Ok, so it seems I am not the only one who thinks that playing Halo 2 on Legendary is a bit on the impossible side. For me, the part that made me wonder if it was actually possible was the second boarding party on the very first level. I was so happy to finally get past the first boarding party, and then it just got crazy hard. Took me a LONG time to finally figure out a strategy that worked for me, but my guess is that everyone will need to find their own method that works best with their skills. There may be a few tricks to make it easy, but all I found was stuff that made it less impossible, but far from easy. Co-op I am sure would help, but none of my friends were willing to take a week of vacation just to play Halo 2, so I guess it is time to find some new friends.

All that being said, for me what worked was to make sure that at the end of the first boarding party I had a full load of both types of grenades (duh), I make sure I have my grenades set to concussion, not plasma, an energy sword, and a fully loaded battle rifle. Normally, first thing I would suggest is to make sure your marines are well armed, but in this case, no. Instead, pop around the corner and shoot the grunt on the closest mounted gun, but leave the other one be, as he will keep your marines from running forward with you until later, when you will need them. Next, from an area providing cover from the grunt you let live, use the rifle to shoot all of the grunts on the ground that are in the open, and if necessary shoot at any elites in the open until they grab some cover to recharge, then rush forward to the big crate under the balcony that the grunts mounted guns are on, near the window. Some times an elite or two will pop out and kill you on the way to the crate, but luckily the restart is quick, so just deal with it. Now that you are hugging the crate, check around you for any weapons or grenades, as sometimes there will be a few that are within reach, and when you need them later, that isn't the time to look.

Once you are settled in, it is time to start thinning down the bad guys. Standing in the open for very long will get you killed, but a quick peak around each side is usually enough to get a feeling for where they are all at. If you see any grunts in the open, a burst in the head with the rifle should drop them fast. If this isn't clear, watch the Fifth Element when Bruce Willis shoots the big dudes as part of his "negotiating". Once the grunts are cleared out, pick an elite near the boarding craft area and pop him in the head with a burst (then grab some cover). He will either start getting mad at you and approach your box, or grab some cover himself. (If nobody approaches, throw a grenade at the biggest group, then shoot into the mess afterward, and eventually they seem to take notice.) Watch your radar, and if one gets close, just wait for him to stop shooting, and if he is alone on the side of the box next to the window, swap to the sword and take him out quick as soon as you see red in the targeting thingy, then get back to cover. If multiple covenant approach, they will rarely come all the way around the crate, but instead they will group up, which is a perfect time to bounce a concussion grenade off the window. Sadly, this rarely kills all of them, but afterwards there is usually one on the opposite side of the crate from you recharging his shields (again, watch the radar while they are moving around). If there is one there, go around the other side of the crate, slice him a new one, and run for cover.

Using this approach, you can usually kill off enough grunts and elites to get the next batch to come down the tube. You can see them coming on your radar, so be ready, and toss a grenade into the group as they land. If any grunts survive the grenade, take them out with the rifle, and repeat the previous approach with the elites. The first couple of groups are not that tough, but eventually you will see the last group come out, and that is when you get a few Ultra Elites and some Golds with energy swords. As they are hitting the ground, throw the rest of your concussion grenades. Usually by this time the marines will finally have killed the grunt up above and they will show up to help. They actually do quite a bit for you if you take advantage of their efforts. Wait for one to empty his gun into an elite, then, just as he is about to die, jump around and finish off the guy whose shields he just lowered. Next, pick up any grenades he drops as he dies, which he usually will do pretty quickly. If you are lucky he will live, or there will be two of them to help with the last group for a little bit. If you get a few elites grouped together, which seems to happen a lot if you always shoot from the left side of the crate, try tossing two grenades as fast as you can at the same time, and sometimes you get lucky with a Gold Elite. When the marines are all dead and you have used all of your grenades, and all of theirs, make a mad dash to the hallway under the overhang that leads upstairs to reload your rifle and grab some more grenades. Usually I go up the stairs and make my way back to my favorite spot.

Eventually, you will be left with just you and 4 or 5 real tough Covenant. Luckily, you saved your plasma grenades and you have your nicest pair of running shoes on, cuz you will need both. As has been noted, the game gets a bit unfair on legendary. Sticking a plasma grenade on the head of an ultra seems to do little more than piss him off. Luckily, when you stick one though they sometimes roar and then charge, at which point you hold your ground for a few well placed bursts to his head, possibly another plasma grenade, then start backpedaling as he pulls out his sword and starts charging. Keeping cover as much as possible, run back towards the door you came in, shooting at him the whole time. He will drop eventually, but often I am into the hallway before he does. For the gold elites, unless there are some extra plasma grenades, I will just take them out with head-shots as they are chasing me, as the Ultras require the grenades as far as I can tell. Eventually, they will all be dead, and someone should bring you cake, but they don't, go figure.

Luckily, later on you can even things up a bit by equipping your marines with sniper rifles and rocket launchers when they are available (one of my favorite features of 2). Also, you will get to use these yourself, which leaves the elites deadly when they hit you, but at least they go down when you hit them with a couple of rockets, a grenade, and a few quick bursts from a rifle.