Halo 2

Halo 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released for the Xbox in 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2's story mode, the player assumes the roles of the human supersoldier Master Chief and disgraced alien commander Arbiter in a 26th-century conflict between the United Nations Space Command, the genocidal Covenant, and later, the parasitic Flood.

After the success of Halo: Combat Evolved, a sequel was expected and highly anticipated. Bungie found inspiration in plot points and gameplay elements that had been left out of their first game, including online multiplayer. A troubled development and time constraints forced cuts to the scope of the game, including the wholesale removal of a more ambitious multiplayer mode, and necessitated a cliffhanger ending to the game's campaign mode. Among Halo 2's marketing was an early alternate reality game called "I Love Bees" that involved players solving real-world puzzles. The gameplay is similar to its predecessor, while featuring new weapons, enemies, vehicles, and gameplay elements, most notably dual wielding certain weapons. The game additionally shipped with online multiplayer via Microsoft's Xbox Live service.