Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Microsoft Game Studios
Category: Action
Release Dates
N Amer - 11/09/2004
Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition Review
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Having made gaming history with the mega watt
first day sales, HALO 2 is now safely in the hands of the gaming public,
finally that is. But how does HALO 2 really compare to all the hype, all the
pressure, all the fanatics who've waited what feels like an eternity to play
gaming nirvana.
Not wanting to ruin any of the surprises and plot
twists, I have agreed to not talk about important plot devices and new
gameplay developed for this game in order to make the gaming experience pure
for all those players who have not picked it up or have not gotten through to
the end. I will still talk about the game as a whole and all the other things
that I can to explain exactly why this is in my opinion, gaming at it's
finest.
First off (not ruining anything) the game picks up
almost exactly where the last one left off, the Covenant is alive and strong
and not happy about getting its collective butt whupped by our hero The Master
Chief, on the ring world HALO. Bungie made a wise decision in keeping things
really familiar. The controls are so smooth and comfortable, it feels like a
well worn pair of leather gloves. Having not played the original in at least
two years, I was surprised how quickly everything fell into place. The game
still features the slight auto-aim feature that allows survivability to be
increased somewhat and other familiarities about the master chief and how he
moves as well. I believe the Chief has a bit more pep in his jump as the
environments involve some Olympic high jumping. I know it's been said before,
but if it isn't broke, then don't fix it. Bungie managed to do just that,
successfully, which goes on to include the very popular vehicle sequences.
Back is my favorite, the warthog along with several other vehicles for your
driving pleasure, still third person perspective and still crazy fun. Some
other improvements have been made up to the Chief's armor, namely the faster
time it takes to recharge the shields. Since they removed health from the
equation, this makes for some strategic hiding when necessary.
The vehicles which made such a splash in the first
game are indeed back. However this time they added damage to the mix, meaning
that if the warthog you are driving takes enough hits, it will begin to smoke
and pieces will fall off. Strangely though, it appears that the vehicle will
only really blow up if your own shields are depleted and you take the final
kill shot. At E3, they showed us that the Chief can now take over moving
vehicles, carjack them if you will. Well yeah, and it's actually a really
clever game feature. You can practically hear the commercial now. "Ghosts
sneaking up and bothering you?" "Hop on board and kick that pesky Covenant
pilot in the head and take his vehicle from him while wearing your green Doc
Martens...." It's really a hoot how you have to do things differently when it
comes to jacking the different vehicles. Again, I don't want to ruin anything
for you but the variances the game features is truly awesome.
From a psychological standpoint, the mystery of
the Master Chief is one of the game's strongest points. Since you never see
the Chief out of his armor, I along with countless other fans, can live out
their childhood fantasies of playing the heroic super-soldier that fellow
soldiers admire and respect while enemies cower and fear. Yes, I'm saying
that we all envision ourselves as wearing that green armor and kicking some
butt. It makes playing the game seem almost personal on some levels. Almost
like living vicariously through a game and doing all the things we simply
cannot do in our daily lives. He knows what he needs to do, and gosh darn it,
he does it. Missions that would require whole military divisions are
completed by him, he is the best weapon the Earth's forces have and has the
ability to single handedly turn the tide of war. And after destroying HALO at
the end of the first game, he is the only thing that the Covenant truly fear.
Lock and load player, because the Master Chief has got some big boots to fill,
you up to it?
The game has changed up the weapons a bit as
well. Now you have several new weapons at your disposal including the
electric sword the Elites used to carve you up in the first title. Gone is
the power of the pistol, but making up for it is the introduction of dual
wielding smaller weapons. Yup, you can carry two plasma rifles and use the
two triggers to light up any foot soldier or other bad guy that's dumb enough
to get in your way. Now some weapons cannot be dual wielded, and you can't
throw those important grenades when your dual wielding, but boy, it sure is
handy in some spots.
The game's A.I. seems to be firing on all
cylinders as well. Back, are the support marines that run through the game's
action sequences, joining you in the fray, so to speak. Depending on how you
choose to play a given action sequence makes the A.I. respond differently.
Marines hold back often as they wait for you to lead the charge and in the
thick of battle will take cover and lay down cover fire. The same can be said
of the foes you face in the game, the Alien Covenant will hide behind
objects, use cross fire, lob grenades and do all sorts of other nefarious
tricks in order to destroy you. It's a testament of how well the game works
when you replay levels and try different tactics, how both sides react to
your actions. Sometimes even differently when you do the same thing over and
over. Of course all of this can be adjusted when you play the game on it's
different difficulty levels. But for this reviewer, the default difficulty is
just fine for the first time through.
Now, I don't believe that I am spoiling anything
when I say that the game can be beaten in under 11 hours. Some players will
have already beaten this game three times by the time this review goes to
print. But what this game has is staying power. Not only will players want
to play through on the different difficulties, but with the introduction of
the XBOX Live feature, the game stands even taller. Using my cable modem
connection I was able to hop on with some friends and have a surprisingly lag
free game. The online options offer up a bevy of games and modes that rival
even the most proficient PC online games. You can change your character armor
during online play and even play as a Covenant Elite. The several game modes
include games like capture the flag, King of the Hill, a new mode called
Territories and my classic favorite, Slayer, which is HALO's version of
deathmatch. There appears to be over ten multiplayer levels for your
liking and I'm hoping that Microsoft provides more levels for download as the
game purchasers numbers pass three million. Even long after the single player
campaign is beat, there will be people playing the online levels until the
third in the series comes out.
Graphically, HALO 2 is amongst the finest
available. The game has an absolutely gorgeous look to it, from the far off
distant destinations that you must get to, to the strange alien architecture
you will explore. Strong use of texturing gives the game a level of realism
that is almost unheard of. Particle effects abound and entice, bright
brilliant colors, dark creepy set pieces offset the games visuals so well that
you will often stop playing and just look around at how everything comes
across so majestically. The cinematic quality cutscenes were done
exceptionally well and brought me back to a time when the prize at the end of
the game was the cinematic. Only this time I was torn, because while I wanted
to watch the mini-movies that happen throughout the game, I longed to get back
to the action just to see what new and exciting place I would be playing in.
Strangely, on occasion, the game would flux and show an unfinished blip of
cinematic sequence that didn't have the same spit and polish, or a small bit
of slow down when everything was going crazy on the screen during a
particularly hairy battle. Now, I feel that I should mention these items
because I think that the folks over at Bungie probably would have wanted one
more month to iron out the very small (very small) graphical "blips" that do
pop up. Still, even with these minor intrusions, the game still looks
fabulous.
Fortunately for me, the game also takes full
advantage of the audio aspect. Borrowing from the action movies that this
game is comparable to, the kick-butt rock music would begin thumping as the
Master Chief ended a battle skirmish. It was very Hollywood feeling in the
sense of overall sensory experience. Strong use of the multi-channel audio
really got me jazzed when the fireworks started, so to speak. Hard clip
cracks of the military weapons, the futuristic sounds of machinery, weapons,
aliens, it's oh so beautiful sounding and it's cranked up very loudly when I
play it. Soldier's talking out the rear channel speaker while an explosion
occurs in my center speaker, this has raised the bar on what a videogame
should sound like.
The storyline plays out like a good science
fiction book or movie. The world the HALO games take place in, has become
somewhat of a tangible location. Books are being written about the war taking
place between Earth and the Covenant, the ethereal feel of the locations make
it seem like it's so real, and this too, makes the game seem so much more
important to the player. As if they have a genuine stake in playing the game
to its conclusion in order to know whether or not the human race is going to
make it.
My review copy featured the DVD bonus disc that
comes with the Limited Collector's edition. The disc talks about the
complexities of making a game as big as HALO 2 and features several
interesting tidbits about deleted scenes, ideas that ultimately didn't make it
to the final product and other fan boy stuff. I recommend only watching the
DVD after beating the game as it does reveal some of the major plot devices
that you don't want spoiled.
Also included in my review packet was the official HALO 2 headset for XBOX Live play. The headset isn't like other headsets, instead, it has the ear bug style of clip that wraps around your ear with a soft speaker that is placed into the ear. I was a bit skeptical at first but found it to be relatively comfortable even after playing for over an hour. I thought it was cool that it was colored in the Master Chief's armor color. For those players who don't care for the regular XBOX live headset, this may be a viable replacement since it's very similar to some hands free cell phone accessory.
I get Goosebumps when I discuss this game,
honestly. The genuine care that has been taken in making this game is awe
inspiring. I will beat this game on the "Heroic" difficulty level, it's an
absolute imperative, because if I don't, I will be disgracing the legend of
the Master Chief, and I'm not about disgracing the Master Chief.
| Review Scoring Details for Halo 2 |
Gameplay: 9.7
Wow, they didn't need to improve on the gameplay,
and yet they did. Small subtle upgrades that make the game both continually
surprising and yet so smooth and easy to play.
Graphics: 9.4
It looks sooooo good. From the immense level
design down to the tiny reflections in the Chief's visor, the game truly is a
testament to what a group of devoted people can do when they love the product
they are making. Sure there are those tiny little blips where they
didn't quite give the game a complete polish. But they are so few and far
between that I can honestly say that it does not diminish the overall
experience.
Sound: 10
Phenomenal, perfect, flawless. You'd be surprised
the amount of celebrities that provide voice work for this game. Strong
dynamic audio coupled with a soundtrack that gets the veins pumping to dole
out some double barreled justice.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
It's your call, you will be killed many times
playing this game, even more so when you bump up the difficulty. But it's so
much darn fun that you will keep coming back for more. Anytime you play a
game and keep telling yourself "five more minutes" and an hour goes by. You
know you are playing a winner.
Concept: 9.2
Alien invasion certainly isn't nothing new. But
then the combination of strong original story lines with a character that
pulls you into the game like an addiction must count for something. You would
be hard pressed to find a game with as much attention demanding as this one.
Multiplayer: 9.9
Wow, like I said, even after you beat the single
player game, you will be playing the online games. Here's hoping that
Microsoft provides new maps on a consistent basis, which I suspect they
will. Anytime the gaming public by and large plays the same title like they
are right this second, you know that we're into special territory.
Overall 9.7
This truly sets the bar for console games,
especially action games and FPSs. I cannot stress how much this game
absolutely rocks. I suspect we will see HALO 3 in development right now, if
it isn't already. Go out and get this title if you haven't already. Don't
own an XBOX? Well here's the number one reason to get one, HALO 2, wanna know
the number two reason? HALO.
