Halo2

[Ginger Tosser]

Oh come off it, Halo 2 is a very well formed game. One of, if not the biggest FPS I've played.

I'm happy for you, as i've said i'm going to knock the game as it does it for so many. It just didn't for me, maybe in hindsight i should brought Halo first.

A couple of my mates live and breathe Halo and you sound the same, there is nothing wrong with that.

[Ginger Tosser]

Let me be the first to say it for Halo 2, then... have you tried it on Legendary? :P

No, never will either as its going back to the shop (or trading thread if they dont have it back)

[H-Man]

Did anyone really expect, or want, anything but more of the same??

I'm personally very happy with Halo 2 in SP and MP - it's the best FPS since the Halo infact - imo (streets ahead of Far Cry and Doom 3)

After finishing the game on normal I was a little underwhelemed. It's possible to charge through the game with little care, clear rooms of enemies with ease (nothing is really asked of the player) The experience is rather bland ... almost 'Serious Sam'. This was also the case with Halo, and for the same reasons.

Normal difficulty is basically a training setting - allowing you to sightsee the games locations without really getting involved. Halo 2 doesn't come alive untill heroic/legendary. On these settings it's is a completey different experience.

Dull levels are suddenly transformed. Areas that took seconds pass through with ease are now the locations of some of the most tense and satisfying battles i've seen in a video game (the first level on normal felt absolutely awful to me, dull beyond words. On legendary it's the most rewarding gaming experience i've had all year). You actually have to hide, make careful decisions on what weapon to use, selectively take out certain threats, and practise (something no single player fps, bar Golden Eye/Perfect Dark and Halo, has ever required)

Too say the game is alot better on the harder settings is an understatement. Of course, most ppl here know this. Add Live and co-op and Halo 2 is one great all-rounder \o/

Maybe H2 isn't for everyone, but to judge the game after only playing on normal (which, from reading various forums, many have done) is such a shame - it's just the tip of the iceberg.

[JammyD]

What do people think of the bonus DVD? Normally I love this sort of thing but the fanboy elements put me off watching the main bit. What seemed clear though is that it was rushed to some extent; I'm aware that this happens with every game but with Halo 2 it makes me wonder - was it originally supposed to end like that?

[Commander Marklar]

Good artwork section, disappointed in most the other stuff 'cos it is the same stuff I downloaded off the Interweb. Interesting cut scene they left out about how the Covies banded together but like the fella says on the DVD, there are still some leftovers in the game that more than cover the deletion.

[Kotatsu Neko]

What do people think of the bonus DVD? Normally I love this sort of thing but the fanboy elements put me off watching the main bit. What seemed clear though is that it was rushed to some extent; I'm aware that this happens with every game but with Halo 2 it makes me wonder - was it originally supposed to end like that?

I enjoyed it. Doesn't gloss over the problems Bungie had, in fact does make you wonder just how good it could have been if they hadn't screwed up so badly during the first half of development.

Runs for nearly 2 hours too, so plenty of meat in there.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Too say the game is alot better on the harder settings is an understatement. Of course, most ppl here know this. Add Live and co-op and Halo 2 is one great all-rounder.

Totally agree. IMO they should have made Heroic the default level, and called 'Normal' something like Training or Infant mode.

Too many people rushing through on normal and not getting the full experience.

[PeteJ]

I thought the DVD was excellent, very well produced and though understandably blackslappy, it was honest at the same time.

Interesting seeing the first version of Halo from many years ago. It looked awful...yet...the design was actually pretty good. I like the look of the old Control Room, very grand.

[Azelpds]

I finished it yesterday too on Heroic for the first time. Very compelling experience, took me several hours to finish on that difficult mode. Normal mode for me is only if you want to rush through the game or haven't bought it because, seriously, normal is no challenge and not a good value for money if you bought the game lol.

Played this weekend on live, has those matchmaking problems, but i played some party games with people from portugal and when i saw, we were already 16 players playing nonstop CTF, Team Slayer and other modes we decided on the go. The hours passed by without all of us noticing it and people joining the party all the time. Some clan matches were fun too, need more headsets to play better as a team though +_+

About the SP part, of course it was impossible to have the same impact as Halo 1 at the time, but in the end, when the credits roll and after that "famous" cliffhanger, i saw myself thinking about the game, digesting all the experience it was without any of those hype stuff i absolutely hate. "wow, that part, and about that caracter, and that particular level..." etc etc, i found somewhat curious that an FPS can bring so much discussion about his story, ambient, universe and so on, when in the past those things were more in RPGs territory. I think thats what Concept here meant some posts earlier and is a very positive thing. Yes, it's not perfect but, at least for me, leaves a mark on the player, makes people discuss several points of it, creating theories and so on. Also, i couldn't stop untill i see the ending and that is also a very good thing and one i can't say for many other games lately ^^

[PeteJ]

Yeah, as my self and two mates noticed last night: You can be pretty damn good players on your own, but very average players can completely destroy you if they work well as a team. We spent hours last night on matchmaking team games (large and small) and hardly won a thing.

Got loads of kills, but hardly any flag captures\ bombs etc.

Completely owned Oddball and Territories though

[Concept]

I thought the DVD was excellent, very well produced and though understandably blackslappy, it was honest at the same time.

Interesting seeing the first version of Halo from many years ago. It looked awful...yet...the design was actually pretty good. I like the look of the old Control Room, very grand.

Apart from the 'Document of MGS2', I thought that Halo 2's collector edition DVD certainly delivered a lot of bang for it's buck. However, I couldn't help but smile when I think it was at the coverage of the LAN party, one of the guys there proudly proclaimed games were no longer the domain of the geek. As informative and as insightful as Halo 2's making of was, it was clearly geek-laden throughout.

The only thing missing from the DVD which I thought should have been included were all the trailers for the game, considering the production quality of some of them. It would have also been nice to have had access to a couple of tracks from the game considering the stunning quality of the music too.

As an insight into the development processes which plague an important title, I thought Bungie were surprisingly open with how much they struggled during periods. Perhaps that was primarily because the crew tracked the development of the game in the making of as it actually happened... In any case, it's clear that the early planning for the game is what cost them so much time, and all credit to them for not trying to paper up over the problems.

[Treble]

Normal mode for me is only if you want to rush through the game or haven't bought it because, seriously, normal is no challenge

Heard this a few times, and i'm sorry, but this smacks of elitism. I'm not very good at FPS games, and I find Normal quite hard enough, thank you. It's not an 'infant' mode or a 'training' difficulty in any way. For example, I cleared the first Arbiter level without dying once (just to show you i'm not incompetant ), but got twatted by the Flood on later levels, on several occasions.

I think the people saying Normal is 'easy' are the ones who clocked the first game on Heroic and possibly Legendary, too. Familiarity with the system might make Normal seem easier than it really is, to you.

...or maybe i'm just ****?

[Prine]

still trying to learn the maps, dont think i can pick out a map i hate. Some brillint level design

Zanzibar is amazing

[PeteJ]

I hate waterworks, keep getting lost.

Zanzibar is already a multiplayer classic, Headlong is amazing too.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I remember one of the hard as nails shooters on the saturn had difficulty modes - Baby, Normal, Hard.

Needless to say, I struggled on normal, slowly getting better.

Perhaps Halo should have had Beginner, Heroic, and Legendary. As people have said, Halo only comes alive when you have to play strategically. Really transforms the game. Normal is just too much of a gun-ho blast 'em up.

For game difficulty, see this informative review of one of my all time favs - http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=ikaruga