Halo 2, possibly the most anticipated game of all time, is finally here. Bungie and Microsoft have done their part to make sure everyone sees and knows what Halo 2 is, and they've done a good job of it. But with increased hype comes high expectations. Halo 2 has been praised by fans as the game to get for 2004 and even the greatest game of all time before it was even released. So does it live up to the hype? And is LIVE enabled multiplayer as good as it gets? On with the review…
The single player mode is, of course, the bread and butter of any game (excluding party games). It's what makes or breaks a game. At its core, the campaign mode of Halo 2 remains very similar to that of the original. That's definitely not a bad thing as Halo's campaign mode was what made it such an outstanding game. But that's not to say that the gameplay is without updates and additions. Bungie wanted to show that they did not forget about the single player mode and they have done a good job. Tactical fighting becomes even more important in this game due to the new additions and changes. Combat is more refined and the levels feel more varied. One of the biggest changes the player will notice is that the health bar has now been reduced to just one bar instead of a bar plus multiple heath cells. Most of the levels are greatly designed, with areas that are perfect of standoffs or all out gunfights. The AI has been vastly improved upon. Enemies are even smarter and they will use their own unique strategies against you… Even the simplest fights can lead to your demise. Friendly AI has also been improved and your allies now have the ability to drive vehicles (though not very well). Additions to the weapons arsenal were expected, and the game delivers. The new weapons are great to use and many of the returning weapons have been reworked. The duel wielding ability adds a new twist to combat but doesn't necessarily make things any easier. The updates to the weaponry department means those old tactics of yours might not work anymore. There is more importance on the use of vehicles, which leads to some really fun levels. The physics have received some updates as well, everything moves very realistically. The rag-doll physics on enemies are excellent. You'll also take on the role of someone other then Master Chief during some missions, which leads to some refreshing levels and gameplay elements. The campaign mode feels very balanced for the most part. Bungie went the extra mile to remove the long load times between levels so that the action flows undisturbed. But this is rather pointless as each level starts out very slowly and eventless. There are some others flaws with the gameplay as well, including some returning ones. Some missions seem as if they are endless and continue to drag-on. The AI tends to become predictable midpoint through the game and the friendly AI is useless at times. Lengthwise, the campaign mode is still pretty short... less than 15 hours in normal difficultly. Of course, the co-op mode and 'Legendary' difficulty will definitely ask for another play through or two.
Multiplayer in Halo 2 will probably be the most played feature. Offline split-screen and LAN multiplayer experiences feel the same for the most part, with the exception of the new weapons, levels and modes. It would've been nice to have some bots but it is forgivable. The main focus of Halo 2 is Xbox LIVE multiplayer. This is the game to get if you have Xbox LIVE. Participate in matches at anytime without worrying about the hassles of setting up split-screen or LAN games. The interface is very simple, allowing you to get into matches or set up your own without much effort. There is an auto balance system that matches up players based on play time but it would've been better if they balanced players via skill somehow. The stat tracking on Bungie.net is groundbreaking! Find out what games you played, who you kill, who killed you, where what happened, etc. LIVE play adds an enormous amount of replay to the game. Without LIVE play though, the split-screen and LAN matches are still worth playing.
There was little question as to whether this game would be the best looking console game out to date. Enormous levels, excellent character designs, huge explosions are all here and all look great. The detail on everything is extraordinary and everything looks sharp and clean. The game runs smoothly with the very rare occurrences of minor, almost unnoticeable slowdown. The cut-scenes are outstanding and leave little to be desired. But there are some things which I feel are disappointing, especially since expectations for the game were built around beautiful images & jaw-dropping videos. The human characters look really odd… They all look unnatural. Some levels still have areas that carry a reused look, giving the player a 'haven't I been here before?' feeling. And the levels are still dull and motionless for the most part; there is little ambience to them. Lastly, the most surprising thing of all: pop-ins. The textures/layers will not fully load a lot of times and you will notice them loading upon the core polygons during many cut-scenes and during some levels. Minor flaws aside, the game still looks unbelievably great.
Your ears will love Halo 2- The audio quality is unsurpassed; everything is on sync and sounds excellent, and the surround sound is very believable. The voice acting is up there with the best of the best. The musical score is excellent with some old favorites remixed and some completely new tunes. There are a few tracks that aren't as great as the rest of the score but overall, the soundtrack is a hit.
The story continues where it was left off in the last game. You'll learn even more as to why the massive Halo rings exist and you'll also see the internal civilization of the Covenant. The game takes some surprising twists and turns, and will leave you shocked. The story is way better then the previous games, but the ending completely leaves the player empty. Right you think all will become clear and all your questions will be answered, you are left unsatisfied by the ending.
Halo 2 delivers everything the fans wanted and then some. The single player mode is excellent and the multiplayer is a blast, especially over LIVE. The game excels in graphics, sound, music and story (for the most part). But with such a high caliber game, minor flaws become amplified. With so much attention to the major details, Bungie seemed to have just ignored many of the minor ones. But make no mistake, Halo 2 is the best LIVE game to date and it is a title that you must have in your game collection.
Final words: Halo 2 is one of the best games of 2004 and the best game on Xbox.
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