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Original Xbox Live servers were shut down in 2010, sadly sunsetting online suites for many classic games, but a replacement service is now reviving arguably the console's premiere multiplayer experience: Halo 2.
Insignia is the free and unofficial OG Xbox Live replacement that has restored online functionality for almost 200 older games. The service requires you to jump through a few hoops to get it working on an original Xbox console, as detailed on its website, which probably explains why there are just over 10,000 registered users and only 13 players online at the time of writing.
But if you don't mind fiddling with your dusty machine, the service is a surefire way to play the Conker remake, Project Gotham Racing, and Phantasy Star Online with their servers intact. Even Star Wars Battlefront 1 & 2 are included - just in case server woes persist on their high-definition remasters.
Next up on the online game preservation waitlist is Halo 2, which is coming to the service later today with ten multiplayer playlists: Team Slayer, Skirmish, Training, Snipers, Hardcore, SWAT, Double Team, Rumble Pit, H2 Challenge, and my personal favorite, Big Team Battle. The shooter launches on Insignia in Public Beta at 8pm GMT and 4pm EST.
Halo 2 was a landmark release two decades ago and it's still just as hilariously chaotic today thanks to some unshackled physics mayhem that sends tanks flying off the map, for instance. The game is still playable through normal means today via Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but I'm happy to hear that online functionality is being revived for the shooter's original hardware.
Modders have worked magic on the classic game recently, with one team discovering and even resurrecting cut content from before the game's release. Another mod forced Spartans and Stormtroopers to battle it out for the sci-fi crown. And one animator used the game's textures to create a Pokemon Snap crossover - yes, you read that right - that I never knew I needed.
