Halo 2 (2004)

Halo came out as an Xbox launch title in 2001. It drastically revolutionized the first person shooter genre as a whole because it told an excellent story, and had excellent gameplay, and looked excellent (at the time), and it meant the very beginning of an excellent shooter franchise.

Halo: Combat Evolved also introduced awesome LAN parties via connecting multiple Xbox consoles together and shooting each other up in games of up to 16 players. It was a ton of fun. I did it several times when the game was brand new in my youth group.

But enough about LAN parties, and enough about Halo 1.

Halo 2 really changed the game with its story and gameplay. I feel like it really changed everything that a shooter in general meant, because it utilized Microsoft's Xbox Live internet service to play multiplayer against anyone, anywhere in the world, and at any time you wanted. That was MASSIVE and a HUGE difference from what multiplayer had meant for every game before, because to play multiplayer prior meant that you had to organize get-togethers with your friends to play with them in the same room. Otherwise, multiplayer didn't exist.

Xbox Live combined with Halo 2 was a major enhancement and it really meant a huge leap forward for gamers on Xbox. And with the already popular fan base from Halo 1 joining the fray with Halo 2, Xbox quickly overtook playstation, at least in my heart.

Halo 2 was an awesome game, and it was released in 2014 with the Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One with newly rendered cut scenes made by Blur Studios (absolutely AWESOME looking cut scenes, btw), and newly rendered graphics to bring the old 2004 graphics into this generation. And boy, does it look fabulous!