History VideoGame / Halo2

--> [[SceneryPorn "It's like a postcard!]] 'Dear Sarge: Kicking ass in outer space, wish you were here'."
--> "I heard that, jackass!"

* PragmaticVillainy: Although the Covenant in general view human technology as heretical, [[https://www.halopedia.org/Halo_2_Limited_Collector%27s_Edition_manual the manual]] with the Limited Collector's Edition (which took the form of a report by then-Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee) featured a section on "Primitive Implements of War" (i.e. human weapons) advising that they can still be useful in a pinch and recommending that Covenant troops have some understanding of their workings, as they may need to rely on them when no Covenant weapons are available. (The rocket launcher in particular is described as "surprisingly effective and somewhat admired"). Thel has evidently taken his own advice, as when facing the Flood (which is more easily killed by projectile weapons than plasma) in "Sacred Icon" and "Quarantine Zone", he has no difficulty handling human weapons.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: A minor case. In the original, when Arbiter responds to Rtas stating he doesn't care if the former lives or dies with "That make two of us." he is staring Rtas down, emphasizing his defiance. In the re-animated Blur cutscene, Arbiter drops his eyes while delivering the line, emphasizing his sense of shame over his failure.

* SecondChapterCliffhanger: The cliffhanger between this installment and ''VideoGame/Halo3'' most certainly counts, as it leaves players knee-deep in TheClimax but gives them no denouement. After defeating the FinalBoss Tartarus, the removal of the Index shuts Halo down, which triggers the "Feel Sick" protocol. This causes the remaining platforms to enter standby and get ready for remote activation from the Ark. Then Truth's ship arrives on Earth, Admiral Hood utters that he's "finishing this fight" and the game ends.

** In the opening cutscene, the Prophet of Regret isn't there it person, but remotely as a hologram, foreshadowing that he's currently en route to Earth to begin his invasion.

* CliffHanger: The story ends with one of the most infamous cliffhangers in all of videogaming, being a very obvious SequelHook rather than the actual completion of the main threats a'la the first game.

!All {{spoiler}}s for ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

* ClassifiedInformation: Johnson's response on how he survived the previous game (See {{Retcon}} below). This is a bit of LampshadeHanging for players who are probably wondering the same thing (the reason is given in Halo: First Strike.)

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.

* FramingDevice: In the ''Anniversary'' remaster, the story is framed as Thel 'Vadamee recounting events of the game to Jameson Locke, which also serves as a set up to ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Cortana suggests that killing the Prophet of Regret should shake up the Covenant leadership, and then remarks that the Chief might be doing Truth a favor. Turns out she was right, as Regret's death gives Truth an excuse to replace the Elites with the Brutes, which leads to the [[EnemyCivilWar Great Schism]].

* GunsAkimbo: The one major gameplay change between ''Halo 2 Anniversary'' and the original Xbox[=/=]Vista version of ''Halo 2'' is that most of the dual-wielding [=NPC=]s have had their dual-wielding removed from the single-player campaign, with a couple rare exceptions such as the dual plasma pistol wielding Elites at the beginning of "Cairo Station". The Heretic Leader is the most obvious example of this, as he and his clones still dual-wield in the cutscenes but immediately lose their second plasma rifles once gameplay starts. Miranda Keyes also no longer dual wields [=SMGs=] during her confrontation with the Arbiter.

* TrailersAlwaysLie:
** The E3 demo (and the advertising, ''and'' the boxart) gave the impression that the game would be set on Earth's surface. The final game had a grand total of two levels set there.
** In a more straight version of the trope, the "Give them back their bomb" sequence in the trailer has Earth in '''''much''''' more trouble than in the actual game, in which the first Covenant fleet barely sticks around before retreating. Earth's on fire? Not really. [[spoiler:Save that for the next game and ''ODST''.]]

* {{Retcon}}: The change to the status of the position of Arbiter in Covenant society since the release of the original ''Halo 2'' straddles the line between these two. ''Halo 2'' all but stated that the Arbiter was a position of great esteem in the Covenent and that Thel 'Vadamee's appointment to Arbiter to be an unconventional move on the part of Truth and Mercy, bordering on LoopholeAbuse. All subsequent media (including ''Anniversary''[='s=] terminals) treat it as more or less the normal procedure. Since ''Anniversary''[='s=] campaign is identical to the original, there are several inconsistencies like Sesa 'Refumee saying the position is a badge of shame in the terminals, while Thel 'Vadamee in the campaign states that even on his knees he is unworthy to be in the Mausoleum of the Arbiters. Or Guilty Spark stating (again, in the terminals) that the position was manipulated by the Prophets to disgrace Elites that were becoming too powerful, while in Thel's trial Truth is if anything trying to defend him and only denounces him as a heretic to satisfy the High Council.
* UpdatedRerelease: Like the ''Combat Evolved'' remaster, this one has a complete graphics and sound overhaul while 100% faithfully retaining the original gameplay engine. Unlike the remaster of the first game, it also replaces the old in-engine cutscenes with high-budget, completely pre-rendered ones, while also allowing for the player to switch between the original cutscenes and the new ones as they're playing. The updated graphics are also in the art style of the original ''Halo'' trilogy, unlike the first ''Halo Anniversary'' which (barring a few weapon models [[PropRecycling borrowed from]] ''Halo 3'') used the distinct art style of ''Halo Reach''.

!All spoilers for ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

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

** 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, never missing their shots. Unless you know exactly where they are, you will die. ''A lot''.

** Also, this game introducing the Brutes and Drones as enemies was supposed to be because they were literally newly-introduced to the war, only brought in to fight humanity in its last days (the events of ''First Strike'' were originally humanity's first contact with either species). This quickly fell through when every other game set before ''Combat Evolved'' included Brutes and Drones anyway - [[Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx now]], the Brutes were the ''second'' Covenant race humanity ever encountered - which meant their lack of appearance in ''Combat Evolved'' is now bog-standard EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.

** Strangely, the dress uniform wearing marines in Cairo Station are actually ''tougher'' than the ones wearing full combat armor, having about 195 relative health compared to the 150 relative health of the regular marines. Not even the [=ODST=] troopers in the later levels have that kind of health boost.
* TemporaryOnlineContent: The "Blastacular Pack", which includes Desolation and Tombstone, was only available as online DLC, as they were released after the offline ''Multiplayer Map Pack'' disc (early 2007 to the disc's mid-2005 release). With the closure of the original Xbox's Live service in 2010, it's impossible to play on those maps unless they were downloaded beforehand.

** Hunters have received various minor tweaks to make them less of a FakeUltimateMook; they're much larger, are harder to bait into performing a melee attack (which exposes their weak points), and can now perform a 180 degree attack behind them to hit anything trying to shoot them in the back. Their armor also now completely negates damage, instead of merely reducing it. Their weak points also have proper coding to act as actual weak points and not "instantly kill them with a single pistol bullet" points, on top of the pistol being {{nerf}}ed so it doesn't kill them in one shot. They still die to one weak point hit from a sniper rifle or beam rifle, though, and a direct grenade hit will confuse them and cause them to spin 180 degrees around, exposing their weak back. They do have somewhat less raw health than they did in the first game, but this is offset by their more intelligent use of their shield and their armor now offering 100% damage resistance.

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 tasked with 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.

* TemporaryOnlineContent: The "Blastacular Pack", which includes Desolation and Tombstone, were only available as online DLC, as they were released after the offline ''Multiplayer Map Pack'' disc. With the closure of the original Xbox's Live service in 2010, it's impossible to play on those maps unless they were downloaded beforehand.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailers, promotional materials, and even the blurb on the game's box all gave the impression that the Chief would spend all or most of the game helping humanity repel the Covenant invasion on Earth. He ends up spending three missions there, one on a station in orbit and two in a single city, before the head honcho they're tailing makes a slipspace jump and leads them to a new Halo.