Bungie Studios
Halo 2

Many will say that if you reached the pinnacle the first time, it is practically impossible to do it again on the second attempt. And this is partly true: when dealing with Bungie Studios, and thus none other than the "Halo" series, for many fans, the unforgettable first chapter remains the pinnacle of a series that continues breaking records today (just look at the sales data of "Halo 3" and "Halo: Reach"), despite nearly 10 years since its groundbreaking release.

Too engaging, too innovative, too "ahead of its time": proposing a worthy sequel to what was "the game" of the 128-bit generation was much more than a gamble, and there are quite a few who today consider what later was simply called "Halo 2", a mere "Halo 1.5" with heavy graphic improvements, some gameplay differences, and an explosive Live mode. That said, at the risk of inciting the ire of dozens of hardcore gamers, I'll make one thing clear: I do not agree.

"Halo 2", for me, not only represents so far the best episode of the Bungie saga and one of the best FPS games ever released on consoles, but it is a truly well-rounded masterpiece, a completely unique sensory experience that managed to both meet colossal expectations and elevate the standards of an entire genre to previously unthinkable levels, an event of biblical proportions comparable only to what happened on PSone with "Resident Evil 2", unanimously considered the masterpiece of its saga. And there couldn't be a more apt comparison: during the game, what was proposed or simply hinted at in the first episode is now exploited to its fullest potential, giving the player the opportunity to immerse themselves in an entire world created specifically for the occasion.

An imposing soundtrack, composed and arranged by internationally renowned musicians, including Incubus, Breaking Benjamin, Jonathan Davis, Steve Vai, improved gameplay compared to the first episode, such as the ability to hijack moving vehicles and wield more than one weapon simultaneously, an artificial intelligence of both enemies and allied characters nothing short of astonishing for the time (it feels like being surrounded by flesh-and-blood people), and a skillful use of the Havoc 2 physics engine, not to mention the multiplayer component (the most extensive, varied, and complete ever seen in a video game: only recently Bungie was forced to shut down the online servers, almost 6 years after its release, and that's saying something...), the incredible longevity due to the tons of secrets, easter eggs (and skulls!) scattered across the levels, in addition to the superb real-time graphics engine exploiting 100% of the capabilities of the then-advanced Xbox engine.

But if all this is already enough to make "Halo 2" a worthy successor to its illustrious predecessor, it is with the plot that, in my opinion, it reaches its peak: involvement, surprise, bitterness, dismay, reflection, melancholy, in a few words, pure emotion. Featuring one of the most talked-about and controversial endings in the history of video games and one of the most shocking plot twists you might find in a title of this genre, "Halo 2" was above all the title that embodied my adolescence, the last real video game to which I feel "spiritually" connected, which gave me everything a video game should provide to someone who is no longer in the age of innocence: that genuine sense of wonder that over time we all lose, facing an increasingly bitter reality.