Daimon's Lair

Let's continue onward with games I've played for quite some time, but still want to share my thoughts on. . . .

Immersion: Halo 2 continues the great tradition of its predecessor and in many ways exceeds it. Music remains the same--one of the best in game soundtracks of all time. Out of game, I find it the most listenable (is that a word?) to of all three soundtracks. Disc 1 (as released on CD) is full of more upbeat/rock music (including three tracks from Incubus) and Disc 2 is full of more of the creepy/ambient music Martin O'Donnell is quite good at.

Another aspect of Halo 2 that makes it a very successful sequel is that it takes cues from its predecessor and blends them with all new environments. The battle in New Mombassa ranks as some of my all-time favorite fighting in all three Halo games. Ditto for the first level where you play as the Arbiter on the heretic base.

Delta Halo remains probably my favorite Halo installation of the trilogy, especially the combination of very ancient feeling stone ruins early on with the usual hyper-technological Forerunner structures towards the middle of the campaign.

Many people have complained that the storyline of Halo 2, especially the fact it flips back and forth between the Master Chief and the Arbiter, ruined the storyline and made it feel like a fractured narrative--something which under my criteria would hurt its immersion rating. I disagree.

The way in which the opening cut scene flips back and forth between the Master Chief's award ceremony on the defense station and the Arbiter's trial on High Charity sets the stage masterfully. The player has to know what to expect going in and I found the Covenant perspective quite interesting--which of course is necessary to set the stage for Halo 3 where the Elites become uneasy allies with the humans. Plus getting to (finally) use the beam sword and the Arbiter's limited cloaking ability creates a different tactical situation to keep things spiced up.

Replay Value:

Like Halo, I never played online multiplayer, but I thoroughly enjoyed many games of local multiplayer in college with friends and afterwards with my wife. Can we say dual-wielding?

The campaign is very replayable, though except for the opening levels there is no one level I go back to replay over and over again. The Flood is just too repetitive after a while. One thing I definitely must say is that certain levels require a dark room. The first time I played the game it was in my old apartment with a bright sunny window shining on the screen--which makes the really dark Flood levels really difficult. Second time--no problemo. If I ever play a third with the HDTV, probably a big difference.

Balancing:

Probably the biggest different between Halo and Halo 2 is dual-wielding smaller weapons--this is very potent in multiplayer. Personally my favorite combo is the plasma pistol with the SMG--land the first shot with a charged pistol and 9 times out of 10 it's lights out.

I haven't had as much opportunity to play Halo 2 on high difficulty levels but for the most part the difficulty progression remains relatively similar. I have read, however, that Legendary in Halo 2 really ramps up the difficulty from Halo: CE *shudders*. Co-op continues to be quite a nice feature, especially when you're playing with a better player.

My one gripe (something which Bungie fixed with Halo 3) is that dual wielding is almost too powerful, especially with weapons like the Needler. Also, it's not as useful in the single player campaign when (at parts) conserving ammo is important. I personally found it far more effective to use the Battle Rifle or SMG with grenades than dual wield. Exceptions to that, however, I learned from multiplayer--pick up the plasma/SMG combo if you're facing several Elites in the same room without any of the annoying Grunts or Jackals.

Another gripe I just thought of is the re-design of the Hunters. They're bigger, slower, yet also more powerful. Probably the single most annoying new feature is their new attack where they swipe their shield behind them while you're trying to get to their soft spot. That said, I still think the Berserkers in Gears are far more annoying than the Hunters. With the notable caveat that Hunters always come in pairs.

Another thing I don't like are the Brutes. While it's cool to see how they take over from the Elites--especially the almost comical way in which they fight into the honor guard uniforms, they're almost as annoying as the Flood in my book. I like what one of the Bungie designers said in a Halo 3 ViDoc-- "they're basically bullet sponges."

Final Impressions: Many people might think that Halo 2 with its fractured storyline is the weakest of the trilogy. Part of me is inclined to say that--as with the original Star Wars trilogy--it's the best. It isn't the seminal game that Halo was simply because it is a sequel, but it's still a must have.

Yet another game I would never trade in--at least until my Xbox breaks and there's no way to fix it. But, by then, hopefully PCs will have good emulators for original Xbox favorites.