Halo 2

Xbox's master blaster returns in full force

What's the concept

Following on directly from the original, this sequel sees super soldier Master Chief returning to earth-of-the-future only to find humanity's front garden overrun with Covenant, the malicious alien cult he's just spent a whole game battling while stranded on the "Halo", a far-flung planet-cum-Death-Star. Given that the original title was renowned - no, worshipped - for the sheer scale and bladder-thumping intensity of its first-person combat, you can expect fireworks as Master Chief proceeds to repel an entire invasion force, one brutal skirmish at a time.

What's it like?

Thanks to the expertly pitched balance of it all, it's like going to war in that video-game body you've always dreamed of having. And thanks to some beautiful, other-worldly locations, it's like going on a futuristic holiday too. Master Chief can commandeer numerous attack vehicles, both alien and native, and has a new ability known as dual wielding, allowing him the choice of toting two separate guns at the expense of being able to throw grenades and perform melee attacks.

Worth playing?

Halo 2 is, much like its predecessor, a knockout action cocktail, mixing equal parts chaos and empowerment, pitching the player headlong into heated, unpredictable battles, while handing them the kind of control and firepower that most war games and first-person shooters could only dream about dreaming about. While some sections can drag on a little, the single-player mode is pretty much the equivalent of a slap in the face that lasts for 15 hours. And the multiplayer mode - featuring online play for 16 players - is the most entertaining use of the Internet since Dirty Den got done.