E3 2003: Halo 2 Preview

By Kristan Reed Published 15 May, 2003

I want to be the Master Chief when I grow up.

If you have any lingering doubts on the merits of the Xbox, then we challenge you to not be astounded by the nine minute trailer of Halo 2. Truly, this extraordinary piece of footage manages to set new standards in real time gameplay cinematics.

'E3 2003: Halo 2' Screenshot 1

No, I am NOT going to play hot potato.

The opening minute or so hardly prepares you for what emerges over the course of the trailer. You start off thinking "same old Halo" as you witness the Master Chief's flight descent over New Mombassa, but any trace of jaded cynicism dissipates with one exceptionally well scripted sequence after another.

Upon landing a fellow soldier beckons you into the action in the fight against the Covenant aggressors, and quickly you're engaging in some quickfire sniping action, before manning a mounted machine gun which leaves the ground covered in purple ooze. Nice.

After a flurry of explosions, a wounded officer hiding from the chaos implores you to take his dual pistols, which the Master Chief is only to happy to do. The carnage count ramps up even more once you hop onto the back of a jeep, which enables you to do some on rails shooting while your buddies go on some reckless driving. The relentless explosions and general chaos around you is reminiscent of the most insane action movie you've ever seen at this point, with a massive scene of unparalleled destruction all around. Cars explode, flying enemy Ghost ships return fire; it's madness. The fearless solider continues to drive the jeep around the block, screaming "Who's for more?!" with typical defiance.

As if this fearless insanity wasn't enough, the Master Chief jumps off the back of the Jeep, leaps onto the front of a passing Ghost ship, knocks out the pilot and uses the Covenant's flying death machine against them, and by them, we mean a giant juggernaut of a flying machine. But it seems too much for even the Master Chief to take on, and the trailer cuts to a sequence where the "genetically enhanced supersolider" attempts to escape, partially crashing into the "Welcome to New Mombassa" sign before careering out of control into a sparking mess on the concrete.

And cue the finale. Dozens of purple pods rain from the sky, embedding themselves in the ground, before opening up to reveal an army of glowing sword wielding Covenant scum. Time for another battle it seems

And thus the presentation ended to enthusiastic applause, and justifiably. If Bungie can learn the lessons of last time around, and pace the game in a more satisfying manner, then this sequel has all the making of an era defining classic. Although we realise this is only a trailer, it did seem to represent actual gameplay, rather than some spurious collection of cut scenes like so many we have seen lately. With Xbox Live in there out of the box, we can't bloody wait.

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (48) Latest comment 9 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • La4z #1 9 years ago

    The trailer was indeed very impressive. I can see myself buy a Xbox of a poor fool down the line for this one.

    Ohhh. 1st post \o/

    Edit: Note spellyng
    Edited by 2 at 15/05/03 @ 10:59

  • Rico #2 9 years ago

    Be the first to write a comment for this article!

    OK, mugs!

    we challenge you to not be astounded by the nine minute trailer of Halo 2.

    OK! Where is it? =)

    I've just watched trailers for Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, and they both look absolutely incredible. The one really dodgy bit was in the HL2 trailer where the boards on the door break before the crowbar animation. =/


    edit: /me remembers that I wrote this forum to use HTML, not UBB markup tags. Hehe =/ Bah, and I took so long to post that I wasn't first anyway!
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/03 @ 11:00

  • Wobbler #3 9 years ago

    Am I the only person who *wasn't* floored by the footage of Halo 2? I mean it's good, but not *that* good! The scripted sequences reminded me a lot of Half-Life, actually, which is no bad thing, I suppose, but still.

    But yeah, I agree it is good to see actual engine footage in the trailer rather than cutscene nonsense.

    8/10 I'd say ;-)

    [Edit: Yeah, Doom 3 looks wonderful. Carmack can write fancy engines! Haven't seen HL2 yet tho']
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/03 @ 11:01

  • Rico #4 9 years ago

    Half Life 2

  • Blerk #5 9 years ago

    we challenge you to not be astounded

    I'll take that challenge. Like Wobbler, I thought it looked really, really excellent. But 'astounded'? Not really. Nothing that left me with 'jaw on floor' was included. It's fast, it's ultra-smooth, it looks like it'll be a right old laugh... but at the end of the day it's just a FPS, it's not the second coming...

  • FWB #6 9 years ago

    Give Rico a box of chocolates. Merci, dude. :)

  • Machiavel #7 9 years ago

    The Half-Life 2 footage stunned me, particular the appearance of the tripod. Not so impressed with Halo 2 - felt that the driving bit seemed a bit on-rails. Glad it's at least 'more of the same' though.

  • FWB #8 9 years ago

    I'm sure I read that Halflife 2 will have vehicles... land and air. That footage is sweet, the physics particularly. Loved the use of the table to block the door, shooting the girder support ropes so that it swings down on those creatures and blowing up part of a building so that it crushes a few more dudes. I am now looking forward to the engine.

  • Tiitiz #9 9 years ago

    Why the Half-life 2 comments in a Halo thread :/

  • Nemesis #10 9 years ago

    For WOPR
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/03 @ 11:39

  • FWB #11 9 years ago

    Cos its far more interesting? :)

    Plus this is EG, this is what happens here. We go off-topic. Its the law.

  • ralphwolfenstein #12 9 years ago

    So you’re shown a hugely impressive opening trailer using the in-game engine that seamlessly leads to actual gameplay – a standard FPS affair, albeit lit by some of the most impressive lighting yet seen, featuring destructible environments and a cast of hundreds displaying stunning, cohesive AI, which suddenly morphs into an on-rails shooter thanks to the skillful driving of your marine buddies and demonstrates just how vast the environments are, before showing off the unfathomably cool Ghost-jacking sequence and slipping back into movie-mode…

    But some people just aren’t that impressed.

    Because that Carmack – he sure knows how to write a game engine. Doom III MUST be pushing more polygons. And Half-Life 2 – I hear the new facial animation system will allow you to like, actually get EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED with the characters which is all I really wanted from an FPS…

    I had to think long and hard about what I didn’t like about the first Halo… I knew I wasn’t going to like it – the tricky thing was trying was trying to work out WHY I wasn’t. Curse Bungie for including all those damn cool features that showed exactly why the Unreal 2 school of gameplay just isn’t good enough anymore… Now they come at me with a whole new bag of fancy-dan innovations, which I’ll claim I’ve seen before, but actually haven’t…

    But goddamit, until they crack the old conundrum of how to look one way and fire with two pistols in two totally separate directions at the same time, I’ll remain resolutely unimpressed. Until I see a really nice bump-mapped security guard that is…

    :)

  • ralphwolfenstein #13 9 years ago

    Can I qualify that a little by saying I also thought Half-Life 2 and Doom III looked excellent too… I want ALL THREE

  • Tiitiz #14 9 years ago

    Plus this is EG, this is what happens here. We go off-topic. Its the law.

    I like sheds

  • Blerk #15 9 years ago

    Sheds rule!

  • FWB #16 9 years ago

    But goddamit, until they crack the old conundrum of how to look one way and fire with two pistols in two totally separate directions at the same time

    I fear that will not happen with the current state of computers. You'd need a virtual reality machine to do that. The closest you'll get at the moment is something similar to Elite Forces 2. In the demo there's a look button, which if you toggle allows your characters arms to move about (to a limited degree) without turning your head/moving your body. I can imagine it'd be very useful for camping/sniping.

  • ralphwolfenstein #17 9 years ago

    "I fear that will not happen with the current state of computers. You'd need a virtual reality machine to do that"

    Yes. That was rather my point...

  • FWB #18 9 years ago

    Tiitiz
    I like sheds

    Blerk
    Sheds rule!

    I've just had a huge deja vu of a deja vu of a deja vu, if that makes sense.

  • Nemesis #19 9 years ago

    I've just had a huge deja vu of a deja vu of a deja vu, if that makes sense.

    It's a glitch...

  • brutal #20 9 years ago

    didn't tomb raider manage to do that?

  • FWB #21 9 years ago

    It's a glitch...

    In my OS? Should I reboot?

  • Nemesis #22 9 years ago

    Sod Halo2 man, check out the texturing on these babies.

    Linkage

  • FWB #23 9 years ago

    Phoar... the things I'd like to do to the one on the right. They'd be criminal.

  • otto #24 9 years ago

    My shed's blue. My neighbour's shed's orange. He painted it in wood preserver so many times it looks like Judith Chalmers on Tango.

  • Blerk #25 9 years ago

    I don't have a shed yet, but I've been thinking about buying one to keep the nipper's toys and stuff in. And to get the lawnmower and the hedge trimmer out of the garage, so I've got more room for other stuff. Should I get one from B&Q or shop around online to find a custom-built shed that's more tailored to my requirements? Any sheds to avoid? What kind of features should I be looking for, bearing in mind that I may like to upgrade my shed in a few years time?

  • Nemesis #26 9 years ago

    Essex Boy Shed

  • Wobbler #27 9 years ago

    Carmack *can* write an engine - it's not pushing more polygons, but it *is* doing nicer lighting. Notice I said nothing about the game; if it holds similar to the previous id titles, it will reply on 'boo!' tactics and too much circle-strafing. It will look nice when you are doing it tho'

    Halo looked great, and had good AI, and overall it was a good game, but as the EuroGamer guys said, it's pacing was a bit off. But the footage of the 2nd one looks less of a radical leap than I would have hoped. But I'll be buying it anyway, of course! :-)
    :-)

  • otto #28 9 years ago

    Linkage 1
    Linkage 2
    Linkage 3
    Linkage 4
    Linkage 5

    My shed was already in there when I bought the house - I just painted it blue. But a DIY one from B&Q should do you proud. Either way, a shed's a must.

  • Blerk #29 9 years ago

    Any of those links NSFW, otto?

  • Nemesis #30 9 years ago

    Billy Bailey Quote...

    Ah, the word "shed". Sheds are something he is very intrigued by. So much so that there was actually a shed game on his last DVD.

    "Yeah, that's right. I think it's the world's first interactive shed game. I've had a lot of positive feedback about the shed game."

  • otto #31 9 years ago

    The last one's borderline. ;)

  • Midnight_Raven #32 9 years ago

    I don´t see what the Halo 2 vs. Half-Life 2 vs Doom III debate is all about... shouldn´t we be happy that some really nice-looking games are coming up (although I have big doubts about Doom III, personally, which so far seems to be generic FPS material with stunning graphics)?

  • FWB #33 9 years ago

    otto, please tell me you don't have those links bookmarked?

  • otto #34 9 years ago

    Excuse me, do you mind, we're discussing sheds.

  • Nemesis #35 9 years ago

    My shed was already in there when I bought the house - I just painted it blue. But a DIY one from B&Q should do you proud. Either way, a shed's a must.

    A darkish kinda blue, almost PURPLE. Oh no. Shed GC conversion nutter on the comments section. Run, run for your liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives.

  • otto #36 9 years ago

    You can just spot my shed in the background here. That was a couple of years ago - it's covered in climbing roses now. 'Snice.

  • Nemesis #37 9 years ago

    THAT'S PURPLE!

  • Blerk #38 9 years ago

    Of course, the very best thing about me getting a shed would be that there would be a shed-size area of grass that no longer needed mowing! Hence... I want a big-ass shed!

  • Rico #39 9 years ago

    All the Halflife 2 comments are only here to distract attention away from Halo 2, cause thats the way GC fanboys cope with such things

    Of course, what with John Carmack writing Half-Life 2, and all.

    I passed comment on the Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 trailers since I saw them both this morning. On the other hand, I haven't seen the Halo 2 trailer, since despite challenging me "to not be astounded by the nine minute trailer", Kristan didn't think to help me along by inclusing a link to it. I've tried http://h alo.bungie.org/e3trailermirrors.html (E3 2000 trailer for the original Halo was there, but no Halo 2), I've had a look on www.xbox.com, and shugashack but if the links are there, I can't bloomin' see 'em. For someone that supposedly works within gaming, I really have my finger on the pulse, don't I? =)

  • Rico #40 9 years ago

    Hmm, this takes me back to my days lurking in uk.rec.sheds.

  • otto #41 9 years ago

    There's one up for adoption in Evesham, apparently.

    Oh, too late.

    That's not purple, that's Titchmarsh Blue if memory serves. And Rico yes I remember you from uk.rec.sheds, you were the Homebase fanboy weren't you? Kept trolling about Cuprinol being the best stain ever. Sadolin is dead.

  • DaM #42 9 years ago


    One of the badger victims speaks out
    What is beast- he truly is rougher than his arse!

  • DaM #43 9 years ago

    Shed wise, my wife has dug moved tons of earth and built a retaining wall to provide a spot for a shed...while I've been playing Metroid Prime...
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/03 @ 14:45

  • otto #44 9 years ago

    "The house is still spattered with blood and there's a bit of arm flesh on the front door. The whole thing has been traumatic," he said.

    "I have two cocker spaniels at home which were thankfully in bed when this happened otherwise I don't think they would be alive."

    Laughing. my. arse. off.

  • Nemesis #45 9 years ago

    The badger could clearly be heard screaming "Snouts of Justice Clan Aiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee" before launching the killer combo move.

  • DrCongo #46 9 years ago

    Badgers, eh?

    That reminds me (not really, but anyway), a squirrel once bit me on my toe when I was little. True story, that.

  • lost_soul #47 9 years ago

    This a Halo2 thread???

    I think you're mistaken, this is a shed thread, some posters tried to take it off topic and started talking about Halo2, but I think we've got it back onto the right trrack now.

    If I don't find a new place to rent soon, I might actually get to live in a shed! How cool would that be?

  • Lutz #48 9 years ago

    Quote from FWB: I fear that will not happen with the current state of computers. You'd need a virtual reality machine to do that. The closest you'll get at the moment is something similar to Elite Forces 2. In the demo there's a look button, which if you toggle allows your characters arms to move about (to a limited degree) without turning your head/moving your body. I can imagine it'd be very useful for camping/sniping

    There's a game wher eyou can do this properly, Steel Battalion. No shit, but it's bloody hard to get any good at it.

    Halo 2, saw the trailer, grabed the curtains.