Halo 2's ending is one of the biggest (and most infuriating) cliffhangers in video game history. After battling his way to a Covenant ship heading straight for Earth, the Master Chief stows away on board, ready to prevent the Prophet of Truth from activating the Ark and destroying all life in the galaxy with the combined power of the Halo rings.
Only when Chief arrives on Earth, things don't go exactly how players planned. When Lord Hood asks Chief what he's doing on board a Covenant ship, Chief simply responds "Sir, finishing this fight." Cut to black.
While it certainly helped to set up the sequel (and the sequel's marketing tagline of "Finish the Fight"), more than a few fans felt betrayed that they would have to wait another three years to see the conclusion. It felt like the game had ended just as it was getting good.
There's a reason for that, as former Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell says the original plan for Halo 2 was for Master Chief to arrive on Earth and finish the fight then and there.
"[T]he ending was you and the Dervish (the early name for the Arbiter) chasing the Prophet of Truth through the Ark and having a grand and glorious conclusion on Earth, finishing the fight right there," O'Donnell tells IGN. He goes on to say that the game's various voice actors had even recorded all their lines for the original ending.
In the end, however, Bungie simply didn't have enough time to finish its own fight, which O'Donnell says was disappointing for the entire team.
"We just couldn't finish the plan, it was just impossible," he said. "So, everything got re-jiggered, and we had the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers."
Now that O'Donnell is no longer a member of Bungie, he's been revealing plenty of tidbits about the company's past. He offered more insight into the development of Destiny prior to being fired from the company, as well as detailed the existence of a post-Halo Bungie game that was cancelled in order for the entire team to focus on Halo 2.
