The entertainment phenomenon that conquered the digital universe is once again out to save the planet as the award-winning, best-selling Halo 2 is coming to the Windows Vista platform. Optimized for the advanced gaming features in Windows Vista, Halo 2 promises to revolutionize the first-person shooter experience for Windows gamers, as it did for consoles. With its classic story, enhanced visual presentation, multiplayer excitement and all-new Map Editor, Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers more game customization and new content than ever before.

Features:

• Epic Narrative: The saga continues with Halo 2 the international award-winning sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In this sequel, the battle comes to Earth, and Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier, is the only thing standing between the relentless alien Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.
   
• Exciting Single-Player Gameplay: Experience first hand the epic struggle between Master Chief and the Covenant armada. Brandish dual-wield weapons Covenant arms and pilot human and non-human vehicles and aircraft to battle intelligent AI alien enemies.
   
• Unmatched Online Gaming: Halo 2 for Windows Vista will tap into the power of Live Anywhere, a service similar to Xbox Live, to deliver online matchmaking for PC gamers. The service will enable Windows Vista gamers all over the globe to connect via their PCs and play on an innovative and competitive online forum.
   
• New Multiplayer Map Editor: The game will also feature the all-new new Map Editor, guaranteeing additional new, fan-generated content in the future. The Halo 2 community can now tap their endless creative potential to develop an unlimited number of user-created multiplayer levels.
   
• Complete Community Freedom: Halo 2 for Windows Vista offers gamers the freedom to host their own dedicated servers for maximum multiplayer action.
   
• Superior Presentation and Cinematic Excellence: Bring the vast, imaginative world of Halo 2 to life on the Windows Vista platform through higher-resolution textures and improvedlighting effects. Experience the unmatched cinematic quality of Halo 2 through the power of Windows Vista.
   
• Unprecedented Pedigree: The Halo franchise is one of the best selling and monumental entertainment experiences in history with more than 14.5 million units sold worldwide, more than 18 Game-of-the-Year awards, 750 million hours and 500 million matches logged over Xbox Live. Halo 2 was also one of the most successful entertainment launches of all time – including books, films, graphic novels, games and music. Halo 2 for Windows Vista brings this incredible experience to Windows Vista gamers everywhere.

Additional Information:

Windows Vista gamers will be able to experience the epic story of Halo 2 as Master Chief delves further into the mystery of the Covenant in the aftermath of Halo's destruction. What he discovers will soon threaten the fate not only of Earth, but of the Universe itself.

Bungie Studios was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and then sell enough of those games to achieve its real goal of total world domination. Over the past 10 years it has produced games such as the Marathon Trilogy and the first two Myth games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. Bungie's Halo franchise is an international award-winning action title that has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.5 million units worldwide, logging over 750 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox Live and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel, an upcoming film adaptation and more. Bungie is currently at work on Halo 3, which represents the third chapter in this Halo trilogy and is slated for release in 2007.

System Requirements:

• PC Processor Type Intel Pentium 4 processor
• PC Processor Speed 2GHz
  
• PC Operating System Windows Vista
  
• PC System Memory 1GB RAM
  
• PC Hard Drive Space 7GB
  
• PC Video DirectX 9.0-compatible NVIDIA 6000 or ATI x700 video card
  
• PC Drive Type and Speed DVD-ROM
  
• PC Additional Requirements Internet service required to access online features