Halo 2 Review

I think Halo 2 could arguably be the best Xbox game of the year. It starts off where the first Halo left off, and I won’t spoil the storyline. I liked that is was a shooter/RPG/action game that really stood out.

Game play was probably the best category, as it was really fun to do levels. Even though most of the objectives were just to move further into the level, it seemed like more. You have teammates sometimes, and can give them weapons, receive theirs, and get in vehicles. You could steal vehicles and your allies may be smart enough to ride some. I really liked the teamwork, both with allies, Co-op and Team Multiplayer. (talk about that later) You could get in vehicles together (Driver, Gunner, etc.) and they’ll help you out. Or you could let them do all the work, which may seem mean, but in the Legendary difficulty, you’ll NEED them. In Easy, you could rush into a room-clearing melee and usually survive. Normal, you should put in more effort, as it will be a little harder to survive. Heroic, you’ll need proper strategies, and in Legendary, you’ll need cover 80% of the time you’re playing. Enemies can take you out in no time, and you will probably think you won’t have any shields because you take so much damage. It’s like they’re the human players and you’re the enemies you face in easy mode. You’ll need to strafe, take cover and snipe. I really liked the variety of the game. You could be silent and swift, go in there and make a lot, of noise, throw grenades over a roof and so much more. I could say a lot more, but I don’t want to bore you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Halo 2’s game play rocks.

Graphics were also incredible. The details were all caught perfectly, the physics, blood, explosions, and how vehicles took gradual damage. Shoot a ghost’s (hover bike) wings and they’ll get torn off. Shoot the glass and the area you shot breaks, and cut scenes were awesome, too. Especially the face detail. Whenever you have a Sniper weapon, zoom in on anything you see and I’ll bet you’ll see at least 1 thing that stands out. (unless you zoom in on the ground, but sometimes that works) .

Sound was incredible. The voices for characters (voice-overs) were great, especially the comments. I literally heard Sgt. Johnson and a Grunt get smart with each other: ”Donkey” “You need one!” “Come over here and say that!” he came and shot him then. That was mere coincidence, but that is what makes it funny. A lot of coincidences make a different gaming experience each time you play. Anyway, sounds are essential for any good game, and Halo 2 speaks for itself. The footsteps, although not as loud as Advent Rising, are detailed according to the terrain type. Reloading, shooting (big one), whacking stuff or basically interacting with things around you makes realistic sounds (well, if aliens and plasma rifles were real, of course).

The replay level was moderately high, because although the campaign was fairly short, the levels were big and fun to do over, although there was no Score or bonus points. But that keeps you from straining to beat your friend’s score or whatnot. It had no bosses, but Tougher-than-normal enemies and I guess you could consider Tartarus the Final Boss. We’ll have to wait for Halo 3 to see what happens next. Note: Halo 3 is for Xbox 360, I don’t think normal Xbox (upsetting). Enjoy Halo 2 while you still care about playing it.

Halo 2’s best feature is Xbox Live. It has friends, chat, downloads, team games, and everything else Xbox Live. I wish I could tell you more, but I haven’t experienced it.
Another feature is the Multiplayer Map Pack, which gives you 9 new maps and a couple of videos that didn’t interest me. The maps are downloadable from Xbox Live, which saves you $20 for something you won’t need after you download some maps.

Overall, Halo 2 is a good game for anyone who likes shooters and multiplayer.

On the plus side:
+ Big levels, many weapons and lots of enemies.
+ Co-op, Multiplayer, Xbox Live.
+ Vehicles and A few interactive mechanisms.
+ Good secrets and glitches.

On the Negative side:
- Slow reload with some weapons.
- Fairly short Campaign.
- Maybe a few minor things, but nothing major.

I’ll give it a 9.75 / 10 average rating, it all depends if I have fun or get mad at it.

Thanks for reading, look forward to more reviews and cheats by me, and feel free to post comments.

This review was added on 19th August 2005 by Joey Cusimano.