Halo 2

How odd that one of the worst software companies in the world, Microsoft, who can't develop a decent operating system to date (Vista!) could actually be a part of the incredibly brilliant production of Halo2. I actually enjoyed this amazing work of art, an A in every catagory from the getgo. If there was ever a standard that all game developers should strive for, its this game. How about a novel idea, fire the morons at the microsoft operating system development area and let the Halo crew write the next operating system! Now thats crew ready to take off!

This game was great for Xbox and I still think it's great for the PC.

Installation - this game may not install well on some machines. If you do have trouble installing it, Microsoft Customer Service are a great help. I, personally, had some trouble and the issue was resolved in around forty minutes (considering my PC is basically trash).

Sound - great music and great quality.

Graphics - here's where this game gets a little crappy. If you don't have a good machine, the graphics will be choppy. The cut scenes seem to stay awesome, but game play slows down enormously.

Controls - I really recommend buying a controller to play this game. I find the keyboard controls a little difficult to use. It also gives you a quicker reaction time.

Single Player (Career Mode) - great story and very exciting. It's a little short, but if you take the time to beat it on all the difficulty levels, you'll keep yourself busy for a long time.

Multilayer - this version of the game supports local LAN play and online play with up to sixteen (16) players. It's really fun but you need at least a broadband connection for tolerable lag. I would also suggest signing up for a gold account because it gives you more options and a better connection.

Overall, I recommend buying this game for the PC if you don't have a Xbox or Xbox 360. Try to find it used, as it's price for new is, in my opinion, too steep. It's a great game if you don't mind some minor lag.

I bought Halo 2 for the PC excited about trying it on my brand-new Vista machine. I have had it for over a year now and have yet to be able to actually play the game all the way through.
I went through the agony of having to create a Live account, and then having the game not "see" the account (but not let me log in because I'm "already logged in"). I experienced the unfun joys of having Halo 2 randomly tell me my savegame file is corrupted and I have to start again. I had updates crash the game, my license key invalidate itself, and after unanswered support e-mails, it took me multiple calls and over 3 hours on the phone to get someone to fix the problem. They had to do this by removing my license key, issuing me a new one, and telling me I'd lose all my "achievements" and account info. That wasn't a great loss, since the program would regularly log me into Live, then say, "You are not logged into Live. You will not be able to have any Achievements. Sorry about that." A lot of the messages I get in Halo 2 say, "Sorry about that." Sorry, indeed.

By the time I actually got the game to work (with shuddering framerate and random dropouts in sound), I was just angry. Angry at all the "Sorry" messages, angry at the hassle I have to click through just to load a saved game, and angry at the constant savegame level resets. I see new Microsoft Games for Windows titles, and I feel I'd be stupid to put risk putting myself through that again.

I bought both halo 1 and 2 the day it came out. I have to say, its pretty disappointing. I mean, halo 1 was GREAT! Good story line, multiplayer mode, good controlls and etc. But on the other hand, halo 2 is just a waste of money. The grphic is pretty much the same as halo 1 (microsoft didn't even try to improve the quality of the graphics after 2 long years). Its no comparison to games like Bioshock, Crysis, Call of duty 4, and etc. The only reason that they made this game is to attract Vista buyers. You can't even host a multiplayer game on halo 2 without buying their "golden accout". And i was foolish enough to buy it, and it didn't do crap. The only reason that i gave it a 3 for fun, is because of that you can have 2 weapons instead of 1. And the instant kill sword is pretty fun to use. Otherwise, everything else is a 1. SO DON'T BUY THIS GAME. I WOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT IT IF I HAD KNOWN HOW BAD THIS GAME REALLY IS.

PRO:
*INSTANT KILL SWORD
*CAN USE TWO WEAPONS AT THE SAME TIME

CON:
*EVERYTHING ELSE

I received Halo 2 and wound not work on my Vista Home system..
Tried to install it twice and gave up!!!