Halation 2

Halo 2 is a play of subjective shooting developed by Bungie Software and published in 2004 by Microsoft Games on Xbox.

It is about the second episode of the series Halo. Microsoft announced to have sold 2,38 million specimens of the play the first day of its exit, it thus paid in one day, 125 million dollars.

Gameplay

The player is brought to use human ballistic weapons and extraterrestrial weapons with energy, it has a shield which, after “having absorbed” of the damage is automatically reloaded at the end of a few seconds. Attention however because, once the discharged shield, you do not have gauge of health: some shootings will be enough to kill you, contrary to the first play Halo . The management in the grenades, their launching and the way which have the extraterrestrial grenades to stick on that they touch make their use very interesting.

The play will also lead you to drive various vehicles, energy of the warthog (a kind of futuristic jeep armed with a machine-gun or a gun) to the Covenant tank-mortar, while passing by the extraterrestrial hunter banshee and well of others! The artificial intelligence of the enemies is excellent, your adversaries are really vicious! They circumvent obstacles to take to you with reverse, use very well the environment which surround them with only one goal: you to go down! Fortunately, this quality is also present at your allies navy, which will help you well throughout the adventure (Attention not to too quickly judge the IA without knowing the play: certain type of enemy, like the grunts , are voluntarily stupid! An elite, proud very intelligent warrior, will give you definitely more wire with retordre…). You will be also bring has to fight the " flood" (" parasite" in French), kind of thing puante containing three " under-formes" . One of these " under-forme" is apparently charged to find corpses of another species found on the ground to transform them into the 2nd " under-forme" who is a combatant (who with the appearance of the estropié corpse but and any yellow) but also to make revive the corpses " parasites" present on the place of combat without counting on a third " under-forme" who to create the first " under-forme" while exploding if one approach them too near or if one draws above (attention if there is grenades has proximity) it as should be noted as the weapons covenants are not very useful face has them (except the needler and the bazooka-mortar). The parasite is a frightening combatant. The decorations of the play are not in remainder: glacial environment, spaceships, bank of lake, cities, buildings extraterrestrial, ancient ruins…

The player is brought to incarnate the human super-soldier already main character of Halo like, at the time of certain missions, extraterrestrial (covenant Arbiter, in English!) able to become invisible for a few moments. This part of the play offers a different point of view to you on the war and, although you never face the human ones during this phase of the play, you are accompanied by new allies, having their strong points and their weak points.

The play is playable up to 4 simultaneously on the same console, to 2 into co-operative and is playable on the service Xbox Live of Microsoft on Internet. It is also possible to play 16 in multiconsole.

Advanced techniques of combat

Halation, second of the name, make it possible to the player to play xbox live ( to play on Internet ). The multijouor thus takes here his importance, the more so as each player has his own level from 1 to 50. There exist techniques of combat which, once controlled, make it possible to remain forever in first half of the score. Caution!! They are not the same techniques as those of Halation 1.

the double blow of stick ( duble ): B+X+B (coup+recharger+coup). If you made this handling too quickly, the first blow of stick is cancelled, take care of press on X once it reached its target. In fact X cancels the blow of stick precede. example: made as quickly as possible B+X+B+X+B+X ect… no blow will make badly in spite of the number of blow carried to the screen. The duble well control and fact without pressing itself too much, makes it possible to gain a half second on the normal blow of stick, what to make the difference.
blow of stick and shooting: This blow of stick can be made with all the weapons but becomes its extensive with the rifle and the sniper. B+X+R. Once the blow of stick touched its target, very quickly press on X then R and your weapon will draw without the weapon returning to its initial position after the blow of stick. That enables you to gain a half second.
not to reload ( unload ): L+X+R. The charger reloads himself while you draw. If you stop drawing one only moment, handling should then be started again. Explanation: this technique requires drive. The charger should not be full. Launch a grenade and immediately after tapottez on X as much as possible until the weapon which the MC hold returns in its initial place. It is a question of stopping press on X right before it returns in this place. Immediately after draw into discontinuous. The weapon all while emptying its ammunition reloads its charger at the same time. You do not have the infinite ammunition, this is why PGMs ( pro gamers ) does not use this technique. That goes only with the land rifle, covenante, and the land sniper.
To reload while launching a grenade: L+X. The charger should not be full. Any PGM which is respected will reload its weapon with charque time that it will launch a grenade. That enables him to have always a full charger. This technique goes with all the weapons and takes again the bases of the preceding technique. To launch a grenade and right before the weapon returns to its initial position: press on X.
the double shooting ( double shot ) is done with the land rifle. R+R+X. Press very quickly on R+R+X (or R then R+X) and the rifle draws 6 blow after. To kill an enemy it needs 4x3= 12 balls in the body of which the last in the head. PGMs kills an enemy with R, R, R+R+X and thus gains a time-saver. Attention, because after handling, your weapon remains inert a few seconds ( it cannot draw any more)
the double double shooting ( double double shot ) is done with the land rifle. R+R+X+Y+Y+R+R+X as quickly as possible. You need obligatorily a second weapon with the rifle. This technique avoids the disadvantage of the double shot, i.e. the inertia of the weapon following handling. It is necessary to make the double shot R+R+X then change weapon Y then to take again the rifle Y then to make the double shot R+R+X again. This technique makes it possible to draw 12 balls after killing an enemy 0.63 second. The disadvantage is to have a second weapon on is, which is not always the case on the xbox live where the players appear with the rifle for only weapon.
the kit of PGM: land rifle and gun with plasma. As well as a multijouor as in solo, this kit of pgm is the kit to be taken above all. Launch a ball of plasma charged on the enemy, change weapon and draw on its head. The rifle drawing three blows with each gusts thus multiplies by three the chance to touch the enemy in his brain-pan.
the superones: on each maps of Halation 2 as a multijouor, there exist points where the player can rise to a hundred meter. For the majority of super-jumps, it is necessary beforehand to be squatted against a wall inclined before jumping on this point. This technique allows if not to leave the maps, to have a good corner for sniper without risking large thing. This technique is décriée by strongest like anti-play and threatening equity of the play. She is regarded as cheating according to PGMs.

Halation 2 for Windows Vista

Halation 2 chose to follow the dangerous way borrowed by the first Halo there is that a few years. Indeed, him also had seen itself adapted on PC after having made the beautiful days of the first Xbox. This first and late conversion had not been done besides without evil since the title had seemed extremely badly optimized for its support of adoption, in addition to being logically exceeded by an abundant competition which had not awaited it to evolve/move.

Although the scenario does not change (compared to the version Xbox), the graphic quality of Halation 2 Vista return the things more pleasant to the eyes compared to its version Xbox thanks to new the DirectX 10. One can discover a clear improvement of the Shader (unfortunately more present in kinematics than on the Gameplay). The jouability on keyboard and mouse by defect make the thing a little more complex. On the version PC displacements of the character in the vehicles become a little more difficult than on the version Xbox.

The multijouor mode was also clearly improved. Thanks to the system " Xbox Live " of Microsoft, it is daurénavant possible to play directly with players of Xbox and players of PC.

Scenario

After the destruction of the Halation, Spartan 117, the Adjudant (who becomes Major in this episode), escapes with Cortana, the Artificial intelligence of a vessel of the CSNU Pillar off Fall and it joined the Earth then the Orbit station " Caire" to be there distinguished for its combat against Covenants and of the destruction from the 1st Halation. At this point in time a fleet covenante appears not far from the Earth! Although the fleet is lower than that which destroyed the Reach planet, the latter manages to put at evil the network of defense and succeeded in infiltrating in the station and to pose a bomb (which, thereafter, will be defused by Cortana with the assistance of Spartan 117) and reaching that point to the Earth (after the major destroyed a flagship) where furious combat engage for survival of the mankind. It is accordingly that starts the second opus of Halation where the Major is embarked in the vessel of Miranda Keyes, the girl of the commander Keyes of the first episode of the series, with the continuation of a covenant cruiser arrived to a new ring. The covenants prepare to activate the ring to begin the " Large Voyage" and, without wanting it, to destroy all lives thinking in the galaxy, the Major then remains the last rampart of the mankind…

Development team

Project Lead : Jason Jones
Executive producer: Peter Parsons
Engineering Leads : Charles Gough, Chris Butcher, Michael Evans, Ben Wallace
Design Leads : Paul Bertone, Jaime Griesemer
Art Director : Marcus Lehto
Scenario and realization of kinematics: Joseph Staten
Type-setter, audio realizer: Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori
Multiplayer & Use-Interface Lead : Producing max Hoberman
: Michel Bastien, Hamilton Chu, Curtis Creamer
Test Manager, Producer Bungie.net : Harold Ryan
Engineering : Hao Chen, Bernie Freidin, Bart House, Damian Isla, Jason Major, Eamon McKenzie, Chechmate Noguchi, Adrian Perez, Stefan Sinclair, Greg Snook

Innovations concerning the Xbox Live

Halo 2 enormously changed the ways of joining parts on Xbox Live. On the basis of the principle which the play was going to be strongly played of share the world, the developers thought of a new way of creating parts: the matchmaking . The matchmaking makes it possible to the players to play parts with very diverse types of play (and invented, for the majority, by the members of the forum of Bungie.net). Indeed, although the types such Capture of the flag , Slayer (where the goal is of fragguer as much as possible), Assaut (where the goal is to pose a bomb in the base of the opposing team) or Crâne (where the goal is to keep a cranium in its possession more the possible for a long time) remain the bases of the types invented by the community of Bungie.net, the types of weapons, the time necessary, the acceleration of movement etc can be modified by certain types of play. That makes it possible Halo 2 to be renewed quasi-systématiquement.

Moreover, the developers of Halation 2 integrated in the online game of the levels and the clans (the clans can be made up of to the maximum hundred players). Thus, the levels go from 1 to 50, but once level 43 reached, your level is not posted more through one number but of a symbol (a Sun, the moon, or a halation for example). The clans also profit from level but this level perhaps increased only when members of the clan concerned play mode named Clan Match (does not exist any more).

Various types of matchmaking

These names are not translated in the French version of the play. A short description of the mode is proposed beside their respective name. The modes followed by an asterisk are classified modes, i.e. a player profits from a level for each one of these modes. The not-classified modes can accommodate players not having an account Xbox Live with them and playing by connecting an additional lever on the console Xbox.

Rumble Pit * - 8 players clash of every man for himself.
Double TEAM * - Two teams of two players clash. (classified)
TEAM Slayer * - Two teams of 4 players clash, the first team to have killed 50 people with gained.
TEAM Skirmish * - Two teams of 4 players clash in combat with objective: capture flag, bends, cranium, king of the hill.
TEAM Training - Two teams of 4 players clash in random parts not classified.
TEAM Snipers * - Identical to the TEAM Slayer but the players do not have that weapons of sniper.
TEAM Hardcore * - American Rules, mixture of TEAM slayer and skirmish but where one has a rifle of attack to start.
Big TEAM Battle - Old BTB skirmish and Slayer
TEAM Swat - Identical to the TEAM Training, but without shield in not classified. This mode returned recently following many complaints of players. It is called Swat because it is the only mode which offers a very limited life and thus, a ball in the head and it is the end.

Source: http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Content.aspx?link=h2playlists

Modes

Halo 2 also became a reference FPS on console: it is the play more MOD ifié on Xbox. By modifying it (Xbox requires moddée) all becomes possible, to control vehicles nonavailable normally, to have new weapons, to create its own charts multijoueurs,…

The modding relates to also the online game (via Xbox Live) but so of the cheaters are uncovered, they are banished definitively of Xbox Live and will be able to connect itself to it never again.

Example: a fan of The Legend Off Zelda: Ocarina Of Time recré the universe of Hyrule extremely accurately, but with advanced graphics. The proof while clicking on this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZIwb_PpF8

New charts for Halation 2

They are two remakes charts of Halation: Evolved fights. They name Tombstone and Désolation. Tombstone is the resumption of the chart Hang' Em' High de Halo: EC, it was re-examined and adapted for Halo 2, because of the disappearance of the damage of falls for example. And Desolation is only other than the resumption of the Derelict chart, always in the style Halo 2.

Anecdotes

In the original version, it is the actress Michelle Rodriguez who lends her voice to the character of Navy.
Halo 2 was to be called in the beginning HALATION: truth and reconciliation.

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