Halo 2 Impressions!

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 1:56 am

I just got my copy and I'm off to give it a spin. I'll be back shortly with some early impressions. Won't have time to play (or post) much though since it's getting late and I have to be up in the morning.

Any other midnight shoppers?

TheMissingLink · Post by **TheMissingLink** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 2:12 am

It's only 10:13 here...but I'm off at midnight to pick it up. I'll give impressions before my exam tomorrow morning

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 3:06 am

Very impressive!

I loaded up a quick multiplayer match just to see if/how it worked and the online performance was very smooth. Took a while to find a game but once we were playing, it was mayhem. Something called Rumble Pit.

Then I started up the campaign. The opening cinematic is pretty cool and the sense of actually being on a mammoth space station is very well done.

It plays very much like the first game, only with better presentation and a few new tricks like dual wielding.

I'm getting my ass kicked already (on Heroic) and I'm only about 6 or 8 checkpoints in. There seems to be a serious respawn situation going on and I keep running out of ammo and grenades. Maybe there's a turret I could use somewhere. It's frustrating not knowing if I should just keep killing or if there's something I can do to stop the respawning. (Nobody tell me! I can figure it out.) I'll get back to it tomorrow.

So far, huge shock: A+

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:56 am

Heheh, just wait until you reach the next mission.

It's a very good game, my friend from two blocks down came over to play some coop. It hasn't lost its touch.

I'm the kind of guy that likes to use dual wielding to double my firepower as opposed to giving me flexability. I usually double up on one weapon rather than take one of each. My favorite combo is double plasma rifles or double SMGs.

The new rifles are as good as everyone says, well balanced. Their ability to fire at ranges is tempered by the lower scope zoom and rate of fire. You can return fire against snipers with the rifles, not as effectively as the sniper rifles, of course, but it's better than not having anything. My coop buddy uses nothing but the rifles, and he leaves me to handle the close in stuff.

Friendly AI is a lot more surviveable now. They have so much banter that you really start caring for them. I felt really sorry when I didn't take out this group of Elites and grunts to save this one female marine that was talking smack talk to the covenant for most of the mission. They still have trouble keeping out of they way of vehicle weapons, but they can sure fight infantry.

dangerballs · Post by **dangerballs** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:14 am

Is it just me or does it seem less detailed? Some of the textures seem down right cartoony. I've only seen a couple of graphic problems. Nothing too big. There is some draw-in during some of the cutscenes and some of the scenes stutter in framerate. But the overall action is much better than Halo and MC is much more agile now. The squad AI is cool too.

The gameplay is much faster now. It is a whole easier to get killed especially by melee attacks.

The overall sound is worse than Halo 1. It is still good, but it just sounds flatter.

The levels are definitely larger and more action packed. Dual-wielding is awesome especially with the needler (that thing is nasty now). Dual-needlers can take down just about anything very quickly except for monsters with handheld shields (where the needle just bounce off).

Multiplayer is nice, but a little too fast for what I like. Then again, I've only played one game and my ping was so horrible I was warping all around the map. I still don't understand why you can't run over people. I need to find a game with a better ping so I can really see how Live play is.

TheMissingLink · Post by **TheMissingLink** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:55 am

So far, I only have played the single-player campaign, but damn, it's fantastic so far. The graphics are wonderful, imo. The whole immersion and presentation is great so far.

I ordered a pizza when I first played it...didn't TOUCH the pizza and two and a half hours rolled by just like that. Games don't seem to do that to me very often anymore, so that's a very good sign.

I REALLY want to play more, but I gotta get some sleep for my exam

VERY impressed so far.

jlu · Post by **jlu** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:47 am

I can't pick up my copy for another couple hours; and can't play for about eight more...

Please keep the impressions coming for those of us who are stuck at work!

JR · Post by JR » Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:48 am

What, only 5 posts!!! What’s the CG thread up to now, 20 pages? Thank goodness the filter at work won’t let me near the place, or else I wouldn’t get any work done.

Anyway, I fell asleep last night so I didn’t make it to midnight madness. Anticipation is killing me, but I think I’ll cut out early today and spend some quality time with the MC.

Vinda-Lou · Post by **Vinda-Lou** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 10:58 am

I played through the first level, and I'm very excited so far. It really pumps you up to kill the covenant. My only problem is that my living room is very sunny - and the game can be pretty dark. There's no brightness option in the game, so I can't play it anymore until tonight.

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 10:58 am

Decided against braving lines last night, so I won't pick it up until after work today.

Can't decide whether I'm going to stick to the single player for a while, or jump right into Live action... my Halo skills have atrophied a bit, and I was never a badass... but multiplayer is what I really dug about the first one, much more so than the single player game... but I'm not so anxious to get pwn3d by 12 year olds.

If people are on Live tonight, leave a shout out here.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:09 am

Keep up the impressions! Couldn't get to EB to pick up my preorder this morning but this afternoon it will be mine...it will be mine.

How's the soundtrack?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 12:17 pm

Mine is sitting on my desk next to me at work. Taunting me.

Hmm. I'm getting a sudden headache. *Cough, cough*

jlu · Post by **jlu** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 12:53 pm

My copy now with me at work.

Unfortunately my boss took today and tomorrow off to play. And his boss is also going to pick Halo2 up later this week. I cannot claim sickness without it being Very transparent.

PR_GMR · Post by **PR_GMR** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 1:34 pm

I didn't preorder... So I'm gonna just chance it and walk into a Gamespot or EB later tonight and see if I can pick it up. Damn, I should pick up X-Box Live also.

Eco-Logic · Post by **Eco-Logic** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 2:56 pm

I just picked it up on my lunch break and have to wait till 6:00 to play it

Fafhrd · Post by **Fafhrd** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:38 pm

Good Gameplay Decent story, no spoilers but the ending isnt what I expected. Single player campaign 12 hours. Very nice background music., good plot, and lots of new weapons to master.

Multiplayer maps all seem to be built for large groups in mind, which can be a strain on gameplay trying to find the opponent with only 2 people. Still maps are good.

Character Setup: In Halo you could choose only a single colour. In Halo 2 you can customize several aspects of your Profiles Body Colour coordination, including shoulder badges.

Ok my brain just froze up been up 24 hours, Im heading to bed, enjoy the game peoples.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:47 pm

Well, at least the campaign wasn't 40 hours or you might have taken after those Counterstrikers in Korea and dropped dead.

Mr. Sparkle · Post by **Mr. Sparkle** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:38 pm

Playing on Live right now with some friends from across town (taking a break while they eat dinner... dinner is for pansies)... they are playing three to a TV and I am solo... no lag or issues for either of us so far... smooth as buttah..

It's awesome that we can all play from across town, even though they are sharing an account... though it's been a bit hard to get used to the fact that if we do team, if I speak without the "white button" pressed, they can all hear.

Though it's great for taunting, even though they only have one voice communicator....

That energy sword is badass... perhaps too badass...

Ok, back to fragging...

TheMissingLink · Post by **TheMissingLink** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 9:49 pm

Just played a game with my friend, madpeon and tebunker and it kicked so much ass...then we got in on a 14-person game and wow, that was wild. So much fun!!

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 2:30 am

Just made it to the first major cutscene. Very cool. Felt like it could have been a perfectly satisfying finale to the whole game but it was only the first chapter. Now we're takin' this fight to the surface! YEEEEARGH! (Dean scream.)

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 2:48 am

Playing as a Covenant Elite in multiplayer has its downsides. Mainly, everyone's so high strung on killing covenant that they naturally aim for you first.

knob · Post by **knob** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 7:52 am

If I thought the first was the most overrated piece of console trash (Well, I exaggerate. It wasn't bad, but I certainly didn't walk away with the typical Halo-Hard-On (HHO) that everyone seems to have), will I like this one?

I hate consoles. But I'm tempted to pick this one up just from the hype.

jlu · Post by **jlu** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:12 am

The hype got to me a bit; I am slightly dissapointed even though I felt it would just be Halo with XBox live support...

That said, I know I'm going to enjoy this one for some time.

Single player mode I really dig.

Xbox live; i don't like the proximity chat aspect. I like being able to talk with my entire team. But I'll get used to that too I suppose.

Al · Post by Al » Wed Nov 10, 2004 11:19 am

jlu wrote:Xbox live; i don't like the proximity chat aspect. I like being able to talk with my entire team. But I'll get used to that too I suppose.

Tap the white button and talk. You'll stop transmitting when you stop talking.

Live games are a blast. I really, really like the matchmaking service. Sitting for a little bit waiting for it to match up is a more than acceptable trade off for getting matched up with players at your level. (Which seems to work very well, by the way. All the games I played were intense and close.) Especially when you realize that you can sit and read a magazine or something instead of refreshing the server list yourself.

Eco-Logic · Post by **Eco-Logic** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 11:43 am

rrmorton wrote:Just made it to the first major cutscene. Very cool. Felt like it could have been a perfectly satisfying finale to the whole game but it was only the first chapter. Now we're takin' this fight to the surface! YEEEEARGH! (Dean scream.)

You're in for it! Really, the game took off once my friend and I made it to the surface

jlu · Post by **jlu** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 1:45 pm

Thanks, Al -- that will unquestionably help my enjoyment playing again tonight!

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 5:19 pm

Valael, from what I hear I highly doubt you'd suddenly thrilled with Halo 2. Most people have said it's mostly more of the same, sooooo...

Windows95 · Post by **Windows95** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 6:44 pm

I'm really curious about the single player. I played the original Halo on my PC and hated it. The first half I loved with the huge outdoor vistas and just booting around in vehicles. The second half however bored me to tears with the repetive levels and unending swarms of baddies.

I won't be playing online with this game so is it worth it for the singleplayer? Is it more like the first half of Halo or more like the second?

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:04 pm

More like the first half, there are no level repetitions this time around. There are still some repetition within a level, but that's to be expected.

There are still swarms of baddies, but it's much more varied this time. There are many sequences where extra enemies will spawn into an area, but there's much less of that never ending spawn syndrome that happened in Halo 1.

There's also much more a mix of outdoor and indoor fighting now, and vehicles are even more of a blast to play since your AI teammates now know how to drive with you. In one sequence along a highway, I decided not to take the provided warthog, and instead I carjacked a ghost from an elite trying to strafe me, then I ran him over. The AI was smart enough to detect me selected ride, so another marine took the chaingun position and the warthog drove along beside me as we blasted covenant.

If I had decided to, I could have taken the gun position and let the AI drive. They crash a lot, but they do know where to go and can get themselves on the right position if needed.

Oh and the vehicle jacking feature is great since if your current ride gets destroyed or you want a new one, you can take it.

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 12:32 pm

My opinion?

It's MOTS, but with MUCH more varied levels. I just spent the last 8 hours playing it COOP with my brother, which as you can expect, is insane amounts of fun.

I also played a couple of games on Live, and I have to say: the Bungie.net stat-tracking is completely awesome. You can click on every single game you've played, and see all stats of that game. What's more, you can click on an image of the level, and then you'll see exactly from which locations you killed someone, and with what weapon.
That's totally cool, I think.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:10 pm

My brother bought this for me for my birthday and it came in the mail today. I've spent about three hours with it and...oh my god it's fantastic. Everything seems to be improved from the first one.

And the sword...that beautiful...fucking...sword...oh god.

Now I'll just wait until after my birthday, and buy x-box live. I'm single now, and I'll stay single for a couple more months anyway.

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:07 am

msteelers wrote:
And the sword...that beautiful...fucking...sword...oh god.

Agreed, the sword rocks. Of course...I also think it's way overpowered. Even when an opponent is gunning you down in multiplayer, you just have to get close enough to get the sword dash thingy to work, and you have a one-swing kill.

It's great fun to use though, that's for sure.

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:43 am

Okay, my brother and me just finished.

This one's gonna win Worst Game Ending Of The Year hands down. Sweet dear lord the ending blows. The last level is kind of meh, it doesn't build up to an incredibly cool finale well enough, the last boss is pointless and then....it just basically ends.

We were both looking at the screen and we went: "What the fuck, you've got to be kidding me"

Live is a lot of fun, and we definitely enjoyed singleplayer while it lasted, but this crappy ending drops a pretty dark shadow over the singleplayer experience. Also, it is kinda short, especially when you play coop. I'd say we played about 11 hours.

Eco-Logic · Post by **Eco-Logic** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 11:48 am

It's a Trilogy though, so hopefully the ending in the 3rd will will rule

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:33 pm

I don't care much about endings so I don't think it'll bother me much. Especially since I've been forewarned not to expect much. I wanted to play last night but I got caught up checking out new music (and purchasing it) online until 3am.

TONIGHT MY NAME IS HALO 2!!!

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 3:27 pm

rrmorton wrote:I don't care much about endings so I don't think it'll bother me much. Especially since I've been forewarned not to expect much. I wanted to play last night but I got caught up checking out new music (and purchasing it) online until 3am.

TONIGHT MY NAME IS HALO 2!!!

Usually I don't either, because I barely finish games

This one's really weak though. But, as I said, the game itself is still awesome.

There's nothing as cool as playing coop and being chased by a brute that's about to kill you, only to see your buddy jump down from a ledge on top of the brute to maim it into a zillion bloody chunks with the energy sword.
Now THAT's gratifying

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 11:04 pm

Yeah, the ending was really weak. I beat it earlier today and was upset most of the afternoon because it bugs me when a game ends with "to be continued..." or any other type of cliffhanger.

But I just signed up for Xbox live and that was good fun 8) .

Is there a classic Deathmatch setting or did they take that out? I only messed around online for two games and then lost the TV to my roommates.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 12:14 am

Deathmatch is called Slayer in Halo.

Orpheo · Post by **Orpheo** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 12:21 am

I just finished it today, and I really didn't think the ending was that bad. Trying to avoid spoilers, I felt it tied up one plotline very well, while leaving the other open for a sequel. I was expecting to be really pissed at something that had no resolution of anything, but really the story had a good development and climax. It just left one (big) loose end for Halo 3 to tie up.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 12:45 am

At least this time you know there'll be a sequel, but for other games like Beyond Good and Evil, there's nothing but abandonware.