So, it's November 9th...

[Popcorn]

um, constantly playing the game on legendary AND reading those Halo novels makes you a Halo fanboy.

I actually own those novels. I tried reading the first one, but it was really trashy, unimaginitively-written super-cliched balls. I mean, Halo's story is like that anyway, but I'd heard really good things about the novels... I guess the majority of Halo fans haven't read many books.

[Delphine]

I guess the majority of people haven't read many books.

Fixed.

[Green Gibbon!]

I remember those stupid Halo books. We had some at the store that I think we were supposed to give out to pre-order customers. On slow nights we'd flip through it looking for embarrassingly bad lines.

[SuperKnux]

On slow nights we'd flip through it looking for embarrassingly bad lines.

Didja find any? ..like the stupid commerical for Halo 2:

"I need a weapon." OMFG!!1guysTHATSKOOOOLL!!!CHEEFtehSHIZZ! *cums*

Was that suppose to be like the most inspiring line in the game? Was I suppose to be impressed, or something?

[Light Speed]

I heard the game sold 1.7 million copies in the first day. However I find that really really hard to believe. Anyway, I ended up getting it at midnight because Gamestop called me and said they'd give away my preorder in 48 hours if I didn't pick it up, and my only other chance to get it was longer than 48 hours from the release date.

I'm maybe halfway through the campaign and so far the story doesn't make sense. Its funny cause Bungie prides itself in telling stories, yet this story either hasn't been tied together yet, or just blows. A better story would have been Master Chief gets back to earth and the Covenant have found it, so he starts laying the smack down.

Anyway, the game more or less plays exactly the same as Halo 1, the only difference is dual-wielding and you can't throw grenades nearly as far. There is a few more vehicles. I dunno how they spent so much time on this game considering its just Halo with like 5 new things. The Xbox Live setup is pretty neat though, that probably took them awhile to work out. It has a bunch of cool features, and deals with lag pretty well by transferring the hosting to the person with the best connection.

[Popcorn]

According to the books, Master Chief's real name is John. And the other Spartans are called Kelly, Linda and Fred.

:(

[Zeta]

If Master Chief's real name is John, the name of the others should've been George, Paul, and Ringo.

Naturally.

[chriscaffee]

I beat the campaign and the story does make sense, they just didn't finish it. It could have been told a lot better though. Some of the important points weren't really stressed upon enough. There is one point that I will agree doesn't make any sense. The bit with the Brutes and Elites. Maybe it was explained, but I had the volume down on my TV because my roommate was sleeping so I missed the middle half of the story.

I really don't know why everyone is all surprised about the game not being solely about Master Chief vs. the Covenent on earth. It was confirmed since the announce trailer that we would be visiting another Halo along with forerunner installations. The second game's story is right in line with the first game's story. Both are "sidestories" of what is actually happening. The first being the Covenent invasion of the outer plants and the second being the invasion of Earth. In both cases Master Chief is never where the main action is. The problem with Halo 2's story is that it is the same story as the first one except there are a few more aliens.

And one last comment. This game is fucking beautiful. From what I've seen of Half-Life 2, it doesn't hold a fucking candle to the beautimousness of Halo 2. The "100,000 Years War" was orgasmic.

The most disappointing thing for me is the shotgun. The shotgun was an overpowered son of a bitch in the campaign mode. There was no excuse not to be carrying one of them after Mission 6 because they could kill anything. Now you can no longer hold down the trigger you carry 24 less shells then you used to and it's power has been dramatically downgraded over range. It still has the point-blank-instant death, but other then that it is useless. The Flood on normal mode take the same number of shells I am used to pumping Flood on in Legendary in the first game. I don't like the new shotgun at all. Most of the other weapons are actually useful however. I figured the reverse would be the situation, the introduction of new and useless weapons rather then turning an existing weapon into a piece of shit. Granted the original shotgun in Halo had more damage potential then any other weapon including the rocket launcher, but sometimes it's good to keep some unbalanced weapons in a game.

Conclusion:

Story: 2/5 (Halo's is a 3)
Beauty: 5/5 (Halo's is 3-4)
Gameplay: 4/5 (Halo's is 4)

[Double-S-]

I remember how they were all hyping "We show how Earth is mankind's most valuable thingy and you must defend it at all costs." or whatever. That made it sound cool.

[Ash Holt]

So I'm having a very nice time with the game. Anyone who gives it a 10 is out of their fucking minds, though. Really, it's fun, but not a 10. The 8-9 range seems appropriate thusfar.

[Ash Holt]

Strange, me and chriscaffee wound up in the same game. And what is even stranger is that the fucking thing bugged out; started off with a 10 person game and somehow me, Chris, and some other guy ended up playing by ourselves. I don't know what the hell happened there.

[The Doc]

I would play Halo and Halo 2 if I had them.

Or XBox Live.

Or an XBox.

I suck.

[Popcorn]

Along with a handful of other people on this dreadfully FPS-adverse forum, I picked up Halo 2 on release day. I finished it a couple of nights later, and here is what I think.

The first thing you get when you play Halo 2 is a startling sense of solidity. Apart from having what I think may be the most sophisticated graphics ever seen on a console game-- some of the skies and vistas are particularlly stunning-- this is a game that packs a tangible punch; every weapon, vehicle and enemy feels perfectly weighted, especially when compared to Halo's curious floatiness. Even though Chief can now jump about twice as high as he used to, it actually serves more as an acceptable 'leap' feature rather than the original's absurdly calibrated anti-gravity hop. The vehicles' handling have all been honed to perfection, and every weapon feels (and sounds) absolutely as meaty as you'd like it to. Above all else, Halo 2 is a game that appeals to me on a very basic level: it simply looks, and feels, glorious-- and hugely empowering.

There are a sizeable pot of new features, of course. You can now hold two guns at once, and mix and match favourite combinations at the loss of (near-vital) grenade functionality. This took some getting used to, and at first it seemed more practical to simply ignore it entirely, but now I really appreciate it against individual enemies when you have ample time to reload between targets. The ability to hijack vehicles adds both balance and spice (especially since vehicles are now much more present, in both single and multiplayer modes). Predictably, there are also a smattering of new weapons-- and where Halo innovated with its two-weapon system, Halo 2 perfects. I really can't stress how beautifully balanced everything here is-- absolutely everything seems useful once you've adjusted to it. Halo 2 has some of the most perfect game mechanics I've ever seen.

Which is a shame, since I still have some beef with the single-player mode. The level design is a vast improvement over the original's monotony... but they still haven't got everything quite right. The missions are all very different from one another, but there remains a lack of variation within the individual levels themselves. And where Halo had a simple, dumb plot of no real consequence, Halo 2 has a convoluted, messy plot that reaches absolutely no resolution. However, like the first Halo, the game still manages to be pleasing enough to render this mainly inconsequential. There are some genuinely magical moments here-- the Flood are re-introduced in a way that is both effective and surprisingly understated, and, after several opening stages consisting of urban shootouts and tight corridor brawls, landing on the Delta Halo ring and finding yourself chasing the Covenant across beautiful open plains in a Warthog has never felt more welcome. There's a lot here to like.

If I had to have a real problem with the game, it's that it's too short. That's not to say there isn't enough gameplay time here-- that's not the case. It's just that Bungie have squeezed so many new weapons, enemies, vehicles and features into the game that there barely seems enough time to savour it all. The first Halo did a good job of drip-feeding the player new weapons and set-pieces to cope with; here, the game seems a little too heavy-handed and over-eager to press itself into your hands. Within the first few stages of the game, you've already seen every new weapon; and from then on, faced with too broad a selection, you find yourself sticking to a handful of trusted favourites all the time. In Halo you were forced into using whatever was given to you, but at the end of Halo 2, I realised I'd never really worked out how to use the Brute Shot. But I guess that's what multiplayer's there for, because I've been playing it on Xbox Live every night since I bought it and it's brilliant.

[Segadult]

The first thing you get when you play Halo 2 is a startling sense of solidity.

I'm not sure that's the first thing I got, when it failed to load textures left and right (I know the reasons for it, but it's still there)... I was impressed by the scale of the game, however (compared to the first). The soundtrack is much better than I expected. The whole game went above my expectations, but that wasn't too hard since I wasn't really looking forward to it. But still, I think it's a respectable and good game. Even though PC games aren't usually my thing, Half Life 2 captured my heart (part 1 didn't though). I guess that overshadowed Halo 2 for me at the time of the Halo 2 hype. The scale of Half Life 2 makes me feel warm inside. I was happy to see some of that in Halo 2. Though I still have to see this "100,000 Years War" thing that Chris mentioned. I'd like to, since he said it kicks Half Life 2's ass. I'd like to see something kick some ass and make me feel warmer inside.

- Sega

[Popcorn]

I've no idea what Chris was going on about with the 100,000 years' war either. He seems to think Halo 2 is better than HL2 will be, though, and so is clearly deluded.

Twelve and a half hours to go!

[Segadult]

Yeah, I wasn't sure where he was coming from either... In 2003, they were saying that the XBox port of Half Life 2 was still going to happen. I wonder what the story is now.

Like I said, I'm not too into PC gaming, but luckily, since I do 3D art, I have the hardware to run Half Life 2. I'm very very excited. But anyway, back on subject... "Yay Halo 2".


- Sega

[Squirrelknight]

The Flood are a bunch of stupid bitches. I hated them in the first game, and unlike the other enemies, they seem to be harder to kill than in the first game. Where as now Elites go down with a couple of bursts from the AR ( in Halo 1, you had to empty an entire clip of AR ammo into them), the Flood seem to have gotten stronger. They're annoying as fuck, and I really, really dislike the levels where you have to fight them. Fighting the Covenant is so much funner, I don't really see why they brought the Flood back.

So far, I've enjoyed the Earth levels the most. Jumping onto that big AT-AT-esque walking mech from a bridge, and then killing all of it's crew was one of the best moments in gaming, EVER. Same goes for climbing onto a Prophet's floating throne and punching him to death.

I'm near the end (I think), so I haven't gotten to the infamous ending (or lack thereof) yet, but so far, the story seems pretty competent for an FPS. The cool, Raiden-esque twist was interesting, and it's nice that they gave the Covenant some personality this time around.

Oh, and that energy sword isn't nearly as fun as they made it seem.

[chriscaffee]

Let's make a distinction here. I said prettier. Stylistically, Halo 2 is much more appealing to the eye then the blander, grittier style of Half-Life 2.

The "100,000 Years War" is one of the little cinematic titles that appears when you play as the Arbiter. It's the part where you go outside and there is this massive battle between the Flood and the Sentinels. The scenery is fucking breathtaking.

The BR takes less shots to kill Elites with because it is a reformed and weakened version of the original pistol. The AR still never took a full mag to kill an Elite even on Legendary. The potential AR damage output is twice that of the maximum number of Sniper shots (3) to kill a Gold or Black Elite. Combine that with the melee attacks that almost always insue when using the AR and you really don't have to spend more then half a mag to whipe out an Elite.

There is another annoying thing about this game. You can't carry nearly as much ammo as you could in the first. This isn't so bad in single player, but it is annoying as hell in multiplayer, especially when engaging vehicles because it just takes so many rounds to take them out. Carrying four magazines for the BR versus eleven for the original pistol was piss poor idea if you ask me.

And the Brute Shot sucks. It's cool as hell, but requires insane accuracy and only does moderate damage. The FRG on the other hand is cool as hell and actually useful, though it's unfortunate it is only limited to two levels in the single player campaign.

[Ash Holt]

I hate The Flood as well, they really put a damper on things for me at some points. Though, that one Arbiter mission in the Library was pretty cool because I was sneaking around from cover to cover to avoid the flood, so it kind of mixed things up. Sure, I could have blasted through them, but that probably would have even taken more time and would have been annoying as hell. I'm just glad that the very last level has absolutely no flood whatsoever, and that the ending isn't as bad as some make it out to be. The only thing that bothers me is that there is no telling as of yet when Bungie will get to work on the next Halo title. I do think they've stated that their next project won't even be Halo 3, so it could be a while before we know what the hell happens next.

There definately should have been more levels like Outskirts though, but at least they did give you a good amount of support from fellow soldiers throughout a good amount of the game as opposed to being alone most of the time like in the first one.

[Popcorn]

The FRG on the other hand is cool as hell and actually useful, though it's unfortunate it is only limited to two levels in the single player campaign.

Yeah, is the Fuel Rod Gun actually in multiplayer at all? 'Cause I haven't seen it around yet.

The Flood are a bunch of stupid bitches. I hated them in the first game

I actually don't mind the Flood. I think they're quite a cool idea, and although the levels they were deployed in in the original Halo were piss-poor, I don't find them too aggravating to fight against-- they do serve as some much-needed variety, after all. I liked the way they were re-introduced in Halo 2, and the atmosphere in the Sentinel Wall was incredible.

The "100,000 Years War" is one of the little cinematic titles that appears when you play as the Arbiter. It's the part where you go outside and there is this massive battle between the Flood and the Sentinels. The scenery is fucking breathtaking.

Ah, yeah, that mission was awesome... well, the first half of it was; I actually thought the outdoor segments were the weakest part of the game. But taking in the view of the horizon before jumping into the piston ducts was a really happy moment for me. That entire stage actually reminded me a hell of a lot of the Panzer Dragoon games, what with all that exploring ancient alien environments and their security robots.

Let's make a distinction here. I said prettier. Stylistically, Halo 2 is much more appealing to the eye then the blander, grittier style of Half-Life 2.

Well, Halo 2 is-- and always was going to be-- a huge, overblown, sweeping vista of breathtaking awe and all that. Everything about it-- the battles, the story-- is completely (ridiculously) epic. HL2, which we'll all be playing tomorrow morning, seems to offer a different kind of 'beauty' altogether. To be honest, it's one I'm more interested in exploring.

[chriscaffee]

The FRG is single player exclusive.

And more then likely I will only play HL2 if it comes out on Xbox. Or if it's on someone else's computer.