Family Video Game Reviews for Parents

Halo 2
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Official Site: www.halo2.com

ESRB Rating: M
Reviewed Platform: XBox
Available Platforms: XBox, PC
For 1 player.

Overall Family Grade: C-
Violence: D
Sexual Content: A
Language: C
Alcohol/Drug Use: A

What is this game about?
Ask most Xbox owners why they bought their console and you'll most likely get a one-word answer: Halo. This extraordinary first-person shooter became the genre defining title for the Xbox and gained iconic status among gamers in short order. Its main character, the Master Chief, rose to the rank of legend. That's why when Halo 2 debuted Nov. 9, 2004, it sold more than $125 million worth of copies on the first day alone.

In Halo, gamers played solely as the Master Chief. This time, they'll play as both Master Chief and the Arbiter, a disgraced Elite Covenant soldier who is publicly tortured and then secretly sent on a suicide mission by three of the Covenant's religious leaders.

The Master Chief and Arbiter, while soldiers on different sides of the war in the beginning, are both guided by a sense of honour and duty. Both see killing their enemies as necessary to fulfill their individual missions, until they join forces to fight a common enemy. They don't kill for fun or profit, they do it because it's their duty.

Is it fun to play?
Personally, I feel Halo 2 is a remarkable first-person shooter--one of the best ever made. The graphics are crisp, the audio impressive (save for not always being able to hear dialogue because of the loud action going on around you) and the action never stops. Because of that and the game's reputation, Halo 2 holds a lot of appeal for gamers of all ages.

What do parents need to know about Halo 2?
From a parent's perspective, the violence in Halo 2, when viewed from the context that you're playing as a soldier, is understandable. Everything that unfolds is a result of you doing what you have to do in order to survive. Enemy soldiers are attempting to kill you at every turn and so you have to defend yourself constantly. The question of morality never enters the equation.

You are not penalized for the violence you unleash and the killing doesn't have any deeper context than the fact you have to do what you have to do in order to survive all the battles you find yourself in. The screams of humans and aliens as they are shot reflect some semblance of Ôreality' in that they are not there to glamorize the violent end that befalls them, but rather to show that war isn't pretty and people do die.

Halo 2 is a game most parents probably wouldn't want their young kids or teens playing because they probably won't grasp the deeper concepts at play in the story. As for older teens, parents who believe their kids can put the violence and the themes of honour and duty in perspective may want to let them try their hand at it, but it would still be wise to participate in this M-rated game with them.