Addition of Vital Halo 2 Xbox LIVE Capabilities

Halo 2s online Xbox LIVE capabilities have long been one of the most anticipated video game events, and with good cause. Halo 2 already has thousands upon thousands of gamers competing online against each other through the use of the games unique and well-thought-out, next-generation multiplayer features. However, some glaring omissions of what many online gamers are now considering staples of online gaming and Xbox LIVE in general have seemed to be excluded in Halo 2s online capabilities.

We, the Xbox LIVE gamers and Xbox consumers, would like to point out some of the current issues and lacking features that have been experienced while playing Halo 2 online, and request that they are amended to the best of Bungies ability:

1. Optimatch While the Matchmaker feature is a great idea and is implemented well through the use of ranked games, unranked games should have an option to OptiMatch with a set of user-defined game maps, types, and other rules. This kind of Optimatch has been used by virtually every other previous Xbox LIVE game, virtually setting the standard of what Optimatch means. The gamers should have the choice as to what games to join and play, especially in the case of unranked games.

2. User-Created Games Players often want to host a public game with their rules and settings, however under the current Halo 2 online system, this is not possible. Players on a gamers friends list are the only ones currently able to join user-created games, virtually eliminating the possibility of user-defined public game rooms. This very feature lacking in Halo 2 is what made the original Halo successful on various online Xbox programs which utilized the System Link feature. The lack of being able to setup user-created public game rooms severely inhibits Halo 2s unranked gaming.

Its doubtful that many gamers will find Halo 2s current online features lacking; rather, its the features not currently available which are impeding the full potential of Halo 2 in Xbox LIVE.

Halo fans have waited 3 long years full of delays and teasers to experience what they believed would be the greatest online game, and while they may have found many of this to be true in the ranked-game portion of Halo 2 online, the unranked game features are severely lacking. Fixing and adding a number of these features would eliminate many of the frustrations Xbox and Bungie fans have endured and make Halo 2 prosper in Xbox LIVE for years to come.