[Uchiha Sasuke]

The game’s opening levels focus on repelling a Covenant invasion on Earth, but Bungie has made it known that the game will not be about saving Earth. The later levels of the game will almost definitely focus on the Covenant Homeworld (this is where the Prophets, mentioned below, will probably come in). “We’re definitely going to take the war to the Covenant in this one,” Jason Jones says.

Bungie has even talked about levels on the Moon, mining colonies, and other planets where atmospheric events will make a huge impact on the gameplay. For instance, on the Moon (if it’s Earth’s moon is unknown) gravity will be significantly lower, with the Chief being able to jump more than three times his height and firing downward while airborne will actually slow your decent.

Halo 2 will also reveal a lot about the intricacies of the story line. “I think they were so mysterious in the first game that people saw the Covenant as very flat,” says Jason Jones. “Nobody knew about their social structure or anything, but I had hoped people would give us credit and realize there’s more to the covenant than what we showed. We’re really expanding on them in Halo 2. There’s a bunch of the story we still have left to tell and that’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Jones also adds that the game will end with a kind of “closure;” in other words, it won’t just be its own story arch in the Covenant-Humanity war (as was Halo 1), but rather when the credits role the war will be very much drawing to a close. Does this mean no Halo 3? I don’t know; nobody knows. I doubt even Bungie knows.

What’s more interesting though is the way things look. The Master Chief’s “new look” isn’t just graphically orientated. It’s a whole new suit, similar in design and functionality to the MJOLNIR armor of Halo 1 fame, but probably more powerful, flexible, and durable.

Which brings me to my next point – Bungie has declared that Halo 2 will usher in a host of new abilities for the player. Ever felt like the good ol’ MC just moved too damn slow? Well cheer up folks – for in Halo 2, the Chief has a new “sprint” ability, where he lowers his gun and goes on a full on sprint for a limited time (5-10 seconds most likely). He can’t fire or strafe during this time, he can only run in a straight line (or derivatives, like turning), and doing any of those actions will stop the sprint. But this makes it useful for reaching those old weapons you left behind, or for bring the action right on up to the Covenant’s faces (not to mention the capture the flag possibilities).

Leaning will be a big gameplay factor in Halo 2, with the MC being able to look around corners “Snake-style” to see if there are any enemies. This should help the Player decide rather or not to come out guns blazing or to casually roll (which may be a new ability; rolling grenades instead of only being able to throw them) a grenade around the corner and plug his ears.

But leaning around corners isn’t the MC’s only new stealth technique. Lights! Remember those weird lights in Halo 1 on the wall, and if you shot them nothing happened? Well now stuff happens; MC can shoot out lights at will now, and you can actually destroy all the lighting in a room and make it pitch black (so it looks like you turned off your TV). If there’s too many enemies in the next room, considering sniping the lights out from around the corner and then rolling a grenade in. Whoever isn’t dead can be walked right by in the darkness!

Melee attacks take on a whole new dimension with combos that you can perform. Time your button pushing correctly, and the MC will smack the enemy around in style. Instead of just doing the same boring “pistol whip,” you can vary it by pushing the buttons with a special timing, so the MC hits down, then comes back up for instance. Also, each weapon will do different types of Melee damage (unlike Halo 1), with blades leading the pack.

Furthermore, the environments will be fully interactable. What’s that mean? It means that if you see a table, you can flip it and hide behind it for cover. Don’t like that tree? Shoot it to pieces. What about that rock? Push it aside to expose those pesky Grunts! It’s truly amazing what Bungie has in store for us.

But the new abilities aren’t just limited to the MC. The AI is reportedly going to be tripled in intelligence, so those stupid Marines will actually be useful. Remember how I just said you can flip tables and stuff for cover? Marines can too, and it’s not a preprogrammed script – they actually think to do it. And both sides – enemies and friendlies, will know the capabilities of an item for cover. That is, if you’re hiding behind plywood the enemy won’t hesitate to cut it down with a few Plasma shots, but if you’re behind a stone pillar they’ll suppress you with a few shots as they circle around for the kill. Enemies will also have the ability to turn items over for cover, and fire fights will be much, much, much longer than in Halo 1 due to their increased intellect. Enemies can also (and I’m thinking Brute [explained below] here) climb walls, pillars, etc. Enemies will be able to scurry around ledges and barriers with increased skill, and they’ll know how to interact with their environment as if they were real people. For instance, if they se an outcropping they can reach by climbing a ladder, they’ll climb it so they can get you from the higher ground. The potential “moves” they can make will be increased exponentially.

And while I’m on the subject of the NPC’s (non-playable characters), there’s a lot more improving on the Marines then meets the eye. For example, each Marine will be like the Prophets (explained earlier), except to a lesser extent. What I mean by this is that there will be MANY different types of Marines, specializing in their own area (special snipers, shotgunners, rocket launcher guys, etc.) and looking noticeably different. There is even talk about a radio guy!

Teamwork is beefed up too – in Halo 1, I’m sure you noticed like I did that Marines knew they had friendlies around but didn’t necessarily “use” their friends. They kinda did their own things, calling for help but not giving (and resultantly not receiving) any to or from their comrades. Not so anymore. In Halo 2, Marines will actually cover each other and act like a “squad.” Rocket launcher carriers will scour the field for air assaults and larger enemies, while the AR holder sprays suppressive fire to allow the snipers to get into place. And what’s more is that audio commands issued by ranking officers are actually obeyed in real-time; their level of interaction is truly astounding.

Detail orientation is also insanely high. Battlefields will be huge. It’s unknown if Bungie will bring out the NPC “creatures” we saw in the E3 movie of Halo 1, but what is known is that the level of detail is extreme. For instance, if you are dropped off in the middle of a battle, you’re naturally compelled to run towards it. But if you don’t and you decide to run away from it you’ll find mortar crews, snipers, and other people that don’t actually get deep in the fighting. And what’s MORE is that they’ll talk to you – talk to you A LOT (more than Marines normally would). What’s more interesting though is that you’ll come across Marines that are having problems that you can help them with. No not like a lame RPG quest, but like they can’t get from point A to point B because of enemy fire. So you can choose to help them out and lay some suppressive fire as they run (rather or not you’re a good aim dictates if they make it to their destination alive or at least in one piece) or you can choose to ignore their pleas for help and continue on their way. Another example is you’ll occasionally come across Marines who are too scared to advance. But with a few words of encouragement you can help them find the guts it takes to move on the enemy! Such is just a taste of what Bungie has in store for us. Why waste time on these details? Because they’re Bungie!

We’ll still never see the MC’s face. Why? “It’s not like it’s a big secret. We just want the player empathizing with him, and giving him a face would inevitably alienate somebody,” answers Lead Designer Jaime Griesemer. That’s ok – I agree with him.

Enough with the new though, what about the old? Well, Bungie has made sure to carry over most of what makes Halo, well, “Halo.” Here’s just a taste of what Bungie will bring back:

- Another Halo: “If you pay attention to the first game, you learn there are other Halos,” says Jason Jones. Jones also referred to the Halo in Halo 1 as the “Alpha Halo.”
- 343 Guilty Spark: “Guilty Spark is my favorite character,” is all Design Lead Jaime Griesemer will say when asked about his return. “He has lots of personality.” 343’s future looks bright, but it’s still not confirmed if we’ll still be seeing his annoying British ass in Halo 2 again.
- The Flood: A lot of people hated the Flood, but it looks like they’ll be returning in Halo 2 (their level of importance remains unknown – they might just be talked about, or seen in one level, or something). “Do you think we’d really wipe out The Flood?” Jason Jones says. “The Covenant have a long history with them. Some really cool stuff will happen there.” History? Covenant? I wonder what he’s talking about. I can’t wait to see how that develops.
- Keyes: “Uh, no, Keyes does not come back,” Griesemer remarks. Still, I wouldn’t necessarily count him out. Bungie has been known to “conceal the truth.”