The Halo franchise dominates the Xbox, selling millions of copies worldwide. However, the series has yet to make the same kind of impact on the PC. Now, nearly three years after its console release, the award-winning Halo 2 hits the PC as the first Windows Vista exclusive game in the hopes that it will help popularize the operating system in the same way it propelled Xbox sales.

For those few remaining people left on Earth who don't know the story, Halo 2 picks up some time after the original Halo. The Master Chief, a genetically modified super soldier, wearing highly experimental body armor, stumbled on a gigantic ring shaped space station called Halo while combating an alien menace known as the Covenant. Upon further exploration, both humans and Covenant soon uncover an even greater threat known as the Flood. The Master Chief repels both alien forces and makes his way back to Earth. Halo 2 continues the story from not only the Master Chief's perspective, but also through a disgraced Covenant Elite soldier called the Arbiter. The Arbiter plays slightly differently from the Master Chief, with limited stealth capabilities and being slightly more vulnerable to damage. With that said, things still boil down to shooting everything.

Although the game received a significant facelift with high-resolution textures to provide a sharper look, the graphical progression of more recent shooters leaves this improved Halo 2 feeling like a 2004 game. Terrain details look considerably better when compared to its Xbox counterpart, but the significance of this feat gets lost when considering that PC-based graphical technology long surpassed the Xbox when Halo 2 debuted. Furthermore, the Vista version doesn't take advantage of Vista's new graphical architecture known as DirectX 10. The characters look good and the new dynamic lighting adds some extra life, but not a heck of a lot. Explosions from destroyed vehicles like the Warthog or the ghost lack flash. Similarly, taking control of a turret lacks oomph, making the otherwise pleasing experience of mowing down hordes of oncoming aliens with rapid machine gun fire almost boring.

While the game new uses a keyboard and mouse controls, Halo 2 feels like a direct console port. The game lists the ability to use an Xbox 360 controller as a major feature, and for the most part, that remains the best way to play it. The outrageously large hit box, necessary for gamepad controls, makes mouse precision overkill. Halo 2 becomes so easy, even on the highest difficulty setting, that one has to wonder why the Covenant is such a big deal. Enemy soldiers rush forward, practically jumping into bullets. Recovering from injuries means hiding around a corner until shields recharge. Additionally, the control scheme has numerous holdovers meant to benefit controller users. Picking up a fresh weapon means standing over it and holding down a key, and so does entering a vehicle. Gamers accustomed to fast paced game play, where quickly hitting a key instantly gets things done, will have to get used to these pauses, which get especially tiresome in multiplayer. Halo 2 also has some other major holdovers, like the vehicle control where players must move the camera in order to steer vehicles, instead of simply using the WASD keys -- just like every other PC shooter.