On a monumental day 20 years ago, on November 9, Halo 2 released, and it changed the gaming world forever. How did such a game make such a big impact? Why do so many games today owe their success to Halo 2? I’ll cover all of this and more in this article.
November 9, 2004. Halo 2 releases at midnight. 24 hours later, it has sold 8 million copies, and has made the developer Bungie 125 million dollars richer. This is more money than any entertainment release made before 2004, including Hollywood blockbusters. One main reason for its success was its innovative design, which was extremely groundbreaking. The three big reasons for this were because of the multiplayer aspects, gameplay, and an excellent plot.
The biggest sell for Halo 2 was the new multiplayer system, and had tons of things most games take for granted. For example, Halo 2 was one of the first games to have native voice chat, allowing you to freely converse with opponents and friends alike. It also introduced the ideas of “pregame” and “postgame” lobbies to mess around in with friends. Also, the idea of the “virtual couch” matchmaking and lobbies showed up for the first time. Halo 2 made it extremely easy to connect with people and make friends online, and was the first game to make it this easy.
Next is the gameplay.
Halo 2 was quite similar to the original Halo, but had a few differences that made it so good. For example, it was the first console FPS with dual wielding, and added a whole new level of fun. Also their was a slew of new and interesting weapon designs that made anything you picked up into a cool and unique weapon. Tons of new vehicles were added to spruce things up. While today the original Halo 2 looks like a potato, at the time, the graphics were extremely good and groundbreaking. Overall, it was an extremely fresh and polished game for the time, and it really set a precedent for games to come.
The last major groundbreaking aspect of Halo 2 was the plot and story. Most FPS games had little more than “go here” and “shoot those guys” plot-lines, but Halo 2 had really good world building, side characters, and compelling conflicts. Also, it had sections of the game where you were able to play as the “Covenant” alien enemies, and it fleshed out the antagonists as well. It also left off on a major cliffhanger, which most Halo games later modeled after. Overall, it was an extremely fleshed out game for the time.
Overall, Halo 2 really set the precedent for FPS games at the time, and really popularized FPS games on consoles, so if you are sitting down and playing COD or Fortnite, Halo 2 really is to thank.
