Halo 2 is an ambitious follow-up to 2000's Game of the Year, Halo:
Combat Evolved. Not only harboring the fact that Bungie had to produce
a game on par with the original, they succeeded by creating a game that
has won three Game of the Year Awards, multiple reviews from major
sites, magazines all having positive reviews, a huge fanbase, and
making IGN exclaim that it's the "Best Xbox game of all time".
The controls of Halo 2 are near exact to the original's, so if you were
one of the many people who played the original Halo, sliding into the
game should be simple. If you were one of the few who didn't play the
original Halo, the controls are pretty basic compared to other FPS
games. You can run, walk, jump, shoot, throw grenades, turn on a
flashlight, and in some cases, go invisible. The controls fit nicely
with the Xbox's controller, and it isn't a pain to pull off the basic
or more advanced techniques of Halo 2.
In Halo 2, unlike the original Halo, you play as two main characters.
You play, as always, as Master Chief, and in some parts of the game,
the Arbiter, a Covenant Elite. Both the Master Chief's and the
Arbiter's controls are basically the same, with the exception of their
character-specific abilities. While playing as Master Chief, you can
flip on a flashlight located on your armor, or as playing as the
Arbiter, you can make yourself go invisible. Both abilities have their
advantages, as it is very helpful to flip on a flashlight in dark areas
or to enter an area undetected with invisibility.
Aside from these character-specific abilities the two main characters
has, Halo 2 boasts a massive array of weaponry to utilize to your
advantage. The total count of weapons to obtain is 14, many of which
are new to the series. Not only are there several powerful guns to
choose from, many of them can be dual-wielded to increase the stopping
power of the weapon. Weapons are divided into two categories: Human and
Alien. The Human weapons fire bullets, which are more in-tuned to
taking down an enemy's overall health faster, while the Alien weapons
are more in tuned to bringing down an enemy's shield. Dual-wielding
both an Alien and Human weapon is an essential combat strategy to
playing the Single-Player Campaign, as the Alien weapons can rip down
an enemy's shield easily and then be followed up with a Human weapon to
finish the job.
While character-specific abilities and creative weapons are usually
enough to fight off the Covenant horde, Halo 2 also has seven unique
vehicles for the player to utilize and master. As with the weapons, the
vehicles come in both Human and Alien. Most of the vehicles in the game
can be used to transport several players around the map, or be used to
draw fire from the enemy. Halo 2 is also the first of the series to
feature destructible vehicles, creating new single-player and
multi-player strategies. Halo 2 is also the first of the series to
highlight on hijacking vehicles. If close enough to a vehicle that is
operated by only one person, the player can hold a button to initiate a
sequence in which the player shoves the enemy out of the vehicle.
Players can also latch onto vehicles operated by multiple people and
attempt to hijack it by either beating the armor of the vehicle, or by
opening the entrance hatch and throwing a grenade down to the driver.
Both of these maneuvers, however, can have their setbacks, because you
damage the vehicle, thus making you an easier target to kill.
Bungie really went out of its way to make Halo 2 look great. The
graphics are a huge step from the original Halo. There are many more
decorations to levels (rocks, bushes, etc.) and it doesn't just feel
like running down multiple gray corridors like the original game. The
water effects are also stunning to look at, and the marines and
Covenant forces are more realistic than ever. However, after the
initial awe wares off, Halo 2 is a little odd to look at, because, as
EGM humorously stated in their Halo 3 Special Edition September 2007
issue, after describing Halo 3's advanced graphics, "In a word, it's
subtle - a welcome change from Halo 2, where even rough stones and
alien fur glistened like they'd be slathered with Cristco,".
The sound and feel of Halo 2 is superb to any other FPS game available.
The Covenants commanding voices really tense up the game, while the
Marines' funny dialog help loosen up the tension. Through a new
translator attached the Master Chief's body, it is now possible to
listen to what the Covenant are saying to each other. Classic lines
like the Elites "Wort wort wort" are still in the game, but just
knowing what the enemy's going to do next is a major advancement and
strategy from the original game.
The weapons in Halo 2 are also great sounding, as the differentiation
between bullets and plasma is obvious. Magnum pistols sound nothing
like the plasma pistol while the battle rifle sounds nothing like the
Covenant carbine. Hiding behind objects, you can easily tell what the
enemy is using against you without even seeing it. It's great setting
up strategies without even seeing the enemy, as every weapon is
different and unique. The overall feel of the game is second to none,
and really sets the bar for other games.
Halo 2, as strangely as this may sound, can be compared to the Matrix
sequels. Halo 2 emphasizes more on the story of the game, like the
Matrix did with its sequels, but without making the game suck, which
was what the Matrix sequels failed to do. The story of Halo is
intriguing to follow, but it succeeds without taking you out of the
action. You'll always be fighting off hordes of enemy, but now it has
purpose, because you always know whats going on but not what's going to
happen next. Unfortunately, Halo 2 has a very short Single-Player
Campaign, and if you don't have either friends or Xbox Live, the value
of the game runs out pretty quickly. There are many easter eggs and
"skulls" (objects which alter the gameplay in some way) to find in the
game, but once you've replayed the minimal amount of levels to get
them, there really isn't anything else to do. The game also boasts a
Legendary difficulty level, so if you played the game on Normal,
replaying the game on Legendary creates a lot more challenges to
overcome, but the basis of the level doesn't change, and replaying the
game over again doesn't really make it unique.
Halo 2 is by far, however, the best multi-player game with Xbox Live
capabilities, second to none to no other game (unless possibly Gears of
War at a statistic standpoint). There are several different modes of
play, which creates a truly unique experience to gamers and fanboys
everywhere.
Halo 2 is one of the greatest FPS games ever developed, and continues
to be an exciting experience to this day. From the day of its release
on November 9, 2004 and up until mid-November, 2006, Halo 2 was the
most popular video game on Xbox Live, even after the release of the
Xbox 360. Halo 2 is an amazing game in its own right, being ominous
with the word "Xbox". If most people think of Halo when someone says
"Xbox", that obviously means it's good, right?
