If I might time-travel again to any gaming second, it might be the discharge of Halo 2 again on November 9, 2004. I’ve by no means in my complete life, each personally and professionally, skilled such hype and anticipation within the run-up to a serious recreation launch – after which in some way additionally seen that recreation really stay as much as all of it. However Halo 2 did! It was the long-awaited (and delayed) sequel to the very motive the Xbox established itself within the console area in any respect, and thus it carried the burden of the complete Xbox world on its shoulders. For those who have been in or across the Xbox neighborhood in 2004, you little question bear in mind it. I used to be fortunate sufficient to cowl Halo 2 for Official Xbox Journal earlier than, throughout, and after its launch, and so I believed I’d take this particular anniversary second to share a couple of behind-the-scenes recollections from what’s, to me, the only biggest Xbox recreation ever.
Overlaying Halo 2 Earlier than Launch
The primary time I noticed Halo 2 working – form of – was its then-jaw-dropping and now notorious E3 2003 behind-closed-doors single-player marketing campaign demo. I say “form of” as a result of the demo Bungie confirmed by no means made it into the ultimate recreation. But it surely was consultant of what we might count on from the sequel, together with twin wielding weapons and boarding (learn: hijacking) automobiles. They performed it stay within the room for us, and I went again and noticed the demo a couple of occasions throughout that E3 week. Visually, it was beautiful for the time. And the aforementioned pair of latest gameplay mechanics appeared delectable. Like most who noticed it, I couldn’t wait to play it…
…However wait I might for a whole yr extra. Halo 2 made its playable debut at E3 2004, with its November 9, 2004 launch date actually written in ink. Whereas not on the present flooring, media members with appointments might play a spherical of single-flag CTF on the Zanzibar map behind closed doorways. I bear in mind a few issues: first, I used to be floored by the way it seemed and felt the primary time I put my hands-on it. Boarding an enemy automobile was an absolute thrill, and the gameplay was a lot extra refined than what we’d spent each single day at 5pm taking part in at OXM with Halo: Fight Developed.
Simply this week, Halo 2 lead multiplayer designer (and architect of the groundbreaking “digital sofa” on-line matchmaking system I’ll discuss extra about in a bit) Max Hoberman informed me this little anecdote about Zanzibar: “We deliberate this and executed on it in document time in preparation for E3, after we discovered that we have been going to have to hold the present, and we did not have something we felt was spectacular sufficient.” Mission completed, Max.
For sure, I politely begged the Microsoft PR workforce to sneak me in for a couple of extra classes all through E3, and I gladly wolfed up each second of hands-on time with Halo 2 that I might. I used to be hooked.
Reviewing Halo 2
By advantage of the lengthy lead occasions that month-to-month magazines have (to not point out day-one patches probably not being a standard factor again then), I discovered myself at Bungie in late September of 2004 to overview Halo 2 for Official Xbox Journal, alongside my editor-in-chief, Rob Smith. Rob pulled rank and really wrote the overview (I’d have executed the identical in his place), however I obtained to return alongside for the experience. The Bungie workforce gave us our personal tiny workplace – it was extra of a storage room, actually – the place they arrange two Xboxes and two TVs.
We have been there for 3 days, with the primary two being devoted to the marketing campaign. Clearly that meant we obtained to expertise the play-as-the-Arbiter shock earlier than anybody else did – and couldn’t speak about it for weeks! I ended up ending the marketing campaign earlier than Rob did, and, I child you not, I believed the credit rolling was a bug. Certainly the final stage was purported to have began as an alternative! It’s a joke now, however I nearly embarrassed the heck out of myself by telling Bungie I’d hit a bug. Fortunately, I didn’t, and naturally we later discovered that the ultimate stage was minimize as a result of the event workforce ran out of time. As a substitute, three years later Halo 3 would choose up the place Halo 2’s monumental cliffhanger left off.
The multiplayer classes have been merely a blast. Getting to tear by means of each one of many now-classic multiplayer maps – quite a few them which hadn’t been revealed at that time – was an absolute deal with. Actually, one of many then-unknown maps was Coagulation, a remake of what was arguably Halo 1’s most well-known/common battleground, Blood Gulch. Rob and I lobbied Bungie president Pete Parsons to allow us to speak about Coagulation within the OXM overview, which was going to succeed in subscribers earlier than the sport got here out. We compromised: we might embody it, however it might be in a sealed fold-out web page that you simply needed to bodily minimize to entry. Naturally, we assumed everybody that picked up the journal did simply that.
On the finish of the go to, Rob and I deliberated in his lodge room. We have been each miffed by the marketing campaign’s sudden cease, however however strongly felt that it deserved the best rating OXM had ever given: 9.7 out of 10. It beat out the earlier prime rating of 9.6, given to each Halo: Fight Developed and the unique Splinter Cell.
Halo 2 Is Launched
Within the final first-world drawback, the weeks between spending three days with Halo 2 at Bungie and the ultimate launch of Bungie’s superb sequel have been agonizing. Gaming-wise, all I might take into consideration was taking part in it once more. And when November 9 lastly got here, the OXM crew and I performed each. Single. Night time. This isn’t an exaggeration. Whether or not it was matchmaking, non-public matches, or a mixture of the 2, Halo 2’s chic Xbox Stay digital sofa system was the muse for hundreds of hours of enjoyable – again earlier than stay service video games have been monsters that demanded hundreds of hours of your time.
When the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Packs have been launched, it solely prolonged the enjoyable for a lot of extra months. Not solely that, each map was – this isn’t an exaggeration – superior. There have been no duds within the bunch. Bungie was merely on the peak of its powers with Halo 2, and to this present day you possibly can identify a Halo 2 multiplayer map and I can describe it in nice element. This week, I requested Halo 2 multiplayer lead Max Hoberman (now the pinnacle of veteran developer Sure Affinity) to rank all 12 of the maps that shipped with Halo 2. He graciously did so – with a twist – telling me, “Here is a rating of my favorites, particularly from after we have been in improvement. That is how I bear in mind liking them, 20 years in the past.” And he left notes on every:
12) Basis. “We remade Thunderdome, a multiplayer stage from Marathon, and added it as an Easter egg, unlockable. I want we would remade Mars Wants Ladies as an alternative – that was my favourite from Marathon.”
11) Colossus. “Gravity lifts are enjoyable, however this map by no means actually did a lot for me. I actually cannot consider a time I had a blast taking part in it throughout improvement. Apparently it was additionally superbounce loopy after we shipped, who knew?”
10) Headlong. “We slammed this in late, after the success of Zanzibar at E3. We felt we wanted extra asymmetrical single flag CTF maps that supported automobiles and huge groups. and had a giant dynamic ingredient (the crane). It actually wanted extra time in paper design, and extra tuning, than we have been in a position to give it, so it was by no means my favourite.”
9) Battle Creek. “I felt we needed to remake the long-lasting Beaver Creek from Halo. Then working to enhance it was fairly a problem – eradicating ladders, and including teleporters behind the bases. I believe it labored out okay, however actually, I used to be already bored with it by the point we obtained it playable throughout improvement.”
8) Burial Mounds. “We actually wished a map that highlighted the ATV/Mongoose, earlier than we came upon it was minimize, and this was purported to be that map. We tried to salvage it, and it had a couple of moments of enjoyable on base protection video games attributable to its excessive asymmetry, however it might have been a lot better if we would designed it for that. Because it was, it was nothing however untapped potential.”
7) Waterworks. “I favored the ambition on this map, however I believe the simplicity of the bases and the shortage of canopy out within the open actually harm it. It is a simple candidate for enchancment, in my sincere opinion. If solely we would had extra time and sources! We have been a tiny multiplayer content material workforce (simply me and [Halo 2 multiplayer designer Chris] Carney initially, then [Halo 2 multiplayer designer Steve] Cotton joined us midway by means of).”
6) Ivory Tower. “This map was a mosh pit of types, the place we examined out a number of Assault video games specifically, and that is what I recall most. However we had enjoyable Slayer and Oddball and different video games on it too. Plus I named it after our nickname for Marty’s audio area/workplace, which was a relentless sore level for him, so it obtained further factors.”
5) Midship. “I designed this map for 2v2 CTF video games, Carney helped enhance it massively (Covey curvey!), and it took on a lifetime of its personal, particularly in aggressive circles. In fact it was at its finest when it had extra gamers on it than it was initially focusing on.”
4) Ascension. “A map that blends tight quarters fight with distance sniping and Banshees? Why not. This was undoubtedly a novel map, and whereas it had some points, I’ve very fond recollections of playtests on it throughout improvement. Plus [Halo 2 narrative lead Joseph] Staten and [Halo 2 animator John] Butkus went face to face on it with snipers each single day, on the kiosk, for no less than a yr. They have been clearly having enjoyable.”
3) Coagulation. “Sure, it is a remake of Blood Gulch, however we remade it for a motive. The unique was merely probably the most iconic huge open automobile sandbox, mildly symmetrical and with two bases in addition, for large workforce CTF battles. This complemented our smaller, tighter, no automobile maps completely. Plus I believe we did a great job of staying true to the unique, whereas nonetheless bettering it.”
2) Zanzibar. “We deliberate this and executed on it in document time in preparation for E3, after we discovered that we have been going to have to hold the present, and we did not have something we felt was spectacular sufficient. I doubled down on single flag CTF, with this devoted map that helps each shut quarters fight and automobiles, and plenty of of my fondest recollections in Halo 2 playtests have been on it.”
1) Lockout. “Our first and our greatest. The undisputed king. We performed this repeatedly all through improvement, and I by no means obtained bored with it. Ever.”
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s govt editor of previews and host of each IGN’s weekly Xbox present, Podcast Unlocked. Swords-only no-radar matches on Lockout are his favourite. Discuss Halo 2 with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
