No-one could have predicted the impact Halo has made on console gaming since its release last November, and one shudders to think where Xbox, after difficult starts in Japan and Europe, would be without Bungie's masterpiece.
But ten months on and Halo is still one of the most enjoyed, beloved titles on any format, and even the slightest shadow of a mention of the sequel is seized upon by fans like starving vultures stabbing their claws into a still-warm corpse.
Fevered cravings were momentarily sated by the recent teaser trailer, which promised the Earth but in truth delivered very little other than a moody cut-scene, but the mists of obfuscation have lifted and the impenetrable gates of Fort Bungie opened as the first concrete details of Halo 2 are released.
Bungie's focus is very simple: to build on what made Halo such a great game, with particular attention paid to AI and environments. One of the few, though oft heard criticisms levelled at Halo was the frequent repetition of environments in sections of the game. For the sequel, a far wider range of environments will feature, a structural detail and design will be expanded and improved to avoid the problems of the original.
Notwithstanding the highly laudable AI of the first game, Bungie is setting its sights on greater things, re-writing this element of the software to create a deeper, more cerebral experience. Rather than single enemies responding to your actions, in Halo 2 entire squads of enemies will co-ordinate to attack, making full use of whatever environmental features and vehicles may lie nearby.
And you'll have to familiarise yourself with an entirely new, non-Covenant species known as Brutes, which will function in a similar way to the Flood in Halo. But to your advantage, new weapons and vehicles are ready for action. A new sniper rifle and machine gun are available, and, as with the first game, the emphasis is on balance rather than quantity or willy-waving pyrotechnics.
And if you had fun thrashing across terrain in the Wart Hog, look forward to even greater off-road delights as Snow Hog (sealed cockpit with doors), Jungle Hog (camouflage design with protective bars), and Troop Hog (transport for six) join the line-up. And the addition of these vehicles will doubtless have an impact on the multiplayer side of the game.
Speaking of which, Halo 2 will naturally be fully supported by Microsoft's Xbox Live service, with Bungie's focus on recreating the tension of the one-player experience online. To whit, squad-based fighting and co-operation is emphasised rather than wayward, isolated deathmatches.
One of the great strengths of the original was its constantly engaging sci-fi narrative, and Halo 2 shouldn't disappoint. Halo frequently hinted at wider issues of greater import, and Halo 2 promises to delve deeper into the mystery of the Covenant and its assault on humanity.
The Master Chief and the Cortana take centre stage once again. After the events of Halo, the Master Chief returned to Earth, but the Covenant continued its relentless attack on our species, wiping out the last remaining human colonies before homing in on its ultimate target: Earth.
Master Chief is therefore required to journey into the very heart of the Covenant's empire to avoid the destruction of the human race. As players progress through the game, details of how the Covenant functions will become apparent. For instance, you discover their society is split into two faction: Elites (military) and Prophets (religion and politics), with Halo 2 giving us the first sight of the spiritual side of their species.
Excited? Of course you are, as is the rest of the world. The pressure on Bungie to come up with the goods must be almost unbearable, but early signs are highly encouraging. With a current release date of winter 2003, there's a way to go yet, but it will surely be worth the wait...
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