Halo 2

Product Details

Halo 2 From Microsoft List Price: $19.99 Price: $19.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Ships from and sold by Amazon.com 53 new or used available from $10.00 Average customer review:

Product Description

Halo 2 32-Bit Vista English North America DVD DVD Box. Exclusive for Vista. First Games for Windows Live. 2 NEW maps.....or create your own with new Map Editor. Easy install allows you to jump right into the game----stream content from first CD. FREE 1 month Gold Card included.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1346 in Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: U28-00002
• Released on: 2007-05-31
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Windows Vista
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.20" h x 5.40" w x 7.50" l, 2.00 pounds

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Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer The entertainment phenomenon that conquered the digital universe is once again out to save the planet as the award-winning, best-selling Halo 2 is coming to the Windows Vista platform. Optimized for the advanced gaming features in Windows Vista, Halo 2 promises to revolutionize the first-person shooter experience for Windows gamers, as it did for consoles. With its classic story, enhanced visual presentation, multiplayer excitement and all-new Map Editor, Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers more game customization and new content than ever before. Windows Vista gamers will be able to experience the epic story of Halo 2 as Master Chief delves further into the mystery of the Covenant in the aftermath of Halo’s destruction. What he discovers will soon threaten the fate not only of Earth, but of the Universe itself. Features:

• Epic Narrative: The saga continues with Halo 2, the international award-winning sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In this sequel, the battle comes to Earth, and Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier, is the only thing standing between the relentless alien Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
• Exciting Single-Player Gameplay: Experience first hand the epic struggle between Master Chief and the Covenant armada. Brandish dual-wield weapons Covenant arms and pilot human and non-human vehicles and aircraft to battle intelligent AI alien enemies.
• Unmatched Online Gaming: Halo 2 for Windows Vista will tap into the power of Live Anywhere, a service similar to Xbox Live, to deliver online matchmaking for PC gamers. The service will enable Windows Vista gamers all over the globe to connect via their PCs and play on an innovative and competitive online forum.
• New Multiplayer Map Editor: The game will also feature the all-new new Map Editor, guaranteeing additional new, fan-generated content in the future. The Halo 2 community can now tap their endless creative potential to develop an unlimited number of user-created multiplayer levels.
• Complete Community Freedom: Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers gamers the freedom to host their own dedicated servers for maximum multiplayer action.
• Superior Presentation and Cinematic Excellence: Bring the vast, imaginative world of Halo 2 to life on the Windows Vista platform through higher-resolution textures and improved lighting effects. Experience the unmatched cinematic quality of Halo 2 through the power of Windows Vista.
• Unprecedented Pedigree: The Halo franchise is one of the best selling and monumental entertainment experiences in history with more than 14.5 million units sold worldwide, more than 18 Game-of-the-Year awards, 750 million hours and 500 million matches logged over Xbox Live. Halo 2 was also one of the most successful entertainment launches of all time – including books, films, graphic novels, games and music. Halo 2 for Windows Vista brings this incredible experience to Windows Vista gamers everywhere.

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Customer Reviews

You need a WEI of 5 to run it! (Plus, the technical specs that are missing...) Until a really stable and easy to install patch comes out, this will only work with Vista, and a really good video card. (I'm sure that sometime this year we will see a true patch that will allow you to use it on XP, but then...) According to the cover box and Microsoft website, your video card must be "NVIDIA 6100, ATI X700 or above." That leaves a lot to interpretation, and nowhere does it state the minimum technical specs required to run the game. So, here it is: Video memory: 128 Megabytes or higher required Supported pixel shader version: 2 or higher required Supported vertex shader version: 2 or higher required Copied from the game install warning screen: "Halo 2 for Windows Vista is designed for computers running Microsoft Windows Vista with an overall Windows Experience Index of 5 or higher." Hmmmm, one would think that the requirement of a 5-rating would be in bold type somewhere on the box, especially since the majority of the mass-market computers sold off the shelf are well below 5. I have the minimum requirements for the video card and 2Gig of RAM (in my Gateway MX6453 laptop)and it runs HORRIBLY, and, at times, not at all. Make sure you have a really good video card, or else you will suffer. Unusually High Requirements The PC adaptation of 2004's phenomenally successful Xbox game, "Halo 2 for Windows Vista" comes 3 years later, right before the release of Halo 3 for the Xbox 360. Despite this gap and apparent poor planning on the part of Microsoft's release department, does Halo 2 for Vista stand up even with the test of time? The first difference comes with the transition from the uniform, high-end console to the more variable PC, with regards to graphics and computing power. While even at "high" settings I did not notice a marked improvement from the Xbox's graphics (though opinions tend to differ on this point), Halo 2 still commands a hefty "5.0 Recommended" rating on Vista's new gaming rating system. To put that in perspective, my current system is a "5.3", and newer games like Company of Heroes, World in Conflict, and Command and Conquer 3 top off at "4.1 Recommended". Apart from its variability with regards to graphic quality, Halo 2's only other new technical feature is the option for a widescreen Heads Up Display (instead of the stretched-out one used in the Xbox version). Halo 2's connectivity to Xbox Live is the other major new system added in the PC transition, and this is simultaneously well-done and irritating. It is well-done because, like a console, the live system integrates itself almost seamlessly into the game and adds features such as online play, unlockable achievements (the first "Games for Windows" title to feature them), and friend lists. However, there is also a step back from Halo 1 for the PC; while Halo 1 had free, no-strings-attached online multiplayer, Halo 2 requires at least a silver account to play even the single player game. Thus, as with Valve's "Steam" software for Half Life 2, one must be online in order to play the game. However, unlike Steam, one need only log on to make an account and then transfer the account to one's computer; after the first time, there is no requirement for online connectivity for single player. The free account also allows access to Halo 2's online play, though many of the features (including matchmaking services and private rooms) are reserved for people with paid "Gold Accounts". Finally, Halo 2 for Vista features 2 new official maps for multiplayer, as well as a map editor. However, said editor is mostly intended for hardcore designers, not casual fans. Despite this, it is a fairly welcome addition and allows for a community effort in creating new and exciting arenas. Overall, this game is done reasonably well by itself. However, when counting in its status as a ported version of a 3-year-old game, and adding the further frustrations of "Live" play and its unusually high requirements, I would not recommend this game to anyone who has already played it. This game is a last resort, meant exclusively for people who only have a PC, and who have not played Halo 2 prior. I rate it a 3/5. A huge let down My wife originally ordered two copies of Halo 2 from Amazon for me and my son for fathers day. However, while at Walmart I decided to get a copy of the game instead of that power washer I've been wanting. :) I got home and we (my son and I) started to install the game. First there is not option for custom install. You can only play the game while installing. I don't really care for this as I like to install my games to one folder, not all over my hard drive. So okay, we waited a little, while it was doing it's thing. I tried signing up for live using my account and had a hard time getting it to log me in... or even finding the place to log into live. The buttons on screen for navigating the menus are the A,B,X,Y buttons you'll find on the XBox controller. Not very good if you ask me. I like PC games and steer away from consoles. This game definately has a console feel to it. So we move on.... Videos are good, graphics are pretty good... game play.. well it feels like a console. The aiming system has too much compensation built in. Here's the short story, I was let down as this game feels like a console game and the menus are hard to navigate. Bungie and M$ didn't do much in the way of making this a fun game for the PC. Rather just made the console game play on the PC. I will be returning my two copies already in shipping to Amazon for a refund and I'll stick to playing the original Halo.