Halo 2

[GFreeman]

just joining this thread....

I'll be the first to admit. i was a halo fanboy...LOVED it. but more than that, i thought it revolutionized FPS console games. co-op was defined by this game.

that said, halo 2 was a big disappointment for me. being able to dual wield and acquire the sword was just not enough to really get my by. the ending really burnt my arse too......but enough is enough....

[Alien_Newborn]

SPOILER'S BELOW







Well, I figure that the ending was a perfect (though certainly not satisfying) setup for a third game. It's quite possible, after all, with five unexplored halos out there, an unexpected alliance between the humans and the Bonded (Grunts, Elites and Hunters, who were originally a clan unto themselves before joining the Covenant [yes, I know some halo lore] ) and Cortana all by her little lonesome back on High Charity.

PS. do you guys think that since the Arbiter did, after all, save some elite councilors, that they might restore his rank within the Covenant Military?


Editted by Aegis

[Aegis]

@Alien Newborn: When posting information like that, it's appreciated if you add the tag 'SPOILER' at the heading of the post, so that others who may not know that don't inadvertantly read it.

As such, I'll add it in myself. So this is just for future knowledge.

[Macleod1701]

[QUOTE=mac94]I thought the first was ok but nothing spectacular I'm not to sure about this one. Maybe I just don't like console FPS games [/QUOTE]

SACRILAGE! Hang him by his toes and beat the infidel with Mackrel!
Halo was awsome and the second is just as good, I found the co-op play the most fun!

[GFreeman]

I agree about the coop being the best...BUT...I am still under the impression that the first was better. halo 2 is quite linear....that just gets to me. hasn't everyone realized that non-linear is the best way to go?? cmon now!

[Aegis]

Halo 1 was just as linear, if not more. Not to mention it had incredably repetitive boring gameplay (The swarm, anyone ). IMHO, people bought into the hype, and then let themselves stay caught up in it. Both Halo games are hardly innovative, or unique in the grand scheme of things. The only thing I really enjoyed about Halo was the fact that the gameplay is not the hoped-up-on-crack style that seems to be the trend in FPS's these days.

[Ideal Maxima]

those who say it wasn't too good:

the storyline was supposed to explai more about the covenant and their religon

the game wasn't intended on single player, it was for xbox liive

and may i say xbox live is great

I mean, you can make fun of the guy that you just killed, how great is that?

[Aegis]

[QUOTE=Ideal Maxima]those who say it wasn't too good:

the storyline was supposed to explai more about the covenant and their religon

the game wasn't intended on single player, it was for xbox liive

and may i say xbox live is great

I mean, you can make fun of the guy that you just killed, how great is that? [/QUOTE]
See, thats one of the exact mentalities that turns me off the game. I don't care if I can 'make fun of' the guy I just fragged, nor do I think a game should be designed around such a factor. The game itself is not enticing, and as such, I have little desire to play online. Especially when it's multiplay feature is, IMHO, subpar :O

[Ideal Maxima]

ok aegis, we all know your smart, but is there any need for big words

for those of you confused as i WAS, subpar means below traditional standards

well, that was IYO. IMO the multiplayer is awesome, but that's just me.

[GFreeman]

I don't think he was necessarily knocking the multiplayer, but more that a seriously followed game like halo shouldn't be designed simply around the fact that it can be multiplayer on Live. yeah, its fun....but halo can be something really great if they keep the balance bw SP and MP - both are good....but staying true to the story is most important in the end...

...and for those that don't care in the slightest about stories....there's always battlefield 1942/vietnam....heheh.

[Aegis]

Well, I was attempting to avoid such a thing, but in actuallity, yeah, I was even knocking multiplayer. The system is quite uninspiried. Co-op is nothing new, as it was a feature boasted by the Nintendo Consoles as early as the Super Famicon, through use of the multi-tab. Not only that, but the game modes themselves are simply rehashments of the same style of online play, typically being Capture the Flag (of which is epitomized within the Tribes series of games), Death Match (Quake, Unreal Tournament series), and other such mundane systems. People are just raving about the online feature, because it is a console that boasts the online factor, without the need of multiple consoles in the same building.

Not only that, but there are numerous factors that take away from simple enjoyment, not to mention making the system itself one based entirely upon a spray and pray style of combat. I won't even get started on the (until recently) limited number of useable skins. I mean, I could only stomach seeing the same coloured master chief shoot me so many times before I found it ridiculous.

All in all, people have allowed themselves to fall for the hype that is Halo, and it's truly a sign of the state of the industry, if something as uninspired as Halo 2 can be hailed as a great step forward. It's also a sign seen in all branches of the industry, sadly

[Macleod1701]

Boy are you a grumpy Gus! It's fun and has an enjoyable storyline, personally I love it!

[Ned Flanders]

The game has a lot of multiplayer options that can be tweaked to make games unique. I've not played anything resembling the oddball or territory variants on any other MP FPS. Playing a game with 16 people representing 4 teams can also be a real good time. Most of the games run on common servers are par for the course, but with all the options available, the group I play with have come up with some games that are different.

I'm not really sure what spray and pray mean.

I don't know what you mean by the number of usable skins either. If your playing a game that's red team vs. blue team, you can only be killed by a player of two colors (one of them being a betrayal).

Your comment with regard to taunting is spot on. I find no need to taunt any I slay and always turn the voice options 'off' when jumping in 'common servers'. That's why I only play with a private group, and we only run our own custom games. Oddly enough, the latency is a non factor considering one of us has to host the game. You would think the host would have an advantage but we haven't really noticed it.

I certainly wouldn't say the game is unispired though. When I played the first, I had heard nothing about it nor read a review. I found the simplicity of the gameplay to be a plus, and really enjoyed the story. It was evident a lot of thought was put into the tale they weaved, clearly emphasized by the depth of the second story. I have yet to find another FPS, besides half-life(s) and XIII (based on a comic), that put as much effort into developing a story. Game music is also top notch which I believe adds to the game atmosphere, speaking only for myself.

Is Halo2 a great step forward? I don't know. For me, it is. I'm not sure how a great step forward in the gaming industry could actually be defined. With FPS'ers, I'm not sure there ever will be a great step forward again as there is little that can be done. I would say the greatest step forward, if you can call it that, for FPS was Ghost Recon. The ability to play through the campaign with eight other friends linked online and using voice real time was fascinating. The game's pace was slow enough where commands could be barked and orders carried out. That game was unique.

Aegis, what would be a great step forward? Not picking on you at all because I like your cynical against-the-grain approach when it comes to picking apart games. We are similar there, I'm not impressed with much that's been done in recent years. But the Halo series is perfect for me in what I've been looking for in the FPS genre and this ain't a Halo fanboy talking. I just really like the games, non-hype influenced.

[GFreeman]

HALO 2 RULEZ!!

PWN3D!!!!111oneoneeleven


(sorry, I couldn't resist!)

[InfiniteNature]

I liked the game, the story was good, didn't like the obvious sequelitus, but still fairly good, it had more humor then the previous game.

Didn't like the dual wield function that much, frankly I think grenades are just to useful, especially if you are fighting the Flood or taking down large vehicles.

And too I played generally played sniper, you can't dual wield those, but I really liked the Covenant version of the sniper rifle, it got so I was using it from everything to killing plain ordinary grunts to taking down full size Brutes, by the way I found only three effective ways of killing those buggers, ignore the Brute plasma rifles, and just focus on energy blades, needlers, or energy sniper rifles; and if you can a good old Terran shotgun works pretty well as well. All though I only got those in the Terran sequence not the Covenant sequence.

As to killing flood, I would say shotguns, frag grenades(plasmas are good but frags are better), energy blades, and for long range or even in a bind, a good Covenant energy sniper rifle works wonders, which the Terran sniper rifle doesn't work all that well at.

Don't get me wrong I like the sniper rifle, but it really irritated me not being able to sniper Flood, that was my favorite part of it, taking that sweet shot on the head and taking them down from afar. I'm really glad they got a decent sniper rifle replacement for Halo 2, using the old scope pistol only goes so far you know.

Although dual wielding SMGs works pretty well against flood, in fact that was my prime weapons when fighting with the arbiter, preferred the shotgun, but lack of ammunition and availability limited their use.

Spoiler maybe:




















In the end of the game you are pretty much limited to Covenant arsenal whether you play the Master Chief or the Arbiter, unless you pick up some from the Flood.

[Macleod1701]

Ah weapons! Is there anything more fun!

[Aegis]

[QUOTE=Macleod1701]Ah weapons! Is there anything more fun![/QUOTE]
Let's try and keep the posts relevant. Spam is for SYM.