Many players that started on Halo 3 could be forgiven for thinking that the infection/zombies game type started there. The result was a party game where the minutes would roll by as you threw yourself at the tower until you coordinated an attack great enough to defeat your enemies.
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Normally people avoided using the turrets in matchmaking since they were easy targets for snipers but in TOP, both the defenders and attackers would only get a shotgun, with no energy shields for their character. If selected in options, the main tower on Ascension could have a turret added to perfectly overlook the base’s entrance. Tower of Power was a popular one that I knew some people would play for hours. This is just one of the things that gave Halo 2 its unmatched variety and thanks to Halo’s enormous community they even came up with their own game types. Team Oddball on Lockout would play much differently compared to Team Slayer on the same map. Tactics that worked well on one game type would prove to be ill advised in another. On top of all the levels, each map played widely different depending on the gametype. Since I mentioned maps, there were so many great ones! Ascension, Lockout, Zanzibar, Midship, Ivory Tower and the DLC maps, Sanctuary, Relic, Turf, Containment, I could go on all day!
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Then there’s the game itself, the maps, the guns and the glitches (unintentionally) were seamlessly combined with one another. Many of the things we take for granted these days on modern day Xbox Live and Playstation Network were started by Halo 2.
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Console shooters at this point were still playing catch up to their PC counterparts and some games had a few of Halo 2’s features, but not all of them simultaneously.Ĭonstant voice chat was standard, but the ability to start clans, send and receive voice or text messages, a built in friend’s list feature, notifications for messages and invites, proximity voice chat, pre-game lobby groups, competitive matchmaking and ranking system made for an online experience that far surpassed its competitors.
#HALO 2 PC MULTIPLAYER HOW TO#
Just as Halo showed developers how to make a shooter on a console, Halo 2 showed developers how to make a complete multiplayer experience. All of these games were very popular but Xbox Live was still looking for that killer app, especially since it required a monthly subscription to use and their rivals at Sony also had online support.Įveryone knew ahead of time that Halo 2 was going to feature online multiplayer and seeing as how Bungie revolutionized console shooters with the first game, a lot was riding on them to do it again. Xbox Live released in 2002 with games like Unreal Championship, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and MechAssault. Halo: Combat Evolved was the game that showed developers how a first person shooter on a console should control, but at that time online gaming was still in its early stages.