I recall pre-ordering Halo 2.

For the record, I bought Half-Life 2 a year ago and found it to be slow and rather boring. I can't imagine why it was even recommended to me.

Kovitlac

@balla4real: Actually, I can shamefully admit I own Halo 2 twice. I bought the regular edition, and then the limited...and yes maybe i deserve a kick in the ass.

Pancho_Villasan

I bought this game last summer and was suprised it was still $30, its weird that after what... 4 years they're finally giving it a platinum hits label? OK MICROSOFT.

PAULINK

Oh, Joe. Thank you SO MUCH for the explanation of the silent protagonist. I would have NEVER figured this out on my own. Wow, now I see the game in a WHOLE NEW LIGHT!

Seriously, man...I'm not stupid, I'm pretty versed in the idea of the silent protagonist. Zelda, Chrono Trigger - you name it, I've played it. But simply put, I know what I like. I enjoy when a character that I am playing is able to be engaging and witty. Half Life is one of my favorite games hands down, but Gordon Freeman's silent protagonist has little to do with that.

And people - FYI, I was talking about the CHARACTERS in the game. Why Alyx would warm up and seem to fall in love with a man who has absolutely NOTHING to say to her is one of the strangest and funniest things in video games, when you think about it.

Spoony Bard

@Spoony Bard:

Because, like many people, you don't seem to understand that keeping Gordon silent is an important part of the experience.

The Half-Life experience focuses greatly on making it seem like "you" are Gordon Freeman, not just some third-party observer. Giving Gordon dialog or cut-scenes would ruin the experience of "being Gordon Freeman" because it sets Gordon as his own individual in contrast to your own individual. This is further enhanced by NPCs speaking directly to you and you having direct control of Gordon's movements at all times.

I know that it might be hard for some people to understand if you don't fully comprehend the consequences of a silent protagonist.

Joeshie

@RFX: Never heard of that one.

It personally looks fine on my TV with component cables, but my friend's VGA hook-up made the game look loads more appealing.

StevenRafael

@Spoony Bard: Destructoid actually had an article about silent protagonists, and while Gordon Freeman is nowhere near as badass as Master Chief, the rest of the cast, and the story itself made up for the lack of his dialogue and the lack of cutscenes.
I for one like cutscenes. Half Life 1 and 2 would have rocked so much more if they had cutscenes. Halo 1-3 would have been unbearable without them.

StevenRafael

Why feed the trolls?

Half Life is a great, awesome excellent series. But the one thing that drives me bonkers...the non-verbal Gordon Freeman. How does anyone LIKE him?

Spoony Bard

Does it actually work on the 360? I recently re-played it before I started up Halo 3, and there were some graphical issues - occasionally the "shadows" of some graphics would stay on the screen. Didn't even have to be even that long, so it can't be LCD burn in- just a few seconds and it would stay there until stopped playing.

RFX

@freakout: love consoles, just prefer my fps with a keyboard and a mouse. i agree with the intro to the masses, but just because you are a mass accessible product on a cost effective median doesn't mean it deserves for people to bow to it. its pacing was completely taken right from half life and imho was just too cartoony/exaggerated in its presentation. the multiplayer got old, and the matchmaking was horrendous, at least as far as live is concerned. but years of cs and pc multiplayer will make anyone hate live matchmaking.

m3lkor

I always see a lot of people talking about how overrated Halo is whenever it is mentioned. What's the big deal? Sure, it's not the most AMAZING thing in the world, but I still consider it a solid title, and a lot of people really like it. No, I don't think more casual gamers are pushed to like it because of publicity, I think those people simply enjoy it because it combines the casual and hardcore markets, and is easy to get in to. So what if Half-Life's a better franchise? I honestly don't like it. It's hard for a serious gamer like myself to admit, but I honestly prefer Halo over Half-Life. As far as I have seen, people who don't like Halo have never played it in the right setting, or else probably just won't admit to liking it because they don't want to feel like a "tool". There are exceptions, sure, but a game that has sold so well and can turn my friend, a hard-core Nintendo and Square Enix fan, into a fragging, tea-bagging fps player shouldn't be denied its rightful place in the hall of great franchises.

My360broked

@m3lkor: Oh, what rubbish. For millions of gamers the first Halo was their induction to a real "battlefield" FPS. If you didn't get a sense of "Holy shit, that's AWESOME!" on The Silent Cartographer - riding in on the dropship, overlooking the coast of the island, before descending right into the middle of a massive pitched firefight - then you're nothing but a jaded, bitter cynic who probably never liked consoles anyway. Your opinion is noted and disregarded.

freakout

Too bad I already got this game like the first day it came out.

goldwings

@bangbangblah: Guess you haven't seen Cheggers Party Quiz.

[www.amazon.co.uk]

Spartan1308

The "Halo is overrated" thought is the most overrated thing to post ... in the entire history of the internet.

DrFresh

@Peryite: Guess you haven't seen Singstar for PS3 yet.

bangbangblah

Who doesn't own Halo 2? My neighbor owns it and he doesn't even have an XBOX.

Joafu

@m3lkor: Bitter much?

Tiberian

@m3lkor: Eh, I don't know about that, now that Final Fantasy VII is offically a franchise, I'd say that'd take the number one spot for most overrated. Okay, now I'm just adding flame to the fire, but when you post a comment like that for no apparent reason, well, what do you expect?

fearing

I'm guessing sales for Halo 2 have dropped low enough to merit a spot at being platinum.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

Overrated or not, every game in the trilogy has received far more game time than any other FPS among my friends and I. And we had a blast.

Yeah, I'd take Half Life and it's sequels' single player campaigns over Halo any day, and I was a bigger Quake fan back in the day, but be it in Illinois (my home state) or North Carolina (I was stationed in Camp Lejeune while I served in the Marine Corps), Halo was the multiplayer FPS of choice.

StevenRafael

I can't personally think of another game, or perhaps franchise that is more overrated than the Halo series.

It's no surprise that the Halo series is considered extremely overrated by many gamers or even Halo fans, so why is it such a stretch to say that it's the most overrated franchise in gaming history? In my opinion, each Halo game's average score should be around 10 points lower than what the "critics" actually gave them.

But remember everyone, overrated =/= bad game. Halo is a good FPS series, but not a great one.

Joeshie

I fully expect that the release of a title as a 'Platinum Hit' is tied to its sales figures for the previous quarter. If 'Platinum Hit' status was conveyed solely for reaching a certain sales number, a great deal of profit would be lost by titles that greatly surpassed that target. Rather, once a popular title's sales slow down the 'Platinum Hit' designation is used to squeeze additional revenue. I suspect that this signals that HALO 2 has finally experienced a dramatic drop in demand. As for why they have waited this long, sales figures would likely reveal that the game enjoyed a noticable bump in the run-up to HALO 3. By waiting until after this bump, MS enjoyed the additional revenue of the higher price.

Novellion

Yeah... I still have plenty of reasons for it to not be in my gaming library too.

Mezodon

@Zeag: 1308 has nothing to do w/Halo. I admit that I really enjoyed the series. I played tons of Halo 2 and still play some Halo 3. My screen name of Spartan1308 doesn't mean that I "base my life on Halo" you presumptuous twit. I actually play a lot more COD4 these days. Surprisingly I haven't played H3 in right around 2 weeks now. What part of my comment isn't true? He was trolling and just about everyone else here recognized that based on the other comments above. If you have an opinion about the topic, express it. Assuming you know who I am based on a screen name just makes you an ass.

Spartan1308

Surely if they could make a Platinum cover that looked better than the original they would sell more...

They always look so cheap and tacky I'd rather scour online to pick up the original than buy platinum.

f0cus

This is a great buy for anyone who doesn't have it yet.

sevenfeetunder

I finally bought this the last week of January from Amazon. $30 was too much to stomach for a game this "old". I received an automated e mail from them stating the price had dropped to $20. I thought something was up, and I guess this confirms it (or is it the other way around?). Now just need Gears to do the same ...

SumDum_Guy

I wish to add lovingly that we should respect each others opinions - comments like "most overrated franchise in history" isnt getting us anyway, so why do stuff like that? No one wants the title troll do we? Comment on the series of course, but keep it on topic and don't do other people down for it.

I myself feel that Halo 2's story is the weakest of the trilogy, and its multiplayer has been bettered by 3, so why'd you buy it I dunno.

And to all those who doubt Halo/have Halo 3, get the original Halo now its on Xbox Originals... its a really good game, it was the first properly good console FPS (sorry Perfect Dark and Goldeneye, but look at the graphics...)and the amount of titles which are making money from the same gameplay is incredible.

Communist_Gamer

to all: that was in no way trolling, just trying to state that this unspectacular franchise that makes 12 year olds drool is very overrated. it owes everything it has earned to half life and a very empty game library for xbox at the time of its release. i have played all 3, and just felt they were lackluster. give me some timesplitters, half life or any battlefield game before that series anyday.

all in all, halo deserves no praise whatsoever.

m3lkor

@Kaemon: I got them both for $20 on eBay 2 years ago or so. Never actually got myself to play past the first chapter. On either game.

Hugoku

This is great because it means the other used copies will lower in price so I can re add halo 2 into my collection.

lifeinthefridge

@iamnotdryad: Well, maybe so, but I was being dramatic. :P But it's damn near close to being perfect. The match making system is legendary, the armor/health system makes sure you start every fight on an even level, the only balancing issue comes from the stickies and the laser sword (plasma sword?). I didn't have a problem with hijacking rides, so that was never a big concern to me, and I found it funny that after I took their ride I could turn around and run them over.

So, the plasma sword is OP'd, yes. But, it came close.

Voteforme2020

@Voteforme2020:

I don't hate Halo but perfectly balanced? I think that's a bit of a stretch.

iamnotdryad

@Spartan1308: Coming from someone named Spartan1308, which means you probably based your whole life off Halo and when you'll get a boy you'll probably name him Jon 117, I don't think your comment has any more meaning than m3lkor's...

Zeag

Let's get ready to BASH! I think people are confused.. some people seem to think this is a single player game.. I've never saw it like that, not since the first game at least. This is however, one of the best online multiplayer games ever, ever. It's perfectly balanced, you don't have to worry about being ganked while on low health, and it's fun! *gasp* Also, once you mute the mics, this is the best experience I've ever had with a FPS online.

@m3lkor: Troll much? Reality check.. Mario is the most over rated, and by far the biggest cash cow in all of gaming. Halo, and Mario too, deserve the praise they get. Now, you, get out. Go, shoo!

Voteforme2020

@m3lkor:

You are a bad person, really bad, in fact you're so bad you should probably just kill yourself. How dare you say something that has nothing to do with the topic, which in case you're wondering is Halo 2.

fyre

@iamnotdryad:

unless you were just kidding?

iamnotdryad

@m3lkor:
I really can't believe that there are actually people who still don't acknowledge Halo. Sure, Xbox Live is full of retards and kiddos, and you see everyone playing it, but that doesn't make the game suck, right?
Halo is the best 00's franchise, and it rose up as a unique franchise in a very shitty era. Yeah, that's 00's.

yoshinatsu

@balla4real:

best selling franchise of all time? no, not even close. the mario franchise with all its bastard child spin-offs dwarves everything else.

iamnotdryad

pancho u don't already own halo 2

balla4real

Wow. I didn't know it wasn't considered a platnium hit. Best seiling franchise of all time. But I though on of the most over-ratted. I talked to a couple friends of mine about the halo franchise and they copared it to mario and Half-life franchises. I said whatever, but bugie should be given all the respect they deserve, great development team, and halo is part of the reason video games are so popular and are a 10 billion dollar industry. So I think ms can stand halo 2 costing 20 bones.

balla4real

@Pancho_Villasan:

true that, if someone was like "Finally!, i been waiting for this price drop, now i can finally get it!" just wow.

lols

Dakobah

Haha I bought Halo 2 for $9.99 at Blockbuster about two years ago. When I bought my 360 I was very disappointed to find that it had serious trouble running Halo 2. After downloading the updates (which I needed to play online of course) the game failed to load anything, even the campaign.

JN64Lover

meh. Halo 2 was a big disappointment. I picked it up at midnight after waiting for it for so long.... and I played it.... and thought to myself... man, what a disappointment... that's the last game I got really excited about. I don't like disappointment, so if I have low hopes, I'm always happy.

KingDavid73

It may be included in the next set of downloadable "classics".

@m3lkor: Awww, I'll bet you've been missing the Halo stories since the H3 launch died down. Let me try to explain this to you. Whether you like it or not, there are plenty of people who enjoy Halo as evidenced by the sales that made it the biggest sales day in entertainment history. If you don't like it, that's ok but your opinion doesn't change the facts. I've personally enjoyed the series. Your comment doesn't contribute anything valuable to the conversation. Your comment is a fail. Please go to PS3Fanboy.com or some other blog where your comments will be appreciated.

Spartan1308

And what fucking use will the price cut be when everybody and they momma's have Halo 2.

Pancho_Villasan

@m3lkor:
No, that would be Mario.

ca$h

@dead_red_eyes:

Looks like it's 600,000 copies that Sony sells before considering the Platinum title.

[en.wikipedia.org]

For Micro$oft, it looks like it's 400,000.

[en.wikipedia.org]

If you ask me, it's freaking rediculous that there aren't more Platinum games for the Xbox 360. Call of Duty 3, Gears of War, Lost Planet, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Crackdown ... all of these games should have platinum status damnit.

dead_red_eyes

not everyone who posts on this, I'll be skint...

In fact. I take it back. I'm not a betting man.

I've just put my foot in it now.

Father ColdCuts

@m3lkor: Que in the inevitable anti-halo flame bate troll.

FrigidAir44

You have to admit, regardless of if you enjoyed the single-player aspect of Halo or not, the multiplayer was the single greatest success in console multiplayer gaming to date.

Hiero Glyph

Bet you $10 it will be on XBLMP within 2 months.

Father ColdCuts

@I_Hate_This_Place: But the swiping has already been done...

Father ColdCuts

@m3lkor:

Troll much?

dead_red_eyes

It's been 3 freaking years, and has sold MILLIONS of copies and it's just now making Platinum?

WTF?!

Doesn't Sony usually do the platinum thing after a million sales or something? Why does it seem like Micro$oft is only doing the platinum thing for games that aren't selling and are old as shit? They're stingy bastards I say! Lost Planet and Gears of War should be freaking Platinum by now.

dead_red_eyes

I remember being there for the midnight launch! Didn't sleep that night! I got the "red eye" ha ha!

I think they have left it too long, but i guess the launch of the PC version made it take longer for the price to come down for the xbox version. Microsoft wouldn't want to de-value the product and make it seem less worth while to get it on the PC.

Father ColdCuts

It's still going for $25 used at GameStop. I'm glad they're finally dropping the price.

Xenobula

@Father ColdCuts: Well, you can't really blame them when McWhertot already took a swipe at the game (though very small, funny swipe)

I_Hate_This_Place

@I_Hate_This_Place: Exactly! Please I can troll harder and I even enjoyed playing the game. I guess it is true what they say, today's gamers are just getting lazy.

Hiero Glyph

All I gotta say is 'bout fucking time.

Kinda surprised they're not releasing it exclusively for download via XBL. Whateves...

jinpei05

I still have fun playing Halo: Combat Evolved on the Xbox with some friends. No point in buying this one.

Ciel

Took 'em long enough. I just picked up Halo 3 about three weeks ago for $39.99 at Best Buy. I knew if I waited, everything would work out...

JohnnytheFuture

About time. I can't believe it still retails for $30+ when it's now 3+ years old. Of course, I already have the game, but still...

armchairnixon

push

I_Hate_This_Place

Dear lord that cover is ugly.

Peryite

@m3lkor: Cool, thanks for sharing. This isn't Joystiq, leave.

NotAZombie

@HykCraft: @m3lkor:
What is wrong with you people? Don't comment if you have nothing to say that will add to the post.

Father ColdCuts

@m3lkor: what are you trying to do, exactly?

7ucky

@m3lkor:
Your comment, it makes me die inside.

itsburnsie

@m3lkor: Troll harder! Come on, you can do it. I have faith in you!!

I_Hate_This_Place

@m3lkor:
It's true, but everyone knows this. We can stop saying it now.

Stefanten

Kotaku, it's already been confirmed by other major game news sites. Please check up on your sources.

HykCraft

Awe, McWhertor doesn't want to win the Haloz. I r sad / sarcasm

I_Hate_This_Place

Oh, how considerate of them to suck money out of us until the very last minute.

bangbangblah

What are the reasons?

1. You own Halo 1

balls187

Well, I would guess that Microsoft wanted 5 months worth of profit of a full priced Halo 2 after the launch of Halo 3. I am sure there is an uptick in past sequel sells when a new sequel is released. Especially an IP like Halo 3 which promoted its story so heavily as a selling point for 3 (Finish the Fight). I guess its time to move it to the Platinums though!

Foggynotion

Odd. I bought mine brand new for $19.99 sometime early last year. I promptly sold it back for $15.

Brine

the most overrated franchise in the history of gaming.

m3lkor

... huuuhhh... Nothing too interesting, Never played a Halo game before, but them cutting it to $20 isn't gonna make me.. maybe if I could get the first and second for $20, then yeah. Haha.

Kaemon

Halo 2 was fun, but I know the story. There's no real reason to play through again. I won't notice anything that I see the first time.

Digitalguardian 4: Mass Effect, Alcohol, and a Giant Robot

It took them long enough!! It is still 40 bucks at my local Wal-Mart.

JustJake