Halo 2 Review

Halo 2 Release Date: 9th November,2004

[10th November, 2004]
Reviewed by Maw

Having finished the complete game, I can tell you that Halo 2 offers a great mix of atmosphere and action. It mixes the frantic moments of the original DOOM with spectacular and atmospheric graphics that set a milestone in console gaming.

Halo 2 boast spectacular architecture

The sheer scale and the truly imaginative architecture of both the human and alien structures is breath taking. This is top notch sci fi environments that look both pretty and "expensive". The level design is perfect - 10/10 for designing the buildings and the open space areas. Hardly ever do the constraints of the Halo 2 world become apparent to the player. Instead, there is a refreshing "go anywhere" feel in particular with the open game areas. The inside levels still dictate a one-way progress through one corridor and door after the other. Grand Theft Halo, this is not. But it is close - there are lots of different vehicles, and even Alien vehicles can be hijacked in Grand Theft Auto style. I love it!

Halo 2 Weapons

The weapons are nicely balanced. The needler makes a welcome reappearance in Halo 2 and proofs to be very useful indeed. Some new weapons are in the game that are really cool. Ammo is plentiful, yet there is some small degree of resource management that applies, mostly with regard to the ever so useful plasma grenades that are particularly useful when attached directly at an enemy.

Halo 2 Story
The story of Halo 2 is truly convoluted and it takes more than one sitting to finally grasp who is who and who deceived whom. There are some twists and turns, but I don't want to spoil it here.

By any means, for a video game, this is a reasonable plot that keeps the player interested beyond just working out the trigger finger.

The voice acting is excellent with some notable stars listed in the credits. The chatter, banter and taunts of both the humans and aliens are hilarious and entertaining and won't grow old on you even after completing the game more than once. They are varied and fun.

Gameplay is proven Halo fare. You are part of a team or team leader, and the immersion in the ongoing action is aided by all the things that go on at the same time. Although you're the hero (aptly named Master Chief), you're part of a campaign. It's fun to protect your squadron members and to have them drive you or drive them around with a vehicle. The flying sections are a welcome change from action on foot, but by and large controlling the crafts is somewhat cumbersome and frustrating. Driving the Scorpio tank with near invincibility makes up for a lot of damage and suffering though. Good fun!

Halo 2 review summary

Graphics: 10/10 - excellent textures both in far distance and close up
Great architecture that impresses with inventiveness and design and sheer scale.
Both player and enemy graphics are top notch in both animation and texture detail.

Sound:
Great soundtracks throughout the game. Atmospheric, epic, and very fitting.

Voices:
A lot of fun and adding greatly to the entertainment

Gameplay:
Well, it's Halo! A first person shooter with lots of blasting and also taking control of vehicles.

Buy Halo 2 now! (Amazon.com)

Halo2 - First Impressions

[10th November, 2004]
Reviewed by Boxie

I sat down with some friends last night and played some Halo 2. I was expecting big things from the sequal because I wasn't that impressed with Halo on the PC.

The game has evolved. From the (relatively) short amount of time that I was playing it felt a lot more immersive and, to me, looked better than its predesessor. As you would expect, your character (Master Chief) is once again in the middle of all hell breaking loose. The duty of defending the ship is once again thrown to you and the covenant boarding parties start blowing things up. The gameplay is immersive and the environment is addictive. Everything is as you would expect, no nasty game glitches, unexpected non standard character movement. Technically this game is quite sound.

Remember that if you are playing in 2 player mode, you both have to be in the same place at the same time to go through to the next area! this caught us out and we spent a while trying to figure out what to do. Good console First Person Shooters are few and far between. My complaint with all console FPS games is that the controller does not allow for fluid FPS action and Halo 2 (like its predessesor) suffers from this.

That complaint aside the game rocks! The storyline continues on from the original with pretty good intro movie that sets the scene quite well.
This is one game that I want to pick up again.

Halo 2 Multiplayer rocks!

[10th November, 2004]
Reviewed by PeeCee05

With Halo 2 the developers seem to have gone for more realism. Enemies aren't as predictable or as noticeable and the game is much more interesting as a result. Multiplayer will no doubt remain the main attraction of the game though, and deservedly so.

[10th November, 2004]
Reviewed by Probefan

As an addicted player of Halo on Xbox, I had very high expectations for the new, very anticipated Halo 2. So on the 9th of November 2004 a group of friends and I sat down to explore what the new instalment had to offer.

Well let's start with the impressive aspects. One of them being the graphics. As expected better and sharper rendering meant for a more realistic gaming environment and Halo 2 certainly delivered. Game play improved dramatically with a much more hectic atmosphere and with out a doubt the multi-player will be the main feature.

Although the game doesn't quite deliver as it is hyped up to be, in my opinion it is better in graphics, smoother game play, sound and story line than any other game on the market today. A must have for any serious gamers.

Buy Halo 2 at Ebgames.com

Halo 2
by MICROSOFT XBOX
$29.99 - Ship within 24 hours

The saga: The Covenant have reached Earth, and the final annihilation of mankind is at hand. In the highly anticipated sequel to the award-winning "Halo: Combat Evolved" the action picks up where the first game ended. Master Chief, with the help of a ... more