Halo 2 is basically a repeat of the first game; a fun, solid, but
probably a little overrated shooter, which fixes some of the original's
problems but has some of its own. It seems like there's a step backward
for every step forward. You now have the ability to dual wield certain
weapons, but doing so prevents you from using melee attacks without
dropping the second gun or grenades or grenades at all, limiting your
diversity in combat. Dual wielding allows for some interesting new
strategies and combinations, but overall most of the weapons are less
effective that they were before. I liked messing up dudes with the
energy sword, but I'm a little annoyed by the Covenant's insistence on
their own technological superiority when all of their gear manages to
both have finite ammo AND overheat rather quickly. The only thing that
seems advanced about it is its impressive curvy and purple design. You
can also play around with more vehicles, which are usually pretty fun,
although those sections tend to be a little easy.
My biggest
complaint about the first game was the tedious, repetitive level
design, and they made good strides forward correcting that, with some
interesting structures and well-put together set pieces. It tended to
limit the scope of some levels, and especially later on it feels a bit
like a boring old corridor shooter instead of having the interesting
depth of a large, wide-open war zone, and they couldn't seem to help
repeating the same level pieces over and over once you get deeper into
the new Halo installation, but I thought they did a decent job overall.
They elaborate much more on the story, showing things from the
Covenant's point of view, and you actually spend a significant amount
of time playing as one of them instead of the Chief, though there isn't
much difference in gameplay besides the interesting cloaking ability
and increased difficulty in discerning friend from foe. Most people
hated the cliffhanger ending, and I can definitely see why, as it seems
like they're setting up the last mission instead of the sequel, but I
knew that was coming so I wasn't bothered. A huge part of Halo's love
comes from the multiplayer. I've spent some time with it in the past,
and it's enjoyable, I just never like playing deathmatches as much as
other people do. Halo's not as fresh as its prequel was for the genre
but it's still a good entry in it.
