Shacknews Best Mod of 2024 - Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo

Video game mods have the ability to elevate a gaming experience or add something wacky to elicit some laughs. Other times they expand a game almost to the degree that an expansion might. But rarer still are those times were a mod takes a beloved relic from the past and brings it to the future for players to experience for the first time. The Halo 2 E3 2003 demo mod does exactly that. It digs deep into our collective history and delivers to us the iconic hands-off experience Bungie presented some 20 years ago. Except now we are very much hands-on.

Back in 2003, the Electronic Entertainment Expo was approaching fast. Bungie had been hard at work developing Halo 2, but now they needed a tasty, vertical slice of the game. They didn’t have one. So they made one. Behind the scenes it was a hobbled together patchwork of what was being worked on, but what the audience saw was perfection.

What Bungie showed the attendees of E3 2003 was an unforgettable viewing experience for gamers. It showed off new and impressive visuals, an Earth under siege by the Covenant, new weapons, dual-wielding, boarding, new enemy types, and even AI-driving vehicles while Chief road in the back. It blew the roof off of the building. Everyone loved it.

Speaking personally, I was a kid when E3 2003 took place, and I lived in Australia. Two massive hurdles to being able to witness the demo first-hand. What ended up happening was I saw a magazine in a newsagency with Master Chief and Halo 2 in bold text on the front cover and a several-page spread inside detailing the demo.

The magazine was purchased and I devoured every inch of that Halo 2 E3 2003 demo coverage. It had two whole pages with nothing but screenshots of the demo, showing an image for every 10 seconds of gameplay. I could almost see the movie playing before me.

As luck would have it, I discovered a DVD at another newsagency that featured every single E3 2003 announcement, but the most important one was the Halo 2 demo. I probably watched that thing a hundred times in the lead up to Halo 2’s release.

Those days are 20 years ago now. But something magical happened, this year modders and 343 Industries, now Halo Studios, bandied together to recreate the Halo 2 E3 2003 demo. By utilizing the actual historical files, modders were able to piece together the demo and release it for everyone to play via The Master Chief Collection on Halo 2’s 20^th birthday no less.

"That's some good Halo right there, man. It's brings a tear to my eye... That was peak gaming!" - @SamuelChandler gets emotional about the Halo 2 E3 Demo. #Halo2 #Xbox #Bungie pic.twitter.com/t6pMk8EFuS

— Shacknews (@shacknews) November 9, 2024

And so I, and many other gamers around the world, finally got to experience first-hand the incredible demo that stood to represent a game we would all come to love. A game that fundamentally changed the very landscape of online gaming as we know it.

It’s hard to know exactly what sort of game Halo 2 would have been like without this demo. Putting it in front of a live audience and seeing people’s reactions gave Bungie the energy the developers needed to get the game across the finish line. It showed the world that something special was coming out soon.

It is with great pleasure that we here at Shacknews give the Halo 2 E3 2003 demo the award for Best Mod of 2024. Bet you can’t stick it.

Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2024 feature.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler