For the avid gamer, some particular games standout as ‘genre-defining.’ These titles are the ones that aren’t just better than the competition, but actually set the terms by which we judge the others. Be it the Final Fantasy series for role-playing games, Gran Turismo for racing or Mario for platforming, these few standout as the starting point for any developer looking to make the next big hit. When it comes to console-based first-person shooters, the first major genre-defining title was Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64. Then, there was Halo.
Now, there is Halo 2.
Occurring immediately after the original, Halo 2 places you in control of the Master Chief, once again on a quest to save the human race from destruction at the hands of the Covenant, a group of alien religious zealots. The hype surrounding Halo 2’s release has been unbelievable, rising to a level previously never seen for a video game. Luckily, Halo 2 actually lives up to the hype as the greatest first-person shooter experience ever created for a console. The only reason you may be disappointed is that it won’t tell you the story you expected to hear.
The action is as intense as ever before, and as you make your way from one breathtakingly gorgeous locale to the next, it is difficult not to be awed by the visuals. If ever a game could be considered art, look no further, for the visuals in Halo 2 are second to none. The addition of normal mapping makes the characters standout with new life, and the dazzling new specular lighting combines to create the most visually stunning console experience ever to run at a solid 30 frames per second. The only flaw in the game graphically is when the game switches from a low-resolution texture to high-resolution as an object comes on screen in a large battle or in a cut-scene. From time to time, the switch can be a bit jarring, but largely it is unnoticeable and immaterial.
Much like the original Halo, the sequel sounds even better than it looks. The orchestral theme from the original returns to provide an epic soundtrack that matches the epic game play. Even this theme has not been completely untouched, as there are portions of the game featuring a newly imagined guitar-heavy version, adding to the tension of the combat. This, along with some truly ambitious rock themes throughout, meshes well with the game setting, never feeling too jarring while at the same time proving to be constantly surprising. Character voices are handled well too, with some prominent actors (Ron Perlman, David Cross, Keith David and Michelle Rodriguez to name a few) filling in many of the roles, each doing a job good enough not to prove distracting. Allies and enemies alike will taunt each other throughout the hectic combat, providing a more realistic experience that succeeds at immersing the player in the game world far more effectively than the original.
But here’s the important part: Halo was known for its extremely interactive battles that had never been seen before on a console, with clever artificial intelligence that provided enemies that would try to outmaneuver and outthink the player. In the sequel, Bungie Studios has brought the AI to the next level. Enemies will now hide behind obstacles, work together and find you when you’re trying to hide from them. Try single-player on legendary difficulty and you will quickly learn to fear open spaces.
And it’s not just the enemy AI that has been improved. In the previous games, your allies served as little more than cannon fodder if they weren’t safely in the gun-turret of a vehicle doing the shooting while you drive. Now these guys can actually put up a bit of a fight and they can actually drive vehicles independently of the player, freeing up that turret for you to take a turn. Pile on top of this even more realistic physics, somewhat destructible environments and fully destructible vehicles, each lending a great sense of engagement that most other carbon-copy games completely lack.
In addition to the improved AI, the developers have added a bunch of new weapons and gameplay devices as well. What is most exciting about these new devices, however, is not so much their existence, but rather how balanced they are. Even with a large amount of new additions, no one strategy, weapon-choice or vehicle stands out as unbeatable; the trademark of a truly well designed game. Dual wielding any two one-handed weapons is now possible and works to great effect if used properly. The new weapons range from the replacement of the Pistol and Assault Rifle with the Battle Rifle and the SMG, to the addition of the grenade launching Brute Shot and the deadly new sniper-friendly Beam Rifle, among others. Add on top of this the ability to hijack (or be hijacked by the incredible AI) any vehicles, both old and new, on command, and you have an overall product that just reeks of the fantastic.
As far as the story is concerned, it’s engrossing from start to finish. While many may have hoped for something different, the twists and turns that it takes, coupled with the phenomenal action sequences, are more than enough to keep the player going. Many will complain about the ending, which I won’t give away here, but needless to say, the disappointment likely will most come from a desire to play Halo 3 now, not any real disappointment with the game itself.
Even with the praise deserved by the many assets of Halo 2, none of them even begin to rival praise worthy of the addition of Xbox Live to the series. Frankly, this is the greatest console multiplayer experience ever. While the original Halo allowed for LAN based 16-player multiplayer, few were able to fully take advantage of its capabilities. This is not surprising, considering that if you wanted to have the same experience that Halo 2 brings you, you would have to gather 16 consoles, 16 copies of Halo and 16 television sets all in one room. Halo 2 does away with all of that and offers the friendliest online setup ever, including full clan support.
Just as in the original, you can choose from a wide variety of game types, some new and some classic. Each of the game modes, like in the original Halo, is completely customizable, giving the player a kind of sandbox with which to create almost any game type imaginable. In addition to the obvious archetypes such as Slayer and Capture the Flag, a few new additions make multiplayer even more exciting. Territories, new to Halo 2, requires teams to hold particular areas of a map for a specified period in order to win, much as the online PC behemoth Battlefield 1942. This mode in particular stands out, especially when tried on a large map with lots of vehicles. Assault is another new mode and it plays essentially as a backwards version of Capture the Flag. Instead of taking a flag from the enemy’s base into one’s own, the idea is to take your bomb into the enemy’s base and hold it there, creating a wildly different experience than most players are used to. These game-types are difficult to appreciate at first, but once you get the hang of them they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the classics.
Almost equally important is the ease with which players from around the world get matched-up. Friends can join together and form a ‘party’ to ensure that they are able to play with one another. The game will then automatically find other parties looking to play the same gametypes, assign each player to a team and match you up with them for an intense battle. It’ll even automatically choose which player’s connection ought to be the host for the game so as to ensure the best experience possible, mostly free of online lag or jerkiness. To be fair, this system isn’t completely perfect. It sometimes takes too long to find other players online through matchmaking, or you’ll end up stuck with obnoxious newbies looking to wreak havoc upon their team by either killing their teammates outright or never knowing where to take the flag to score in those last vital moments. Luckily, the game assigns a ranking to each player based upon his or her win-loss record and pairs gamers up accordingly through matchmaking; so hopefully, as people begin to get ranked higher, that problem will disappear.
Let me make this simple for you: if you don’t own an Xbox, Halo 2 is enough of a reason to get one. Its everything you hoped for and more. If you have already bought Halo 2, sign up for those two free months of Xbox Live. This is a defining moment for video games and to miss out on the most spectacular online experience yet crafted for a console would be an injustice.
Zach Stern ([email protected]) is Overlord of Clan Badgers. His GamerTag is SternOne. Bring it.
