Halo 2 (2004)
Best: The Arbiter. Halo: Combat Evolved followed Master Chief for its entirety. But Halo 2 cold-opens with a scene focused on a secondary playable hero: the Arbiter, a holy warrior affiliated with Halo’s antagonistic Covenant faction of aliens. It’s not just that the Arbiter was a fascinating character in his own right, basically a walking, talking redemption arc (with spine-chillingly good dialogue). Nor is it just that he bears the distinctive voice of actor Keith David, though that certainly helps. Rather, it’s that seeing Halo through his eyes added depth and color to the franchise’s previously shallow, black-and-white canon.
Worst: Butt Rock. Halo: Combated Evolved aurally defined itself with a harrowing, soul-baring score from composer Marty O’Donnell. But for Halo 2, Bungie included a handful of original tracks from some prominent alt-rock bands of the era: Incubus and Breaking Benjamin. Cool at the time—yet it’s the exact sort of thing that instantly marks the game as a creature of its era.
