Although I have never talked about it in a review before, it should be known that Halo is one of my favorite video game series. This documentary (included on a disc that came with the collector's edition of the second game) goes over Halo 2, its excruciating development process, and how much dedication is needed to make something that millions of people still enjoy 2 decades later. If you haven't played the first game (Halo: Combat Evolved), it is a science fiction military shooter in which the player assumes the role of a genetically enhanced supersoldier known as a Spartan. Spartans wear armor that is energy shielded, meaning they can't be physically hurt until the shield itself is depleted by either bullet based or plasma weapons. There are a bunch of spartans at first, but most of them are killed by an alien conglomerate known as the Covenant in the years leading up to the first game, until only one remains accounted for: Master Chief John-117. As Bungie employee and project lead Joseph Staten puts it, Halo 2 is primarily all the excitement the whole company felt at the end of the first game, but didn't get a chance to express. One of the most difficult parts of making any game is deciding how to implement what you're going to in the set time limit you have until the game needs to be shipped.
Halo 2 was originally supposed to be a much more expansive game, but corners had to be cut when Microsoft was facing Bungie with an imposing deadline of November 2004. Lots of additional features for the game were promised and up to a third of them were left out. The original Halo had basically served as the Xbox's killer app, and thousands of people would purchase one just to play that game. How would they exceed everyone's expectations and elevate the bar across the board for the sequel? For one thing, the point of view of the plot was changed. The first game focused on humanity's perspective, and how the Covenant's religious leaders declared a holy war against the humans for being an affront to their gods, the Forerunners. Much of the technology the Covenant uses is reverse engineered from this ancient race, and the Covenant believe that the enormous ringworlds known as Halos, thousands of miles in diameter, can be activated and make you a god. Only some of this was really part of Halo CE's story, and the alien perspective was never fully explored. To give insight into it, new characters and races of the Covenant were introduced, including the Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy (the religious leaders of the Covenant), as well as The Arbiter, who was the alien commander basically responsible for allowing Master Chief to blow up Halo at the end of the first game. The Arbiter's former title was the commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, and he was in charge of destroying the human spaceship called the Pillar of Autumn as it fled the planet Reach days before the events of the first game. Reach was totally obliterated and its surface cooked with plasma weapons, but the Autumn escapes and comes across the first Halo ring. The Prophets demote the former shipmaster for his failure to protect Halo and make him an Arbiter, a class of warrior sent on intentionally suicidal missions to hazardous locations. Everyone expects him to die, but over time, the rest of the Covenant see him as a savior.
I'm getting kind of off topic, but it is necessary to understand the changes made to the story to have a better idea of what Bungie tried to do different for the sequel. What most people overlook is how hellish Halo 2's development was. The game was made in a mere 10 months, and in 2003, Bungie needed to come up with at least something impressive to show off for that year's E3 in a hurry. E3 (electronic entertainment expo) was a yearly convention similar to comic con in which all the gaming press, developers, and fans get together for what is essentially a week long carnival, and companies show off what people can expect to see in the coming months in regards to video games. For this E3, Bungie put together a demo that was played by Joe Staten himself in front of a live audience. It showcased new weapons, the ability to have one gun in each hand, new vehicles, and even a vehicle boarding mechanic (jumping on Covenant vehicles and hijacking them). While fans were generally blown away by their first look at Halo 2, Bungie knew the entire thing was all smoke and mirrors. They did not come back from E3 with a playable part of a level. While the demo looked amazing and crisp, this was exactly the problem, as the xbox, in terms of its hardware, couldn't handle what Halo 2 was throwing at it. As the deadline drew closer, Bungie had to make dozens of huge changes to the game, including the removal of various levels, vehicles, guns, and other things. It wasn't easy, and more time would have been appreciated, but fans couldn't wait another year. Probably the most obvious indicator of Halo 2's rushed development is the final game's unforgiving difficulty. Halo always had an established formula: you run around as the ultimate human soldier and shoot at aliens, and later in the game, the Flood (space zombies that infect other races and become collectively more intelligent as a result). In the second game, this playstyle isn't really possible anymore, especially on the hardest setting, known as legendary. Enemies on this setting will literally notice your presence in about two thirds of a second and begin firing with atom splitting precision while only needing about 7 shots to kill you. It nearly eliminates the feeling of being a supersoldier like you were in the first game, and many fans not only consider Halo 2's legendary mode the hardest in the franchise, but also unfair and mentally exhausting. I have beaten the game on this setting and can attest to it. You really need to know it like the back of your hand to be successful. No other game in the series is this punishing, and the reason why is because of the rushed development. Halo CE's difficulty was calibrated and playtested by Bungie before release, ensuring a brutal but fair challenge, while the sequel is a brutally unfair challenge. Due to not having enough time, the developers simply ramped up the lethality of all the enemies, while not actually tweaking how strong they are. Despite their problems and setbacks, Bungie would eventually release Halo 2 on November 9, 2004 to critical acclaim. The game was so popular it was getting news coverage and sold over a million preordered copies before it even came out. Overall, it's an excellent game, but a very frustrating one, and if Bungie had more time, they would have produced one of the best games ever without a doubt (I think they still did).
I first saw this documentary around 2010 when I bought the collector's edition of Halo 2, which was rare even back then. It's a really good look into how a group of hard working programmers, artists, voice actors, musicians, and project leads put together something many take for granted. Every single track in the game's amazing list of music had to be composed and performed by people, and all the incredible lighting effects and visuals had to be designed by artists. Making environments and battlefields that manage to look impressive and wondrous from every angle is such a huge challenge, but I would say they achieved what they wanted. Also, the game was remade for its anniversary in 2014 and the graphics were upgraded even further. While Halo 2 itself might polarize people, this film will no doubt make people respect game designers more, since in order for games to be good, a lot of stressful work is often required.
Halo 2 was originally supposed to be a much more expansive game, but corners had to be cut when Microsoft was facing Bungie with an imposing deadline of November 2004. Lots of additional features for the game were promised and up to a third of them were left out. The original Halo had basically served as the Xbox's killer app, and thousands of people would purchase one just to play that game. How would they exceed everyone's expectations and elevate the bar across the board for the sequel? For one thing, the point of view of the plot was changed. The first game focused on humanity's perspective, and how the Covenant's religious leaders declared a holy war against the humans for being an affront to their gods, the Forerunners. Much of the technology the Covenant uses is reverse engineered from this ancient race, and the Covenant believe that the enormous ringworlds known as Halos, thousands of miles in diameter, can be activated and make you a god. Only some of this was really part of Halo CE's story, and the alien perspective was never fully explored. To give insight into it, new characters and races of the Covenant were introduced, including the Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy (the religious leaders of the Covenant), as well as The Arbiter, who was the alien commander basically responsible for allowing Master Chief to blow up Halo at the end of the first game. The Arbiter's former title was the commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, and he was in charge of destroying the human spaceship called the Pillar of Autumn as it fled the planet Reach days before the events of the first game. Reach was totally obliterated and its surface cooked with plasma weapons, but the Autumn escapes and comes across the first Halo ring. The Prophets demote the former shipmaster for his failure to protect Halo and make him an Arbiter, a class of warrior sent on intentionally suicidal missions to hazardous locations. Everyone expects him to die, but over time, the rest of the Covenant see him as a savior.
I'm getting kind of off topic, but it is necessary to understand the changes made to the story to have a better idea of what Bungie tried to do different for the sequel. What most people overlook is how hellish Halo 2's development was. The game was made in a mere 10 months, and in 2003, Bungie needed to come up with at least something impressive to show off for that year's E3 in a hurry. E3 (electronic entertainment expo) was a yearly convention similar to comic con in which all the gaming press, developers, and fans get together for what is essentially a week long carnival, and companies show off what people can expect to see in the coming months in regards to video games. For this E3, Bungie put together a demo that was played by Joe Staten himself in front of a live audience. It showcased new weapons, the ability to have one gun in each hand, new vehicles, and even a vehicle boarding mechanic (jumping on Covenant vehicles and hijacking them). While fans were generally blown away by their first look at Halo 2, Bungie knew the entire thing was all smoke and mirrors. They did not come back from E3 with a playable part of a level. While the demo looked amazing and crisp, this was exactly the problem, as the xbox, in terms of its hardware, couldn't handle what Halo 2 was throwing at it. As the deadline drew closer, Bungie had to make dozens of huge changes to the game, including the removal of various levels, vehicles, guns, and other things. It wasn't easy, and more time would have been appreciated, but fans couldn't wait another year. Probably the most obvious indicator of Halo 2's rushed development is the final game's unforgiving difficulty. Halo always had an established formula: you run around as the ultimate human soldier and shoot at aliens, and later in the game, the Flood (space zombies that infect other races and become collectively more intelligent as a result). In the second game, this playstyle isn't really possible anymore, especially on the hardest setting, known as legendary. Enemies on this setting will literally notice your presence in about two thirds of a second and begin firing with atom splitting precision while only needing about 7 shots to kill you. It nearly eliminates the feeling of being a supersoldier like you were in the first game, and many fans not only consider Halo 2's legendary mode the hardest in the franchise, but also unfair and mentally exhausting. I have beaten the game on this setting and can attest to it. You really need to know it like the back of your hand to be successful. No other game in the series is this punishing, and the reason why is because of the rushed development. Halo CE's difficulty was calibrated and playtested by Bungie before release, ensuring a brutal but fair challenge, while the sequel is a brutally unfair challenge. Due to not having enough time, the developers simply ramped up the lethality of all the enemies, while not actually tweaking how strong they are. Despite their problems and setbacks, Bungie would eventually release Halo 2 on November 9, 2004 to critical acclaim. The game was so popular it was getting news coverage and sold over a million preordered copies before it even came out. Overall, it's an excellent game, but a very frustrating one, and if Bungie had more time, they would have produced one of the best games ever without a doubt (I think they still did).
I first saw this documentary around 2010 when I bought the collector's edition of Halo 2, which was rare even back then. It's a really good look into how a group of hard working programmers, artists, voice actors, musicians, and project leads put together something many take for granted. Every single track in the game's amazing list of music had to be composed and performed by people, and all the incredible lighting effects and visuals had to be designed by artists. Making environments and battlefields that manage to look impressive and wondrous from every angle is such a huge challenge, but I would say they achieved what they wanted. Also, the game was remade for its anniversary in 2014 and the graphics were upgraded even further. While Halo 2 itself might polarize people, this film will no doubt make people respect game designers more, since in order for games to be good, a lot of stressful work is often required.