A Banshee approaches the high central area of the multiplayer map, Ascension. Most, if not all, of Halo 2's multiplayer maps are expected to be in settings similar to locations from the campaign mode.
Ascension has indoor and outdoor areas.
The Crazy King game mode is a variation on King of the Hill where the location of the hill moves randomly at intervals during the game.
Frankie at Bungie.net has posted up what looks like the first part of a multipart series called the Bungie Guide to Game Modes; the first looks at what must be Frankie's favorite mode, Swords. This one is particularly interesting in that it lets drop a minor bit of info about Campaign mode, in that it seems Plasma Swords still will evaporate after some period of time in that mode, in contrast to multiplayer.
While only slightly different in appearance from its Halo 1 forebear, the Ghost in Halo 2 is also actually quite different. Like other vehicles, it is now partially destructible. Rather than a single explosion that renders the vehicle unusuable and the driver dead, like other vehicles, the Ghost can be wrecked in stages.
It also has the boost feature, activated by using the left trigger; this causes the Ghost to accelerate faster, but the twin plasma cannons cannot be fired in this mode.
The ghost can also be "boarded", allowing other players to approach it at a low enough speed, eject the driver and take over the vehicle, TJ-Hooker style.
Over at Halo.fr there's an item that says a company called Exequo, that does localization work for Microsoft, has denied responsibility for the Halo 2 leak, saying that they never actually put a hand on a copy of Halo 2. Editor's Note: That story, and the rest of that site, are in French. Thanks to KP and Lacrimosa in #hbo for help translating the text.
Over at HBO, mnemesis posted that the Bungie Store is now accepting preorders for three Halo 2 figures: the Brute, the Master Chief, and the Warthog. Stock should ship after November 9. Each figure is $14.99.
With the release of Halo 2, Bungie fans will be looking at some new vehicles, new weapons, new maps, and some new opponents. So to prepare for that, we've been working on the Halo 2 Guide, a collection of words and images designed to help players navigate their way through Halo 2.
So far, the following sections are open, and will shortly be expanded:
Story
Covenant