Halo 2 is arguably one of – if not the – best game in Bungie’s iconic franchise. The first followup title to the game that introduced us to Master Chief, Bungie found itself with loads of buying power when the development period rolled around, thanks in no small part to the success of the original. As such, Master Chief’s second outing had a massive boost in production value, which allowed composer Marty O’Donnell to pull in loads of “inspired-by” tracks for the official soundtrack. One such track – Halo 2’s MJOLNIR Mix – featured guitarist Steve Vai, and O’Donnell has just released a lengthy video of the original recording session where Vai learns, and then plays, the song. Check it out below:

https://youtu.be/RUUa112HA78

Seen above, the video is extremely grainy, though this “obscure moment in history,” as O’Donnell described it, is something amazing to behold. The first few minutes reveals O’Donnell and company showing Steve Vai a few parts of the game, after which Vai says, “It’s amazing to see how these games evolve, you know? The graphics and…can you imagine where it’s going?” After the ‘wow’ factor is shelfed, Vai gets his guitar and is essentially told to do what he does best, which he then does in glorious fashion, occasionally receiving pointers from both O’Donnell and producer Nile Rodgers.

It is interesting to note that, anyone that has seen Steve Vai play knows that he goes hard with the guitar-work, turning something as simple as the Star Spangled Banner into a spectacle of riffs and wails. A quick listen to the finished MJOLNIR Mix reveals that Vai was actually holding back, though he still manages to contribute an over-the-top epic song to an already stellar Halo 2 soundtrack. Here’s hoping that he’ll get an invite back to work on the next game.

So, thoughts on that awesome video? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!