Sunday, December 19, 2004
And not for lack of trying
Yeah, I finally finished Halo 2 a couple of nights ago. Why did it take so long? Because the online multiplayer is just that damn good, it's near impossible to play campaign when you turn on your Xbox unless your internet is down. Literally - I finished it on a night when Comcast was pulling their usual bullshit of shutting down my cable and internet for a couple of hours. Though I'd love to talk about all my multiplayer adventures and most glorious moments within, this is a post about single-player, a mode that I wish weren't so damn controversial. Go to any gaming message board and you'll no doubt come across a dozen hateful threads condemning the game and it's ending, and whining with the disappointment of a thousand unchanged babies.
The thing is - and this is key to what got lost amongst all the hype - it's Halo 2. It's not some grandiose, revolutionary concept from a distant future that somehow got whittled down into a videogame and found release in 2004. Sure, I was as excited as anyone else and rode the hype train like a fucking mad conductor, but I wasn't disappointed. Halo wasn't that much better than Marathon or Myth, it was just an evolution; "Combat Evolved" indeed - from their earlier games. And It's arguably not even as good as a handful of other consoles FPSes. Still, even if it was your favorite game of all time, I can't see how you'd be disappointed with Halo 2. It's more of the same, only longer, with better graphics, better music, and less backtracking. It's doesn't do anything new or innovative (literally, not one thing), but it's entertaining throughout with some truly great moments. Again, it's Halo 2.
So while I definitely enjoyed it, a handful of things pissed me off (just like any other, mortal game). In fact, it was mostly one thing - the egregious misuse of your teammates and their A.I. They're really helpful in battle, and can even drive you around in a vehicle reasonably well. Problem is, it's hardly worth trying to keep them alive since they won't goddamn take orders or do intelligent things when you really need them to. I spend a while keeping two teammates alive riding on the side of my scorpion, only to have them not follow me on foot when I reached a tank-inaccessible point. They just sat there on the side of the tank like a couple of brain morons, no more useful than a kick in the spleen. This happened a lot, unfortunately - I'd fight my ass off and equip my boys right just to have them suddenly not follow me into certain danger. They'd just stop and stand there, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it short of beating them about the face and torso. It's really frustrating when it happens, and fairly ridiculous considering the intelligence and tenacity you get attacked with in Legendary.
Another problem I had was (quasi-spoiler warning) not always playing as Master Chief. You play as...someone else, for about half of the levels, which really just took me out of the characters and story (which were way too ambitious to begin with). This other character plays almost identically as well, which just makes the whole thing seem pointless. It's a fine idea, but as with many other things the series has become known for, it's underdeveloped. Why couldn't they just fight alongside one another? The rest of the issues are minor, some of which haven't changed much since the first game - some areas and enemies are really tough until you find a specific (and usually cheap) solution, at which point they become pushovers, dual-wielding is more of a gimmick and isn't necessary to succeed at all, the best enemy types and vehicles aren't used enough, etc.
Things that are great? It's a Halo game, so it feels great. Grenades are fun and useful. It looks great - I died at several points from admiring the scenery. Much has been made of the soundtrack, but it truly is wonderful - second to Katamari all-time (though it couldn't be more different). The cutscenes are sweet, even with their weird graphical glitches. The vehicles are all great and add a lot to the game. It's Halo 2. If you played the first game you'll know why the series is great but flawed, and not much has changed. I'm happy I enjoyed it as much as I did, and now I'm periodically tackling the inconceivably difficult Legendary mode. So, one month and ten days later, I give my stamp of approval.
The thing is - and this is key to what got lost amongst all the hype - it's Halo 2. It's not some grandiose, revolutionary concept from a distant future that somehow got whittled down into a videogame and found release in 2004. Sure, I was as excited as anyone else and rode the hype train like a fucking mad conductor, but I wasn't disappointed. Halo wasn't that much better than Marathon or Myth, it was just an evolution; "Combat Evolved" indeed - from their earlier games. And It's arguably not even as good as a handful of other consoles FPSes. Still, even if it was your favorite game of all time, I can't see how you'd be disappointed with Halo 2. It's more of the same, only longer, with better graphics, better music, and less backtracking. It's doesn't do anything new or innovative (literally, not one thing), but it's entertaining throughout with some truly great moments. Again, it's Halo 2.
So while I definitely enjoyed it, a handful of things pissed me off (just like any other, mortal game). In fact, it was mostly one thing - the egregious misuse of your teammates and their A.I. They're really helpful in battle, and can even drive you around in a vehicle reasonably well. Problem is, it's hardly worth trying to keep them alive since they won't goddamn take orders or do intelligent things when you really need them to. I spend a while keeping two teammates alive riding on the side of my scorpion, only to have them not follow me on foot when I reached a tank-inaccessible point. They just sat there on the side of the tank like a couple of brain morons, no more useful than a kick in the spleen. This happened a lot, unfortunately - I'd fight my ass off and equip my boys right just to have them suddenly not follow me into certain danger. They'd just stop and stand there, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it short of beating them about the face and torso. It's really frustrating when it happens, and fairly ridiculous considering the intelligence and tenacity you get attacked with in Legendary.
Another problem I had was (quasi-spoiler warning) not always playing as Master Chief. You play as...someone else, for about half of the levels, which really just took me out of the characters and story (which were way too ambitious to begin with). This other character plays almost identically as well, which just makes the whole thing seem pointless. It's a fine idea, but as with many other things the series has become known for, it's underdeveloped. Why couldn't they just fight alongside one another? The rest of the issues are minor, some of which haven't changed much since the first game - some areas and enemies are really tough until you find a specific (and usually cheap) solution, at which point they become pushovers, dual-wielding is more of a gimmick and isn't necessary to succeed at all, the best enemy types and vehicles aren't used enough, etc.
Things that are great? It's a Halo game, so it feels great. Grenades are fun and useful. It looks great - I died at several points from admiring the scenery. Much has been made of the soundtrack, but it truly is wonderful - second to Katamari all-time (though it couldn't be more different). The cutscenes are sweet, even with their weird graphical glitches. The vehicles are all great and add a lot to the game. It's Halo 2. If you played the first game you'll know why the series is great but flawed, and not much has changed. I'm happy I enjoyed it as much as I did, and now I'm periodically tackling the inconceivably difficult Legendary mode. So, one month and ten days later, I give my stamp of approval.
// posted by Nick @ 2:37 PM 
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