Halo 2 [Xbox]

The wait is over, and it was worth it; Halo 2 officially kicks major ass -- both Covenant and Spartan, by turns -- and now the whole losing-your-life-to-a-video-game cycle will start anew for so many of us. Thankfully, the core Halo experience is left intact, every aspect just the way you remember it or slightly improved -- including the compelling story, flowing, hectic action, intuitive, reliable control, awesome audio design, and all the great little dramatic details.

Like its predecessor, Halo 2 doesn't waste any time: Covenant forces have arrived in a massive assault aimed squarely at Earth. Master Chief isn't having any of it, of course, and is out to bring the fight right back to the Covenant. He's sporting new Mjolnir Mark VI Armor (which features a fast-regenerating energy shield), and players can dual-wield their favorite combinations of guns.

There's no melee attacks or grenades while dual-wielding, but trust us, you won't be missing either when you've got Master Chief shooting a battle rifle in one hand, and endlessly hassling the enemy with the Needler in your other hand. There's just something about mixing Spartan and Covenant weaponry.

And it's not all about Master Chief, either. It wouldn't be right to give away too many dramatic particulars, but another interwoven story/campaign arc in the Halo 2 single-player game follows the trials of a particular split-jawed extraterrestrial with whom you may be familiar -- and right from the start of the game, he's having the worst day imaginable. Saddled with the blame for the destruction of Halo (from the first game), he's disgraced, imprisoned, and tortured before finally being given a critical mission to hunt down a heretical covenant fugitive.

But back to blowing things up: Halo 2 has new vehicles as well as weapons, and new ways to use (and misuse) them all. The Covenant have some particularly cool new additions, such as the plasma sniper rifle that can zoom to 10X magnification and smoke enemies at hideous distances. Deadlier still, with some practice, is the Covenant elite energy sword, which is now a player-wieldable weapon in both the solo and multiplayer games; it's melee only, of course, but it's vicious.

There's also the brute shot, which fires high-yield explosives that can bounce off a surface or two before detonating, making the weapon an effective, if messy, tool for clearing out lurking foes in cluttered environs. Even the needler has been given an upgrade from the previous game, from mere nuisance to an actual, serious weapon.

New vehicles include: upgraded warthogs, equipped with a new E-brake and mounted with cannon or rocket launchers, which have a nasty ability to lock onto targets; ghosts, with turbo-burst ability; and banshees, which have now become full-fledged combat aircraft -- you can even execute rolls, loops, and other aerial maneuvers, and use a secondary weapon to bombard targets on the ground.

Finally, there's the massive Covenant wraith tank -- this is one big, lumbering S.O.B. equipped with a massive mortar-cannon that lobs its deadly explosive shells in an arc and can be equally deadly against ground or air units. The wraith is introduced in a uniquely satisfying mission that takes place across the span of a massive bridge littered with barricades and swarming with vehicular attackers... most of which are killed with single shots from the wraith's gun. Awesome.

The control scheme isn't anything new (as it worked so well before) but the world itself has happily become a more, um, "fragile" place: Defensive positions, barricades, and lots of other bits of the local scenery are destructible, as are vehicles themselves if they take enough hits, so don't get too cocky behind the wheel. In fact, a determined player with good timing can actually board and hijack vehicles such as the warthog or ghost, right out from under their operators. We'll say it again: Awesome!

Multiplayer supports all major features of Xbox Live including online multiplayer modes for up to 16 players (each can have an individual box in LAN games), and the multiplay experience has been improved across the board: You can customize your character models with different color schemes (and team emblems), mix Covenant and Spartan forces (a little weird, perhaps, but still neat), join games in progress, and have your team game continue even if the game's original host leaves. The "party" scheme allows for friends who want to play together to remain in a cohesive group.

The expected multiplayer games available in the original Halo are all here (CTF, slayer, etc.). Among the new additions is the assault mode, a sort of inverted capture-the-flag... except the 'flag' is a bomb, and you want it in your enemy's base, not your own. An advanced new matchmaking system also shines through as an exemplary demonstration of how easy online gaming should be.

While Halo 2 plays amazingly well, there are a few nicks here and there -- the background visuals, a little on the flat side, aren't the eye-popping equal of the excellent level design, and things also look a tad crunchy when you're up very close. But if you have time to dwell on this for more than a few seconds, you obviously need to ratchet the difficulty up.

The AI in notably improved. Enemies will come after you, flush you out, and even take out your cover. But occasionally, you see an onscreen character doing something silly. Of course, the AI goof is a godsend when you've just "cleverly" jumped aboard a massive walking scarab-tank only to discover that you're not the only rider aboard...

In addition to the normally-available game, there is a limited edition metal box edition that includes a bonus DVD featuring a making-of documentary, developer interviews, and more. And yes, all that incidental battle-chatter and driving music is here, too. You'll even get a few laughs from the cinematics if you pay attention.

Halo 2 is a near-flawless fusion of solid gameplay and excellent presentation, filled with little details that make it a kill-the-light-and-unplug-the-phone experience. Note the mushy audio when you're fighting in the vacuum of space, or the Covenant chapter named "Your Ass, My Cloven-Toed Boot." If you loved the original Halo, check out Halo 2 as soon as you can get your legs to move. If you somehow don't know what all this Halo fuss is about -- you benighted creature from another universe -- check it out anyway. Your Xbox will love you for it.