Jonny once again steps into the iconic green battle armour.
Please note: This review is based on the original Xbox version of the game and does not cover the numerous enhancements added to the later PC version.
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If ever a game had the weight of the world on its shoulders, it's Halo 2. After
the first stormed in and shook up the action game genre by doing everything
better than everyone else - and a whole lot of new stuff besides, it's fair
to say that there has been some expectation to live up to.
Which it has certainly managed. Halo 2, for all intents and purposes, is more
of the same - which is surely what people wanted. It looks better, it's been
tweaked so it plays better, there is the odd new addition - melee weapons, the
ability to wield dual guns at the same time, some new vehicles, a new series
of moves which allow you to hi-jack vehicles on the move (simply fantastic,
by the way) and presentation that would make most major movie releases blush.
It certainly doesn't leave a smouldering crater in the gaming landscape like
the first title did, but it's clearly one of the premier videogames of the modern
age nonetheless.
Two things make Halo 2 different to other shooters out there, and both serve
to make it a more pure, streamlined experience. First of all, your shield. Your
health is not going to last long once the shield is down, but thankfully give
it a rest for a few seconds and it will start recharging. That means as long
as you're not hit by a huge sustained attack in a short period of time, you'll
be ok. This really emphasises the importance of cover and tactics. Secondly,
you can only carry two weapons at a time, which serves to make you more focussed
on the combat and less interested in admiring your arsenal.
Every enemy requires different tactics to defeat, and it's the way you inventively mix and match these up while fighting that keeps it interesting
What Halo 2 does better than anything, is unrelenting intensity. You've never
had to fight this hard, you've never had to think this quick. What's beautiful
about Halo combat is how simple it is - you don't have to pansy around working
out what weapon to use (plus there's really not time). Take cover, move, shoot.
Use whatever weapon is to hand (as a cudgel if necessary). No time to think
- just do it. This is what Halo does best, cornering you in insanely dangerous
situations and letting you react on as primal a level as possible.
With the huge variation in the weaponry, plus the wide range of types of enemy,
there can be many different things going on at once. Every enemy requires different
tactics to defeat, and it's the way you inventively mix and match these up while
fighting that keeps it interesting - you gotta work out who to take out first,
with what, and just do it before you're cornered.
Many of the enemies in the game can be ferocious and unpredictable opponents.
In particular the Hunters (which seem to take hundreds of rounds before they
collapse to their knees), Covenant Elite guards (who wield awesome energy swords
that you can use) and a new breed we haven't seen before, the Brutes - who aren't
too bad - unless they start berserking...
The mystery
The storyline continues to be of a high-quality, with some great voice acting
(especially some of the more "throwaway" lines from your fellow soldiers)
and evocative cut scenes to propel it along. We get to learn a bit more about
the Covenant (which personally I found very intriguing) and a little bit more
about the mystery of Halo.
Unfortunately the ending will leave most people disappointed. Not that there
is an actual ending of course - it leaves you with more questions than before
and seems to hint to a third title in the trilogy (launch title for Xbox2 maybe?).
But something about the pacing is off - it usually feels like you're getting
to the end when you're playing a game, but with Halo 2 it catches you by surprise
because you're just not expecting it - and it happens just as it starts getting
really - like really - good. I mean, you've had a fair amount of hours out of
it, but it hits you hard because you want more. The ending will hack you off
because you don't want it to end - which can only say good things about how
much you enjoyed the game.
The multiplayer mode, for those of you with Xbox Live! is simply sublime, quite
probably the best multiplayer online game on a console to date and yet another
reason to consider getting your Xbox online if you haven't yet.
Halo 2 is a must for anyone that enjoyed the original - and that's practically
everyone with an Xbox. Even if you didn't check that seminal title out there
is no reason for ignoring this - it's a masterful shooter, balanced to perfection,
offering tactics, explosions and adrenaline thrills in a beautifully presented
package.
Review by: Jonny Austin
Review Published: 09/12/04