13.10.2007

Before I review the game itself I would just like to mention some negative points other reviewers made about the game.1. Someone said you need a super processor, preferably extreme. The game only needs a 2 Ghz processor. I have Intel core 2 and with the settings ajusted correctly the game runs smoothly. The game even pointed out to me that my processor was only set to 50% of its potentual! The game is actually more RAM intensive than it is processor intensive (though my 1 Gb copes well enough)2. Someone said the game causes crashes and is buggy. I have not experienced this in the slightest. Clearly this was a glitch that the reviewer was unlucky enough to experince,but it is NOT a standard thing (as the reviewer made it out to be)I agree that the spec are a bit high to say the game was originally for Xbox. I also agree that 'Live' is unnecessary, as well as the fact that Microsoft is clearly trying to sell Vista by making the game only compatable with it. I do NOT agree however, that these are reasons to give one of the most popular games ever made one star out of five!!! I guess one of the problems with a game becoming super-popular is that some people feel that they have to tarnish its reputation.Now, the game itself. As you probably know, it is almost identical to the original xbox version (so there's no point in buying it for PC if you already own the xbox version). This does not stop the game from being amazing fun to play. Halo 2 is an improvement over Halo 1 in every way imaginable. Instead of trudging through identical environments, you are constanlty faced with new things that perk up your interest. I've only had the game for less than a day and already I've jumped onto a huge robot and destroyed it from the inside, rolled down a bridge in a tank shooting waves of enemy vehicles, sat on the back of a jeep aiming the gun whilst computer AI drives, flown an aircraft and had dogfights, and been trapped in a lab full of zombie-like mutants. So you can see what I mean about the game keeping your interest up!I have spent less time doing multiplayer. You can play for free, but you have to pay for gold membership to acess extra features. Signing up to live takes a while and is quite confusing (especially if you aren't familiar with the concept from xbox). But once you get going after finding a compatible server, you see why Halo is well known for its multiplayer.Overall, I would say deciding whether to buy this game is pretty simple: If you owned/own the x-box version, don't bother buying what is essentually the same thing. But if you don't own this game already, then buy this version with confidence, you won't be disappointed.

31.12.2007

Ok, well i didn't have an Xbox console until recently, so finally being able to play Halo 2 on my prefered platform, PC, was a treat. I followed the game through it's 14 month gestation, intregued as to what they were adding over the original Xbox, as well as being excited as to being able to finally play the game.I think some of the reviews on this game are entirely childish. Please, sensible people out there, ignore the reviewers giving this game less than 3 stars, it's completely unfair and not an indication as to the quality of this game.Right, my PC is: Intel Celeron D 2.8ghz, 1Gb RAM, Geforce 7600GT, Vista Home Basic.As you can see, it's quite a modest rig. However, luckily this is a fairly old game.

3.6.2012

Ok so this is my first ever review on amazon, mainly because there are loads of reviews of the products I have purchased that I agree with. But for Halo 2 PC this is different.A lot of people complain about it being difficult to install / impossible. To the point where I was apprehensive to take the plunge and buy it, which eventually I did. I first Installed it on my Macbook with windows 7 64bit installed, no hiccups, perfect. Since then I've moved to a brand new PC again 64bit.This time I had an error with this installation, but came across a fix which seems to work for everyone. Simply download the "games for windows client" before hand (if not uninstall the game first)

14.7.2012

Someone has already mentioned that you must ignore all the nubs saying this doesnt run on windows 7, FYI it runs on windows 7,64 or 32 ,vista and im not sure about XP. ( probably with a bit of tweaking)1) Download latest version of windows games live marketplace.2) Create an account / or log in with your hotmail email address.3) Run Windows games live and any updates.4) Install the game.5) Enter the product code key written inside the game box.6) Start the game -windows live will automatically ask you to log in.7) Thats it as far as i remember.All these fixes including swapping dll files etc are rubbish you just need to install the game and games for windows live market place make sure you

11.1.2013

Halo 2 was my favourite, and since Halo 4 isn't getting the updates it deserves naturally i wanted to play some Halo 2 again.Campaign, loved it. Great music, the title menu music still gives me goosebumps, classic. Using 2 different characters in campaign, telling two storylines, at two different times, switching between each mission is a nice touch. Can't wait to play it again!But if you've never played Halo, this may not be the place to start, unless of course you don't mind the older generation of FPS, in which case you should enjoy it. It also ends with a boss, which these days doesn't seem to be so common.Multiplayer for this game on xbox was legendary and pioneered some may say.

14.7.2010

First of all I have to say, that it is really fun to play Halo 2!Great story telling and the new features, like using two guns simultaneously are also a great benefit of this game.But unfortunately a lot of people have problems to play Halo 2 on Windows vista or Windows 7.I also had the problem and it took me several days to find the solution in the internet. Here now the guide how to fix Halo 2 if you also experience the Halo Live error to initiate problem.First install Halo 2 on your computer. I installed it on Windows 7 64 bit without problems.By starting the game a box popped up and told me,

31.5.2012

I joined the Halo community quite late, first with Halo 3 & ODST then Reach. Being blown away by the the artwork, atmospherics and imagination of the developers, and switching to PC I decided to give Halo 2 a try. Have had so much fun playing this game (legendary has made this one of the hardest games to beat, a welcome change to today's easy games) and could go on for hours about just how great it is (also note, I received a free 1 month Gold subscription which can be used on Xbox Live).There is one downside. Well two if you include the necessity of Windows Live Games (you must install this beforehand, google it). That is, considering this is a port, there is an issue in setting up custom controls for your keyboard and mouse set-up.

14.10.2012

Firstly, no issues what so ever installing and playing Halo 2 on a Windows 7 based laptop, as long as you've installed Windows for Games Live and have a Gamer ID - so what's stopping you from buying one of the best games of the last decade?I already owned this game on the Xbox format, along with just about every other Halo game, but after recently acquiring a Windows 7 laptop, I decided to buy this on PC format so I could still play while away from home - just to curb the withdrawal symptoms.The Halo 2 graphics are looking dated now compared to the newer next gen HD formats, but what do you expect from a game that's knocking on 8 years old? The gameplay however is still as slick as ever,

19.5.2011

Hello everyone this is the third item I've bought from amazon and the first I've written a review for.Let me first say I'm a huge fan of this game and I've wanted the pc version for years.For some time now I've been put off buying this game because of all of the people complaining about compatability issues with windows 7 and that the game "crashes" and is buggy. . . Well I can say that I've had no problems with this game whatsoever.instalation wasnt complicated at all!put the disk in follow the instructions, and then as if by magic the game installed without any issues. :)gameplay is great no problems at all and the game loads so fast on my pc.So please everyone,

15.4.2007

Having recently purchased this for the xbox, I feel it was a step up from the original Halo. The graphics weren't bad, and would be acceptable from the current (360, PS3) gen systems. Some of the things you can pull off is cinematic in quality, like jumping off a bridge onto the back of a giant 'War of the Worlds'-type mechanical behemoth.A graphical update for Vista is a plus, even though it will just be tweaking the engine. The inbuilt clan and friends system is a plus, and you can design your own logo and colours for some variety in multiplayer.Unfortunatly, shelling out for Vista can cost you, and the extra costs for playing games online is a bit of a kick in the teeth for serious gamers,

22.1.2013

I bought Halo 2 from an Amazon reseller back in April 2010 and I've just got around to installing it on my Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit machine (don't ask !)The game installed OK and I was able to activate it online but when I tried to run it I got the following error :"LIVE gaming on Windows failed to initialize. This may be because another LIVE Gaming on Windows application (such as Halo2 dedicated server) is running on the same machine."As per the comment below, I was able to resolve this by uninstalling the existing Games for Windows Live program and then installing the latest client from here :[...]I then applied the latest patch for halo 2 which you can get here :[...]After that I was able to play Halo 2 without any problems.

15.1.2013

I've just spent an hour trying to install and play this on my new PC. It can't be done without giving your personal details to Microsoft (such as age and your home address via postcode) Having gone through a Windows Live setup and a couple of re-installs I still could not get in because a needed a 'GAMERTAG' from an Xbox account and looking at the details it meant that a whole load of marketing people would have an opportunity to enhance their access into my life.... er sorry... "ENHANCE THE GAMING EXPERIENCE WITH HELPFUL BANNER INFORMATION" So anyway, Halo2 would be ok, as I've played on the laptop previously without any of these hassles, if you can get there.

23.7.2008

If you loved Halo 2 on the orginal Xbox, you will love this. Everything is the same as it was before. You dont even need a high end computer to run it.If you have an Xbox 360 with Xbox Live and is always after the achievements, I would say go for it. Its a good way to earn those extra achievements.All the people below me say it horrible because of the operating system (windows vista)and that graphics have not been improved...Its true but the operating system is brilliant and it runs ALL my XP games such as World Of Warcraft, Call of duty 2 and 4, Warcraft, Painkiller, Black and White 2, The Sims 2 etc.....Dont be blunt about the negative reviews, if you loved it on the Xbox,

30.1.2009

First let me start by saying that this is still Halo 2 in all its gaming glory. Virtually nothing has changed from the original, hence the low price on other sites and 3rd-Party sellers. It is still a great game, but the port is... well, crap. I'm using a 2.2gHz dual-core CPU and an Nvidia 8600GT, but still I'm forced onto medium graphics, which still stutter during cutscenes, and occasionally in-game - which are not good for a relatively new game. This was really quite disappointing. However, it is still Halo 2, and it is still a hell of a lot of fun to play! Buy if you're a Halo fan, but if you're new to the series, other games are better value.

19.2.2013

Got this the other day and just set it up on my pc, my product key works fine, no problems there,hard to realise how basic the graphics used to be :o only problem for me is its a pain using a keboard and mouse so going to get a wireless reciever :) if anyone is havign trouble with their game and product key, they have said they are moving it to june-july ish until the servers shut down so get on now while you can :)For people saying it does not load and you have to give details, this is false, i thought i had the same problem, but if you right click the game and click 'Run as administrator' it loads up fine without any problems :D

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