Halo 2
After an extended hiatus where no worthy new games came my way, I got my hands on a copy of Halo 2 that runs on my XP machine. Don't ask where I got it.
I enjoyed the first Halo when it arrived for PC, as I refuse to play shooters on a console. Every gamer worth his salt knows that shooters are meant to be played on a PC, as the console's controls are simply severely lacking in terms of speed and accuracy. Now that Halo 2 allows players on both PC and Xbox 360 to play against each other online, Microsoft had to give console players an auto-aim function for them to be able to complete with PC gamers. Ironically, auto-aim is considered a severe cheat in every other multiplayer shooter.
The single player side of Halo 2 is remarkably fun, providing you liked the first Halo. It's basically the same story with some new tweaks and a scarce few new guns and opponents. One interesting novelty is that the game allows you to play as an Elite in a separate storyline that eventually joins Master Chief's main story. While it sounds like a cool feature, it plays pretty much the same as the rest of the game. You can pick up and use the same weapons, you fight the same opponents and you fly & drive the same vehicles. The only difference is that instead of marines at your side you now have other Elites that sometimes join you.
The graphics are fairly good though not up to par with recent PC games, which is unsurprising when you realize Halo 2 was originally released in 2004. The atmosphere generated by the graphics is effective, some areas have an almost palpable sense of threat and danger though nowhere does the game reach FEAR's levels of sheer terror.
Overall Halo 2 is a slightly above average shooter when compared to other PC titles. It may have rocked the console world, for PC gamers it's just not that special.
Score: 7 out of 10