finbogg

Now that I have finished the campaign, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in HALO 2. If you factor out the graphics and multiplayer, I think HALO 1 was a better game. Yeah they added some cool features like dual-wielding and boarding, but the story just didn't engage me like the first game.

I missed the big outdoor environments and fighting alongside the marines. I can go back and play 'Silent Cartographer' over and over again and I don't see any levels like that in HALO 2. Overall the game seemed smaller to me (even though they said ALL the geometry from HALO 1 can fit in one level of HALO 2). Don't get me wrong, it's a good game, but it's missing something from the first game.




Overall, I'm getting that "Matrix Reloaded" feeling here.

Few games could live up to the excitement and hype that they built up for this game. The multiplayer is great and will keep me busy for a while.

Th0r S1mpson

Worth the price of admission for xbox live alone.

But I would agree with you on the campaign from what I've played so far of the two games. Haven't taken the time to beat either so I can't make a final conclusion myself. I just tried the campaign feature (co-op) for the first time last night on Halo 2. I haven't played anything but live before that.

Tamrok

I can't say that I agree. While the ending of Halo 2 certainly leaves you hanging and wanting more, I definitely feel Halo 2 is the better game. To me, the story is much more expansive and interesting. I enjoyed seeing some things from the Covenant perspective. It makes them more real and interesting rather than a faceless enemy for me to mow down. The Prophets and Brutes are excellent additions and add some depth and variety.

Certainly, Halo 1 had an excellent level in The Silent Cartographer. It may even be better than any single level in Halo 2 but overall, I feel Halo 2 is more consistent in quality over the course of the entire game. In Halo 2, I really got more of a sense of being involved in a huge galactic conflict that I didn't always have in Halo 1. Halo 2 just seems more grand to me.

I do agree that battling the Flood can be frustrating at times but they do serve the purpose of giving you a change of pace. Certainly, the battles are much more frantic when the Flood are involved. It effectively forces you to change your tactics so I can understand why Bungie included them.

Overall, the combination of single and multi-player makes Halo 2 the best Xbox game available at the moment, in my opinion. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow's unique multi-player makes it a close second for me. Halo 1 would be third.

gr8fuldave

Well I haven't played the campaign in Halo2 yet because each time I pop Halo 2 into the drive, someone sends me a party invited and I end up playing for 2-3 hours per night. This game is worth 100 bucks just for the multiplayer to me. This game got me to play FPS on a console and actually learn to play with a controller instead of a keyboard and a mouse. I've played this game 2-3 hours per night on Live since November 12. I like it better than CS on PC, and I've played lots of CounterStrike. I picked up Halo 1 as well when I got Halo 2, and the story was fantastic. After playing system link with the first Halo, I hope they release those maps soon on live, I'd even pay for em.

Th0r S1mpson

Exactly.

TheMadMonk

As for singleplayer, I think Halo is better than Halo 2.

menaz

I dislike the campaign of halo 2 quite a bit. I never cared much for the story of Halo, so thats not a problem for me, it is mainly the gameplay. Another thing that bothers me, is the emphasis on vehicles, the ghosts seem to just keep coming and coming. Halo 1 overall had a better campaign, and I think the multiplayer maps were better designed. Halo 2 to me is more obviously designed as a multiplayer game. If bungie was to release hang em high for halo 2, it would be halo glory.

Liquid Death

I don't have XBOX Live, so its Campaign only for me. That said, I was disappointed by Halo 2 - to echo the above comments, the levels seemed a bit more confined, rather than the few huge outdoor levels from Halo 1. I also didn't like the switching between characters or the Marines you save but then disappear when actual combat occurs. Dual wielding, while cool in concept, was a bit lacking in usefulness during the gameplay. And I think I commandeered a vehicle in use exactly once...

But some of it was cool and it was certainly less repetitious than the original.

Michael Corvin

^^ that is the only map I miss from Halo. I would pay for that content d/l. Hang 'em High ruled. As for the rest of the mp maps from the first game, they already included the other two that were good, the rest were average. Halo 2 mp maps are 100% better designed and more fun to play.

Campaign-wise, playing as the Arbitor gives you perspective on their race, but they could have accomplished this with one or two levels. It isn't like you are going to spare them when you are playing as MC. I would rather be MC the entire time as well. I like the levels in H2 better, except for the Silent Cartographer and I miss the Warthog run level. There were too many similar indoor areas in the first game.

JM

FWIW, play on Legendary (or even Heroic if you haven't already), and I think you will see the usefulness of both of the above. In fact, for a proper single player experience, everyone should play on at least Heroic. As to others' comments about not liking the Flood, they--along with the Halos themselves--are an integral part of the Halo story. It would make no sense to omit either.

Giantrobo

I agree.



Frankly, I think both Halos are great and the addition of Live on II is just icing on the cake. However, I can still understand why many are so disappointed with Halo II.

Trigger

I'm not quite done with the single player of Halo 2, so I can't say which is better. But with multiplayer, I don't see what all the fuss is about with Halo 2's multiplayer. It's as generic as a slew of generic multiplayer games - Tribes, Quake 2, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, etc etc... I'm not saying I don't like it, but it's not all that special aside from the matchmaking and clan stuff... which is only special if you have never played a PC game online.

Canis Firebrand

I don't know if its 100% accurate, but the latest issue of the Official XBox magazine had a bit on Halo 2.

Tamrok

If true, this could explain the other rumors of a version of Halo 2 launching with the next Xbox. Perhaps, Bungie will port Halo 2 to Xbox Next and finish the third act. A bit of a stretch but stranger things have happened. That's the only way Bungie could have a Halo title ready for the launch of Xbox Next. Halo 3 just couldn't be finished in time...

Gromit

I'm not quite finished with Halo 2's single player campaign, so I didn't read the posts in this thread for fear of spoilers.

I think Halo 1 is a much better single player game. The biggest complaint of Halo 1 was the repetitive levels. I was shocked to find the same thing in Halo 2! It's not as bad as Halo 1 but you would think they would have avoided that at all costs. I'm also sick of areas that look the same coming or going. If I get turned around in the heat of battle, it shouldn't take 2 minutes of wandering around to determine if I'm going in the right direction or backtracking over an area I've already cleared.

I don't know what it is, but the levels in Halo 2 don't seem nearly as interesting as the Halo 1 levels, even considering the repetition of Halo 1. I can't believe they had 3 years to work on this game. Some of the levels just make no sense. What's with the room with the column in the middle that slowly works it way down as enemies leap in to kick your ass? It makes no sense. It also seems that aliens have mastered technology but can't design buildings that don't have open areas next to large voids where you can fall to your death. They can make a plasma rifle, but guard rails are beyond their grasp. It's like elements of the levels were put there just to trip you up, but they don't make any sense in terms of the story and kind of defy the immersive nature that the game should provide.

I guess they felt that they needed a twist, thus the big plot twist that affects gameplay. I would have been happy with simply moving through different areas on earth, kicking Covenant ass. Give me 20 hours of the E3 trailer.

I found myself disappointed when I got near the end of Halo 1, simply because I knew it was almost over. Halo 2 has more of a "c'mon, get this over with" feel. I just want to be done with it. I'm playing on normal and I have no desire to go back and play again on Heroic (other than co-op maybe).

Halo 2 is easily worth $50, thanks to the online play. But I just don't get these "perfect 10" and "best Xbox game EVER" reviews. Without online play, I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Ralph Wiggum

I'll echo this disappointment with the multiplayer - it's not bad by any means, but it isn't anything that I haven't already experienced before. I honestly don't see how Bungie spent three years to do so little with the Campaign and multiplayer.

Draven

Loved the single player on Halo 2. I played through on Heroic first, so I definitely felt challenged. I liked the mix of indoor and outdoor levels and I really like revisiting areas from the first game in different ways,

My least favorite part of the first game (the Flood) wasn't a huge part of this one, and more often than not other things were fighting them at the same time, which really leant a feeling of being part of a larger war. I thought the Brutes were a great addition as well and I loved seeing the Covenant side of things.

The Silent Cartographer level and the one level where you get the Scorpion tank were the only levels of Halo I looked forward to playing. There are so many levels in Halo 2 that I'll play again and again that I feel it's the far superior game.

finbogg

Yep. There's talk of a HALO 2.5 (pure speculation) that would launch with Xbox 2. It would give the third act and revamp the graphics.

TheMadMonk

I really do think Halo2 was cut short, and chopped up. It took them 3 years to get Halo 2 out; MS isn't going to want to wait 3 more years before they can launch Xbox2 with any hope of it succeeding. They have to have a Halo game ready to go at launch.

Halo 2 is bugging me. I know I enjoy it when I am playing it, basically because I don't have time to think about its flaws, but when I'm not playing it, and can reflect on it, I really feel it was a letdown.