yourewinner.com - Game Reviews: Halo 2

I mean, it isn't
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This is a old game review from GNF. I've decided to post it here because we've decided to start posting them again.

This is Trigger's take on the game.

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Our format is as follows: I write review, Flies does a second glance for me. Flies writes review for the same game, I do second glance for him. We're unusual, we rate at 20 stars. Categories include: Gameplay, sound, graphics, storyline, multiplayer/replayability. Individual categories rated on four stars. Our first review is:

First Glance: At first glance, this game is nothing but a mindless alien genocide, but in reality it's...well it's pretty much that. The second installment in the Halo series leaves much to be desired in the one player department, such as a storyline. Great game for taking out anger, as it requires no strategy, the CPU Covenant are hilariously stupid. I'd take strategically killing everything without being seen/damaged over rushing in blindly with an assault rifle opened to full auto.

Storyline: 1 1/2
The story of this game is nearly non-existant, being carried only by the the story of the first game. I won't bothering going into the Halo story in detail, as nearly everyone knows it, but I'll give the key points. The timeline is as follows:
1. Halo 1
2. Master Chief escapes the Halo, after ruining the Flood's poo poo
3. Killing sprees
4. Mass murder
5. Genocide
6. Halo 3
Storyline doesn't exist.

Gameplay: 3
It's a shooter, gameplay for FPS' don't differ all that much. Most of the game consists of running, shooting, and jumping over stuff, followed by more shooting. It becomes tedious after a while. You do get to drive vehicles, which makes it a bit more fun. Who doesn't like running over aliens in a modified Jeep?

Sound: 1
Gunfire, alien screams, yells from fellow soldiers, occasional music while aimlessly walking towards your next checkpoint. Not much to say, it's just repetitive and boring.

Graphics: 2 1/2
The graphics are alright, not too bad to look at, though the colors become bland after a while. The character designs are also ok, though there's not much to differentiate between aliens, except the occasional change in their clothing or armor based on rank. The weapons are designed nicely, the Covenant plasma weapons being a bit outlandish, but still good.

Replayability/Multiplayer: 3
This is where the game redeems itself. The multiplayer is always a fun thing to do with a couple of friends, or even online, with basement dwellers from around the world. The multiplayer has several modes, though some are just the same game with a different name. The replayability of the game is average. The levels are fun to play if you're angry or stressed out, though eventually, the thrill is gone, due to the fact that the missions are easy to memorize.

Overall: Eleven out of twenty stars
An okay FPS with a good multiplayer value. The game seems more like filler for the gap between Halo 1 and 3, than part of the story.

Time to throw it to Flies for a second glance.

This was my take on the game.

Second Glance: Ouch, well, I think that Shock gave Halo 2 a lot more than it's worth, really. Since I'm an avid player of FPSes, I'll include a weapons section because most weapons make the FPS.

Storyline: 3/10
Not even [ censored ] close, man. The storyline is basically a rehash of Halo 1, except this time you play as an Elite who changes his mind about the Covenant. That's it. Oh, yeah, the Brutes revolt or something, I skipped all the cutscenes after the first dozen.

Gameplay: 3.5/10
Not good. The whole of the FPS is pretty much the same as every other FPS that's ever come out onto the market, unlike Halo 1, which I consider to be very innovative with open-ended environmental levels and good vehicles. Halo 2 is one of the most linear games I've ever played. Bust down door, shoot some aliens up, laugh. It's boring and retarded. Another problem is the abundance of Flood levels. NOBODY WANTS TO SHOOT THE FLOOD. All my friends, even the ones that like Halo 2, agree: They need to phase out the Flood altogether or have only three levels or so featuring them.

Sound: 6/10
Okay, I have to give it more here. The music in Halo is top-notch for anyone who actually has a good ear for music. I have to say that the french horn solo track in the beginning is really beautiful, and the whole chorus feel of most of the game is pretty good. However, the sound effects in this game SUCK. The SMG sounds like an automatic BB gun, and the rocket launcher sounds like a bowling ball hitting a marble wall. They really needed to recheck the effects (and voice acting) on this one.

Graphics: 3/10
Though the resolution and models are good, the art style of Halo 2 is absolutely horrid. Most of the levels look like they were started halfway and the art team didn't bother to finish them. Add that to numerous visual bugs, and you've got a pretty bad score.

Weapons: 1/10
The most important aspect of an FPS is its weapons, and this is where Halo 2 falls the most flat. The human sniper rifle is on the level of Doom's BFG, Quake's Railgun, and Counter-Strike's AWM. You don't even need any skill to use it, because it kills in two shots, one for a headshot. It should have been bolt-action, like the one in Gears of War, to balance out its raw power. Besides that, you have a battle-rifle, a poo pooty SMG that nobody uses, the Needler (which I must admit is pretty cool), pistols, the Brute Shot, which sucks, and various other FPS stock weapons.

Replayability/Multiplayer: 4/10
Maybe Shock was playing a different multiplayer game than I was. I don't know. All I know is that the multiplayer in Halo 2 is hideously overrated. Sure, it has plenty of game modes, but all of them pale because the gameplay has severe balancing issues with the weapons and the vehicles. Not to mention that Xbox Live is full of annoying 11-12 year olds who yell "BITCH" and "fetchBALLS" when you kill them, and then accuse you of hacking even though there aren't any hacking tools for a unicorning Xbox game.

Overall: Eight out of Twenty
I've only had fun with Halo 2 in two ways: playing two levels in single player (Outskirts and Delta Halo), and playing "No Snipers" multiplayer occasionally at my friend's LAN parties. Anybody who owns a gaming-quality PC could name a dozen better shooters than Halo 2.

Better Games: Chronicles of Riddick, Quake, Soldier of Fortune 2
Worse Games: Soldier of Fortune 1, Blood 2...uh, it's hard to think of shooters that can be more mediocre than this.