Halo MCC Play-Through Part 2: Halo 2 Anniversary

Time flies when you’re having fun and I couldn’t wait to try the new remastered version of this game.

Now this story in this game is what sparked my interest even more along with Halo 3. It becomes much more in-depth and introduced me to what the Covenant are like.
I’ve always been interested in the Covenant. So, ever since they discovered Halo the hiearchs of the Covenant known as the Prophets of Truth, Regret and Mercy from the species San ‘Shyuum believe that lighting the rings will begin the Great Journey. At first I didn’t know what the Great Journey was until it learned it was what the Covenant believed would lead them to victory. One of the Prophets invades Earth and then humanity’s forces with Master Chief follow him to another Halo and he plans to activate it. But when I first got into Halo I played as the Arbiter in the third game so it’s no surprise I was happy to learn of his backstory.

Thel ‘Vadam (and he looks so badass in the remastered version of this game!) used to be Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice responsible for destroying Reach and he was responsible for the loss of many human colonies. Finding those terminals in the game got me on the edge of my seat learning more about what he had done. Watching him be stripped of his rank after failing to guard Installation 04 and being spared to become the Arbiter is a glorious moment. Then he is sent on a suicide mission to kill a heretic leader. But after finding those terminals yet again the good thing is that this heretic actually saw what Halo’s true purpose was. After Regret is killed, two are sent after Installation’s 05’s Index. Thel goes after it so the ring can be lit and Miranda goes after it. Betrayal from the Brutes I saw it coming, and knew Tartarus was not to be trusted. The Elites being booted from guarding the Prophets actually made me happy because all their lives they have been serving the real deluded ones.

Now look at Tartarus. Still looking badass as usual. Deciding to continue the Great Journey without the Elites. I never liked the Brutes but Tartarus is is an exception. I hate Brutes but I love killing them and I think that’s because I’m part Sangheili on the inside.

Here’s a screenshot of Rtas ‘Vadum remastered and he too looks badass (I’ve been using that word a lot lately). There was only one picture of him from this game so when I found a video of all the new cutscenes I took this and a bunch of other screenshots of him and Thel. They went viral on Tumblr shortly after. But this one is my favourite because he’s got his sword out. I seriously wanted to punch Tartarus for calling him a coward. Hey, if Rtas goes to fend off the Flood alone while the Arbiter goes to get the Index then he’s no coward!

The gameplay in Halo 2 didn’t seem much different but now that Master Chief has Mark VI armor I like it better. I don’t worry about a long fall being fatal anymore and my shields recharge faster. Unlike CE there weren’t too many frustrating moments like endless supplies of Flood (yes, good news is that their numbers aren’t great and, even greater news is that they’re fragile so can break em in pieces with an energy sword. But if they’re still in one piece when they’re dead the little ones can resurrect them!), time limits, tight driving where you fall out all the time, etc. Playing as the Arbiter made me feel closer to the Sangheili in a way, and his active camo can come in handy if you just want to speed run. Speaking of speed running I found the mission High Charity to be the easiest speed running mission. But I absolutely HATE the Brutes in this game. They’re too big and bulky. Good news is they don’t have shields, bad news is if you can’t kill them fast enough they go beserk and charge at you running like a gorilla. No wonder the achievements in MCC that relate to them have ape-like names: “Going Bananas”, “Dankey Kang” and “Go Ape Shiv” which I have unlocked all three of these. In Gravemind I would use my Needler on them until I could get a Carbine and once I had that I would just continue to shoot the head until they fell at my feet. Same goes for the other levels after that.

The graphics on the other hand are fucking amazing. You can even switch back in forth between the classic and remastered modes during gameplay, which is a good idea if you’re looking for those toys hidden in the levels from Delta Halo to the last level. But the remastered graphics make it so realistic like a like action movie, seriously if only there was a movie out of this.

Well that’s it for now. Parts 3 & 4 will be temporarily put on hold because I am going to see GWAR tomorrow night and will definitely be writing about that the day after but after that I’ll get right at part 3.

-Emily