Hello! Welcome back to our series of guides for the longest strand of new achievements in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Par Times and Par Scores, for every single level in every Halo game. If you missed it, here is our guide for Halo: Combat Evolved. At the least, read the prologue there before continuing on. We recommend Score runs be done on Heroic difficulty, and Time runs keep it on Normal difficulty. And, as always, play the campaigns well enough to understand each level and the areas we mention in the guide.
Curiously, Halo 2‘s guide is a bit shorter than Halo: Combat Evolved‘s. And yet, it contains levels infinitely more difficult in nature for both Speed and Time runs. It is more versatile, complex – yet more succinct and forward; much like the game itself.
Without further adieu, we reconvene with our heroes on board….
Halo 2 Master Chief Collection Par Times
Cairo Station Par Times
Hey, Sgt. Johnson’s a cinematic character now! Never mind how many times he died in Halo: Combat Evolved. And who was that Elite dude, anyway? Eh, whatever. Let’s get to it.
The largest change to Halo 2 in comparison to the first game is the addition of dual wielding. This simultaneously opens up a lot of options and closes others – since the magnum of this game is less than ideal and much more rare, the noob combo of old is much less effective.
On the plus side, however, is the battle rifle – a headshot machine with a bit more versatility than the magnum. And there is the ability to swap weapons with Marine allies, a big help later on.
Time run: Park yourself right next to the door with a battle rifle and an SMG. The moment it explodes, rush the Elite and kill him. Jack his plasma rifle and dual wield it with your SMG, then sprint through to the open hanger with the ships.
You have to kill all the enemies in this room to unlock the next area, and wait until Malta explodes to get through the door. Once in the open habitat area, drop the plasma rifle and sprint through the room, headshotting the grunts on turrets.
Get to the hanger and kill all the enemies quickly – this time you can use grenades, use them judiciously, and grab one of the plasma pistols from a Grunt in place of your SMG.
Once the door opens after the Athens explodes, get into the Armory and plasma pistol/battle rifle the Elites. Swap your plasma pistol for the shotgun and run.
Memorize the zero-gravity section so you can turn and jump past all the Elites. The next fight you have to get into is against the Drones on the lift. Kill them with the battle rifle (get really good with headshots with this thing). Jump down the elevator and trigger the switch before it reaches the top, and use the shotgun to clear the deck.
Swap the shotgun for a plasma pistol and run past the Elites in vacuum, killing the one on the turret. Once in the bomb room, swap the plasma pistol for a plasma rifle and SMG and get to work on the Elites in the room. Stay close to the bomb at all times to trigger the end cutscene faster.
Score: Get on that turret at the beginning and get merciless. Really, merciless is the name of the game on this level for Score; in the areas you sprinted through before, hunt down and kill all the enemies hiding in the side hallways. Not a whole lot to it, honestly.
Try and chain combos together in the hangers with grenades and the battle rifle.
Now, time to take Halo 2 to the surface….
