User blog:ARTaylor/15 Years of Halo 2

Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the release of Halo 2. The video game is the second in the popular science fiction war series. The story follows the heroic Master Chief as he defends Earth from the genocidal Covenant before encountering a second Halo device, an ancient structure capable of wiping out all life in the galaxy, that holds more of the parasitic lifeforms the Flood.

Due to the success of the first game, this sequel was hotly anticipated. The release of the game was a massive event that became a huge moment, becoming the highest grossing release in all of entertainment of any medium. It went on to become an enormous success becoming the best selling title of the original Xbox console and fifth best-selling video game of all time. For years it was the most played game on the Xbox Live service. It received nearly universal praise. It was given particular praise for its innovative gameplay and online integration. One point of contention was the story's cliffhanger ending, though retrospective reviews have seen in a more positive light similar to Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. The game was seen as a turning point in video game technology. Numerous game creators credit the game with innovating features that would later become standards of the first-person shooter genre. The magazine Popular Mechanics cited the game as one of the top fifteen events of the decade.

The game features the talents of Steve Downes as cybernetic supersoldier and main hero Petty Officer Master Chief John-117, Keith David as disgraced Covenant leader turned hero and secondary hero Arbiter, Dee Bradley Baker as Flood ruler and main villain Gravemind, Hamilton Camp as the eldest of the Covenant rulers Prophet of Mercy, Robin Atkin Downes as the youngest of the Covenant rulers Prophet of Regret, Kevin Michael Richardson as Brute chieftain Tartarus, Ron Perlman as human military leader Lord Hood, Miguel Ferrer as the Heretic Leader, John Michael Higgins as the Monitor of the second Halo 2401 Penitent Tangent, Yuri Lowenthal as human bystander Kamal Zaman, Tara Platt as human bystander Genie, and Kari Wahlgren as human bystander Janissary James.