Halo 2 Review

Halo 2's multiplayer is one of the most consequential systems ever shipped: ranked matchmaking, skill-based ladders, party invites, and clans arrived here essentially fully formed, and every online shooter since has been iterating on that 2004 template. That alone argues for the S, and the campaign backs it up. Handing half the game to the Arbiter was a genuine risk that deepened the Covenant from cannon fodder into a civilization mid-schism, and dual wielding plus the energy sword made the sandbox flashier without breaking its rhythm.

The development itself was legendarily catastrophic, a full engine rebuild and a demo that had to be thrown away, which is exactly what the difficulty-to-make S records; that the wreckage cooled into this game is barely believable. The cliffhanger ending, cut content scars, and some flat-lit geometry keep story and visuals at A. Finishing the fight could wait; starting the modern era could not.