Easily Bungie's most anticipated game, Halo 2 is the sequel to Halo - the best-selling Xbox game to date. Although Halo 2's plot will remain a closely guarded secret, we can tell you that Master Chief and Cortana will be returning as will the evil Covenant, and that Master Chief will be called on to save the greatest prize in the Human colonies - Earth itself.

The sequel will include many of the features players have been begging for, including all-new graphics, new environments and locations, new weapons, vehicles and full support for Xbox Live multiplayer action. More importantly, Bungie promises plenty of surprises. Halo 2 will release worldwide on November 9th, 2004.

"Halo 2 is a lot like Halo, only it's Halo on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas," explained Jason Jones, head of Bungie Studios. "And the ninjas are all on fire, too."

Halo 2 continues the story of the Master Chief, the genetically enhanced super-soldier who is the only human ever to successfully defy the Covenant--a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Their defeat at the ancient Halo artifact was only temporary, and they are pursuing their goal--the complete obliteration of humankind--with renewed zeal. Human military forces are exhausted and unable to stave off the Covenant's rapid advance toward Earth. Even with the Master Chief back in action, the situation looks dire--and this is at the beginning of the game, before things get even worse. In true Bungie tradition, the solo campaign in Halo 2 deepens and expands upon the story that began in the first game: old questions will be answered, new mysteries will unfold, and the truly epic nature of the story will finally be revealed.

The Master Chief and his space-marine allies return to battle the full complement of Covenant forces, as well as not yet revealed foes. Halo 2 expands the Master Chief's already substantial arsenal with powerful new weapons, many pried from the twitching claws of his defeated enemies. There will also be yet more drivable vehicles, giving players new ways to speed into battle or explore the game's vast landscapes.

Halo 2 surpasses its predecessor in graphical beauty and combat intensity, thanks to a completely new graphics engine designed specifically for the Xbox. "Our code squeezes every drop of power out of the Xbox," said Chris Butcher, one of the sequel's engineering leads. "We're doing dynamic lighting and shadows, per-pixel everything, rendering gigantic, lush environments. The graphical features we're using are so advanced we don't even have buzzwords for them yet."

In addition to an epic single-player campaign, Halo 2 allows multiplayer via split-screen play, System Link, and Xbox Live.

"We still have the multiplayer game types that people loved in Halo, but we're planning something special for Halo 2," hinted Jaime Griesemer, lead designer of Halo 2. "I don't want to ruin the surprise, but imagine the essential Halo single-player experience: pitched battles between the humans and the Covenant, massive vehicle and infantry engagements. Now imagine that every combatant is an actual person playing over Xbox Live!" The Halo 2 online multiplayer experience will feature squad-oriented team play, real-time voice chat, and extensive community support.

Tonight at Microsoft's pre-E3 press event in Los Angeles, Microsoft's Ed Fries debuted gameplay of the long-awaited Halo 2. Fries welcomed a Bungie representative onto the stage to play through a bit of the game, and the eager crowd was treated to a lengthy presentation that gave us a good idea of the development path Bungie is taking with the game. Of course, you can trust our impressions of what we saw or you can see the footage for yourself.

As the demo opened, we saw Master Chief aboard a dropship as he descended into the East African Protectorate city of New Mombasa. Radio transmissions clued us in to the fact that the city was under heavy siege by Covenant forces. As the dropship landed and Master Chief hit the ground, the opening cinematic ended and the gameplay began. We saw an extraordinary level of scripted sequences and environmental effects as the player approached the battlefield. All around, there were limping soldiers helping others walk, medics tending to wounded troops, and dialogue occurring about the conflict at hand. Farther off, we could hear gunfire, explosions, and radio chatter--in short, the game was doing its best to give the impression that Master Chief was involved in a large-scale conflict.

As the player advanced toward the action, soldiers were seen running back and forth and firing out the open windows of the humans' fortified position. The player approached the ledge and used the scope on his machine gun to zoom in and take potshots at the Covenant troops on the ground below. At one point, Master Chief threw a grenade over the ledge into a crowd of enemies milling around on the ground, and the resulting explosion showed off the game's extensive use of physics as it blew not only the Covenant troops but also pieces of debris in every direction. The player then jumped onto a mounted heavy machine gun and started laying waste to enemies on the ground who were returning serious fire. All this time, a giant Covenant cannon far off in the distance had been firing on the buildings the humans were using for cover, but a radio strike came in informing us that an air strike would be dealing with the problem presently. Indeed, two human bombers promptly appeared and strafed the cannon, annihilating it with a precision bombing run.

At this point, Master Chief borrowed a submachine gun from an injured soldier and descended down to meet Covenant forces at street level, leading with his dual-fisted, John Woo-style weapons. After using this firepower to dispatch a number of enemies, Master Chief climbed onto the back of a Warthog and manned the cannon while an AI comrade drove. The player used the cannon to fire on and destroy several large Covenant ground and air vehicles before an enemy soldier leaped onto the Warthog and forced him off. The game then switched to an external camera angle, and in a dramatic move Master Chief knocked an enemy off an oncoming Ghost hover vehicle and took to the skies himself, using the vehicle's weapons to attack enemy forces. What followed was a cinematic chase sequence in which Master Chief barely made it through a large closing door at the end of a tunnel; pursuing Covenant forces, however, were not so lucky. Master Chief finally came to a stop just in time to see a huge number of drop pods falling from the sky and embedding themselves all over the city. Several of the pods opened all around him, and armored Covenant soldiers with energy blades stepped out. Master Chief armed a grenade in preparation for another encounter, and with a flippant remark, the demo ended.

It's clear from the footage we saw tonight that Bungie is amplifying the most positive aspects of Halo in its sequel. The demo featured an extremely impressive mixture of dynamic combat, ambient environmental effects, and scripted sequences that occurred as the player moved around, and all this contributed to the feeling that the gameworld was truly alive. The game's graphics are also considerably improved over its predecessor; highly detailed models and superb lighting effects highlighted the visual aspect of the demo. In short, the brief clip we saw tonight of Halo 2 has left us very excited to see more on the game, and of course as soon as we do, we'll bring it to you. Stay tuned.

“The year is 2552.” That’s how Bungie representatives began their brief demonstration of the company’s upcoming first-person shooter, Halo 2. The demo, which took place at Microsoft’s annual pre-E3 press conference, focused on some of the title’s multiplayer capabilities as well as some of the physics modeling that is going into the game.

The demo started with a brief look at the Spartan soldier. The Master Chief model is looking as shiny as ever. Halo 2 will contain some customization features for multiplayer, including custom emblem design for your armor as well as an array of different color choices.

Firing on a Covenant elite was up next. The game’s dual-wield functionality was shown. Basically, Halo 2 appears to have some of the same weapon-carrying limitations as Halo 1, but if you hit Y when standing over a weapon you can place that weapon into your off-hand for some serious akimbo action. Dual-wielding appears to be possible with any pistol-style weapon, and you don’t need to pair up two weapons of the same type. When packing a double punch, the two triggers work independently, letting you fire each weapon individually.

The game will also contain some melee weapons in the form of a Covenant energy sword. The energy sword has a basic swipe attack, as well as a more advanced lunge that really does some serious damage. When the Spartan attacked the elite, the elite was sent flying from the force of the blow.

The demo then moved on to vehicles, showing off the Warthog and the Ghost. You’ll be able to execute boosts in some of the vehicles, making for a nice dash in the Ghost. In a Grand Theft Auto-like twist, you’ll also be able to steal vehicles from other players by approaching a slow-moving or stopped ride and hitting X. The animations for the carjacking were pretty solid, showing the Spartan hopping on top of the Ghost and kicking the elite off.

Vehicles can be destroyed in Halo 2. In fact, they can also be damaged. Shooting up a vehicle will cause pieces to fly off of it, and that damage will also reduce a vehicle’s handling ability. When destroyed, players will have to flee from the wreckage, because vehicles blow up with a satisfying blast shortly after they’re damaged beyond repair.

A large segment of the demo was devoted to showing that the Halo 2 engine could handle some of the same physics-based reactions as other modern first-person shooters. When hit with rocket launchers--which now have a new target-tracking feature for lock-on shots--Warthogs go flying. Large boulders and other parts of the scenery can be blasted around. At one point the Spartan soldier even pushed the wheel of a broken-up Warthog around with the butt of his gun.

The entire demo took place on a map located in Zanzibar. The level was outfitted for one-flag capture-the-flag, and the level looked like it was set up for the Spartan troops to storm a beachfront base that was populated by Covenant players. A quick flyover the level showcased some of the other destructible objects. Turret emplacements and other strategic points of interest can be destroyed by sustained fire. Once inside the base, Spartan troops can activate a terminal that opens the front gates, making the siege a little more vehicle-friendly. There’s also a secret spot in the map that can only be found by blowing up a portion of the level and causing a large platform to fall into place, forming a bridge that leads to the ever-popular energy sword.

The level--located in a futuristic Zanzibar and referred to as Hell on Earth--appears to take cues from Unreal Tournament’s assault mode, or the objective-based multiplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, in that there seems to be a definite progression for moving through the levels and into the base. Also from Unreal Tournament, the game calls out players for killing sprees after you kill a specific number of enemies without dying.

Graphically, Halo 2 looked as sharp as ever. The models looked impressive, reacted to impacts well, and had that same generally shiny look that you’ve come to expect from Halo. The environment seemed large and looked more like a natural environment than a standard first-person shooter multiplayer map. Finally, things appeared to blow up really well--the destruction of vehicles was truly a sight to see.

Halo 2 is currently scheduled to hit the Xbox on November 9. We’ll have more on this game as it becomes available.

Behind closed doors, Microsoft is featuring one playable multiplayer map from its upcoming Halo 2. That's all the company has to show for the game at this year's E3, but you know what? It's more than enough. The proof is in the pudding with this E3 demo, which plays great, if familiarly, and demonstrates some of the important, but subtle, new gameplay features in the feverishly anticipated game.

Let's review the new features since the original Halo. First and foremost, Halo 2 will support multiplayer gameplay over Xbox Live, pitting players against each other in team-based and presumably free-for-all matches. The team-based matches will feature teams of Spartans (like the Master Chief) and teams of Covenant Elites. The two sides, though they look decidedly different, play pretty much the same in practice. They start off with different weapons--for instance, Spartans start off with frag grenades and assault rifles whereas Elites get the sticky plasma grenades and plasma rifles. But everyone can use everyone else's weapons and vehicles.

Most of the weapons and vehicles we got to see and use were from the original Halo, and included Earth's shotgun, sniper rifle, and rocket launcher, along with the Covenant's plasma rifle, needler, and plasma blade (which wasn't usable in the first game, but serves as a deadly melee weapon this time around). A single new weapon, a combat rifle, could be used for medium-range sniping when zoomed in, or for effective three-round bursts when not using the scope. As in Halo, all weapons--not just the plasma blade--can be used for powerful melee attacks. We especially liked the attack animation with the standard assault rifle, which Spartans used to deliver a walloping uppercut. There are some additional, new weapon properties this time around, especially in how the rocket launcher can lock onto enemy vehicles and easily take them out.

Vehicle damage is one of the big new changes in Halo 2. Most of the original game's vehicles were invulnerable, making them rather overpowered in the multiplayer. This time, though, there's realistic, location-based damage. You can pop the tires on the jeeplike Warhogs. You can take out the wings on the hovering Covenant Ghosts. Vehicles can blow up altogether, killing the pilot and any crew, and then--in a very cool touch--the smoldering husk of the vehicle's remains blows up one more time for good measure. Better stay the heck away. It's possible to carjack opponents by sneaking up behind their vehicles. This won't be easy in practice--we never managed to pull it off--but as vehicles slow down around certain choke points, we expect it'll be more than possible to relieve them of their drivers in a multiplayer environment.

Given all of that, coming off of Halo's multiplayer, we got the distinct impression that the Halo 2 vehicles were big, honking death traps. We found ourselves preferring to conduct our business on foot rather than risk getting painted by a rocket-launcher-wielding adversary. It's very possible we just haven't gotten used to the new feel of the game, but it's also possible that more gameplay tuning will help ensure that vehicles remain as deadly as they ought to be. Incidentally, the vehicles will have a few new tweaks, specifically, the Ghosts can now execute a high-speed boost.

One of the reasons we were eager to fight on foot is due to the new ability to dual-wield weapons. By forgoing the ability to toss grenades--a considerable sacrifice, since Halo's grenades are extremely useful--it's possible to brandish a second weapon and dump both guns' worth of ammo at your target using both the left and right triggers. Reloading is slower when dual-wielding, so this all-offense approach does have some distinct disadvantages. Additionally, as you'd expect, it's not possible to dual-wield everything. Bigger weapons like the rocket launcher and sniper rifle can only be used on their own.

The single map we got to play on seemed extremely well designed for a 10-player matchup. Titled Zanzibar, this map is set in an African outpost and requires an offense team to storm the beach and raid the base (with a Warthog and two Ghosts to help them do it) while the defense team must protect its single flag at all costs. The offense team scores by returning the defense team's flag to their starting point, and the defense team scores by repelling the attack for a period of time--in this case, three minutes. Teams switch sides in between rounds, creating a balanced and diverse gameplay experience.

The gameplay already has a rock-solid feel to it, and we got a taste of Halo 2's new audio effects, so we can tell you already that it's going to feature the same sorts of hard-hitting effects and stirring musical score as its predecessor. We were easily able to pick up and play the new game due to our experience with the original, but the relatively large Zanzibar map coupled with the new gameplay features and 10-player networked match, made Halo 2 feel decidedly like a sequel--like a very exciting sequel.

The developers at Bungie admit that the success of the original Halo's multiplayer was in some ways unexpected. But this time, the company--which has tremendous experience making multiplayer games, by the way--is obviously going all out to make Halo 2's multiplayer exceptionally good. From what we've played, we believe that's a very distinct possibility. We can't wait to play more.

Let's face facts: Halo 2 is going to be the biggest Xbox game this year. Maybe the biggest game, period. The fan base that has emerged around Bungie's original trendsetting Xbox shooter is nothing short of staggering in its size and its fanatical devotion, and now that fan base is beginning to slaver like a hound before the feast of a stack of hams at Halo 2's imminent November release. Anticipation for the game is so strong that even a peripherally related, Web-based marketing campaign recently whipped legions of fans into a frenzy without ever mentioning the game's name.

Even now, just two months before Halo 2's release, Microsoft and Bungie have remained viciously protective of the game's vaunted single-player campaign. Not so with the online mode, however. The secretive developer invited us right into its own offices recently for an afternoon session with the same multiplayer beta version that 7,000 lucky Microsoft employees have been pounding on for weeks. After a few hours of battling it out across five maps with new weapons, vehicles, and game modes, we must say that Bungie seems to be going well above and beyond expectations with Halo 2's robust multiplayer offering. And we haven't come close to seeing all of that offering just yet.

But then, what we have seen is just as substantial as some other games' entire online modes right out of the box. Online functionality is still new to this hardware generation, and Bungie's baby may very well redefine what it's like to play console games over the Internet. The multiplayer interface is being designed from the ground up to be as streamlined as possible, offering extensive options for finding allies, finding games, tracking your performance, and generally being as customizable as possible. We've rarely seen this degree of options in the setup portion of a multiplayer game before, and this thing isn't even finished yet.

Once you get past all these menus, you'll find there's quite a bit of game in Halo 2's multiplayer mode (as if you expected anything less). We got our first hands-on look back at E3, and we've since formed a more complete picture of the game's online component now that we've tried a number of new maps, interesting new weapons, and new multiplayer game types. Bungie seems to be doing quite a respectable job of maintaining the unique identity and feel of Halo while adding a whole bunch of new content to the mix.

Over the next several pages, you'll get a complete look at everything in Halo 2's now-discontinued multiplayer beta, from the new maps and weapons to the vehicle changes, updated graphics and physics, and a lot more. Don't miss an exclusive interview with Bungie team members Frank O'Connor and Brian Jarrard as they run down all the basics of the multiplayer mode, as well as a big batch of new screenshots.

Bungie wisely knows that while the original Halo's intense single-player campaign drew in millions of players, it's the multiplayer features that have kept those same players dragging televisions to each other's houses for all-night slayer sessions in the three years since the game's release. So to say the developer is paying extra special attention to Halo 2's Xbox Live implementation would be a terrific understatement. In fact, irrespective of the actual guns you'll be shooting and the maps you'll be shooting them on, the initial multiplayer setup--everything from the character creation to the friends list to the game-finding interface--was extremely simple and among the most elegant we've seen in an online-enabled console game.

Once you've created a profile, defining your online warrior is a simple process. You'll start by choosing to play as either a Spartan--you know, like Master Chief--or one of those wily Covenant Elites, and you'll get to define your choice of costume colors and insignia at this point as well. Amusingly, your choice of model has nothing to do with which team you end up on, so you'll often see a team composed of both Spartans and Elites charging into battle alongside each other. While this may look a little odd, the action is so frantic you won't have much time to care what your enemies look like, you'll only see what color they are.

In any case, after you've specified the look of your character and set up your controls, you'll get to search for a match to join. Online matches in Halo 2 will fall into two basic categories: official, ranked games that come as is with predefined map selections and settings, and custom games in which you can define all the relevant parameters, such as weapon availability, number of players, and so on. Of course, there will be something like a zillion possible combinations of these settings, so if you want to play on one particular map using only energy swords and grenades all the time, you can.

In fact, Bungie has devised an elaborate stat-tracking scheme that will keep tabs on just about every aspect of your performance in online games. Furthermore, your performance will contribute to a transparent experience level that you'll accumulate as you play, and you'll visibly gain levels over time that correspond to how well you play. We actually managed to hit level two on the afternoon we played the game, though we imagine higher skill levels will take much more time (and skill) to reach.

The purpose of your experience level? To match you with players of similar ability, of course. The experience system will be weighted such that the greater the differential between your level and that of your opponents, the more experience you'll gain if you win. Conversely, when you defeat players of lesser skill, you won't gain much experience at all. If you're a real stat hound, you'll be able to check out all your own performance numbers, as well as the profiles of other players, on bungie.net.

This leveling system has one catch: Only official games will contribute to your statistics and your experience level. Before you cry foul, realize that this limitation is in place to keep less-than-scrupulous players from artificially jacking up their level by exploiting certain game types or settings. Though the standard ranked games will be more or less random--that is, you'll have to prove your mettle on all combinations of maps, game types, and so on--Bungie will be able to run specific game-type tournaments with associated leaderboards. An amusingly titled "One Versus One Weekend Spectacular" was mentioned as a possibility so that players will be able to compete in these mini-tournaments and then (hopefully) see their names up in lights for that particular series of games--assuming, of course, they do well enough.

Regardless of whether you're playing an official match or a custom game, you'll have to find possible matches through the game's search feature, which lets you set up preferences and then looks for games matching those settings. In other words, there will be no lengthy, cluttered list of servers to scroll through; you won't be able to see a comprehensive summary of all the games running at a given time. Bungie views this as an antiquated and clumsy feature that doesn't serve the user very well, so the team has replaced the server list with a playlist feature that essentially lets you define a set of possible, preferred game types. The game will then do its best to match up one of the games you've specified in your playlist, so you'll have at least some measure of control over the types of matches you'll be playing. And finally, during the matching process the game will take into account the speed and stability of your connection to the host and peers of a given game so that you get the smoothest possible gameplay online.

Not surprisingly, Halo 2 will have full support for Xbox Live 3.0 functionality, which includes advanced messaging and clan support. But Bungie is going well beyond the basic features by implementing a robust friends list and party system that will make it marvelously easy to locate and play with other players that you know. Even better, it'll be equally easy to make new acquaintances as you play and quickly form a group of people that you want to play with--or against--all the time.

For starters, you'll have a basic friends list that you can pull up at any time between games. This list will show you which friends are online and what they're doing, and you'll be able to send them text or even voice messages asking them to play a game with you (or telling them to get bent, if necessary). The game will similarly maintain a list of gamers you've recently played against in random matches, so if you decide you want to keep tabs on that guy who just owned you so handily with the sniper rifle, you'll be able to access the list of recent opponents and get in touch with him. From the demonstration we saw, all of these actions can easily be accomplished effectively at the touch of a button.

The friends list is nice enough on its own, but an even more compelling matchmaking feature is Halo 2's innovative party system, which Bungie says is aimed at re-creating the experience of playing Halo with other people sitting on the same couch. It works like this: You'll be able to invite players on your friends list, or those who you've recently played against, to join your party, and this party can then access games as a single unit. The purpose of this party is to keep friends playing together across multiple games, so you won't have to worry about having one friend attempting to join your game and ending up in another, or other such confusing situations.

Just because you've got your little online clique set up doesn't mean that you'll have to shut out all other players. You'll even be able to merge your party with another party if you want to form an unstoppable gang for large-scale team games or a massive slayer match. Bungie demonstrated these party features to us once, and after that we didn't have much problem setting up our own parties for ourselves. Forming a party is entirely menu-driven and easy to figure out, so we expect this is a feature that hardcore Halo 2 players will use extensively to maintain the integrity of their online games.

Depending on your expectations, it may come as a shock to you (or not) that Halo 2 plays a lot like, well, Halo. At least where the multiplayer is concerned, that is; we sure can't comment on the single-player campaign just yet. Anyway, the multiplayer beta gave us access to three basic modes: slayer, capture the flag, and assault--the first two of which will be quite familiar to Halo vets. Slayer is, of course, the basic deathmatch mode, and it also comes in a team-based flavor that hasn't lost any of its frantic thrill. Capture the flag is also an old standby, and it can be played in one- or two-flag variations, depending on preference and map.

As a new gameplay mode, assault was the biggest surprise for us. This mode essentially works like a reverse capture the flag: The team on offense begins with a bomb that it must deliver into the enemy's base and then protect for a certain number of seconds before scoring a point. Once the bomb is planted, the defending team can run up to and defuse it, provided they get there with enough time to spare--which usually requires them to blast their way through all the people that are defending the bomb. Assault is a little like the demolition mode in Counter-Strike, though it felt decidedly like Halo to us. This certainly isn't the end of the new multiplayer modes that are in store; Bungie just wasn't ready to tell us about the others yet.

Once you're in a game, Halo 2 feels just like Halo, which is certainly good news for anyone who liked the feel of the gameplay in the original (we think there are a few of you out there). One of the biggest additions is the ability to wield two weapons at once. We've seen this feature in demonstrations before, but perhaps didn't appreciate its true import until we used it in the multiplayer beta. All smaller weapons--that is, pistols, submachine guns, and so on--can be dual-wielded together, with the left trigger controlling your second weapon so that you have to use both triggers to fire both weapons at once. The effect of ripping into another player with two magnums (the new pistol) or a submachine gun and a plasma rifle is downright devastating.

Speaking of weapons, it just wouldn't be Halo without a mess of new guns to slaughter your enemies with, and Halo 2 delivers impressively in this department. Plenty of the old guns are back, or at least, new guns that are very similar to the old ones. The Spartans have a new pistol, the magnum, which doesn't have a zoom mode like the pistol in the first Halo did. Bungie wants the magnum to be a support weapon as it was intended, not the superweapon that skilled Halo players have turned the original pistol into. The standard submachine gun is similar in functionality, if not appearance, to the assault rifle from the first game. Finally, the shotgun, sniper rifle, and rocket launcher have made their triumphant return, more or less unchanged (Bungie is understandably of the "don't fix what ain't broke" school of thought). One new Spartan weapon is the battle rifle, which is a no-frills heavy gun that can't be dual-wielded, but it has a zoom feature and packs a big punch with its burst fire mode.

On the Covenant side, we got to play with several new additions to the standard lineup of the plasma pistol, rifle, and needler. Our favorite was the brute shot, which was a giant sort of grenade launcher that fired a bouncy projectile. This explosive would deflect off of one surface and then explode on the next one it touched, whether that was another wall or another player. Naturally, the brute shot is excellent for taking out opponents that lurk around corners or like to hide in hard-to-reach places. The Covenant baddies have also been granted a sniper rifle of their own in Halo 2 with the beam rifle, which has two levels of zoom and fires a high-powered energy projectile. Unlike the Spartan sniper rifle, the beam rifle draws from a large store of energy and doesn't have to be reloaded every four shots, but it's just as prone to overheating as the other Covenant energy weapons. Finally, there's the menacing Covenant carbine, which has a zoom level that actually limits its rate of fire--but is lethal nonetheless.

And then, of course, there's the Elite energy sword that the Covenant has used to make Master Chief's cybernetic life difficult. In Halo 2 multiplayer, you can wield this thing for yourself, and oh, what a deadly sword it is. You might think it dangerous to limit yourself to a melee weapon while other players are running around with sniper rifles and rocket launchers, but then, the energy sword is basically a one-hit-kill weapon. Even better, when you're close enough to an opponent, you can hold the targeting reticle on him for a moment until it turns red to establish a lock, then attack with an auto-targeted lunge that essentially guarantees your kill. We can attest that some of our longest unbroken kill streaks were accomplished using this baby, and it's sure to be a favorite when the game is released.

While Halo 2's arsenal of weapons provides a respectable number of ways to kill your opponents, Bungie is also including the expected assortment of vehicles to aid you in stamping out the opposition. Naturally, we didn't get to see every vehicle in the game during our time with the beta, but we were able to try out enough of them to know that they're good stuff. As per Bungie's approach to the game's weapons, all of the vehicles (even those from the first game) are being carefully tuned to offer the best possible fighting potential.

The warthog was a staple in the original game, and in Halo 2 it will come in several different flavors, each with distinguishing characteristics that will revolve around the weapon complements carried on board. The warthog's onboard weapons can run the gamut from standard machine guns to decidedly more powerful fare. This time around, the all-terrain vehicle will feature an E (or emergency) brake, useful for quick maneuvering, and a horn, useful for annoying your opponents.

The ghost (you know, that deadly Covenant hovercraft from the original game) is back with a cosmetic redesign and some tweaks to its abilities. You'll now be able to perform quick speed boosts, which are deadly against the unlucky foes running on the ground. And if your ramming doesn't do the job, then you'll be able make use of the twin blasters that come standard on the craft.

The banshee is another returning vehicle that will be playable for the first time on the Xbox in Halo 2. Although PC owners had the pleasure of piloting the finicky craft in the PC port of the first game, Xbox owners will soon get to discover its appeal and challenging nature firsthand. As with the ghosts, you'll be able to perform boosts that can come in handy when directed properly. In addition, you'll be able to do barrel rolls and loop-de-loops, not to mention fire off a power plasma mortar, which makes for some exciting bombing run-style discharges.

The vehicles will also reflect the symmetrical relationship between the Spartans and the Covenant, with the addition of such powerhouses as the wraith tank. This massive vehicle is the Convenant's equivalent of the Spartan scorpion and it features a powerful array of weapons. The most challenging weapon in the wraith's arsenal is the powerful mortar blast it fires in an arc. Deadly to players on foot and immensely dangerous to anyone in lesser vehicles, wraiths appear to be a pretty kick-ass counterbalance to the scorpion.

One catch to this array of vehicles is a new set of weaknesses. While riding any of the above craft would appear to offer a clear tactical advantage (and generally, it does), none of these things are invincible. Sharpshooters will be able to strike the fuel cells on many craft and bring your maniacal dreams of victory crashing down to earth. To add insult to injury, you'll have to watch out for crash landings as well, since the vehicles can explode in a truly fantastic fashion and take you with them if you aren't careful.

A new, modern equalizer in Halo 2's vehicular combat is the ability to hijack yourself a pair of wheels, which we've seen in previously released trailers and demos. Although the hijacking system is still a work in progress, it handles quite well already, allowing you to snag just about any vehicle in the game through proper timing. We've seen, in previous footage, how you'll be able to knock a player off of a ghost, for instance, and hop on to it yourself. However, we were surprised and delighted to see this mechanic applied to such larger vehicles as the scorpion. In this instance, you'll be able to jump on top of the tank's turret and pound on the driver until he gets out to fight you, or until he dies.

Until our time with the multiplayer beta, we'd gotten a look at just one of Halo 2's maps, Zanzibar, at this year's E3. Our visit to Bungie revealed four more levels that varied widely in terms of design, flow, and visual presentation, so don't expect a bunch of Blood Gulch rehashes when you sign onto Xbox Live on November 9. The team wouldn't commit to a final number of maps, but did say that these five represent only a fairly small portion of what will be included in the game that will be shipped. Even better, new maps will be posted as content downloads after the game's release, though we weren't given details on pricing or availability just yet.

Anyway, enough yammering; check out new screens and information on the maps we got to try out.

Ivory Tower


In Ivory Tower, one of the most balanced maps we played, you'll find an expansive courtyard-like area at the center that's surrounded by multiple levels accessible by stairs and powered lifts. With the default weapons configuration enabled for this map, both the rocket launcher and the Elite energy sword are available in this courtyard, so the action tends to get extremely hectic as everyone vies for these powerful weapons. Plenty of less powerful arms are scattered throughout the outer halls, and the ledges that look down on the central area provide a great location from where players can use their weapons on hapless foes in the courtyard.

From our experience, Ivory Tower worked well for team-based competitive games, though it felt most suitable as an arena for free-for-all slayer matches, since it's essentially symmetrical and only has a few choke points for teams to fortify and defend. We expect players will identify their favorite map-and-mode combinations quickly after Halo 2 hits stores.

Waterworks


Waterworks is easily the largest of the maps in the multiplayer beta, and thus, it's the one best suited for large-scale vehicle combat. This level features two dissimilar fortresses that are set into opposite ends of a massive cavern and are connected by a primary walkway that dips down over a bottomless pit. Perhaps "walkway" is an understatement, though, because we saw a huge scorpion being driven over this connector more than once. Thankfully, we got to see a demonstration of a new vehicle-stealing mechanic when a teammate leaped onto the scorpion's turret and began to bludgeon the driver until he fled the vehicle. Both the ghost and banshee are also available here. The cavern's high ceilings seemed to make aerial attacks quite effective.

The two bases in Waterworks feed into networks of tunnels cut into the rock that are full of weapons and ammo. Furthermore, teleporters can whisk you between the upper and lower levels, which bolsters your defensive options when the opposing team is bringing a coordinated attack.

Lockout


Lockout is composed primarily of walkways and small platforms suspended over a bottomless pit. There is, in fact, no solid ground whatsoever, so make one misstep and it's curtains for you. The action on Lockout tends to center around one relatively wide platform that gives you fairly sure footing. Several walkways extend from this platform and lead to small towerlike structures and other enclosed areas above and below. Many of the platforms in this map aren't connected by walkways at all, forcing you to jump from one level to the other. Leaving yourself exposed in midair is really not the best idea, as you might imagine.

We played one extremely frenzied energy swords-only match on Lockout that proved just how tense the action can be when the threat of stumbling to your death is ever present.

Midship


Midship is especially interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, it was here that we got to try out two of Halo 2's unique new weapons: the grenade launcher-like brute shot and the Covenant's sniper rifle equivalent, the beam rifle. This map also demonstrates how the maps will be able to integrate objects with physics properties. There's a platform in the middle area that actually tilts under your weight, making it more difficult to jump up to a weapon-laden platform overhead. Finally, Midship is cool simply because it's set inside a Covenant ship with the prevailingly purple-alien-technology motif those off-world bastards are known for.

This map contains a lot of winding hallways and wall-inset platforms wrapped around a relatively open, multitiered central area. Much like Ivory Tower, Midship is generally symmetrical and felt most appropriate to us as a setting for intense slayer matches in a team or a free-for-all format.

Zanzibar


Originally playable at E3, Zanzibar is the one map in the beta that felt like old hat to us. We've learned that Halo 2 will feature a number of asymmetrical multiplayer maps--that is, maps that don't have identical terrain on each end. This kind of map is well suited to game types in which one team defends a fortified position from the attack of the invading opposing force, such as single-flag capture the flag.

Zanzibar starts off with the attacking team on a beach, where they are forced to squeeze through a relatively small doorway into a massive courtyard area equipped with turrets, sniper rifles, and devious machinery. In a capture-the-flag match, the flag appears inside a small enclosure that's easily defendable, so grabbing and returning the flag in Zanzibar requires extreme effort and team coordination.

Much has been made of Bungie's improvements to Halo 2's graphics, which represent a marked improvement over every aspect of those found in its predecessor. Naturally, we spent some of our precious time with the game scrutinizing every aspect that we could. Generally speaking, Bungie is coaxing an impressive amount of performance out of the Xbox with a higher level of detail and polygon-rich models and environments. The crisp detail on the Spartans and Elites will most certainly catch even the most discriminating gamer's eye. Everything from the subtle reflective sheen off of the Spartan armor to the flashy weapons' fire and explosions is well done and quite pleasing to the eye. The same holds true for the detail in the environments.

In some respects, Zanzibar remains the most showy of the environments we've seen, with its various interactive elements, such as the machinery in the interior of the complex, providing a good amount of things for devious players to do. The other maps have plenty to be proud of, too, thanks to a rich lighting system and imaginative level design. However, upon further scrutiny, you'll find there's even more going on underneath the hood of Halo 2. The implementation of a more robust physics engine has resulted in satisfying rag-doll death animations and truly awesome vehicle carnage, as the various craft take damage and explode with spectacular results. The downside to the new physics system is that you'll have to be much more conscious of your surroundings. Nothing will kill your sense of accomplishment at downing an opponent worse than being struck down by debris from the sky or the explosion from their wrecked vehicle. We were also pleased to see some more subtle uses of the physics, such as movable objects that tripped us up in some maps.

With all the graphical improvements and the added burden of network latency, Halo 2 still managed to cruise along at a respectable frame rate and with smooth gameplay. The work-in-progress nature of the beta lends itself to all manner of visual quirks as the game heads toward release, however, the game purred along smoothly for the majority of the time. There were hiccups in a few spots, but nothing that affected gameplay significantly. Despite the rumors and talk of the next Xbox on the horizon, Halo 2 makes an impressive case for the argument that there's still quite a bit of life left in the old Xbox.

The audio in Halo 2 was still coming together and obviously revolved around the combat in the levels. The bulk of the game's audio centered on the combat experience, with the various weapons' fire being piped through with painful clarity as all hell breaks loose. Each of the weapons had its own unique effects, of course, with our current favorites being the powerful boom of the shotgun and the electric thrum of the Covenant weaponry. Given the game's support for Dolby 5.1 and the impressive sound we've already heard, we don't doubt Halo 2 will offer some good business to those with tricked-out sound systems. On a related audio note, we were able to try out the upcoming Plantronics headset that's set to hit when the game ships, and, aside from the fact that we looked like a Time-Life operator on a killing spree, we were quite impressed with how comfortable it felt--light years better than the current Xbox Live headset, in fact.

Based on our all-too-brief time with the online multiplayer game, we have to say Halo 2 appears to be poised on the fabled "practically guaranteed not to suck" path that few games find themselves on. Bungie's commitment to offering the best multiplayer experience and the time that has been devoted to making that happen, are paying off in spades in Halo 2. Improved visuals, a robust and innovative matching system, a ranking system, and polished gameplay all add up to offer an experience that will likely be the pinnacle of the first-person shooting genre on the Xbox, if not all consoles. If you consider that the game's multiplayer mode feels so right, even in its work-in-progress state, and if you consider how impressive the original game's single-player mode was, it's not too big of a stretch to say that Halo 2 will likely live up to the hype and be the game to buy this fall. Halo 2 is currently slated to ship this November for the Xbox. Look for more on the game in the coming weeks.