“Halo® 2” to make a midnight debut in Singapore
Singaporeans among first in the world to get their hands on “Halo 2”

Come November 9th, Singaporeans will be among the first in the world to get their hands on “Halo 2”, as Microsoft Singapore officially launches this feverishly-anticipated Xbox game title at midnight.

““Halo” is one of the most successful game franchises in the world, selling a total of more than 5 million copies worldwide,” said Alex Chua, Home & Entertainment Division Manager, Microsoft Singapore. “Due to unprecedented anticipation for “Halo 2”, we are kicking off with a midnight launch to give gamers a chance to own a copy of “Halo 2” the moment the clock strikes midnight.”

The excitement continues on 9th to 14th November with a roadshow at Shaw House atrium on Orchard Road, marking the biggest single game launch ever held in Singapore. With more than 40 Xbox kiosks at the launch venue, everyone will get a chance to play ‘Halo 2” and other thrilling Xbox games, plus enjoy special deals. Master Chief will take time off from defending Earth to visit the event – so be there with your cameras!

Catch MC Jin on 9th November 7:00 PM
US rap star MC Jin will bring the sounds of New York rap to the “Halo 2” launch on 9th November, 7:00 PM. Watch Jin pitch his gaming skills against host Ivan Rantung and his fans. "I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the “Halo 2” launch in Singapore. You better be prepared because I'm going to kick some serious Covenant butt at the launch!" said Jin.

He may be a freestyling hip-hop king, but can he defeat Ivan Rantung on “Halo 2”? Be there to see it yourself!

• The original “Halo” has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide (Xbox and PC versions) and still ranks on the Top 10 sales charts three years after its release.
• The anticipation for "Halo 2" is incredible, and globally the presale numbers have topped 1.5 million units – more than any other game in history.
• “Halo 2” has more audio than 10 feature films, including:
• • 17,000 lines of dialogue
  • Tens of thousands of sound effects
  • Nearly two hours of music
• “Halo 2” development began in 2002, and it took approximately 600,000 hours to create “Halo 2.”
• The “Halo” development team more than doubled for “Halo 2” and now stands at roughly 65 full-time employees, spanning a broad range of talent - from animation to AI, from environment design to network engineering.
• Similar to some of the most popular movies, “Halo 2” has a line of action figures including a Master Chief, a Covenant Brute, a Gauss Hog and Civilian "Hog"

“Halo 2”: Raves from the press

“… they took the moviemaking idea behind ‘Halo 2’ one step further and staffed their development team like a full-blown Hollywood production.  An architect designed the sets.  A thespian wrote the script.  A composer penned the score.  The result: a meticulously engineered, gorgeously textured, and explosively fun game that feels like your own damn action flick.” – WIRED, October 2004

“Sure, there are still tons of games I'll have left to play and review for November and December, but not even all those games combined add up to the magnitude of Halo 2.” Hilary Goldstein, IGN, September 9, 2004

“Everything indicates that the game is shaping up to be a real PlayStation 2 killer.” – Xbox Nation, August 2004

“Expectations are alarmingly high for ‘Halo 2’… Everything we’ve seen is even better than we had hoped.” Game Informer, July 2004

“The gorgeous ‘Halo 2’ also boasts the same correct feel, good AI, solid storyline, and even some awesome multiplayer. It's an unfortunate situation brought about by the currently underwhelming power of PS2.”  -- IGN PS2 editor, Ivan Sulic, in “Halo 2”/”Killzone” comparison