Starting today those of you playing Halo 2 online will find it more viable to wield only one weapon. Bungie.net has more details on a pretty big gameplay overhaul including increased grenade damage, a shorter grenade fuse, increased melee damage (including a flying smack to the face), etc.

Melee damage has been increased across the board as a counter measure of sorts to close-up dual wielding. Jumping strikes are now much more powerful, often resulting in instant kills, while the general potency has been increased for normal melee attacks and the Brute Shot has been given a specific melee attack boost, in recognition of the fact that it has a huge scythe attached to it. This actually makes the Brute Shot a go-to weapon in a lot of new situations.

Examples of the increase in power include one-hit kills from many jumping strikes, two-hit kills from the Brute Shot melee attack, and far more power on torso and head strikes from all other weapons.

It’s a shame my xbox is toast. I won’t be able to try this stuff out until my new DVD drive arrives in another week.