Halo 2 Anniversary

Play it on: Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Take on Legendary difficulty

Halo 2 turns 20 this month. I’m gonna try real hard not to think about that too much. And what better way to keep my mind off it than to actually play Halo 2—specifically, Halo 2 Anniversary, the re-release of the game found in The Master Chief Collection that lets you swap between the original graphics and fancy, more modern ones. I recently played through the game on the OG graphics, and I quite enjoy the new ones. They’re way more faithful than the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary graphics and are just pure eye candy. Plus, the Anniversary edition swaps that silly Breaking Benjamin song for something way heavier and way more modern

Upon my most recent revisit to Halo 2, I was surprised at just how modern it feels. I mean, compare it to something like Star Wars: Republic Commando, which came out a year after Halo 2, and you’ll see what I mean. Aiming is snappy, the physics feel remarkably predictable, fun, and modern. The lack of an aim-down-sites feature is about the only thing preventing Halo 2 from feeling like something that’d come out today (well, that and a decently paced single player campaign and a multiplayer devoid of microtransactions).

It’s a testament to just how much shooters are still living in the world that Halo 2 helped shape. There are very few dated mechanics, and while the later levels do feel a little undercooked to me, I’m looking forward to another trip through the game. My last playthrough was on Heroic difficulty…do I dare take on Legendary? Halo 2 can be really hard at times, so I dunno if I’ll be able to cram that into a weekend, but I’ll probably give it a shot. — Claire Jackson

And that wraps up our picks for the weekend. Stay sane out there!