Halo 2 "Post your initial thoughts" thread!

[lpj8]

I think that I have had more fun playing Halo 2 than of all the games that I have played over the years in recent memory. Having a good time is my number one criteria for a video game. I think how Bungie put together the multiplayer experience is really awesome. I love being able to call up all of friends from college and play with them in a party all night. Xbox live makes it really easy to keep the party together. I like the new multiplayer level designs. I think that they are very well thought out (especially Zanzibar). Also, I think that the games weapons are extremely well balanced. Not being able to throw grenades when dual wielding was attempt to add depth to the gameplay.
I played through the campaign mode in under 15 hours on normal, and I plan on playing it again on Heroic and Legendary to provide more of a challenge. I think the level design has immensely improved from the original Halo. I agree that the story ends rather abruptly, it would have been nice if there was more resolution.
Having said all that, the games graphics are good, but not great. The cinematic scenes look awful, and I wish there was co-op play on Xbox Live. But, when it comes to having a blast with all of my friends, nothing quite fits the bill for me than Halo 2.

[Mr.Deflok]

I've played the fuck out of it and here's my review...
http://www.nzgamer.com/index.php?type=2&id=67

[cybersharp]

I have to say its one of the prettyest games ive ever seen
The grahpics are nice and the effects they added where definently a sweet touch.

[hulk]

Originally Posted by Lasereth

Forget the fact the game is fun...forget that it has beautiful graphics and perfect controls. Forget that it has an awesome main character, great voice acting, and a cool plot. Forget it all and concentrate on one thing: WHERE'S THE INNOVATION!!! MY GOD IT'S A LOT LIKE HALO 1!!! JESUS THIS GAME SUXX!!!!

Some folks know how to review games and some don't. You don't rate videogames completely on innovation, you rate them on their experience and fun factor. I applaud Something Awful for making fun of those out there that do the former.

-Lasereth

Uhm, I thought all those points you mentioned where what made the original Halo good? :P

In all seriousness, I think one game, ever, deserved a perfect ten, and that was Mario 64, simply because, even to this day, it's stood up as the pinnacle of it's genre.

While it'd be acceptable if it had a rediculously high score, like 9.8 or 9.9, giving it a perfect ten in every category IS NOT GOOD FORM. Especially when in the review they mention where it could go with some improvement. Case in point, as lpj8 mentioned, the cutscene graphics are sub-par. In any other game, that'd knock .5 or so off the score. Why should Halo be any exception? My guess it's publications wanting to keep in good standing with Microsoft, or they're just plain bad reviewers.

Upon release, nearly every review on GameRankings, bar GameSpot's, was a perfect ten. Now, once people have received the game after release and are not risking any backlash, it's dropped from the second best title do down, just underneath the original. Where it, in my (and quite a few others) belongs.

[The Cotb]

I like playing as the Arbiter. The strategy is slightly different for me as his shield isn't as strong as the Master Chief's, so I can't just ignore the little Flood spores (or whatever they are called). MC's shield can withstand a flurry of them, but the Arbiter can't rely on shields alone. Minor point from an amateur player, but something that I noticed that made the new character interesting.

[The Cotb]

Plus Laura Prepon and David Cross did voices as Marines.

Mmmmm... Laura Prepon....

[battlemouth]

this game is devine
absolutely devine

[GraveTaker]

This game is awesome but i only wish the crappy thompson drive that i have would work cause i can't load 2 levels after gravemind (don't know what the one after gravemind was called)

[Lasereth]

Originally Posted by hulk

Uhm, I thought all those points you mentioned where what made the original Halo good? :P

In all seriousness, I think one game, ever, deserved a perfect ten, and that was Mario 64, simply because, even to this day, it's stood up as the pinnacle of it's genre.

While it'd be acceptable if it had a rediculously high score, like 9.8 or 9.9, giving it a perfect ten in every category IS NOT GOOD FORM. Especially when in the review they mention where it could go with some improvement. Case in point, as lpj8 mentioned, the cutscene graphics are sub-par. In any other game, that'd knock .5 or so off the score. Why should Halo be any exception? My guess it's publications wanting to keep in good standing with Microsoft, or they're just plain bad reviewers.

Upon release, nearly every review on GameRankings, bar GameSpot's, was a perfect ten. Now, once people have received the game after release and are not risking any backlash, it's dropped from the second best title do down, just underneath the original. Where it, in my (and quite a few others) belongs.

You're forgetting what I said two or three times earlier. A 10 doesn't mean the game is perfect, it means it's the best of the genre. I asked if anyone could suggest a console FPS better than Halo 2...no answers yet. There's no such thing as a perfect videogame, only games that define the genre and go leaps and bounds above others in style, quality, polish, and gameplay. Halo 2 does that and it definitely deserves a 10.

I just beat it by the way...holy hell. This game is freakin amazing. I liked the single-player way better than the original.

-Lasereth

[hulk]

In that vein, though, can anyone mention a better FPA than Metroid Prime 2? I doubt it, seeing as it pretty much invented the genre. But, alas, no tens in sight for that piece of work.

[Lasereth]

Originally Posted by hulk

In that vein, though, can anyone mention a better FPA than Metroid Prime 2? I doubt it, seeing as it pretty much invented the genre. But, alas, no tens in sight for that piece of work.

Metroid Prime? It has dozens and dozens of 10's. It's hard going up against your sequel.

-Lasereth

[hulk]

Well, again, going by GameRankings, MP2 has two 100% ratings, and these are only 5 out of 5. Halo 2 has 6, most of them ten out of ten. Game reviewers generally don't think the same way as you do, Las.

[Lasereth]

I find that most reviewers do think the same way as me. I tend to agree with most reviewers and never trust the word of a friend or anyone who's not trained to critique professionally. That's besides the point!

I think you missed the point of what I said -- you asked if I could name a better FPA than Metroid Prime 2 and I did. Metroid Prime! The first one was oustanding in every conceivable category. Metroid Prime 2 has a few flaws by what the reviewers said...mainly some convulated level design. You're right -- MP2 has fewer 100% ratings while Halo 2 has more. Halo 2 triumphed over its prequel in every manner while MP2 had a few flaws that the first one prevailed in. That's why Halo 2 has a higher meta score!

This doesn't mean that I dislike any of the series, I'm simply explaining why some games get high scores from professional critics. I LOVED Metroid Prime and am extremely excited about MP2. I'm gonna start it ASAP.

-Lasereth

[Mr.Deflok]

In closing, Metroid Prime is greater than any game, including Halo 2.

Settled.

[hulk]

Excuse me if I'm mistaken, Las, but aren't the cutscenes in Halo 2 rather, well, crap? Abrupt pop-up and all that? Also, a lack of detail textures? That's certainly not an improvement....

Also, I'm yet to read one review that knocks MP2's level design, other than the prevailant purple colour scheme of the dark overword. Which was a deliberate design choice, unlike Halo's cutscene shenanigans.

Oh, and word to that, Mr Deflok.

Edit: I think this review nails Halo 2 dead-on.

[Lasereth]

Originally Posted by hulk

Excuse me if I'm mistaken, Las, but aren't the cutscenes in Halo 2 rather, well, crap? Abrupt pop-up and all that? Also, a lack of detail textures? That's certainly not an improvement....

Halo 2's cutscenes are most certainly not crap. That's nitpicking, especially the texture draw-in. It didn't affect the game at all and anyone who says it did is just LOOKING to berate the game. There wasn't a lack of detailed textures, the XBox just has a hard time drawing them in on a short-basis. I'm talking about factors of a game that takes away from the overall experience, not little nitpicks here and there.

I refuse to argue about a game that is more than anyone could have asked for. Halo 2 is a modern masterpeice on consoles and anyone who doesn't feel that way simply baffles me. I compare videogames to the overall experience and other games on the system/genre. Videogame rating systems are NOT a perfection meter (which 90% of people believe). They're simply a rating of experience and gameplay.

I'm never going to agree with the aforementioned people that believe videogame ratings are crap if a game gets a 10 and isn't perfect. The fundamental reasoning behind their ratings beliefs is inherently wrong and there's nothing I can do to change that.

-Lasereth

[DarkPho]

I don't really trust alot of rating systems. I think that games should be marked next to what they could of achieved, so if they blatently missed out something, it would lose marks. But then, scores would need to go down over time otherwise they get misleading. For example, take the Gamespot scores: Halo 9.7, Halo 2 9.4 even though that Halo 2 is a better game. Really, Halos mark should of dropped to 9.ish over the time, letting Halo 2 slot in above it and therefore making more sense. Otherwise, what's the point? Theres no point giving games scores if the scores don't properly relate to each other.

Of course, you need to factor in the originality of a game. But if the game is just the same as the prequel, it should get the same score as the prequel, but then the reviewer can express in words how it was different. Maybe the idea would be alot harder to maintain, but in the end it would give a far greater view for gamers when trying to buy games.

[Carno]

Otherwise, what's the point? Theres no point giving games scores if the scores don't properly relate to each other.

Ummm, frankly that's just dumb. If everything were rated that way, only the newest games would have high scores. Games that were masterpieces of their times would all have 1.0 ratings.

Halo 2 wasn't rated against Halo 1. It was rated according to today's standards.

[Ishmal]

i just finished it... and let me say, the ending was totally lame. but i'll definately be looking forward to halo3. cause i really enjoyed halo2!

i think the arbitor was a great idea to incorperate into the game... cause i often wondered how they were going to improve on halo1. that was great!

[hulk]

Originally Posted by Lasereth

I refuse to argue about a game that is more than anyone could have asked for.

...

I'm never going to agree with the aforementioned people that believe videogame ratings are crap if a game gets a 10 and isn't perfect.

-Lasereth

And I refuse to debate with someone that can't see the flaws in a game Note I said DETAIL textures, not DETAILED textures. Different things.

Anyway, before we get nastier, let's just call it a difference of opinion and leave it at that.

[iamtheone]

More of the same with subtle enchanements. Very deja vu...

[twister002]

Originally Posted by Lasereth

You're forgetting what I said two or three times earlier. A 10 doesn't mean the game is perfect, it means it's the best of the genre. I asked if anyone could suggest a console FPS better than Halo 2...no answers yet.

-Lasereth

Is Half-life 2 out for the Xbox yet?

I liked the single player storyline in Halo better than I do Halo2. I never played Halo multiplayer because it didn't have Live support and I don't have any friends that own an Xbox. The one thing that surprised me about Halo2 multiplayer was how SLOW it is compared to Half-Life and Quake 3 deathmatch. I'm still having a blast playing online though. I guess the matchmaking system is working because I'm not getting slaughtered everytime I join a game. In fact the games always seem pretty even to me. I have't even tried the other game types yet, just the FFA. I wonder if the matchmaking system will hold up over time?
I also wonder how long the interest will hold up. I remember being disappointed when I got CounterStrike for the Xbox because I could never find more than 3 or 4 games anytime I'd log on.

[Ishmal]

alright...
i've searched around... and cant find the right board to post this in. so here it is.
i've played halo2 through a few times... and no matter how had i try, i can't steal a shadow. i can sit in the gun turret easy enough and blow the hell outta things. but i can't drive it. they are shown in the booklet so thats what makes me think it is possible. but i can't work it out...
can anyone help?? has anyone eva got in to one of these? if so do you have any tips???

[Xiangsu]

So far I like Halo 2, haven't had a chance to get real far into it yet, but so far I like it. I just recently got an X-box and I have to say it was a good choice. One thing I don't like about Halo 2 is the pop-up graphics, kinda gets on my nerves.

Also, to answer Lasereth's question: Perfect Dark. Perfect Dark is the best console fps ever. It doesn't have online play, but it doesn't need it. If I wanted to play a great online fps I would do so with my computer.

[strife]

The ending to Halo 2 was crap. I'll take Marathon over Halo2.

[hulk]

*Hugs Xiangsu*
*Hugs strife*

I love you guys.

[pixelbend]

Originally Posted by Ishmal

alright...
i've searched around... and cant find the right board to post this in. so here it is.
i've played halo2 through a few times... and no matter how had i try, i can't steal a shadow. i can sit in the gun turret easy enough and blow the hell outta things. but i can't drive it. they are shown in the booklet so thats what makes me think it is possible. but i can't work it out...
can anyone help?? has anyone eva got in to one of these? if so do you have any tips???

To drive it, you need to go to the front portion of the shadow and hold x. You'll jump on top of the Shadow, right over the driver's door. Hit B a few times to break the door open and hit the left shoulder button to drop a grenade in. That will kill the driver and with the door open, you can just hop right in.

[Porkchop]

Initial impressions are wow. Only played for an hour but looks brilliant sound also top notch.

[hossified]

ending sucked....the final 'boss' was very easy to beat. In multiplayer mode the game can be somewhat confusing....cause there is just too much going on at once. Some of the darker levels make it really hard to tell where you are going too.

[rapjo]

I loved the ending...but I have to say, it seemed to end right when everything was getting good.

Honestly, I can't say I care for the covenant story or the story of the arbitor...the MC is what I was there for.

Single seems like a rather big letdown to me overall.

From what of the multi I've played (maybe 5 or so hours at this point?), it still retains Halo1 quality, in sheer fun value, if not more so. Lockout, Ivory Tower, and Burial Mounds are phenomenal maps. Coagulation and Beaver Creek are nice for nostalgia value.

Also, I felt a bit let down by the extra dvd in the collectors edition.

I think ultimately, I was a victim of hype. Halo2 is a good game and all, but after all the years, and previews, and e3s, I can't say it was as good as I expected.

[soccerchamp76]

Multiplayer is just amazing.
Adding XBOX Live was fantastic.
Playing 16 people over the schools network = hours of wasted time

10/10

[unregistered092]

my first thought was "am i missing something?" which brings me to my second thought of "this game sucks"

[boom29]

I think they should have added more maps. If anything, they should have added the maps from the original Halo.

[crossova]

Originally Posted by The Cotb

Plus Laura Prepon and David Cross did voices as Marines.
Mmmmm... Laura Prepon....

Well I'd have to disagree w/ the MP2 vs. H2 comments...I think that H2 has an overall better story/plot. MP2 is well deserving of a 10 but H2 beats it