Halo 2 is 16 years old, which is honestly making me feel like a right crusty OAP this evening. I think we can all agree that it's a stone-cold classic, can't we? Dodgy and slightly rushed-feeling ending aside, Halo 2 stands as one of the great sequels, a game that took everything that worked from its predecessor and turned it up to 11.
But you know all this, you're a person of impeccable taste. I can tell. You know Halo 2 is the GOAT, just like you know it was one of the best multiplayer experiences of the era. I don't need to tell you how great its huge selection of weapons and maps were. I don't need to tell you that the Energy Sword has earned its place in the pantheon of game-ending video game weapons, right next to the Blue Shell. I don't even need to tell you that its campaign was packed with iconic moments, from giving the Covenant back their bomb to dropping onto the Delta Halo for the first time.
No, instead of carping on at you about all the reasons that Halo 2 is a truly excellent piece of work, I want to celebrate the game's 16th Birthday another way. All I want you to do is hit play on the video below and vibe with me. Vibe with me to Halo 2's theme, AKA the Mjolnir Mix, AKA The Sickest Effing Video Game Theme Of ALL TIME.
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Holy crap this is just one of the most ridiculously awesome pieces of music ever put in a video game, isn't it? The Mjolnir Mix is the ultimate hype track. Wondering if it's worth putting your trousers on since you aren't leaving the house? Mjolnir Mix. Partner just left you? Mjolnir Mix. About to play Halo 2 with your friends? MJOLNIR MIX. Putting up the Christmas tree? Mjolnir Mix with some jingle bells mixed in, maybe.
Composed and produced by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, the original Halo theme was good enough as it was. What more could you go to a theme that was already being hailed as moden epic? Bring it in one of the most incredibly talented guitarists to lay down some savoury riffs on top and come away with absolute fire, that's what.
When Halo 2 came around, O'Donnel got guitarist Steve Vai drop some face-meltingly incredible work on top of the already iconic track to create something that's essentially the musical equivalent of a flaming unicorn piecing a hole in the side of the moon with its horn: so wonderfully over the top, but all the more perfect for it.
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So yes, happy Birthday to Halo 2, but more importantly? Happy Birthday to the Mjolnir Mix. You are everything to me.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft