In our modern era of instant gratification, gleaning game information has transformed from a monthly paper-based affair into an up-to-the-second electronic obsession. New details of game development are disseminated as soon as they become available and consumed even faster. Keeping a new title in the public eye is increasingly difficult, but a well-produced video preview can go a long way with fickle game players. Precedent is clear on this: despite the lack of a playable demo, Metal Gear Solid 2 stole consecutive E3 shows with intoxicating movie trailers that whet the appetite of all who witnessed them. Bungie Studios is hoping for the same type of impact with its Announcement Trailer for Halo 2, the follow-up to 2001's multiple Game of the Year winner.

Following on the heels of a press release announcing the development of Halo 2, Bungie released a 2 minute 37 second teaser trailer last week. The trailer, available in Quicktime 6 and Windows Media Player 9 formats, showcases a completely rebuilt graphics engine and hints at possible storyline scenarios that might unfold in the sequel. According to Cinematics Director Joseph Staten, the goal of the trailer was to show off the newly-redesigned Master Chief and the prowess of the new graphics engine, while generating some early hype for a game that is still over a year away. After watching the trailer roughly a dozen times, all I can say is this:

Mission accomplished.

The visually stunning movie reveals that the Covenant have discovered the location of Earth and are busily bringing forth the "goddamned apocalypse" on the human race. Following some partially-muffled snippets of desperate radio transmission, the Master Chief prepares for battle along with AI partner Cortana. In a stunning display of "sack" they ride a wave of vacuum from the hangar of a starship to a passing Covenant cruiser, as enormous explosions scorch the planet below. With mind-blowing visuals, tight pacing and a rousing score, this trailer definitely delivers on all three of those goals in spades.

Immediately evident in the trailer is the jarring leap forward in visual detail, as Halo 2 already looks light-years better than Halo ever did, which players of the original game should recognize as no small feat. Modeling and animation are noticeably better and more refined, as evidenced in a redesigned Master Chief who moves with more fluidity and human realism. Bungie made extensive use of bump-maps in Halo, and detailed bump-maps are visible on just about everything in the trailer, from door panels and floor gratings to indentations on the Master Chief's battle suit. Even the tiny labeling on the Master Chief's rifle is bump-mapped!

Perhaps the biggest visible improvement is the lighting, as Halo 2 possesses a higher degree of photorealism than the original game ever did. Through a combination of pixel-shading and light-blooms, Halo 2 looks less like a video game and more like a big-budget feature film. Matt Soell had previously hinted that the new graphics engine would allow for "previously unimaginable complexity and detail", and the trailer proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. The only noticeable drawback is aliasing, as a few jagged edges pop up on some nearly-vertical and nearly-horizontal objects. I'm sure Bungie will sort out issues like that over the course of development, as they've demonstrated that they clearly know how to exploit the Xbox hardware much better than any other developer.

While the striking visuals certainly set the stage, it is the rousing musical accompaniment that truly drives home the emotional impact of the trailer. Composer Marty O'Donnell has provided an impressive orchestral arrangement that perfectly captures the mood of the visuals, and builds in intensity as the direness of the situation is revealed. The piece reaches its crescendo as the words "Stop Destruction of Human Race: In Progress" appear on screen, right before the Master Chief springs into action hell-bent on doing just that. If this doesn't give you goose-bumps and cause your heart to leap up into your throat, then nothing ever will. Awesome work guys.

The trailer ends with the Master Chief descending towards the Covenant cruiser as the familiar choral chant plays in the background. Augmented by the singing of an angelic female soprano, this haunting piece is the perfect analog to the striking visage of a cyborg savior descending from the heavens to save mankind from utter annihilation. Wow. All-new voice recordings supplement the excellent score, as returning actors from Halo provide a few lines of critical dialogue. I was thrilled to hear Jen Taylor once again lending her talents to the voice of Cortana, who is perhaps the most crucial character to the Halo mythos. No expense was spared in the production of the trailer, and the results are extremely impressive.

Bungie spent nearly six weeks putting together the trailer for Halo 2, and the attention to detail and sky-high production values have given gamers an indelible first impression of this brave new game world. The trailer demonstrates just how much real-time visuals have progressed recently, and I'm eagerly anticipating the visual battle between Doom III and Halo 2 in the coming Xbox year. I'm sure there will be other video previews released during the development of Halo 2, and we can only hope they are as ass-kickingly awesome as this one. So far, Bungie has given us no reason to doubt that Halo 2 will be anything less than a supreme gaming achievement.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go watch this sucker a couple of hundred more times.

Download the trailier from the mirror page on halo.bungie.org.