Great game. The weapon variety, vehicles, and moment to moment combat in general are an enormous improvement from Combat Evolved, there is significantly less backtracking, and the story was a lot more enjoyable for me. I didn't expect how Arbiter focused it ended up being and I really quite enjoyed how they put his story into perspective with Chief's.

On the flipside, the level and encounter design is mostly "just okay" with a couple standout areas, ending with 4 chapters that drag quite a bit and a fairly sudden and "eh" cliffhanger. But a really impressive sequel overall, you can absolutely see why this one was influential as well going back.

And the Anniversary updates were also improved! The art direction is kept much more intact in the updated version, and the new terminals actually give info that's interesting in the moment rather than talking lore and teasing sequels at you. I think either version of this one is worth experiencing!