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Great game, but......

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I agree that Halo 2 is a blast to play. I only have one problem with it, and this one problem REALLY gets on my nerves. I'm talking about the way one "joins" a multi-player game on xbox live. I get a headache each and every time!! You CAN'T just browse a list of servers like a normal game, nope. One selects "optimatch" and then sits and waits on average 5 minutes staring at the screen wondering if anyone is coming. The only way to play against the same players is to put them in your clan list. I like normal games where the players go from game to game. Not this game, once the map is over, process starts AGAIN. Thrust out into the lobby to wait another 5-10 minutes for the game to start. Very annoying. That being said, the game itself is a blast to play.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a very awesome game with good graphics and great gameplay. What I don't get though are those people who say this game is horrible... cmon, don't be fooled by them, this game is definately worth buying.

Lacks Depth

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The first Halo was seen as a sort of blockbuster of games, a title that put the Xbox on the map and kept the console from potentially becoming another Dreamcast (sorry SEGA). With slick, albeit repepitive, graphics and gameplay that was more intuitive than any console-shooter before it, Halo simply rocked the house.

The sequel -- anticipated and set upon years later -- falls somewhat short.

Wherein the first game the single-player was astounding, brilliant, captivating and moving, Halo 2's single-player is simply mediocre. The story -- a strong point early on -- spiraled out of its own hands, becoming a bungled mess of characters and far-away ideas that only the truly hardcore will understand, or care to understand. A strange thing to add is that the cutscenes which propel the story are foul. I've never seen this in other games before, but in Halo 2 the cutscenes have this strange tendency to load while you're watching them. This means at the start they can be very low-res and have primitive textures before finally loading up to the typical graphics-fare. It's not an awful mistake on Bungie's behalf, but you have to think that it could have been easily avoided considering the nature of cutscenes.

Sadly, the story isn't the only dull point of the single-player. Level design is reminiscent of the days of early modders for the Unreal and Quake games of yester-years. There is an overall lack of originality and professionalism put into the levels. They are just too bland, with a poor art-direction not helping in the least (get used to seeing mushed colors of greys and greens).

The gameplay itself has lost that precision once felt in the first Halo. Hard to describe, the best word I could put out is that the game feels very floaty, as if you're playing while frolicking in a vat of dough. Okay, that was bad. Regardless, Halo 2 has a, dare I say it, generic touch to it.

There is one thing that saves Halo 2 from falling into that hole filled with the thousands of other "been there done that" fan-fare FPSes, and that is multi-player. Helped out by the hand that is Xbox-Live, Halo 2's multi-player is easy to access and enjoy. There is also a robust statistics system in place for the hardcore (and I do mean robust; you can find very minute details of every match you've played). The game is also very beginner-friendly with a forgiving auto-aim feature and general lack of required accuracy.

Do note, though, that Halo 2's multi-player is quite different from most FPSes, including its predecessor. Where in most multi-player games skill is the most needed attribute, Halo 2 requires more of a strategic approach (such as weapon control) due to a large divide between the strengths of the weapons. Though it is no Counter-Strike, Halo 2's multi-player is perfect for the same mold of players: people who enjoy team-based action will enjoy Halo 2's multi-player. Those who prefer skill and quick reactions may want to look elsewhere (if not simply to Halo).

Something that has to be said, though, that there is something disturbing about Halo 2's online community. This may have little to do with the actual game but it requires noting simply due to the overwhelming nature of it -- Halo 2's online community is rude, simply put. Parents bewarned (and perhaps just the mature-folk): you WILL meet people who are rude, foul-mouthed, racist, sexist, and sometimes, simply too young. I was rather amazed at how I could play a series of matches and not once go without seeing one of the above (often displayed across the board by multiple players). Again, I find this rather disturbing and I make this paragraph out to only be a warning to those wishing to play online.

Overall, Halo 2 is a good game teetering on mediocrity. The single-player is a definite weakness, and a glaring one at that. However, a robust, intuitive, and beginner-friendly multi-player keeps Halo 2's head above water.

unbelievably awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is my favorite game, and it probably will be until the third. The graphics are the first to catch your attention. Once you start playing, the story and music hold onto you until the end. The weak ending is the only flaw. No other problems will appear. The weapons, enemies and vehicles all grab you away from any pretender, like the first Halo. Once you're done with the campaign, head ammediately to Xbox Live or whatever else form of multiplayer. Always have a friend. This is only a quick review. You MUST get this game!

Favorite game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alright, so this game is probably my favorite game of all time thus far. It is an amazing first person shooter and has everything you could want in a game and plenty more. A long and fun single player campaign and a HUGE multiplayer experience for those gamers with xbox live (or split screen, LAN, etc). The graphics of this game are amazing and really showed the true power of the Xbox. From lighting, to the textures, everything is great to look at. The single player campaign is definitely a fun experience and is well worth playing over and over again. The ending is a bit, blah, but other than that it was awesome. There are a lot of changes from the original Halo and in my opinion they are all for the better. There are many new weapons and the ability to dual wield two smaller weapons, making for some great gameplay. Overall, the single player game is enough to buy this game alone, but for those people looking for a great xbox live game, this is certainly the one to buy.

The multiplayer experience of this game is awesome in every way. CHEATERS obviously get in the way of having a perfectly fun experience, but aside from that its great. Plus, lately I've come across less and less cheating over xbox live. There is a unique ranking system, which ranks players from 1-50, 1 being the lowest and 50 the highest. It's pretty much impossible to become a level 50 without cheating and I highly doubt it has been done before. All of your wins and losses come into play here and your ranks are setup across different "matchmaking playlists." Some of the more popular examples are team slayer, team hardcore, and rumble slayer. These playlists get updated regularly to please the gamers worldwide. I must commend the Bungie team for doing such a good job with this. They are even starting to ban more and more cheaters daily, something that is also great! Overall, playing this game over xbox live can and will become an addiction (that is if you like the game). Some people feel it's to "run and gun" to them, but in my opinion it is pure fun and excitement. It definitely has "pick up and play" qualities, which makes it great for people who just want to do exactly that, pick up and play. There is obviously some skill involved with this game, but because of the ranking system, players should be matched with others of there same skill level, another good thing. A definite buy for all xbox and 360 owners looking for a great gaming experience. Even though the game came out in 2004, it still lives up to standards and it still one of the most (usually most) played game over xbox live. Now all we have to do is wait for Halo 3 and a new addiction will emerge! ?

Solid but not as good as it should have been

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was thrilled to see the sequel to my favorite game in years, but a little dissappointed with a few things. First the pros...

The graphics, textures and colors received a fantastic upgrade. The game seemed more vibrant and although I loved the first game, the second installment offered a serious upgrade in this area.

Gameplay was smooth and full of action. I loved having the other marines with me through much of the game; it was a very nice touch.

The Co-op campaign. When will other people follow suit and get a clue!! THANK YOU BUNGIE for putting a co-op campaign in the game. So many other FPS out there are great--ala Call of Duty 2--but they get stuck back on the shelf because I'd rather play with a friend than alone. Bungie earns high marks for this.

Online--this is where Bungie once again shines and realizes what it takes to make a great game even better. Fantastic online options including "party mode" lets you play with--get this--your friends. Instead of being forced into games with strangers you can play with your friends. Amazingly, this feature has yet to be duplicated by other manufacturers.

Now the Cons...

The flashlight...for some reason it turns off automatically in the second game, which I don't like. Why? Because it usually turns off when you still need the darn thing, so what is the point of having it? Secondly, it illuminates about as well as a match even when it is on.

Level design--they dropped the ball again, just like in the first game. The first three levels were incredible and I loved them, but later in the game they just got sloppy.

Having to drop your weapon when you do a melee attack during dual wield is just plain silly.

Personally, I could certainly do without the levels playing as the covenant. It was implemented well enough, but frankly I wasn't interested.

The ending--absolutely horrible. I know the first game got bashed a bit for the ending, but i liked it. Driving the warthog out of the exploding Pillar of Autumn was cinematic and dramatic. The second game--worthless. The fight seems to stop right in the middle--the end--you're done.

The weapons--although I thought the rifle in the first game was underpowered, I thought they made the problem worse with the 3-shot burst version in the second game. The punch of the gun may have been stronger, but you only had three shots per burst which in the end made it far worse than the gun in the first game. Lets talk about ammo capacity on it--108 rounds....are you joking? Its a useless piece of weaponry, drop it and grab ANYTHING else. And the shotgun wasn't up to snuff either. Do you mean to tell me that with all this space-age weaponry they can't offer a semi-auto shotgun?

Overall a fantastic game but probably not quite at the level it should have been. Hopefully bungie will finally get the level design problem fixed for the third installment and really go all out. The replay value on this game is unsurpassed because of the online play, but I just couldn't give it five stars because even with all the improvements Bungie still repeated some old mistakes.

Halo 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: November 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The only thing saving this game from being yet another piece of garbage is the ACCEPTABLE xbox live play. Even the multiplayer is flawed since the developers decided to not have dedicated servers. It takes at least 5 minutes at a time to find a game and those games usually only last 5-10 minutes (depending on game type). The story was just another shoot-the-aliens-be-for-they-destroy-humanity, and since your the faceless badass in the suit its your job to shoot the same aliens over and over and over and over again until you reach end. Eventually you get to fight a boss but the boss is a push over. Don't be suckered into buying this as I was. GET HALF LIFE 2. Im not just saying that because Im a fanboy but because its superior in every way.

A badly lived fantasy

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: July 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, before you people judge me and call the Bungie-ites to have me locked up and tortured for the rest of my life, allow me to earn some points in your fanboy books by saying this game has an excellent multiplayer mode, despite a few previous glitches which have been fixed with online patches. The weapons are fairly balanced, the arenas are cleverly designed, and you won't find yourself not having a blast playing against 16 people via Xbox live or LAN. But, sadly, the positive points end here, for the rest is just an overpriced product that can hardly be classified as a product at all; more like a work-in-progress demo that some idiot got the rights to sell on shelves.

The single player mode is kind of like an April Fool's joke; before you know the truth, you expect something spectacular... your day is then completely ruined by a hope-shattering form of public humiliation. When everyone saw the E3 videos, they were expecting sharp, well-blended graphics, massive free-roaming mayhem, and a storyline to eclipse any other in a first-person shooter. For some stupid reason, all of this was cut 6 months before release, and the team rapidly threw together a short and meaningless adventure involving the Master Chief saving Earth from a spontaneous wave of Inept Covenant forces, whom somehow manifested themselves close enough to our planet to wipe out our intergalactic defenses from the INSIDE OUT. Had Bungie decided to stick to their original plan, the plot would have been much more interesting and surprising (i.e. Miranda Keys was originally going to blame the Master Chief for her father's death, strap a bomb to his back, and throw him into the sewers of a much more indepth city than the one portrayed.)

That about covers my nerdy rant directed toward other nerds; for those of you who don't dedicate your time to the mistakes of the powerful, I'll give you a more rough and blatant explanation as to why the single player game sucks. The levels are no more complicated than rat mazes, the graphics are somehow worse than the previous game in the series (much worse; textures look like used toilet paper and the draw distance makes the game look about as visually stimulating as South Park), the vehicles serve no purpose because the worlds aren't big enough to hold them, and the storyline is simple enough to make Arthur C. Clarke put the barrels of a shotgun in his mouth.

If anyone out there believes they can give a thorough explanation as to why I'm wrong about this, I'd love to hear it.

For Pete's sake, this game got dominated by Conker: Live and Reloaded! The team that made that game didn't even take it seriously for one second, and they did a better job! Speaking of which, forget my review, forget that this game is even listed on Amazon.com (haha, it barely even is... you have to search "Halo Series" to get results) Head straight over to the "Conker: Live and Reloaded" section. Although the multiplayer on Halo 2 is good, the multiplayer on that is better. Plus it doesn't make you want to cry because the graphics are so bad.

Thank you for your time!

Just your average FPS

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: November 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Halo 2 definately falls short of all the hype it recieved. The graphics are great, but I've seen better. The sound was great, but with such short and not all that fun campaign mode with a weak story those things really don't matter. I had it beat on hard after playing it for a weekend. The ending is terrible and there is no real gameplay innovation that seperates it from Halo. Essentally it is Halo with new guns and vechicles. Also, a new playable covenant character is thrown in there but I hate the covenant. They are trying to whipe out the human race after all. My advice is rent before you buy, I'm glad I did.

the best shooting game ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: September 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

i love this game i have bought this game 3 times!

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