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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.

Finally a Halo Killer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 49 / 53
Date: September 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Combat evolved indeed. When Halo 2 first came out in Nov. of 2004 I fried my brain and eyesight on normal difficulty for 10 and half hours to play it through on the next setting up:Heroic. My but was black and blue from the beating-and I'll be more than happy to do it all over again. You start out as Master Chief on a ship then aliens board it. You have to deffend you ship then you find out that there is a bomb on board. You have to find the bomb and get rid of it. Then you fight on Earth for two levels. And what really suprised me is that you fight as an Elite alien in the game. But the thing I didn't like about the story is that the flood returns and you have to fight them too. The game is much better than the first game. The multiplayer split screen is very fun (my favorite part of the game) especially with lots of friends. There are also new aliens in the game. Here is the Alien starting line up.

GRUNT: The weakest bad guy returns virtually unchanged. These purple midgets aren't much to worry about even on Legendary difficulty; take out the elite leading them, and they'll often run away on there own.
ELITE: Besides the hunters and the later brutes, elites are your biggest threat-kill them first. Still the smartest enemy in the game, these energy-shielded soldiers can now jump on or over obstacles and dual-wield weapons just like you.
JACKAL: The standard version of these punk-rock chicken soldiers makes a bit better use of its shield, but the ones to watch out for are the new snipers. On Legendary, they'll kill you with a single head shot from across the map.
HUNTERS: Now that they can push aside objects you are hiding behind (and it takes much more than a single shot to the back to take them down. If you have a sniper rifle try to shoot them, in the stomach and they will fall hard to the ground), hunters demand your immediate attention-especially when they come in pairs.
DRONE: You don't fight these new insectiod aliens very often, which is too bad. Their ability to fly, tendency to hide in out-of-the-way spots, and erratic movement make for a refreshingly different kind of fight.
BRUTE: Think of these apelike lugs as Elites minus the shield and plus a lot more health. Two things to watch for: their explosive "brute shot" gun, which can do massive damage, and their ram paging charge attack.

My cousin and I have tried to beat it on Legendary but my cousin sux at playing. The first time he died on the first level by a grunt on Legendary I laughed and smacked him up side the head. This game is awesome. It has a few flaws in it, but I think it is the best first person shooter for Xbox, or for any Video game console for that matter. So find a friend with a Xbox or buy one just to play this game. This game is life changing. :)

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.

Doesn't Match the First

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 107 / 188
Date: November 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

(SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW)
"Halo 2" is a solid game in almost every respect and certainly stands head and shoulders above most other FPSs out there. That said, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the original throughout the game.
Bungie has made a few changes to the game in this outing and, unfortunately, most of them were changes that shouldn't have been made.
For starters, the dual-wielding capability doesn't add much to the game. With two guns in hand the player, understandably, can't throw grenades. But more frustrating is the fact that using the melee attack with two weapons causes you to toss the left one for no good reason. Furthermore, as other reviewers have posted, the guns really clutter up the screen. Even with only one, it seems to take up far more space than in "Halo: Combat Evolved".
When the first game came out, one of the only consistent complaints was that the second half of the game reused level maps a lot. That didn't bother me too much, since the enemies, power-ups and available vehicles changed. In "Halo 2" the player doesn't do nearly so much backtracking, but they might as well have since every level looks just about the same, and most are quite boring. The only exception were the couple of Earth-city levels near the beginning. I was very, VERY disappointed to see the story leaving Earth for alien bases and other such linear environments so early on, especially since each level was so short. (After I'd finished the first three levels, I thought I was still on the first). The game took place in confined spaces and suffered a severe shortage of large-scale battles, open areas, and vehicles. But what made the first game so great was the free, open spaces where the player could tool around in a Warthog with allies or fly over everything and carpet-bomb them in a Banshee. (Also, the ability to hover in the Banshee, probably the most important move it could make, by holding back while pointing your nose to the ground seems to have been omitted in "Halo 2"). Frankly, there was too much of an emphasis on adding lots of new (unnecessary) weapons and vehicles. The first game was perfectly balanced, which is what made it such a phenomenal success. Here there's too much clutter.
Much has been written about the multiplayer portion of this game. It must be said that it's a very strong selling point, offering a dizzying variety of options for play. However, the original also boosted most of the same capabilities. The one important addition has been the cooperative mode, which I think should be implemented in absolutely all FPSs developed on a console.
Of course, a whole new engine has been developed for the sequel, and it shows. Textures are much more beautiful and character animation is slightly improved.
The original game had a bare-bones story, which is appropriate for an FPS of this type, and what it had it told well. "Halo 2" puts perhaps slightly less emphasis on the story, but it's still at an appropriate level.
Perhaps the biggest mistake the developers made though was pulling a "Metal Gear Solid 2" in the middle of the game. For multiple long stretches the player takes control of a Covenant Elite. I found that I couldn't wait to get past this part and return to what I considered the 'real' game with the Master Chief. It's not that this portion was poorly implemented- it wasn't. The Elite controls exactly the same and sports a 10-second optic camoflauge ability in lieu of a flashlight. The problem is that I just didn't care about him, his mission, or his part of the story. I wanted to follow the main character's story throughout.
"Halo 2" is still a solid gameplay experience. Enemies are much tougher (as in, take more bullets to kill) on Normal Mode here than they were in "Halo: Combat Evolved", which felt a little unbalanced given your weapons' relatively low ammo capacity. However, one thing to be thankful for is the omission of any exceedingly annoying individual levels such as "The Library" from the original game. While the Flood does make an appearance, it's generally in the kind of moderation that allows it to be fun to play against and not the kind of highly-annoying patience-drainer it was the first time around.
In truth, there's not a lot wrong with this game. It just seems that there was so much that could have been done in a sequel with the available engine and hardware that wasn't. How the development team chose to use their resources this time around was way off the mark, in my opinion, and I can only hope they re-evaluate the direction of their innovation in the succeeding game(s).
"Halo 2" is the way to go if you're looking to buy an FPS for your Xbox and you already own "Halo: Combat Evolved" (at least until "Doom 3" comes out). However, in almost every way I recommend the original game over this one.

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

AWESOME! Hey, pay attention (for Deaf)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 19 / 25
Date: November 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I got this game last night after the midnight from Gamestop (have to wait in long line!). This morning, I open the game and started play Halo 2 and I am very awe of it. The graphic is awesome. It has more activie and shooting against aliens (kinda like Halo 1 in some way, only better).

Now, for deaf people out there (I am deaf too) that I would like to let you know that Halo 2 has SUBTITLE! You can go to "Set" mode and turn on subtitle on just like DVD movie. That part impressive me mostly and make me enjoyed Halo 2 more than Halo (I play Halo once and cannot find to turn subtitle on but Halo 2 has).

Thank for reading

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.

Great game, but short of excellent

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 23
Date: November 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok, I bought this game with high expectations. For the most part, it met or even exceeded my expectations. But sadly, it misses some key components as well.

GRAPHICS: 9/10. Mostly excellent. However, frame rates can slow down and som blurry seens can appear around otherwise beautiful graphics and textures.
MUSIC: 10/10 I wish you could add custom tracks, but that wouldn't seem very Halo like. The music they do have though is the best ever in a video game to date that I've played.
SOUND: 10/10 Also superior to any other game's sound to date. Especially if you have surround sound, it will feel as if you're actually there. I have no complaints about sound.
GAMEPLAY(OFFLINE):8/10 Sadly, I was disappointed on the shortness of the campaign, although fun while it lasted. The ending was terrible, and makes you wonder if there will be a Halo 3. However, new guns and vehicles are great and options for multiplayer are much improved over the last.
GAMEPLAY(LIVE): 10/10 The best online experience I've ever had, be it console or PC. There's always someone to play with, and the statistics, medals, clans, and message system are superior to any game ever made. If you have Live and don't have this game, you NEED to get it. And if you have this game and don't have Live you NEED to get Live.
CONTROLS: 10/10 Just like the first Halo, flawless in controls

OVERALL: 9/10. The campaign was a let-down to me after 4 years of waiting for this game. Even an above average single player game (which this is) is nothing compared to how excellent I thought it would be. However, LAN Parties and Xbox Live make this game gain back some of its excellence, in my opinion the superiority on Live and Graphics and Gameplay make this game worth buying, but give it realistic standards.

All hype...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: December 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The first Halo touched a level of perfection, seen once, maybe twice per generation of consoles. This title, rather than matching or exceeding that standard, feels second rate - a Halo wannabe, with a load of gimmicks thrown in to compensate.

Much of what's wrong is difficult to nail. The magic has gone and some levels just aren't fun. I played one seemingly endless level in split screen coop, which started out as kind of cool and ended with us utterly dissorientated, nauseous and just desperate to find the exit, only to save the progress, so we'd never have to go there again.

There are frequent graphical glitches. Textures pop up constantly while the engine struggles to match the pace. Oddly this even occurs during the pre-recorded FMV sequences. Also throughout the campaign the graphics have a slightly dulled de-saturated look to them. The environments are uncomfortably dark, even out in the open. I've adjusted the picture settings on my TV many times but am unable to remedy this. Weirdly this latter problem occurs less on the Live multiplayer games, which I should point out are superb.

...and if it's going to be difficult to see, why does your lamp now only work for about a second. Apart from levels when it inexplicably stays on indefinitely. Oh, and on levels where you aren't given a lamp at all ? !

One of my biggest gripes is the story. Don't get me wrong, I know with games, as long as it's fun, who cares but there are problems here that are just stupid. (Spoiler) Why are we forced to play half the game as Covenant? Not as a bonus or alternative game, that would be great, but forcibly and just when you're getting into character. Suddenly you're made to flip sides. I don't want to empathise or understand the enemy's cause - we're here to kill them.

... And for some reason, the Covenant are no longer "Alien". They now, walk, talk and perform like the Master Chief. I know - I had to play as one.

There are many other problems, many of which are very minor but annoying nonetheless but I wont go on. I already feel bad, disloyal, even blasphemous and I really should reiterate - this isn't all bad. A few sections are truly amazing but that's what's so heart breaking. You can't help but wonder what went wrong. What has Bungle been doing for the last three years?

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.

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