After the events on the Forerunner ringworld Halo, Master Chief SPARTAN-117 returns home to Earth with the AI construct Cortana. The war with the Covenant forces is still not going well, despite the destruction of an entire fleet at Halo, but the Master Chief needs a refit. Armed with the Mjolnir Armor Mark VI, he is on his way to a decorations ceremony with the thought-to-be-dead Sergeant Johnson, when Covenant forces emerge from the Slipstream into Earth space. But something is wrong: the fleet is much smaller than the one used to destroy Reach, humanity's former frontline stronghold. The Master Chief and Cortana, along with Commander Miranda Keyes and the crew of In Amber Clad, must fight off the Covenant and protect Earth, a battle that will take them across the galaxy to a new planet, which is disturbingly familiar...Meanwhile, the Prophets, leaders of the Covenant, are not pleased with the Elite Commander that allowed the Master Chief to destroy Halo, and he is branded a heretic. But even Heretics have their uses. He is to become the new Arbiter, a warrior for the Prophets' will, destined to die in glorious battle like all the other Arbiters before him. But deep in the Covenant, rumors are spreading about a Jiralhanae take-over. Can the Arbiter uncover this treachery in time to save the Elites?
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That same Legendary-only cutscene in Gravemind hides a second gag if you know where to look. Among the Grunts confronting the Brutes, one of them is holding up a small cardboard cutout of Jason Jones's face, a callback to the Half-Naked Guy easter egg tucked into the exact same scene.
In the multiplayer map Zanzibar, there's a sign that only changes on January 1st. Load the map on New Year's Day and it swaps to read 'Baby Shark Petting', complete with a little cartoon of a kid petting a grinning shark, then quietly reverts back for the rest of the year.
On Bungie Day, the 'No Swimming' sign on Zanzibar gets replaced with a poster of a decapitated dog's head sporting rabbit ears, asking if you've found Ling Ling's head. It sounds bizarre out of context, but it's a nod to a running Bungie studio joke about a dog's head in a jar that a former roommate, a medical student, apparently left behind.
Flip your original Halo 2 disc case over and look at the bottom right corner. There's a jumble of letters printed there that looks like nonsense at a glance, but it's actually a code representing the fifteen collectible Skulls hidden throughout the campaign, tucked away in plain sight before anyone even knew Skulls were a thing.
Every mainline Halo game since has included collectible Skulls scattered through its campaign levels, letting players toggle in modifiers that make runs harder or just plain stranger. That whole tradition, including fan favourites like the dialogue-altering IWHBYD Skull and the notoriously brutal Iron Skull, actually started right here in Halo 2.
In the very first level of Halo 2, Lieutenant Gonzalez asks Sergeant Johnson how on earth he managed to survive Halo. Johnson brushes it off, saying it's classified, and it's a direct little wink back to the legendary ending of the original game, where Johnson is last seen sharing an unlikely hug with an Elite as the ring blows up around them.
Long before Red vs. Blue became a household name in machinima circles, Bungie slipped a hidden nod to Rooster Teeth's logo into Halo 2 itself, tucked away as a little easter egg for anyone paying close enough attention while exploring the game's environments.
In the original Halo's ending cutscene, there's a moment where an Elite can be seen grabbing Sergeant Johnson's backside during their farewell hug. It seems 343 Industries noticed the same odd detail, because when Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary rolled around, they made sure Johnson returned the favour in kind.
The Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix, the electric guitar remix that opens Halo 2's soundtrack, was recorded with guitarist Steve Vai in the room, produced by Chic legend Nile Rodgers while composer Marty O'Donnell looked on. Rodgers has since called the session one of the standout moments of his career, right up there with producing some of his own biggest hits.
Three years after Halo 2 launched, the Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix was made available as a totally free download for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on Xbox 360, letting players actually strum along to Steve Vai's guitar work note for note instead of just hearing it in cutscenes.
