Tuesday 11-May-2004 6:59 PM Halo 2 multiplayer - the closest thing to sex on an Xbox Jaw-to-the-floor gob-smacking: there's clearly no other way to describe it, as last night Microsoft and Bungie unveiled the colossal slice of gaming goodness which is Halo 2, at their pre-show jamboree at the Shrine Auditorium in LA.
With a release date now confirmed for November 9th by Peter Moore's tattoo, for once here was a game which not only lived up to the hype, but far exceeded it. In fact it was so good, it was almost enough for us to join in with the whoops and hollers from our clearly ecstatic and nearly orgasmic American cousins.
Almost.
Still, the level on view was supremely impressive and taken from the hell on earth war zone in eastern Africa, which we know today as Zanzibar. A quick fly-by around the level quickly revealed that if the original Halo's graphics set a new standard, then Halo 2 is clearly going to re-write the rulebook all over again.
We began on a deceptively peaceful and gorgeous looking beach in this multiplayer CTF level which pitted Covenant Elites against new human powered armoured warriors. The first revelation was that all players will be able to customise the look of their avatar on everything from armour colour to individual badges and markings to give your online personality a really unique look and feel.
Still let's get straight to the meat of the matter and open up with some of the new weapons. The human assault rifle was the first weapon on offer with triple burst fire in normal mode and a rapid conversion to single-shot sniper fire in zoomed mode. Impressive, but of course we already knew that Halo 2 will allow you to wield two weapons at once and after a quick demo of the assault rifle's firepower, it was switched to a needler and energy sword combo.
Yup that's right, the awesome close quarters energy sword is fully useable in Halo 2 and you can even charge up for a mighty special lunge attack which slices through Covenant Elites like a knife through butter. The needler has also undergone a transformation making it much more powerful and the Bungie rep joked it's now "actually worth picking up in Halo 2".
But of course every fragster loves a rocket launcher and while the look and feel is similar to the original game, Halo 2 introduces a new seeker mode, which allows you to fire and forget - almost. Target a vehicle in your reticle, unleash your payload and keep the target within your field of vision and the missile will track it through the air before with delivering an almighty payload. Nice.
Speaking of vehicles, Halo 2 also has further stunning revelations: every vehicle is now fully destructible and boasts impressive individual damage zones. You can shoot the hub caps off Warthogs, blow chunks out of Ghosts and every cumulative bit of damage will affect their in-game performance. Score a full-on hit on a Warthog and it'll throw out its occupant before cartwheeling through the air to land and be consumed by an awesome secondary explosion - lovely!
Not only that, but Ghosts also now have an impressive boost feature for when you need to get out of a sticky situation quickly. However we've saved the best untill last, because get close enough to a vehicle, hit the X button and the Chief will roundhouse kick its pilot clean out of his seat and hop in to take control. Marvellous and the animation is so smooth we could have watched it all day.
Bungie rounded things off rather nicely with a further fly-by around the level and far from the imposing though rather static bases of the original game, Halo 2's are alive with new features and movement. Certain parts of the scenery are fully destructable and at the press of a button, giant windmill-like mechanisms are set in motion to reveal hidden rooms and further secrets. Even the sequence which opened the base's massive entrance doors was incredible to watch and it promises all kinds of tactical nuances and strategic goals for the full game.
When you consider that was the first showing of Halo 2's multiplayer modes in action, then you have to concede, even at the risk of sounding like a drooling fanboy, that this is going to be one hell of a spectacular game.
Microsoft also revealed there'll be a special limited edition of Halo 2 which will come in a metal box and feature a "Behind the scenes at Bungie" documentary, as well as special features on the game's design, music and animation, including team commentaries and a host of bonus features.
Microsoft has signalled its intent to make the November 9th launch a global gaming event and on last night's evidence Halo 2 is going to more than justify the hype. We'll be going hands-on at E3 with a special, exclusive report later in the week, so Halo 2 fans, if you need to know more, you know exactly where to tune in.
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