History VideoGame / Halo2

** Elites now take double damage from projectile weapons when their shields are down compared to the first game, making them much squishier than they were before (or in ''Reach''). An unshielded Elite can take about as many hits from bullet weaponry as a equally ranked ''Grunt''. They're still somewhat resistant to plasma damage, though. They're also a lot less agile and evasive than they were in the first game, but do behave more tactically such as sticking into a cover position or mantling up on high positions for a better firing angle.

** This game experimented a bit with its weapon selection and removed the Assault Rifle, a noteworthy exclusion given that it is a staple of every other ''Halo'' game.

** The SMG is functionally equivalent to the assault rifle from the first game, with the same accuracy, rate of fire, and magazine capacity, but it deals about 7 relative damage instead of the 10 damage the assault rifle did, and the total ammo is drastically cut down. On the other hand, you can use [[GunsAkimbo two of them at once]] for [[MoreDakka an even more impressive wall of lead]], or it and a plasma weapon in each hand to cut down on the number of bullets needed to cut through an enemy's shields.

''Halo 2'' is the second game in the ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' series, developed by Creator/{{Bungie}} and published by [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] for the original UsefulNotes/XBox on November 9, 2004.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Sort of; Tartarus only ever uses his ceremonial [[DropTheHammer gravity hammer]] throughout the game. However, said hammer is outfitted with a powerful gravity generator that allows it to one-shot even light vehicles (and, as shown in [[GameplayAndStorySegregation cutscenes]], allows it to be used as a ranged weapon), which, when combined with his near-impenetrable energy shield and insane natural durability, makes him incredibly dangerous.

* NintendoHard: ''Halo 2'' is ''universally'' regarded as the toughest campaign to beat on Legendary (and it's no slouch on Heroic, either, compared to the other games in the series), with ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' coming a very close second, and ''Halo 1'' coming in at third. Reasons why:
** Player shields for some baffling reason are insanely weak, and tend to go down in one hit. Another hit kills you. Coupled with the fact that enemies tend to fire from multiple directions and much faster, this means it is very difficult to attack multiple enemies head-on without having to retreat constantly.
** In Co-Op, the Iron skull is turned on automatically and ''cannot'' be turned off. If one player dies, both get booted back to the last checkpoint.
** Drones. Absolutely annoying on lower difficulties due to their swarm tactics and ability to fly about the level, here they are just insane. 15-20 Drones flying about, each firing a Plasma Pistol that will take shields down almost instantly. Have fun.
** Jackals wielding Beam Rifles (of which there are loads and loads in several levels, with "Metropolis" and "Regret" being notable examples) can kill the player in one hit, regardless of hit location. They also have insane accuracy, almost-never missing their shots. Unless you know exactly where they are, you will die. '''A lot'''.
** Brutes, once they become the mainstay enemies after the level "Gravemind", are insanely resilient, which coupled with their tendency to go berserk makes them difficult to deal with, especially if all the player has is Covenant plasma weaponry. Their tendency to carry Brute Shots which can absolutely shred the player's shields with splash damage doesn't help.
** Several levels force the player to use only Covenant weaponry, which makes them less than ideal for fighting the Flood or Brutes, the former being weak to human weaponry and the latter being incredibly resistant to plasma.
** Friendly AI is absolutely brain-dead when driving vehicles, more often than not driving the player directly into combat and then stopping, leaving the player to get annihilated.

* ContrastMontage: The opening cinematic of Cairo Station is this, contrasting Master Chief, Sgt. Johnson and Captain Keyes (via his daughter Miranda as a proxy) receiving honors at an award ceremony for their heroism in the first game, while the Elite Thel Vadam (soon to become the Arbiter) is put on trial and then publicly humiliated for his failure to prevent the destruction of Halo.

** This game introduces the ability to switch weapons with your allies. They'll react appropriately when given a stronger ''or'' weaker weapon. Johnson in particular is outspoken about it.