Halo 2 (X-Box)
Developed by: Bungie Studios
Published by: Microsoft

Say what you will about the original Halo, but I always thought it was a little bit overrated. The fact that it was basically the only worthwhile game on Microsoft’s console for its first year of existence was, in my mind, what propelled it to such a highly worshipped status. Don’t get me wrong — the game did a lot of things right.The team A.I., vehicles, physics and checkpoint level loading are examples of areas where they excelled, and in some cases broke new ground. The two weapon carry limit and easily thrown grenades are also small innovations that made it more fun to play. But at the end of the day it was still a pretty routine first person shooter with a mediocre story and repetitive level design.

The sequel to Halo, for all intents and purposes, had the potential to be a lot more interesting. Building on top of an already solid game engine would free Bungie up to come up with new gameplay elements and more dynamic content. Most of the anticipation for this game was well warranted in my opinion and I was hoping they could take first person shooters to a new level. Unfortunately, the reality is that for a game that was 3 years in the making, Halo 2 doesn’t seem to carry quite the massive upgrade many had anticipated. As long as you have X-Box Live or friends to play with, Halo 2 is still a must-own game for the X-Box, but it just feels like the single player campaign is more of the same.

To be fair,the story is more ambitious this time around, and one of the surprising things (I hope this isn’t a spoiler for anyone) is that there are two dual storylines that you participate in, one of which involves a member of the Covenant known as “The Arbiter”. So this means that for part of the game you do not play as the Master Chief but instead as this alien character. And although you might think it would be cool to fight against the good guys, you unfortunately never get the chance to. You are fighting against renegade Covenant members instead, so the feel of these chapters is pretty much the same as the Master Chief’s.As “The Arbiter” you can turn invisible briefly, which is kind of neat, but other than that the controls and abilities are no different.In the past, games that force the player into multiple roles have been mostly frowned upon — Metal Gear Solid 2 lost a lot of fans when they pulled the whole Snake/Raiden switcheroo. Since people are so attached to the Master Chief (which I find puzzling, considering he has no real personality) and they may be annoyed by this additional sideplot to the game. On the other hand, they may barely even notice a difference. I guess Bungie was trying for something new here, and expanding on the backstory of the Covenant. I am anxious to see how the two stories will interweave by the end.

Bungie have also definitely made an effort to spice up the environments a bit with more detail and more variety.The integratedphysics allows various crates and objects to be kicked around, stood on, and destroyed, and some levels have conveyor belts and other moving elements that you can interact with. The opening levels that take placeon earth are, in particular, extremely fun to play, doing away with the generic space craft corridors that Halo 1 ran into the ground. There are a ton of new types of enemies too, and an attempt is made to deliver the Halo equivalent of boss fights at the end of each level.

Where Halo 2 truly upgrades the original is with the new weapons and abilities. I’m sure you’ve probably heard about the dual wielding capability in this game; this adds a whole new strategic dimension to the game as you can only combine certain weapon pairs, and while dual-wielding you are temporarily prevented from throwing grenades too. Choosing when to dual wield and what weapon combinations work best is crucial to your survival. Hijacking vehicles is another fun addition; why blow up an enemy’s sweet ride when it’s so simple to just pull him off and use it against him? Among the new weapons in the Master Chief’s arsenal are a Battle Rifle that shoots in bursts, and a smattering of new Covenant technology including the Particle Beam rifle, Brute Shot grenade launcher and the deadly Energy Sword that can take enemies out with a single well-placed lunge attack.

Another change is that the shield system has been simplified so that there is only one gauge to monitor. Whenever your shield level runs low, all you need to do is find cover briefly and wait for it to recharge and you will be completely healed again.

Surprisingly, Halo 2 is not as graphically polished as you might expect. It generally looks a lot nicer than its predecessor, but there are some huge graphic pop-inissues that are almost immediately noticeable, both during cut scenes and in game. Low detail models are swapped for high detail ones as you approach objects, causing jarring visual transitions.The problem is even more ugly in the cinematics where you may start to think your CD is defective or dirty as a result.I would not normally harp on such things, especially since they don’t detract from the gameplay, but when a game is in production for 3+ years you’d expect them to address problems like this.

But let’s face it, the real reason for Halo’s longevity and popularity is the multiplayer mode. The original Halo was never X-Box Live compatible since it was released back before Live was even deployed, so X-Box Live Halo multiplayer has been long overdue. A whole bunch of great new multiplayer maps have been created, along with some reworked classics like Blood Gulch. The number of options for online player are staggering. While you are playing the single player campaign, you can at any time pause the game and with the touch of a button view your friends list and join an online game that might be in progress. You can create clans and customize logos for your players. You can set up your own games, or use the Halo 2 matchmaking system which will automatically rotate you through a series of online games against with other random players of a similar skill level seeking similar game types. You can even have multiple participants playing split screen on the same X-Box join online games via a single X-Box Live account. “It’s good to play together.”

As if that wasn’t enough, every single Halo 2 match on X-Box Live (yes, even unranked ones) has detailed statistical tracking information archived by Bungie. You can view where you were killed on the map, by whom, and with what weapons, the path that flags were carried, and all lots of other stuff, all for free from Bungie’s website at any time after the match has been played (some info requires an MSN Passport account to access however). Bungie really went all out creating a multiplayer community for Halo 2, and it paid off. People will be playing this game for years… at least until Halo 3 is released, if not longer.

One of the biggest reasons why Halo has caught on is that it is easy and intuitive to play, and Halo 2 continues to streamline the gameplay. The first person shooter controls may be getting a little stale by now but at least they are predictable and just about everyone has some experience with the dual analog style by now. The game is also appealing for a wide audience because you can jump in and play even just for a short session. With the checkpoint system you never have to worry about quitting at a moment’s notice and losing a ton of unsaved progress.

Most importantly though, Halo 2 truly succeeds in creating the video game version of a big blockbuster action movie. The huge explosions and powerful weapons and vehicles make it an enjoyable experience to just sit down and plow through this game. There’s no thinking involved, just reflexes. There’s no puzzles and no real exploration either… the game is straightforward and linear and the only time you aren’t running and gunning is when you’re searching for the proper path to follow that will unleash the next wave of enemies. At a time when a lot of games are concerned with offering a multitude of side quests and optional secrets to discover, Halo 2 cuts straight to the point. In some ways, this simplicity is what kept me from being completely wowed by Halo 2’s single player mode, but it is also what currently has me addicted to playing through it every chance I get.

I seriously doubt that the release of Halo 2 will be seen as a pivotal event in the history of games, and it almost certainly does not live up to all the hype that Microsoft has fostered and fabricated. But at the end of the day, this is a game that basically every X-Box owner will play and there’s a lot of good reasons for that. Halo 2 takes its place firmly at the top of the pile of console first person shooters, and even if it doesn’t necessarily take gaming to another level, there’s still no other competition out there that even comes close. — Sean