The game itself is everything you loved about the original Halo, but with all the knobs turned up to 11 this time round. This is not a quickie "Halo 1.5" follow-up using the same engine. We are using a completely rewritten graphics engine which allows our artists to work in previously unimaginable complexity and detail. Anyone who thinks the original Halo stretched the Xbox's graphical abilities to the limit is mistaken. There are gorgeous new realms to be explored, and Halo 2 will take you there. There will be several new weapons in addition to the reliable old standards from the first game. Not to mention the new vehicles you'll ride into battle. Or the many new enemies you'll face. If you had a hard time with the handful of Covenant races you met in the first game, you may wish to start practicing now; you'll need it when they unleash the rest of their army.

Halo 2 returns you to the role of the Master Chief - still humanity's best weapon against the Covenant. Their defeat at Halo was only temporary, and they are pursuing their goal - the complete obliteration of humankind - with renewed zeal. Human military forces are exhausted and unable to stave off the Covenant's rapid advance toward Earth. Even with the Master Chief back in action, the situation looks dire - and this is at the beginning of the game, before things get a lot worse. In true Bungie tradition, the solo campaign in Halo 2 deepens and expands upon the story that began in the first game: old questions will be answered, new mysteries will unfold, and the truly epic nature of the story will finally be revealed.

Multiplayer is an entirely different kettle of fish. Halo 2 is designed from the ground up to support internet multiplayer games over Xbox Live™. You're no longer limited to playing LAN games against friends who live nearby. What's more, the multiplayer experience is being completely redesigned. The first Halo offered just a glimpse of what we originally had in mind; now, in Halo 2, our designers' vision will come to glorious, explosive fruition.

Originally posted by Trigger
sweet... hope they show some in-game shots. The cutscene shots here are probably pretty close though.

Originally posted by tygloalex
This is gonna be online too right?

Originally posted by YujiNaka
This is gonna be amazing too right?

The Master Chief, the enigmatic main character of Halo, is back in Halo 2--as is Cortana, the AI construct that joins him early on in the original game. The teaser trailer shows the Master Chief arming himself in the belly of a spaceship. Shouldering an assault rifle, he makes his way through the dark corridors of the ship toward the hangar. During this sequence, the increased level of detail in Halo's graphics becomes obvious. Realistic real-time lighting effects, superior animation, and even more realistic bump mapping lend the visuals an authentic touch.

As the Master Chief enters the hangar, it is revealed that his spacecraft is orbiting Earth--and that Earth is under heavy fire from Covenant warships. The Covenant are the enemy race from the original Halo game, and it seems that they have found the human homeworld and are seeking to destroy it outright. Therefore, the Master Chief's new mission is clear: defend Earth and save humankind. The Master Chief casts open the airlock of his ship and literally hurls himself into outer space, toward Earth. His suit can apparently withstand the void of space, but won't he be incinerated during atmospheric entry? But the Chief isn't jumping down to Earth--he lands, hard, on a Covenant ship and prepares his assault. The trailer ends there.

'Halo 2' is a lot like 'Halo', only it's 'Halo' on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas," explained Jason Jones, the head of Bungie Studios, "and the ninjas are all on fire, too."

Originally posted by Flay
Another fun blurb from this article at Xbox.com: Link

Originally posted by tha_dvd_man
I also like the grittier, darker visual style. I always thought Halo looked a little too bright, colorful and almost cartoonish at times. This is how I always wished Halo looked.

Originally posted by enthused
after seeing doom 3 previews, this fails to impress me.