimized for Vista". Vista, easily the worst OS in the history of PC gaming. The game it-self is so awesome. HALO 2 nearly killed my PC. Not the game, but the Optimized part doesn't work correctly with Windows 7. Microsoft Marketplace is REQUIRED just to start the game. Then log-in 2 times. Every time I quit, the Optimized part took over and altered my desktop and some drivers were malfunctioning. I wouldn't recommend HALO 2, unless you are using Vista. My new PC almost died playing this on Windows 7.