More Halo 2 (PC) Info

[Norse]

GamePro (http://gamepro.com) met up with some Microsoft people at E3 and lived to tell the tale:

And graphics nuts can rest easy -- the new version of Halo 2 for Vista is said to look great, thanks to Vista's use of exotic Direct X 10 graphic effects.
Donahue also noted that the Windows Vista version of Halo 2 would include a built-in map editor and modding system -- a feature that Microsoft is especially keen to promote, given the massive success of the homebrew mod-turned-retail-juggernaut that is Counter-Strike.Read the rest here (http://gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=55269).

Sounds promising...

[UglyPimp]

I bought the original Halo for the PC after missing out on the Xbox love it received (I got my Xbox a year or so after it initially came out and couldn't bring myself to purchase Halo 1 for some reason). It was really, really fun in my opinion. About the only criticism I could level at it was its graphics engine chugging on what should have been a nice rig to run it and its ugly Gamespy server browser. Other than that it was great.

I know a lot of people tend to hate on Halo, but if you like FPS games and haven't had a chance to check out #1 or #2 on Xbox or PC, check out #2 when it's released. You might be pleasantly surprised, if not for the single player than probably for the multiplayer alone. It's pretty addictive.

[Dabombpizza]

Now, I'm no Halo 2 player, but I heard that the multiplayer was pretty broken. Is MS going to address that?

[PixelSamurai]

The real question is, does using a mouse break the game because it becomes much easier?

[overdrivechao]

Halo PC was a horrible port of a mediocre game. PC doesn't need Halo, because it has longstanding series that gave birth to the need to create something like them on a console. Halo 2 may be fun if it is ported well and FREE, but FEAR, CoD2, Doom, Quake, UT, UT2k4...etc, etc, etc all beat Halo IMO.

[ShooterMcgavin]

DX10 effects can only do so much. Unless they upped the fairly low poly count and included high resolution textures, it'll still look like arse compared to anything current.

[Skjef]

Halo PC was a horrible port of a mediocre game. PC doesn't need Halo, because it has longstanding series that gave birth to the need to create something like them on a console. Halo 2 may be fun if it is ported well and FREE, but FEAR, CoD2, Doom, Quake, UT, UT2k4...etc, etc, etc all beat Halo IMO.What does cost have to do with a game's fun factor?

Halo is a good game. It's singleplayer kicks the hell out of any Doom, Quake or UT game. Multiplayer is a different story, of course.

[Deadend]

hmm, Halo 2... or Unreal 2007, such a tough decision.

[Pumped'Up]

Halo 2 on PC...wtf?

Agreed with overdrivechao.

[Ajr]

I liked Halo both for PC and Xbox, although Halo PC was shocking for frame rates. I couldn't bring myself to complete Halo 2 single-player, it was just boring, co-op and multiplayer is fun though. I don't really understand the Halo 2 fuss though, Half-Life 2, FEAR, and FarCry are much much better single player experiences, and UT2004, Battlefield 2, Counter-Strike: Source have much better multiplayer.

[overdrivechao]

What does cost have to do with a game's fun factor?

I, like many others, hold free games to a different standard than premium games. I.E. if Halo 2 is free with Vista and is proven to not be part of the cost of the bundle, I will enjoy it much more because Vista's value to me overall will be higher. If, however, they market a game that will be 2 or more years old by the time Vista comes out and sell it for $50, they can shove it up their respective asses. ^^

[goc_sin]

I wonder if they added any fun to the game since the 1st one?

[ShooterMcgavin]

Only if you get the Collector's Edition.

[Vanthar]

Wanna talk about forcing something on people.. how about what Ms is trying to do with vista? Only the wonderous dx10 can support halos amazing graphics, but wait.. didn't the xbox already support them? MS is just trying to get halo2 to sell some vistas, and it will, but isn't this the same practice a majority of people on this forum hate. I won't be buying the game because it's just too old at this point, not to mention not really worth upgrading to play it on a dx10 graphics card and vista.

[Skjef]

I, like many others, hold free games to a different standard than premium games. I.E. if Halo 2 is free with Vista and is proven to not be part of the cost of the bundle, I will enjoy it much more because Vista's value to me overall will be higher. If, however, they market a game that will be 2 or more years old by the time Vista comes out and sell it for $50, they can shove it up their respective asses. ^^So, you're not going to play Halo 2 unless it's free. Understandable. However, it changes not a whit how fun the game is. Right?

[bean19]

The real question is, does using a mouse break the game because it becomes much easier?

Yes.

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[overdrivechao]

So, you're not going to play Halo 2 unless it's free. Understandable. However, it changes not a whit how fun the game is. Right?

I understand the point you are trying to make, but try to understand me. Guild Wars is free.. so it's more fun to me even if it's a little (or a lot) worse than the other premium games i've played. I have more fun playing games that are free whether they are great or not because I don't feel ripped off either way. I'm not trying to justify spending money on it, therefore it has more leeway (sp?).

Does that make sense?

Maybe if they charged you $10 a month for playing Hexic on XBLive Arcade you would feel me.

[overdrivechao]

Yes.

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ........................
Yeah, pretty much.

I'm so waiting for a combined 360/PC FPS so I can snipe all of you in the time it takes you to turn around. ^^

[ShooterMcgavin]

I understand the point you are trying to make, but try to understand me. Guild Wars is free.. so it's more fun to me even if it's a little (or a lot) worse than the other premium games i've played. I have more fun playing games that are free whether they are great or not because I don't feel ripped off either way. I'm not trying to justify spending money on it, therefore it has more leeway (sp?).

Does that make sense?

Maybe if they charged you $10 a month for playing Hexic on XBLive Arcade you would feel me.

Guild Wars costs money just like any other retail game. But I see your point. One of the main reasons I play it is because it's free to play once you buy it.

[askheaves]

OMGWTF!!! This anti-Microsoft bias is killing me. I'm never posting on this Sony-corporate-mouthpiece-whore site again. (yes, I know that joke is done to death)

Halo 2 put me to sleep, which was embarrassing since I was playing it coop with my brother. Kind of wish they'd kept the series a Mac-exclusive RTS.

[askheaves]

Yeah, pretty much.

I'm so waiting for a combined 360/PC FPS so I can snipe all of you in the time it takes you to turn around. ^^

The Lost Planet demo on 360 had a neat little feature where tapping shoulders L1/R1 quickturn you 90 degrees. Takes a little while to get used to, but it became useful awful quickly.

[The Continental]

The Lost Planet demo on 360 had a neat little feature where tapping shoulders L1/R1 quickturn you 90 degrees. Takes a little while to get used to, but it became useful awful quickly.

That used to be common in PC shooters pre mouse look days. As far as adding it to console shooters, it's basically like adding nitrous to your motorized wheel chair.

[overdrivechao]

The Lost Planet demo on 360 had a neat little feature where tapping shoulders L1/R1 quickturn you 90 degrees. Takes a little while to get used to, but it became useful awful quickly.


Cool. Now you just need a button that allows you to make headshots at a distance with a joystick in .2 seconds.

[Paranoia]

Halo PC was a horrible port of a mediocre game. PC doesn't need Halo, because it has longstanding series that gave birth to the need to create something like them on a console. Halo 2 may be fun if it is ported well and FREE, but FEAR, CoD2, Doom, Quake, UT, UT2k4...etc, etc, etc all beat Halo IMO.

Halo PC sold well enough it validates the need for Halo sequel. I'll take Halo over FEAR.

[Phanto]

The real question is, does using a mouse break the game because it becomes much easier?


If the port is a good one maybe...

[pablious]

Halo PC was a horrible port of a mediocre game. PC doesn't need Halo, because it has longstanding series that gave birth to the need to create something like them on a console. Halo 2 may be fun if it is ported well and FREE, but FEAR, CoD2, Doom, Quake, UT, UT2k4...etc, etc, etc all beat Halo IMO.

I agree. Halo is, generally, an FPS for people who don't play FPS games. I'm one of those people, and I like it because it's simple, easy to get into, fun, and it's always been easy to get a good LAN game going. That's the only reason I play it, but on the PC you lose that part of the game and you have plenty of other, better options.

[jacktion]

Donahue! Wow, that's even better than Oprah covering Brain Age!

(this joke was for people from the 80s)

[DoubleUranium]

OMG U ALL R SO L33T W UR AW3S0M3 PC SK!LLZ. PL3ASE P0S7 1N 3V3RY Halo 7HR3AD AB0U7 H0W L33T PCs R.

We got it, you don't like Halo. In fact we got it about 3 years ago.

[Frogleg Special]

I think Bungie should add exclusive levels to Halo 2 PC. Levels, not vehicle or weapons.

[overdrivechao]

We got it, you don't like Halo. In fact we got it about 3 years ago.

Who are you talking to? I've only really grown to despise halo's overrated popularity in the last 4 months. Black is great. And it's not on PC. There are plenty of good FPS's that if people actually paid attention and took a chance on are much better, even on consoles. I just hate the Halo fanboy mentality that is so pervasive, it's congealed into this massive one shot weapon. I just don't understand how a marginal FPS became such a cultural phenomenon. It really seems like a bunch of gamers that had never seen an FPS before just swore their undying loyalty to the first one that showed up on the first system many of them owned. Whatever.

[ezra]

Who are you talking to? I've only really grown to despise halo's overrated popularity in the last 4 months. Black is great. And it's not on PC. There are plenty of good FPS's that if people actually paid attention and took a chance on are much better, even on consoles. I just hate the Halo fanboy mentality that is so pervasive, it's congealed into this massive one shot weapon. I just don't understand how a marginal FPS became such a cultural phenomenon. It really seems like a bunch of gamers that had never seen an FPS before just swore their undying loyalty to the first one that showed up on the first system many of them owned. Whatever.

Which is completely different from all those PC fanboys who don't believe there has been a good FPS since doom.

[thecrazyd]

I think Bungie should add exclusive levels to Halo 2 PC. Levels, not vehicle or weapons.
Maybe an exclusive ending? *Rim shot*

Thank you, thank you! I will be here all week.

[Paranoia]

I've only really grown to despise halo's overrated popularity in the last 4 months. Black is great.

You thought BLACK was great? Talk about bad taste!

It really seems like a bunch of gamers that had never seen an FPS before just swore their undying loyalty to the first one that showed up on the first system many of them owned. Whatever.

Its the most common excuse Halo haters would use to justify their argument. Please cut the crap.

[kid cabelgo]

Halo PC was a horrible port of a mediocre game. PC doesn't need Halo, because it has longstanding series that gave birth to the need to create something like them on a console. Halo 2 may be fun if it is ported well and FREE, but FEAR, CoD2, Doom, Quake, UT, UT2k4...etc, etc, etc all beat Halo IMO.

I bought it because i always wanted to be able to play halo 1 online. I thought it was a total blast despite the crappy network code by gearbox. It was the only game i ever saw that had lag at LAN parties.

I agree that it was a pretty poor port, but I felt like it was a valuable part of my PC library for a while

[Borys]

Meh, meh, meh.

They want to sell Vista to gamers - port Halo 3 not some old Xbox crap that runs on a 733Mh + GF3.5 machine.

[Schnoogs]

Meh, meh, meh.

They want to sell Vista to gamers - port Halo 3 not some old Xbox crap that runs on a 733Mh + GF3.5 machine.

Can you at least leave one thread untainted? Go find some PS3 thread to gush in.

[Kefkataran]

Sorry to say it, but I'm with the Halo-haters here. I can sort of understand the appeal, since I have a lot of friends who play it, but speaking for the original, at least, the level design was total shit. Boring, boring, boring. Halo 2 seemed to improve on that some, but still not sure I'll make it a PC purchase. I will probably end up checking out Halo 3.

[DeadlyDonkey]

The only reason Halo was praised so much was because it was the equivilent of water in a desert for console gamers. The level design is the most mediocre I've seen in a recent FPS in a while, in even managed to beat FEAR in terms of "boring as hell every corridor looks the same" level design.

On the PC this just isn't true, with many, many far superior single player FPSes (Half Life 2, SiN Emergance, FEAR) and MUCH better multiplayer FPSes (BF2, CS : S, UT2K4, Quake 4). Not mentioning the hundreds of mods for some of those games.

Additionally, Crysis and BF2142 will be out by then. If they are, then good luck selling Halo 2 Microsoft....

[dena miscreant]

You're article was from GamePro, one of my less trusted sources, first of all.

Halo 2, as it currently is, would be not even close to better than any current popular FPS's, as previously stated.

Me, too!

[Borys]

Can you at least leave one thread untainted? Go find some PS3 thread to gush in.

Do I know you mr. noone?

[overdrivechao]

You thought BLACK was great? Talk about bad taste!

Ok, then what is your idea of a good console FPS? Besides, obviously, Halo.

Its the most common excuse Halo haters would use to justify their argument.

I don't know what other "haters" say because I don't talk to them. For all I know I'm the only one who thinks this way. The reason I do is because I've talked to a ton of kids who were introduced to Halo as their first FPS and XBox as their first console. They have grown up to some extent thinking this game is god, and it's one of the primary reasons Microsoft doesn;t need to work on things like Perfect Dark Zero very hard. Because Halo is a crutch to them now.

Please understand, I'm not pulling crap out of my butt here... I have a valid point of view and you need not feel threatened by it. No matter what I think, millions will light their Halo green incense sticks and bow to Master Chief. So don't worry.

[GBSOD]

Halo PC sold well enough it validates the need for Halo sequel. I'll take Halo over FEAR.

I preferred FEAR by a long shot, but I really enjoyed Halo on the PC. It is a good game, maybe not amazing but better than a lot out there, and the universe and story gripped me enough that I would love to play 2 (and 3) on the PC.

[Morratut]

I'm a major Halo fan and even I can't see why i'd buy this for the PC.

[TrackZero]

The conspiracy theorist in me says that they're going to tie this into Live Anywhere, just like Shadowrun. Halo 2 console gamers versus PC gamers anybody?

[Paranoia]

Ok, then what is your idea of a good console FPS? Besides, obviously, Halo.

Medal of Honour Frontline, Timesplitters, Chronicles of Riddick, Oddball Stranger, FarCry Instinct, Brothers In Arms, Project:Snowblind, Darkwatch.


The reason I do is because I've talked to a ton of kids who were introduced to Halo as their first FPS and XBox as their first console.


That is ridiculous. I could very well argue that tons of kids were introduced to Goldeneye or Perfect Dark as their first FPS and N64 as their first console.


Please understand, I'm not pulling crap out of my butt here... I have a valid point of view and you need not feel threatened by it. No matter what I think, millions will light their Halo green incense sticks and bow to Master Chief. So don't worry.

Yeah I guess you are right. No matter what I'll always come across whiny PC gamers who think they know better.

[eth3rton]

Halo Rocks.......!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/ETH3RTON/halo3.jpg

[Heretic Machine]

I love Halo. I love Halo 2 to a lesser extent. I do think that Halo 2 should be ported to Vista... but I fail to see why it needs to be on Vista. Is there some reason that DX10 can't be used in XP? And since this would force people to upgrade, I heard that DX10 has some serious issues with compatability with other versions of DX, is this still true? Because if it is true, they can keep it.

[Roc Ingersol]

I like Halo. Halo2 was 40% retread and 30% 'who cares'. (seriously, fuck the arbiter.)
If Halo2 PC doesn't have the co-op campaign, there's really no reason to buy it. The multiplayer is good - but not that good.

The co-op campaign has always been the high point of the title.

[overdrivechao]

Medal of Honour Frontline, Timesplitters, Chronicles of Riddick, Oddball Stranger, FarCry Instinct, Brothers In Arms, Project:Snowblind, Darkwatch.

Sorry, I said console, right? Chronicles of Riddick, and FarCry Instincts were great, but they were also better/first on PC. I'll agree on Timesplitters, but the rest were blah.


That is ridiculous. I could very well argue that tons of kids were introduced to Goldeneye or Perfect Dark as their first FPS and N64 as their first console.

Yes and then I could counterpoint that a lot of kids grew up with dinosaurs. It doesn't change the fact that a lot of them grew up with Halo and are now a dominating force in the market.

Yeah I guess you are right. No matter what I'll always come across whiny PC gamers who think they know better.

And I guess I'll always run into Halo freakin fanboys who feel an obligation to defend Mr. Chief until their last breath. It just isnt that good, in my opinion, and it really gets me that no one lets me just say that.

[ColdForged]

And I guess I'll always run into Halo freakin fanboys who feel an obligation to defend Mr. Chief until their last breath. It just isnt that good, in my opinion, and it really gets me that no one lets me just say that.

Congrats, you just did. Imagine, people that like the Halo series posting in a thread that... *gasp*... discusses Halo. I'll never get people that do not like a game that insist on their right to tell everyone they hate the game in threads about the game.

Perhaps it really is the whole "culturally engrained" aspect of Halo that so infuriates you guys, something that is unworthy in your eyes to hold that mantel. Maybe it's time to let it go and perhaps ignore every other Halo post until the end of time?

Back on topic, will not be buying this on Windows. I got burned on the Halo for PC port -- a poorly-realized, choppy effort in my mind -- and, even if I had a machine capable of running Vista, I've still got Halo 2 playing just fine on my 360 whenever I need a fix. Sticking it on another platform almost certainly won't increase their marketshare appreciably for all the reasons mentioned already.

[MAbans]

HALO 2 was mediocre sadly but I stuck it through cause I love HALO overall. I still play HALO PC. Said thing now there is an AIMbot floating around and gearbox, developer for the port, refuses to address the Aimbot issue and maybe fix it. But its cool, I'm hoping HALO 2 improves over the XBOX version.
I'm a major Halo fan and even I can't see why i'd buy this for the PC.
So PC players like myself can eat XBOX players who think they will dominate as well.

[Achilles]

And I guess I'll always run into Halo freakin fanboys who feel an obligation to defend Mr. Chief until their last breath. It just isnt that good, in my opinion, and it really gets me that no one lets me just say that.You were the 4th post in this Halo thread, saying how Halo 1 was a horrible port of a mediocre game and how Doom and Quake are better. Yet you don’t think that should draw any comments. If you don’t want anyone to comment, why say it in the first place, in a Halo thread, which you know Halo fans who disagree with you will read?

Yeah that's your opinion, you had it in your sig at one point if I remember. You state it every chance you get, including moseying into this thread just to say, once again, that it's "overrated". Many, many people disagree with you, the game sold a ton of copies and Halo 3 is a hugely anticipated title. The game is good, maybe you don’t ‘get it’, maybe you’re hardcore and you’d rather play UT or Quake. Good for you, but you really can’t complain when people state their opinion in opposition to yours.

[MAbans]

At some point during the life of the internet, its users began to think that people actually gave a flying F about what their "Absolute" means. You like what you like. I guess I'm one of the dopes.. Maaaaaan.

[Varsity]

I heard that DX10 has some serious issues with compatability with other versions of DX, is this still true?
It's a ground-up rewrite with zero backwards compatibility, so yeah, you could say that.

[Stormwatcher]

Halo pc was kinda fun... Very nice combat, very bad level design, good story, awful port, technical-wise. It is far too slow for its level of graphics. But I liked it, and finished it.

It isn't nearly as good as Half-Life2, though. or several other PC shooters.
It did have som good game design things, like the whole weapon dynamics and the recheargeable shield.