20 Years of Halo 2: Here’s Why Xbox Might Never See a Game Like Halo
Despite releasing in 2004, Halo 2 is still one of those games that captured a massive fan base and successfully passed the time trial.
- Halo 2 is one of the best Xbox games that was released two decades ago.
- Fans still consider Halo 2 a game changer for Bungie.
- Halo 2's gameplay and enemy design have nailed it totally.
Xbox has no shortage of popular and hyped games. Since this console has come into existence, it has given players uncountable games that deserve praise for offering unforgettable experiences, and if you are a core Xbox player, you will for sure agree that the Halo series definitely comes to this list. Some of these games are so unbelievably impressive that even after decades, players love to dive into those journeys.
While discussing the Halo series, one can’t simply ignore talking about the 2004 sequel to the introductory installment of the series, Halo: Combat Evolved. After the sky-touching success of the first game, very naturally players look for a sequel, and there comes Halo 2 that shattered every record, and even after two decades, Xbox gamers are still in love with this game.
Halo 2 Made Things Unexpectedly Better Considering It Was Made Two Decades Back
We can’t claim that Halo 2 doesn’t show the effects of aging. When you compare it with other games of the series or the latest games released on Xbox, you will automatically feel that this game is a lot harder to handle and the movements are not as swift as the latest games available on the console.
Still, when it comes to the best Xbox games that shouldn’t be missed Halo 2 comes among the top five. When playing this game, you will surely sometimes forget how bad AI used to be at that time. On November 9, 2024, this game completed twenty years of anniversary, and still, it is one of those games that hasn’t lost its glory even a little bit.
The primary reason behind this unexpected success was the clear vision of Bungie about what it was trying to make. While the team worked to figure out what worked best in the first installment, it even sorted out the features that were missing but could have added a great effect to the gameplay. It paid complete attention when developing and expanding the story, so it didn’t go off-track even slightly.
Therefore, when Halo 2 was finally released, it had a more apocalyptic approach to the gameplay along with some plot twists and actions that were missing in the base game. Most importantly, this one introduced the multiplayer mode in the series.
Halo 2 Worked on to Make the Enemies Top-Notch to Take the Thrill to Another Level
When playing a first-person shooter, very naturally, players expect a good storyline, but what they expect more is thrilling battles, and that’s only possible when the game has loads of challenging enemies. It’s not like the initial game didn’t have quality enemies, but Halo 2 took them to a new height.
Xbox has numerous FPS games, and a group of them have even been released in the last few years. Therefore, the comparison may seem a bit unfair. However, trust me, if you once experience Halo 2, you will be forced to exclaim how well the AI enemies were designed in the early 2000s.
Mostly, we praise Call of Duty as one of the best FPS games released over decades, but Halo 2 is no way less when it comes to designing AI enemies. Rather, you can call it far better after considering the unique behaviors of the Elite and the Grunts.
When you shoot any of these enemies, they lose their sanity and run in circles just like animals, until you punched them to death. If you don’t want to consider a specific type, just take the general design of these enemies, and you will see they are way more intelligent opponents to hold you back or attack you from a distance if you aren’t careful about their presence.
Aside from that, when you shoot your way through the devastated Cario streets, you will surely feel the fun that even the most recent FPS games fail to deliver. The entire street is full of twists and turns, along with snipers who are placed strategically in those places from where a shot is guaranteed.
Players Are Unanimously Agreeing on Halo 2 to Be the Best Xbox Game Ever Released
If you ask which point is responsible for this immeasurable fan base of Halo 2, that’s tough to define. There’s no specific reason, but the aspects combined contributed to the huge success of this game.
Fans generally never forget the anniversary of their favorite games, and when it comes to an all-time best game, it’s impossible to ignore. On its twentieth anniversary, as soon as one player posted about the game, others started claiming it as the best-ever game they had experienced.
Die-hard fans are even expressing their love, calling it a game that has changed the gaming landscape permanently.
These expressions may look like some exaggeration, but they are not. Releasing in 2004, maintaining this huge fanbase for twenty long years isn’t a simple thing that any game can achieve.
Xbox has achieved loads of FPS games after this iconic Halo installment and will keep receiving more in the future, but hardly any game can complete what Bungie did in its 2004 Halo installment.
