Microsoft and 343 Industries have finally released Halo 2: Anniversary on PC as part of the growing Master Chief Collection.
The developer is slowly but surely releasing every game in the shooter franchise for the platform, having started with Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Reach in previous months.
Now, the time has finally come for Halo 2: Anniversary to arrive, which is arguably the series’ finest hour for a lot of players. It saw the dawn of online multiplayer on Xbox Live alongside a fantastic solo campaign. We still can’t get over that cliffhanger.
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First launching in 2004 for the original Xbox, and receiving an underwhelming Windows Vista port in 2007, Halo 2 is now receiving the love it deserved on the most powerful gaming platform. Anniversary is arguably the best way to experience it, too.
The faithful remaster includes some truly gorgeous visuals alongside fully remade cutscenes which set a new benchmark in CG photorealism for the franchise. Despite launching a handful of years ago, it still manages to look rather stunning.
PC players can expect a number of enhancements that can’t be found on other platforms such as increased resolution, visual features and performance improvements. If your hardware can handle it, this is the best Halo 2 has ever looked.
You can gain access to Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC by purchasing it on Steam or the Microsoft Store. Alternatively, it’s also available on Xbox Game Pass where active subscribers won’t need to pay a penny. You may need to jump through a few hoops to get multiplayer working between them, though.
With the arrival of Halo 2: Anniversary, that leaves three games remaining to be ported. Halo 3, 4 and ODST will likely arrive in the coming months, and our money is on them coming sooner rather than later.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.