The anticipation for what some prematurely called "The Greatest Game of All Time" was at an all-time high prior to November 9th. Midnight struck, and Halo 2 was launched in the record books. You cannot deny the appeal of Halo 2, with the first title being an extremely solid first-person shooter. A sequel only meant innovation and tweaking, all of which leads to a better game. Not to mention the implementation of Xbox Live so you can hook up online and play with some of your good buddies.

The end result is an extremely solid game-yet a game, in my opinion, that did not live up to its tumultuous hype. The fact of the matter remains that Halo 2 is a well done first-person shooter game, if that's your bag. If not, you will find another first-person shooter with a semi-interesting story mode. This game is a lot of things to a lot of people; it very much caters to the tastes of the genre fans and multiplayer junkies. I found the game lacking in originality-if you've played Halo 1 and enjoyed it, you will love Halo 2. This is a very hard review for me to write. It is an extremely solid game, but it is one that doesn't cater to my tastes or keep my attention. I am so in the minority, however, that you probably think I am smoking something strange.

This is a group review, so I can be pretty general about it and chances are high that you already have this game and have played it. Halo 2 has reached phenomenon status unlike anything ever released, so we are here basically giving our takes on it. I know the crew loves it and defends it with stalwart dedication when I run my "overrated" jabs at Halo 2. In all honesty, however, there is nothing overrated about it (I love raising a fuss), I do admit. Halo 2 delivers on every single aspect of video games above and sometimes beyond expectations and standards of video games-but not mine, though. Breaking down each part of the game would be redundant, as words like "brilliant" and even a few "perfects" come to mind, with its only downside being what I consider to be a drawn-out single-player story mode. I am confident that most everyone will enjoy playing Halo 2 in many aspects. I, however, won't. I am sorry. Why do I apologize? I have no idea. I just feel the need.

As many of you know, I along with many others on this site am one of Halo 2's biggest fans. I was very happy to see hundreds of people standing in line to get a copy at midnight. I must say that playing the multiplayer is quite impressive in some areas, but lacking in others. Playing among friends and setting up custom games are very entertaining for hours on end. Features like selecting party leaders to host are very efficient just in case someone's connection just can't hold up. Another feature is the matchmaking system while playing on your own. The days of playing against someone who is supremely better than you are over. There is an even playing field across the board in matchmaking. The downside to matchmaking is the lack of gameplay variety. After one match is over, it automatically sends you back to look for another match. This can get very annoying at times if you want to play continuously. Another downside is the lack of slayer matches and map selections. There is just not enough slayer matches for bigger party duels, and the map rotations are not very balanced.

The soundtrack to Halo 2 is just beautiful. With the original chanting theme song and other orchestral music, the soundtrack is up to par with some of the best movie scores, especially with the new addition to the story. Playing as the Covenant is a very unique aspect to the story of Halo 2. Playing as both the Master Chief and an Elite really keep the gamer entertained on both sides of the games.

After the hype and wait, Halo 2 is an excellent game with countless new features and unique gameplay that make it one the best FPS games today.

I tried my hardest to avoid pre-release information on Halo 2 and to fend off the ever-present hype machine that has long since become a standard part of big-name releases. It wasn't until the very end that I gave in and really got excited. Halo 2 is obviously the sequel to the wildly popular Xbox launch title from Microsoft and Bungie. Three years after its initial release, people were still playing it. That all changed on November 9th. The release of Halo 2 marked the largest video game release that I can remember. The release was celebrated with thousands of midnight openings across the country, with hundreds of people standing in line at each location, and well over one million preorders. I may have done a good job fending off the hype, but it was apparent that the hype had gotten to a few people.

Halo 2 is here with a slight graphical upgrade and a huge one in terms of gameplay. The graphics look cleaner and have a higher level of detail. They certainly make the original game look like something of a joke. My one complaint was that at certain times, and even in cut scenes when the models were loading, you would see the stages of the loading process. First, the polygons would appear and then the different textures would be applied. Bungie addressed this issue and mentioned that it was merely a side effect of using the game engine for cut scenes.

The storyline of Halo 2 has caused quite a controversy. Many people were hailing it as brilliant, while others simply uttered, "It stinks." Personally, I found the switch to a Covenant perspective refreshing and very cool. Along with this comes the need for Covenants to speak English, which I felt humanized them a little too much. After that point, I almost felt bad for busting an Elite in the face with my rifle. In the end, I believe that most people will be satisfied.

The Multiplayer and Live areas are where this game really shines. In system link, you can now sport 16 Xboxes and 16 players giving each person a full-screen view of the action. Sadly, there is no Co-op over system link. Halo 2 takes advantage of a lot of the new Live 3.0 features such as Clans. The array of game types and options on Live is almost daunting and sure to provide even the pickiest player with a large enough variety to keep them busy for hours. Bungie was also gracious enough to put one of the most in-depth stats tracking portals online. You can view regular and clan matches, see the stats for each player in that game, and see an interactive map of where everyone was killed and by whom. It is definitely a very impressive site and makes sharing your nice kills that much cooler.

All in all, Halo 2 really delivered what was expected. The audio and videophiles will be glad to know that it supports 480p as well as in game DD5.1 audio. Despite the fact that Halo 2 is one of the best games of the year, it really hasn't grabbed me quite like the original did due to all the new games and hardware that have come out recently. With that in mind, I think anyone with an Xbox should definitely make this an addition to their gaming library.

Dec 3, 2004 | 1 comments
Snackbar Crew