Celebrate Halo 2’s Anniversary With These PC Mods

With the 20th anniversary of Halo 2 arriving November 9, you might be looking to replay this original Xbox classic to bask in the glow of ‘00s nostalgia. Fortunately, that’s an easy task by way of the Master Chief Collection on Xbox Series consoles and Windows PCs (and Game Pass).

But if you tire of a more traditional experience and want to jump into some cool remixes of Halo 2, there are two PC mods you’ll absolutely want to check out. H2 With Sprinkles and Halo 2: Uncut don’t just aim to expand the original game, but they aspire to do so by restoring content that was seen in previous builds of the original, with new weapons, vehicles, and redesigned encounters.

H2 With Sprinkles

I’d argue that for every addition Halo 2 made to the game’s core gameplay, it also suffered from some not-so-great omissions. Chief among them? The damn Assault Rifle.

Halo: Combat Evolved’s Assault Rifle doesn’t necessarily perform like a modern Call of Duty bullet hose—it’s a bit more old-school and less accurate than what you’d find in a shooter today. But the gun’s thunderous bullet output, unique visual stylings and readable on-weapon bullet counter made for a signature look that shouldn’t have waited until Halo 3 to rejoin the series. Halo 2 yanked the assault rifle in favor of the more dull-looking and crappier-sounding SMG.

H2 With Sprinkles fixes that by adding the Assault Rifle back, thank god. And I’d argue it’s not a redundant admission next to the SMG. The presence of the Assault Rifle means that you can go back to a run-and-gun style of gameplay with high bullet output that doesn’t sacrifice grenade throws like dual-wielding an SMG does.

There are a few other notable new guns too: Alongside the traditional three-round-burst Battle Rifle, H2 With Sprinkles adds a single-shot Battle Rifle, as seen in the very first demo for the game in 2003. There’s also a satisfying automatic, portable plasma cannon that deals plenty of damage before needing to cool down.

Perhaps my favorite addition, however, is the boost in friendly NPC forces when you land on Earth. Compared to Combat Evolved’s larger spaces, particularly on levels like “The Silent Cartographer” and “Assault on the Control Room,” Halo 2 sometimes feels a little too empty, with smaller-scale battles. Extra marines and vehicles, however, make the entire tone of the fight on Earth feel more epic. This is particularly the case with the beach battles on “Outskirts,” and the vehicular showdown toward the end of “Metropolis.”

There are a few rough edges to be aware of, however. For example, the newly added Assault Rifle shows up as a Battle Rifle on the HUD and the mod skips the opening cutscenes. To be honest, that last part works out for me as I find Halo 2’s intro to be a bit of a drag.

Halo 2: Uncut

If you want something more than new guns and increased characters on screen, Halo 2: Uncut offers a look at a version of Halo 2 from an alternate timeline. The mod features new weapons such as a silenced SMG, various guns inspired by the game’s beta, and extra vehicles such as the Mongoose and driveable Shadows (the transport vehicles that only serve as set-dressing in “Metropolis”).

The mod also aspires to change the flow of some levels. “Outskirts,” for example, sees Seargant Johnson leave your company earlier via a Falcon, with redesigned encounters following the courtyard sequence. Later levels even include the cut Flood Juggernaut enemy to mix things up.

Halo 2’s development was notoriously rough, easily and unjustly burning out those who worked on the game, shrinking its scope to something more doable within the time allotted. But if you fancy yourself a fan of the series and have wondered what the game would’ve looked like had it been more expansive, H2 With Sprinkles and Halo 2: Uncut are more than worth your time.

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