Halo2

[Wools]

I've only played it for one evening so far, but already I agree with that statement.

It's outstanding.

Too bad some people don't like it, their loss.

Im supprised that so many people are finding fault with the game as well but if any game is hyped like halo 2 has, then some peole are bound to be dissapointed.

Anyway im loving it and it stands right up their with Halo at the moment and is definatly, for me, game of the year. Single player is involving, gripping and stunningly beautiful to player and Ive had a quick wander round Zanzibar in multiplayer and it's an ingenious map.

I can't wait to invite my mates round and get some multiplayer halo 2 started!

[JammyD]

I have enjoyed Halo 2, but for me it never reaches the heights of the original. Perhaps its just lost its shine, but its no longer as mindblowing and gobsmacking as the original. Main problem for me is the choice of levels, and in particular one which I managed to wander through half of without having to fire a single bullet, for me it made the Library seem quite enthralling by comparison. For many Halo lost its chance of a perfect 10 because of the Library, however in Halo 2 I can count at least two levels so far which Id consider to be worse than that. That said, Level 2 is stunning, its just a shame that I didnt feel anywhere near that level of awe with most of the remainder of the dozen of so Ive seen so far. Also Im not a fan of the dual-weilding of weapons, its excess just for the sake of it, having to drop a weapon to throw a grenade is frustrating also. Ive played most of it through on Normal which to be honest isnt that difficult at all, and would advise anyone to start on Heroic for a more decent challenge. All in all a nice package, but because of its superb parent its all too easy to see where Halo 2 has gone wrong, for me bigger doesnt always mean better and Halo offered me a more enjoyable gaming experience Im afraid.

I thought I might be the first person to say Halo 2 is disappointing, but hey if I was, I would have said pretty much the same thing as you have here Marcus.

Where is the E3 level? I assumed that it would be the intro level but instead the actual intro level felt like a bad remix of the intro in Halo. I've done the Earth level which was by far the most enjoyable one so far, otherwise it feels a bit of a mess.

The dual wielding isn't half as neat as I'd hoped, I can't really see who I'm shooting at with the underwhelming ****storm that is assault gun + plasma rifle.

Good things.. well I like the shiny ltd. edition box.

Like Concept said it seems to have MGS2 syndrome, you know it's pretty good in it's own right but the hype makes it an underwhelming experience.

Makes me want to get back online asap, all in all.

[marcus]

I just think its lost its 'wow' factor myself. Things that were astounding in the original, like the AI for example, are just par for the course now which leaves the game to rely on brilliant level design, set pieces and storyline in order to reach the heights of the original. However whilst its still very good, its just not as good as I was hoping it to be, too many things irritate or dont work, and bland level design should not of been the case. Moving control away from the Chief is also a big mistake for me, and the ending is sure to cause immense upset also, Ive no idea what Bungie were thinking. Many situations can be beaten simply by watching and waiting for the other races to battle it out, or by using stealth mode and slowly wandering past, I did that for 70% of one level without being forced to fire one bullet, I put that down to bad design.

Id summarize so as to say play Halo 2 for the handful of brilliant levels, as when its good, its astounding. Just dont expect that quality to last throughout the game.

[Super Stu]

Sounds similar to my experiences with Halo 1, except this time "Bungie won't be rushed and can really let their talent go to work" or some such quote from this forum, earlier this year.

[TheOutragedApe]

No one else think some of the guns take up so much screen space, thats its hard to se whats going on in front of you?

Esp Deul weilding, which has ruined the game for me so-far

[the shape]

So bitterly disappointed in this 'sequel'. ****, disjointed multiple viewpoint storyline (why couldn't they have concentrated on the MC and binned the arbiter levels entirely I'll never know)

It's odd, I think this is one of their best moves, story-wise. It's a richer, more thought provoking look at war from two perspectives. It's like watching coverage of the Iraq war on boneheaded, single-minded Murdoch TV like Fox, then watching coverage on something liberal-lefty like Free Speech TV or BBC News 24. Grants you a greater appreciation for the whole experience, offers a wider perspective, makes you ask some questions.

I think these days many people realise a conflict isn't as simple as 'they bad, we good' and Bungie cleverly acknowledges (or exploits) this in Halo 2.

With hindsight, in my opinion a pure Master Chief game this time around would seem narrow-minded and old-fashioned, in a cheesy, Rambo way. They've broadened the experience.

I imagine a lot of gamers in the Red States will be taking it back to the store today.

(BTW, I'm no Bungie-can-do-no-wrong fanboy. The original Halo isn't on my theoretical top ten.)

[anephric]

No one else think some of the guns take up so much screen space, thats its hard to se whats going on in front of you?

Esp Deul weilding, which has ruined the game for me so-far

Yes, they're like enormous metal tits, as I said before.

Except this time big tits are bad.

[Smitty]

This is somewhat confusing. Comments ranging from ''superb'' ''better than the original'', to ''awful'' ''a massive dissapointment''.

*sighs*

Bungie had better batten down the hatches, looks they've got a ****-storm of payback coming their way. I know, now, that people are going to be saying that Bungie aren't talented and the discussion will shift to Halo etc etc.

Oh well.

[Treble]

Ah, Pete's review wil sort it all out for you, Smitty. Fret ye not.

[Smitty]

I dunno man, I feel ****ty. I've read SO man positive (in depth) reviews, from many different sources and yet the negative ones are needling their way into my head. Here's a post from Plow King over at Rllmuk.

''This game is the biggest disappointment ever. I played Halo 1 constantly for years but with this travesty of a sequel there's no way it'll be getting the same playtime. ''

That's just the beginning. I don't know. I really to need to play (duh!) it, so I can find out for myself. But even if it is a dissapointment, I'm not start slagging off Bungie. There were such high expections, and I shouldn't really be surprised at some of the polarised reactions.

Personally, all I wanted was a good sequal. It didn't need to be ''revolutionary'' or something, just good. Judging by some of the comments i've read, some people seemed to be expecting a totally new sort of game or something. I mean, it is a sequal, not a new game.

Anyway.

Oh, when will Pete's review be ready? Thanks.

[marcus]

Its getting its finishing touches at the moment, keep an eye on the HP over the coming days. Dont worry too much Smitty, its not a bad game by any means, its just not the second coming either. You would still be hard pushed to find that many better games on the Xbox, but with Halo we almost expect perfection, and anything less than that comes as a bitter pill to swallow.

[Firsty]

Halo 2 is a great game, it was just never ever going to live up to the crazy hype. I don't understand why you actually care what these people think about it. Just play the damned thing already.

SPOILER:
The biggest annoyance for me was how Bungie pussied out so hard. As soon as I realised I could play as an elite, I thought "great, I get to play from the other side and kill some marines!" But no, that'd be to controversial. Dicks.

edit by charlesr: spoiler hidden. I didn't know that yet

[JammyD]

Well the E3 demo made it look as if it was going to be set in a huge metropolis with open warfare. So far it hasn't really panned out like that. See also: Bungie saying that they were going to take their time with it to make it as amazing as possible. I guess they were talking more about the multiplayer.

[Soi]

@Smitty: Roughly speaking the divide can be summed up as those who have played multiplayer finding it amazing, and those who have only played single player being disappointed. I've been impressed by both.

The single player is a solid update that doesn't do anything revolutionary, but is very engaging. I like the story and feel that it is so much more interesting than Halo 1's. For me, it is like comparing ANH with ESB in terms of depth. I haven't noticed any major graphical glitches either. Apart from if you look at your friends list while playing. For example, if you pause the single player game to check out a voice message that someone left you inviting you to play their game, when you unpause there are no textures for a split second.

The multiplayer though is better than I thought it would be (and I had very high expectations). The lack of lag (games of up to 16 are playable on normal connections, whereas 10 was about maximum in RS3), the dynamically selecting the server (even if they quit mid match), the wealth of options, the weapon balance, the map design, and for the shear fact that it is Halo online; for these reasons and more I love it.

[Firsty]

Also, dual weilding is quite nifty when you work out which combos are effective against each enemy. I don't think it's so great for online matches tho.