How Halo 2’s E3 demo changed everything

At the turn of the century, after films like Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace and The Matrix reshaped pop culture, early-2000s maximalism was at its peak. Darth Maul’s double-sided lightsaber and Neo and Trinity’s lobby gunfight — where they’re each firing two guns simultaneously, one in each hand — became instant teen obsessions.