History VideoGame / Halo2

!!When you first saw the tropes, were you blinded by its majesty?

!!When you first saw the tropes, were you blinded by its magesty?

!!''Halo 2'' contains examples of:

Meanwhile, the game also follows a Covenant {{Elite|Mooks}} named Thel 'Vadamee, better known as [[KnownOnlyByTheirNickname the Arbiter]]. Originally the leader of the Covenant forces that fought the Master Chief on the first Halo ring, he's branded as a heretic by the Covenant leaders due to his failure to stop the ring's destruction. Given the role of Arbiter by the Prophets, Thel is given a suicide mission that may potentially help him reclaim some of his lost honor. But as he learns more about the origin of the Halo rings and the fate of the Forerunners himself, he begins to doubt the Covenant cause.

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

-->-- '''Thel 'Vadam''', ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' prologue

The second game in the ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' series, released by Creator/{{Bungie}} in 2004; it is the highest-selling game for the original UsefulNotes/XBox.

Following the events of the first game, the Master Chief arrives back at Earth, praised as a hero. In the midst of celebration, a [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]] attack begins on Earth, and Master Chief races to stop them. He learns that the Covenant are looking for something on Earth, and his quest takes him to a new Halo ring, where he uncovers more of the mystery behind [[TheVirus the Flood]].

Plotwise, the major change from the original ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' is that the campaign is told from two different angles: not only that of the Master Chief, but that of a Covenant {{Elite|Mooks}}. The latter, named Thel 'Vadamee but better known as [[KnownOnlyByTheirNickname the Arbiter]], was originally the leader of the Covenant forces that fought the Master Chief on the first Halo ring. Branded as a heretic by the Covenant leaders due to his failure to stop the ring's destruction, the Arbiter is given a suicide mission that may potentially help him reclaim some of his lost honor. As the Arbiter learns more about the origin of the Halo rings and the fate of the Forerunners, he eventually comes to doubt the Covenant cause...

On the gameplay side, ''Halo 2'' introduced GunsAkimbo to the series; any gun that can be fired with one hand can be paired off with another one-handed gun of any type (besides the Master Chief, Covenant Elites can pull this off too). It also introduced vehicle hijacking - assuming you could get close enough to the vehicle without being gunned down or run over. ''Halo 2'' solidified the presence of online console gaming thanks to the original Xbox Live service; thanks to ''Halo 2's'' success, practically any game of nearly any genre will have at least some debate from the developers on whether or not it should feature an online component.

After several rumors concerning an UpdatedRerelease to mark its [[MilestoneCelebration ten year anniversary]], ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' was released by Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries on November 11, 2014, as part of the compilation ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection''. It comes with updated graphics, six remastered multiplayer maps with their own unique engine, and other bonus content, but unlike the original release of ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'', it also comes with the original multiplayer.[[note]]''The Master Chief Collection''[='s=] version of ''Combat Evolved Anniversary'' also has its original multiplayer component, playable online over Xbox LIVE for the first time.[[/note]] The game has also been ported to PC, in both its original and ''Anniversary'' forms. The original port came in 2007, as part of Microsoft's attempt to increase support for PC gaming and the then-new Windows Vista operating system through the oft-maligned Games for Windows Live service; it would end up the last ''Halo'' game in general to come to PC until 2013's ''VideoGame/HaloSpartanAssault'', and the last main ''Halo'' title to get a PC port until ''The Master Chief Collection'' came to PC in late 2019 with a port of ''VideoGame/HaloReach''. ''Halo 2 Anniversary'' would later launch for the PC version of the collection in May 2020.

!!Tropes specific to the ''Anniversary'' version:

->'''Master Chief:''' Sir, permission to leave the station.\\
'''Admiral Hood:''' For what purpose, Master Chief?\\
'''Master Chief:''' [[RidingTheBomb To give the Covenant back their bomb]].

* MeleeATrois: ''Gravemind'' sees the Master Chief and the marines he rescues get caught in the crossfire of [[EnemyCivilWar the Great Schism.]] Sadly, the Elites, Grunts, and Hunters don't seem too keen on an EnemyMine. [[spoiler:Yet.]]

* TwentyFourHourArmor: Master Chief wears his MJOLNIR armor at all times, even during the award ceremony at the beginning of the game, where some a dress uniform (like the other characters wear) would be more appropriate. Lampshaded by Johnson:

* TwentyFourHourArmor: Master Chief wears his MJOLNIR armor at all times, even during the award ceremony at the beginning of the game, where some sort of dress uniform (like the other characters wear) would be more appropriate. Lampshaded by Johnson:

'''Arbiter''': When the Prophets learn of this, they will take your head.\\
'''Tartarus''': ''When'' they learn? [[spoiler: (low laughter) Fool, they ordered me to do it.]]

* GlitchEntity: The "Gravemind" mission has the "Honor Guard Councilor", a Zealot (gold) elite that was accidentally programmed to have a "dogmatic" voice/personality; since the level has no permutation data for dogmatic Elites, it defaults to Honor Guard armor and Ultra palette, with randomly chosen head types (most frequently the Councilor, hence the nickname).

* ArtEvolution: Graphical power has grown significantly since the original. For example, Forerunner architecture originally tended to look more like geometric stone, while the updated version has it more of a sleek chrome. In some ways it is welding the cosmetic changes made in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' to the designs of the original trilogy. Then there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AhkyhcrDTQ Gravemind]]...

* HeroAntagonist: The Covenant Heretics are trying to save all life in galaxy by revealing the truth about the Halos. Unfortunately, your first two missions as the Arbiter involve wiping them all out.

* AmmoUsingMeleeWeapon: The Energy Sword has a limited battery, and the blade will vanish once it is depleted.

* UniversalDriversLicense: You would expect an experienced, highly-trained warrior like the Master Chief to be able to operate multiple human vehicles, but he also has no difficulty driving Covenant vehicles. Again, he might have been trained on captured vehicles. But the Arbiter also has no trouble using human vehicles and weapons, despite the fact the Covenant [[ScaryDogmaticAliens thinks humans and their technology are an abomination]].

'''Tartarus''': ''When'' they learn? [[spoiler:Fool, they ordered me to do it.]]

* ContrastMontage: The opening cinematic of the game 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.

* AttackOfTheTownFestival: The Covenant's attack on Earth begins while the UNSC is holding a big award ceremony for Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and the deceased Captain Keyes.