Halo 2, along with Shadowrun, is also a launch title for Microsoft’s new Windows Live service. Basically this is Xbox Live for PCs, and like the videogame version it comes with both Silver and Gold levels. You can play online against other PC players using a server browser at the free Silver level, but if you want to join games with Xbox players then you have to upgrade to the Gold level. The good news is that if you already have an Xbox Live Gold account then you’re also Gold for Windows Live and your PC game achievements will be added to your existing Gamerscore. The bad news is that if you’re not an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, Gold status will cost you about $50 a year and you don’t get that much for your money. The TrueSkill matchmaking system which is supposed to put you into games with players of similar skills seems to suffer from the fact that not many PC players are out there using it. Gold status will also allow you to create and host customized matches, but you could just as easily browse your way to a game set-up by someone else who’s bought a Gold account.

Halo 2 is a decent game at heart, but there’s a lot of disappointment in its long delayed debut on Windows. The biggest of these is that it takes so much computer horsepower to drive a last-gen video game that looks and plays like a shooter from five or more years ago. I expected more of Halo 2 on Vista, and I suspect that you’ll feel the same way too.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 68%. If you’ve already upgraded to Vista, have a top-of-the-line system, and have never played Halo 2 before, then

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