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Brilliant sequel with only a few flaws

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 187 / 242
Date: November 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just finished the full walkthrough for Halo 2, as well as played a number of multiplayer games. I'm finally ready with the review of this awesome game!

First off, this is obviously the sequel to the hugely popular initial Halo game. You are Master Chief, a space marine who is sent out to battle the enemies. You are fighting the Covenant, who are your main foes, but you also run into the Flood, who are a space parasite that wants to eat all life. In addition, there are mechanical creatures on Halo who want to kill pretty much anything including the Flood. So each location and creature type has its own look, feel, attitudes and reactions.

The graphics are simply gorgeous, from the rippling water to the clouds in the sky and reflections off of surfaces. I love taking screenshots of this game. The music is also extremely well done, in that the quality is always very high. But it's a little bizarre to be going from new age lilting softness in one heated battle to high intensity rock music in another and so on. It doesn't necessary track to the location you're in, either. It's just whatever the designers felt like putting in.

The gameplay and plot is where this game really shines. Your characters that interact with you are simply BRILLIANT in how they each do what a real live creature would do. Grunts are my favorite - these little Covenant front-liners are brave and talkative when they're in groups, but when you whittle them down they suddenly turn and flee, shrieking at the top of their lungs. Your teammates leap into vehicles with you, either driving or shooting depending on your preference. They'll come alongside you to give you support, and duck for cover when appropriate.

The quips the characters come out with mid-battle still make me laugh out loud. In one sequence you are the covenant Arbitor and are working your way through a room. You come across a pair of grunts and a jackal under attack, and take out the enemies. The grunt comes running to you in glee, shouting, "Arbitor! My savior!" Then he pauses and adds, "Jackal, say thank you to the Arbitor!" :)

The cut scenes are equally as brilliant and are truly movie quality in the interactions. The timing, dialogue, everything is great. The little touches are everywhere. In one sequence, the Sergeant is preparing his troops to get ejected in pods down to the surface of Halo. He walks past the Master Chief's pod and thumps twice on it, as if to say "All OK in there, ready to go?" Right on beat, you see Master Chief inside his pod, thumping once back in response. You really forget that these are just computer generated characters.

Multiplayer is the stellar addition to this release and there are reasons to be thrilled. You can play on a large variety of maps, in a number of styles, and there is even going to be downloadable content in the future.

That all being said, there are of course a few non-stellar aspects to this release. First, the ending SUCKS. The first one was bad enough with its "Oh I bet there is another Halo out there" so you don't even feel like you really saved the world. In this one, not only is it not a "you're done but it's not over" ending - it's pretty much cut off mid-battle! That is INCREDIBLY frustrating for a gameplayer. Obviously they want you to buy Halo 3, but that's going to be a year or two away. Can't we have some satisfaction in the meantime?

Next, the game is really short, even on normal mode. We had a friend start the game up Sunday morning at about 12:30 and he was done with the entire game by around 8. You can have fun replaying it on the harder levels, but that's a rather quick game.

Finally, the multiplayer, while brilliant in concept, is lacking in implementation right now. There are two general ways to play - either you set up a game yourself for friends ONLY, or you launch into the ether to play a quick match. If you get up your own game you can control all the settings, but you can only invites people on your friends list. That limits the chances of having a full game unless you are VERY proactive in seeking friends. The quick match game only lets you make a few choices, and then in essence you are auto-connected with other people who are also actively seeking those game types. You can't browse or look. You just say "I want to play X type of game" and then you wait - literally for 5 minutes or more sometimes - as the servers gather together other people who are also actively seeking that game type. Then the game auto launches without you even knowing who is on your team or if you want to play with them. It's very frustrating to people who are used to the more customizeable lobby situations.

Still, the online experience can always be tweaked going forward, and the base gameplay is amazingly good. I highly recommend the game to anyone who enjoys shooting / strategy games - but you might want to rent it for a week first, to see if what it offers to you after that point is going to keep you playing.

Pretty damn good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 32
Date: November 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I loved the original Halo. It had everything I wanted in a game. Good graphics, excellent story, and lots of action.
Halo 2 is essentially its predecessor, except better. I know that sounds unlikely, but the few things that I didn't like about the original game such as bad Marine AI and monotonous maps are gone in this version.
For example, I was playing last night, and I was on the second level where you and a team of Marines are going through an African city killing everything. A Marine in front of me gets killed as soon as he rounds a corner. Instead of charging ahead, the rest of the squad hugs the wall. So, I swap my sniper rifle for Sarge's auto rifle (another kickass feature, you can swap guns with marines). Since the Marines are better shots, Sarge charges ahead and takes out the Covenant sniper. The marines and I then charge ahead and waste the covenant.
Here is a summary of cons and pros about the game.
PROS: Marines are much, much more intelligent.
You can swap guns with marines.
marines can drive vehicles on their own now.
the flood return
AH TOO MANY TO LIST CANT LIST THEM ALL

Cons: The only bad things I noticed so far were some minor graphial glitches, such as guns and vehicles sticking through walls. Also, every time it loads a charecter in a cutscene, a milisecond later the game seems to "draw" the person. It is kind of wierd looking, but in no way hurts the game.

If you are into a good sci-fi story or lots of action get this game. Also, Halo 1 fans wont be dissapointed, all changes were for the better.

Good Stuff

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 23
Date: November 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

GREAT GAME.
GRAPHICS: The Graphics have greatly improved since the original Halo. The bump-mapping has done a great deal for the game. Throw a plasma grenade on the ground and watch the lighting effects.
10/10
SOUND: I love the sound in this game, great music, and great sound effects. My only complaint is that the warthog sounds less "scary" and the smgs sound more like fully-auto cap guns instead of real guns. but other than that the sound is great.
9.7/10
GAMEPLAY: FUN! I love the new addition of dual weilding. I also like the way that you can board and enemy vehicle. These are just a couple of the many things that have greatly added to the already fun gameplay of HALO.
10/10
STORY (no spoilers): Good story. There have been many complaints about the ending...but I thought the story was very immersive. I loved it. Although the ending was SLIGHTLY dissapointing.
9.8/10
MULTIPLAYER: In Halo this was one of the main attractions. In Halo 2 multiplayer could have made a game. Its incredibly fun and addicting. Now with the new addition of LIVE you can play with new or old friends while on completely different continents. Multiplayer is what helped make this game what it is...a great game.
10/10
VALUE: Definatly a game that will keep you occupied for years.
10/10
OVERALL: Halo 2 leaves me completely breathless...well, it leaves me with enough breath to say "DAMN!"
SCORE:9.9

Best Game on XBox So Far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 22
Date: December 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I do think this is the best game for the xbox so far. Some People may argue with that, but whatever. Its my opinion. Halo 2 has evolved greatly from Halo 1 (which was also an excellent game).

The most obviouse and noticeable is the graphics. The lighting effects are incredible. When the Master Chief comes out of the shadows you notice the light reflection off his armor. It's amazing. Another graphic change that isn't a big deal, but it's something truely incredible is when characters talk, their mouths don't just bob up and down, it looks like they are actually speaking.

The gameplay in Halo 2 is pretty much the same as Halo 1. The only acception is the ablity to dual wield two weapons at once. This can make a major difference while playing multiplayer. The only drawback to this new ability is you can no longer use grenades because your "free hand" is no longer free.

The single player campain is great, but i can see why some people think it isn't up to par. In the first Halo, I enjoyed playing the missions over and over again. In Halo 2, it's fun to play them a lot, but i got sick of them, and, as in all FPS games, once the single player is over, its over. After defeating the game on legendary, they replay value is very low.

At about that time, multiplayer becomes the greatest aspect in the game. It's blast to play with friends on split screen and system link. I could do that four hours on end. The real beauty of Halo 2's multiplayer is in its online play. I haven't had much experience with this, though, because I have a terrible internet connection and don't have XBox Live. I have played online at a friends house, and I could hardly leave it alone! There is really no gaming experience equal to getting an "un-freakin-believable" (25 kills without dieing) and then getting to rub it in while you view the stats screen.

Bottom line: if you haven't already, buy this game!

Graphics: 5/5

Gameplay: 5/5

SP story: 4/5

Multiplayer: 5/5

New features: 5/5

Good Sequel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For all you Halo fans there WILL be a Halo 3. A Trilogy for Halo, excellent... The weapons are great. Especially the fuel rod cannon. I have been waiting for this game since Halo I and this one didn't dissapoint me. However, as with too many games these days...they are too short. I already finished the game. For those playing don't turn it off after the credits, there is an ending scene after them. However the good outweighs the bad. The vehicles are destructible which is alot of fun, and the banshees have alittle bit better maneuverability than they did before. Rent it or buy it it is a great game.

Amazon Not Shipping Pre-ordered games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: November 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I see others are irritated by Amazon not shipping pre-ordered copies of Halo 2, so I thought I'd just add my voice to the chorus of jeers. When you pre-order a game you expect the game to be delivered in a timely fashion, not 5 days after the release date which is what it looks like Amazon is going to do with my order of Halo 2. Worse, I could easily run down to Best Buy and pick myself up a copy right off the shelf, but Amazon has placed my order into its "order cannot be canceled" mode. Its been in "processing for being shipped" for 3 days now with a delivery estimate of November 8th. I have written an e-mail to Amazon's customer service and have not gotten a response. This is the last time I'll pre-order a game from Amazon.

***UPDATE****
I just received an apology e-mail from Amazon saying that they received their supplies late and that they are "currently processing the order" (whatever that means). I can understand that the game is very popular and there are a lot of orders to process, but still, that's why you offer pre-orders so you can anticipate this demand.

Look out crack dealers, there's a new sheriff in town ...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 18
Date: November 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Look out crack dealers, there's a new sheriff in town ... and its name is Halo 2.

OK, so I got this game a little early and have played a lot of the Campaign, which is pretty much the same as last time with one significant twist, which I won't ruin for you. The real kicker with this game is the Live Multiplayer function. Once I started, I could not stop for eight hours. The Live Multiplayer is so good that my fiance will most likely leave me and I will probably lose my job beacuse it is so incredibly addictive. If you have ever had/been to a Halo I Party where you and up to 16 of your friends could blast the S**T out of each other, you know that having that capability "on tap" will threaten life as you now know it. Through the ranking system, they constantly challenge you with equal to better competitors. I am personally happy when I don't finish dead last in a Rumble Match -- whereas I used to be in the top 2 or 3 among my other Halo geek friends!

I really cannot say enough good things about this game. If you want the most thrilling, addictive game EVER, buy Halo 2 and plug it in to XBOX LIVE ... I'll be waiting there to put a buckshot in your face.

Spectacular Game...from one to 16 players!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: November 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Okay first things first. This game is better than the original Halo by far, and being a huge PS2 gamer, I must admit this game blows away any FPS game for the PS2; the only game that will give this a challenge is TimeSplitters: Future Perfect.

The graphics are a 9.7/10. The reason it's not a full 10 is because of some minor glitches were you sometimes walk up to a wall and the gun goes into the wall, but it doesn't have any effect on the actual gameplay.

As for sound, that is a 10/10 hands down. The explosions, gun fires, even walking through water or on rocks is crystal clear and sounds like you're actually there, especially with surround sound.

Now for what most of you probably will read this for...the gameplay. Okay, for the first person mode, the game doesn't last too long (about 10 hours should get it done), but that doesn't mean it's not a good game. There are several difficulty levels to make the game more challenging than the time before. The gun selection is decent, however new to Halo 2 is the ability to hold 2 guns at the same time (one in each hand unless it's a sniper, assault rifle, or missle launcher that requires both hands to hold) and with the L and R buttons, respectively, you can shoot either gun when you want. There's also a few twists in the story line that make the game a little more interesting, yet it seems to end a little prematurely.

As for multiplayer (multiplayer as in with friends either on one X Box or with system link--I've yet to try X Box Live), it is, handsdown, the best I've seen (beating out Counter Strike for PC). You can customize your character in several aspects, making you unique from anyone else. There are, if I can remember, about 20 multiplayer maps each with their own cool feel. Vehicles are back and there's more!! About half of the levels are capable of having tanks and other vehicles, which make this game blow by the rest. You can customize what vehicles you want to be in a certain level. There are two types, basically the smaller vehicles and the bigger ones. You can have a Scorpion Tank in the level, and at the same time have 2 smaller vehicles like a Banshee (which flies) and a Ghost (which is IMO the best small vehicle). The only downside is that there are only 2 big vehicles to use, but the way you customize the levels with each one makes the game never get boring! The gun selection is pretty good, and most of the guns return from the original Halo but have been modified (either they look a little different or have heat-seeking ammunition).

Multiplayer is easily the best mode (they have the jeep-like vehicle back-Warhog-which one person can be in the back shooting the machine gun while the other is driving). The game modes are pretty much the same, except they are named differently, but they did add a few more. Team matches (capture the flag, slayer-kill the other team-) are back and are probably the best way to play multiplayer. There really isn't anything I can say to put the game down, being such a huge PS2 fan. I was really impressed with this game, and as much as I hate to say it (it feels like being a Red Sox fan then becoming a Yankee fan) I think I'm going to buy an X Box just for Halo 2...it's really THAT amazing. (I'm a Sox fan btw-2004!!)

If you want my honest opinion, aka you don't want to read all of what I've written above, you really don't need to rent this game. Go ahead and reserve it while you can and buy it - you definitely won't regret it even if you only remotely like FPS games. Graphics were overall astounding, sound was incredibly clear, and the gameplay is easily a 10/10 whether it's single player action or multiplayer. If you want a really good (actually the BEST FPS game) multiplayer game to play with friends on the weekends or during parties, this is easily a must have. No question.

Phenomomenal

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 15
Date: November 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just bought the game this morning and haven't stopped playing it since. All the graphics and energy put into this game was great. Every detail must have been carefully designed to fit the game perfectly. The first halo was so good that I just knew the second had to be the greatest. I usually don't write reviews and im still playing but I just had to tell you guys what a great job you did on this game.

HALO 2 is like a drug

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: November 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

a week before this game came out i told my friend that on november 9th i will fail out of school. he asked why. i told him HALO 2 is coming out and im going to play it for a week straight. what i said is happening. this game has so many things better then the first halo that i just cant stop playing. its got the dual guns which i think is so awesome. and the new aliens are so cool. i like the fact that its on earth an a city block it make you feel more comfortable when im playing. i would write more but i have to go play right now. if you have xbox buy halo 2 now because it wont be in stores for another 3 months. BYE BYE and have fun playing HALO 2

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