Halo 2 is no question one of the best first-person shooting games of all time, but with all the time it took to make it, what happened to the story?
Halo 2 was one of the most highly anticipated games for almost a year, and it did pretty well if I do say so myself. The multiplayer is no question the best of all-time, with all of its new additions and innovations. First and foremost the Covenant Energy sword is probably one of the best additions to Halo 2. The Sub-Machine Gun, Battle Rifle, Beam Rifle, Covenant Rifle, duel-wield system, vehicle stealing, the eight team multiplayer, crash effects for vehicles, lock-on system on the Rocket-Launcher, boost on the Ghost, Wraith, and the Banshee, and the Wraith itself are all equally good additions to Halo 2. There are probably more innovations and additions to the game, I just forgot them. The multiplayer maps put Halo 2 in all its glory. The maps are huge in comparison to Halo's, yet some are unoriginal. Coalition looks very familiar, doesn't it? Waterworks is undoubtedly my favorite board. Its huge map and four bases make it the best Capture-The-Flag map, which is my favorite multiplayer format. I prefer to play with the Banshee on this level, which many tell me it is a disadvantage to any team that doesn't have it, but with the Rocket-Launcher's new lock-on innovation and the vehicle stealing, I don't think it's an advantage at all, it just make thing much more interesting.
The one excellent addition to Halo 2 I'd like to point out is the online. With the raking system and clans added to the already new online system to Halo veterans, Halo 2 Online is one of the greatest multiplayer experiences ever.
Halo 2 did live up to almost all of its brilliance, but it just didn't have the same strength as Halo did. Avid players and veterans are certainly disappointed with the storyline. I sure was. I'm not saying that the levels weren't well thought out and intense, but the end was the real disappointment. I mean even sequels that you know are going to have sequels have some sort of way to wrap up some part of the story, leaving you hanging for the next, but this was the all-out worst cliffhanger ending possible. They leave you with nothing. No doubt I, and many others, are waiting intently for Halo 3, but something could have been summed up. Also, the Arbiter's part of the storyline I felt was much too overplayed. Sure it's nice to have a change of pace, but he takes up a lot more of the story than Master Chief, also a disappointment. Going into Halo 2 you're expecting to save the day with Master Chief once again, and most of the time you end up with the Arbiter and a political imbalance in the Covenant's ranks. Another thing is, is that you find that the enemy you spent most of Halo destroying becomes an ally that the creators expect you to sympathize with. I was ready to kick some Covenant butt, and I end up helping save them. What happened? The last two things I find disappointing about the story are the flood and the repetitiveness. The flood is supposed to be long gone, and that's what you end up having to fight through once again. Sure there are the Brutes to fight against, but that's the only new threat you come up against. There's nothing completely original in the story. Finally, there's the repetitiveness. I'm not saying that the levels aren't awesome and huge and well thought out and all that stuff, but it does get a little, if not a lot, repetitive. When it comes right down to it, Halo 2 is just another game that you run through levels shooting up bad guys, and some goods ones if you're pissed. This storyline in particular really doesn't add to the game play, in my opinion.
All in all I find Halo 2 to best the best multiplayer game no question, but with a lot to work on in the story. I recommend playing the campaign once and stick to the online multiplayer.
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