May 8, 2007 - Although Halo 2 generally plays well, it doesn't have the strength to compete with the more recent shooters.

May 25, 2007 - The PC has more than its fair share of amazing shooters that blow Halo 2 away in every possible way, making this one best suited for Halo fans that want an easy way to play custom maps.

June 14, 2007 - Halo 2 is still one of the better console shooters, but on the PC where the standards are higher, it's not quite the standout.

June 5, 2007 - There are two kinds of gamers out there: those who played Halo 2 on the Xbox and those who haven't. For the first group, the actual value of this PC version is wholly dependent on their interest in the editor. For gamers who haven't played Halo 2 yet, the recommendation is a bit more positive, but still somewhat conditional.

June 15, 2007 - But I'm left with the same questions I had when Halo 2 for PC was first unveiled to thunderous confusion. Why Windows Vista? If the answer really is just GFW Live, then why no cross-platform play, when the game would clearly benefit from the immense Xbox community?

June 9, 2007 - This is a sequel that definitely does not do what the original did, only better. It's too old, and too dull.

June 26, 2007 - If you don't have a Xbox or 360 and really want to play Halo 2, this could be the ticket, just don't expect anything more than a sloppy three-year-old console port.

June 7, 2007 - The thing that is crippling Halo 2 isn't the game, it's the way it's been delivered to the PC. The long delay, outdated graphics, crazy system requirements and the clunky Games for Windows LIVE system are show-stopping obstacles to what should have been a great port of a great game more than a year ago.

May 22, 2007 - Halo 2, you see, isn't truly awful; it's just repulsively mediocre, with a clumsy story, poorly orchestrated action and bad music.

July 3, 2007 - With a 360 controller plugged into your PC Halo 2 for Vista is a decent, if rather dated FPS. For a game that is spearheading Microsoft's new operating system though, it's just not good enough.