Finally, it looks like the wait will soon be over, as Halo 2: Anniversary has been announced as coming to PC as part of the Master Chief Collection on the 12th of May this year – in just six days time.
Halo 2 was one of the Halo series’ most popular games, taking the original Xbox by storm with its leap into the online gaming world and expansion of the ever-popular Halo world. Not only that, but the soundtrack, arsenal, and player abilities were all souped up for the sequel to the eternally loved Halo: Combat Evolved, and now PC players will finally get their chance to enjoy the game when it launches on Tuesday the 12th of May.
What To Expect From Halo 2: Anniversary
While it wasn’t the surprise release that some of us expected from the title, the Halo 2: Anniversary release date still looks to be penned for an earlier date than a lot of people imagined as test flighting was only completed not so long ago.
Still, Halo 2: Anniversary is going to be a welcome addition to the PC gaming roster, with the likes of an improved campaign for players to enjoy and continue the story of Master Chief. In fact, the campaign of Halo 2 has been completely remastered with updated high definition graphics and textures that bring the game into the 2020s stunningly.
Plus, the game will feature additions to its campaign that were placed by the developers in order to string a more cohesive background narrative through the game – namely terminals. You might remember these from Halo 3, but in case you don’t, the terminals were hidden computers full of information about the background of the Halo world, the story of the Forerunners and the Flood.
Alongside terminals, players can expect to see some completely new cutscenes, adding to the overall story of Halo 2, which will, of course, be in the same updated graphics style that the rest of the cut scenes in the game have been changed to.
In fact, the Halo developers went above and beyond what might be usually expected of a remaster when it comes to different elements of the game – including the game’s soundtrack. The soundtrack of Halo 2 has always been praised for its expansion on the musical themes and ideas of the first – and Halo 2: Anniversary has a newly recorded score by the San Francisco Symphony to improve on the musical quality of the original. Bear in mind that the soundtrack isn’t changed, but re-recorded and remixed in order to match with the overall improved nature of the rest of the game – even Steve Vai and Misha Mansoor came back to re-record their parts for the additional tracks.
Overall, the campaign of the main game has received a complete overhaul that we know is going to be a real treat for PC gamers playing Halo 2 for the very first time.
Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer On PC
One of the biggest draws when it comes to Halo is it’s multiplayer, and Halo 2’s multiplayer was always critically, domestically, and commercially praised for its quality. Let’s not forget that the original multiplayer of Halo 2 only shut down in 2010, when the last player in the Halo 2 servers, APACHE N4SIR, was booted from the game.
So, what can PC gamers expect from the Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer? First off, six of the most popular maps from the Halo 2 multiplayer will be making their way to the Master Chief collections multiplayer playlist, working in the same way that the maps and game modes from Reach and Combat Evolved do, with players able to single out the Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer experience, or enjoy it on shuffle with matches from the other Halo games.
If you are wondering about the community loved glitches that inspired some of the original popularity behind the success of multiplayer in Halo 2, then don’t worry – the Halo 2: Anniversary devs have made sure to leave in popular glitches like sword flying in the game so that speed runs can still be achieved in the main campaign, and that silly glitches in the multiplayer won’t damage the overall enjoyment and balance of the game whilst still making a nod towards the bugs of the past.
As far as specific multiplayer modes in the Halo 2: Anniversary launch on PC goes, we will have to wait and see for specifics – though so far, the developers have been fairly consistent in introducing popular game modes into the Master Chief Collection playlists, even adding modes like S.W.A.T to the Combat Evolved matches – so we will have to see what is in store from the Halo 2: Anniversary playlists.
Halo 2: Anniversary PC Mods
We can’t speak too much about the state of the mods for the Halo 2: Anniversary PC port, but if the past few releases for the Master Chief collection are anything to go by, then we could be in store for community additions that expand the forge world, give players a third-person perspective, change character models or even add discarded guns back into the game after they were discounted by the developers.
It’s too early to tell what the modding community has in mind for Halo 2: Anniversary – but check back with us in a few weeks and we are sure that there will be some special or at least entertaining additions to the game.
Halo 3: Anniversary On PC
So, what next for the Master Chief Collection on PC? Simply put, Halo 3: Anniversary. Since Halo 3 never saw a proper release on the PC, and that we are now over 10 years on from its original release it’s exciting to think that we may be getting a remastered version of the game to play on PC all these years later.
It could be seen as optimistic to think that we might be getting a fully remastered version of the game for PC, but don’t forget that the Master Chief Collection is being rebuilt from the ground up in regards to the PC version – so there is hope.
And, whilst it remains to be seen exactly what changes are made in the Halo 3 port to PC, as long as the Master Chief dev team keep up the quality of work that they have shown so far we are sure that PC gamers are in for a treat when they play both Halo 2: Anniversary and Halo 3 when it comes out. Then, we have Halo: Infinite to think about, which was recently confirmed as coming to PC at the same time as the console version releases – so it seems Halo is finally getting its deserved day on PC.
The Master Chief Collection is available to purchase on the Steam store, and also ready to play on the Xbox Game Pass for PC. Excited to jump in, or concerned about what could be in store for Halo on PC? Let us know in the comments below.