If you're a gamer chances are you're frustrated about the fact that one of the greatest games of all time still isn't available here in New Zealand. Hell even the console to play it on isn't available yet! Rest assured though it won't be too much longer before the Xbox is on store shelves here in New Zealand and Halo along with it. Just to get you even more worked up Bungie and Microsoft have just released details on the upcoming Halo 2. They haven't exactly been over generous with the details but the following press release should start to get that pulse racing.
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Halo 2 continues the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier who is the only human ever to successfully defy the Covenant—a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. To the mysterious leaders of the Covenant, the human victory at the ancient ring structure known as Halo was an unacceptable failure. They will not fail again.
"Halo 2" surpasses its predecessor in graphical beauty and combat intensity. "'Halo 2' is a lot like 'Halo', only it's 'Halo' on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas," explained Jason Jones, the head of Bungie Studios, "and the ninjas are all on fire, too." The Master Chief and his marine allies return to battle the full complement of Covenant forces, as well as as-of-yet-unrevealed foes.
"Halo 2" expands the Master Chief's already substantial arsenal with powerful new weapons, many pried from the twitching claws of his defeated enemies. This sequel also increases Halo's number of drivable vehicles giving players many more ways to speed into battle or explore the game's vast landscapes.
"Halo 2" is powered by a completely new graphics engine designed specifically for the Xbox hardware. "Our code squeezes every drop of power out of the Xbox," said Chris Butcher, one of "Halo 2's" engineering leads. "We're doing dynamic lighting and shadows, per-pixel everything, rendering gigantic, lush environments. The graphical features we're using are so advanced we don't even have buzzwords for them yet."
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Calling Halo 2 an eagerly anticipated title is the understatement of the year. Gamers will be beating down old ladies and small children to get their hands on this game. Expect to see lots of teasing from Microsoft and Bungie up until it's release. Rest assured we'll be grabbing every screen and every press release we can get our hands on.
