halo 2

According to a post by a former Hired Gun employee, the team that built Halo 2 for Windows Vista "no longer exists".

First FASA, makers of the first Games for Windows - Live title, folded after the launch of Shadowrun. Now Hired Gun folds just months after the launch of Halo 2 for PC. It is a shame that both companies have gone and gamers are left with glitch-ridden games that need support.

Microsoft hasn't officially dropped support for either game. They still have a small skeleton crew on call for support. Still, I wouldn't bet on any future support for the games. Perhaps there is some content still in the life cycle pipeline. However, I feel that it may never see the light of day.

Having been playing the third and latest title for Games for Windows - Live, Gears of War (PC), I can say that it seems that game is also headed down a bug-filled path. I'll try to write an article on the state of GfW-Live gaming in the next few weeks after I've spent more time in GoW (PC).

But in the mean time, what is Microsoft thinking with these ports? So long Hired Gun. I barely knew you.

Don't get me wrong. I think HALO 3's multiplayer gameplay will play almost exactly like HALO 2's. Well, that's without saying how Forge (HALO 3's game editor) will impact online play. But for the most part, the game will be about dropping your SMG and looking for a Battle Rifle or Carbine.

There's a killer article at Wired.com that looks at the science and research that went into HALO 3. It's a long read, but it is very interesting. Any HALO fan will enjoy reading it.

There's also amazing quotes in there that back up a lot of what our staff said when HALO 2 was released (i.e., it wasn't finished and they detailed the release because of major internal errors). We took some heat from other HALO communities, but in the end we were right.

HALO 3 will be finished. So many angles of the game have been analyzed for thousands and thousands of hours. Thousands of hours of psychological research has taken place. Bungie has learned from the things they did right (and wrong) in HALO 2. They've also learned from Gears of War, Perfect Dark Zero, Call of Duty 2, and the other major FPS titles that have already been released for the XBOX 360.

The Wired article explains all of this.

Go give the article a read at Wired.com (link).

Update: It has been found. Someone posted the screenshot.

Amazing. Now we are getting reports that HALO 2 (PC) has been recalled do to partial nudity.

“It has come to our attention that an unfortunate, obscure content error which includes partial nudity was included in our initial production of “Halo 2” for Windows Vista. As such, we have updated the initial game packaging at retailers with a label, so customers are aware before purchasing the game. Additionally, we’ve developed an online update which can be downloaded from www.halo2.com to remove the content.” (via Next-Gen)

HALO 2 (PC) is getting off to a rocky start. My halo2pc.org forum is full of people complaining. Those that have the game are complaining about technical problems with the game and Games for Windows - Live. Those without the game are complaining that the game is delayed. Now this. I guess it will result in more sales, though. I mean...it's going to get a ton of free publicity.

BTW: I found an old Easter Egg the other day when playing through the campaign. Do Easter Egg's like these HURT the game by causing the ESRB to think: "Hmm. They put this obscure graphic in the game. I wonder what else they can do. Better look really close. Decompile that source code!"

(click image for hi-res version)