Halo 2 is a weird one for me to talk about. I didn't dislike my time with it, by any means. Mechanically, it improves on the first in a lot of ways. The writing is fleshed out, expanding the races within the Covenant beyond just mindless fodder, and into actual characters. Visually, it feels impressive for an original Xbox title, and its hard not to respect that. You can tell Bungie wasn't just pushing out a sequel for profit's sake, and had an intent with moving the series forward.
One of my favorite things about Halo: CE was the level design within two respective missions. That is, Halo, and The Silent Cartographer. When I think of Combat Evolved, these chapters are the first thing that come to mind. They embody what I appreciate about the series, which is, evolving the pre-established non-linearity of FPS before it in its own unique way. Though it wasn't the first game to replace keycard hunts in walled mazes with complex objectives on sprawling maps, it did this in its own unique way, and I absolutely loved it during my playthrough.
Halo 2 has better feeling weapons, new and unique foes, cleaner enemy AI, slicker aiming, yet all of its levels really feel like straight corridors from point A to point B. With the occasional vehicle segment stapled on, which, to be 100% honest, is my least favorite part of Halo. So while the game mostly iterates on its predecessor, it completely slacks on the part that, to me, matters most. Which is the levels!
Extravagant cutscenes in between levels are going to catch me zoned out if the actual missions don't have me engaged. I don't think this was an impossible thing to pull off, either, but it does feel like the level director was more focused on set-pieces and geometry mapping than actually building on the first's level design ethos in any meaningful way. Of course, to say Halo: CE didn't have bad levels would be disingenuous, but in that regard, Halo 2 learns all the wrong lessons from its predecessor, which is disappointing.
That said, the dogfights are fun as always. It never gets old pulse-rifling an Elite's energy shield with a Plasma Rifle, before clocking them out with an SMG. Or shotgunning a Flood Carrier's infectants into dust. The vehicles are admittedly better to handle in this one, but I don't play first-person shooters because I want to drive long distances. The newly added weapons are all great additions, and I used every single one of them. Again, I didn't dislike my time with this game. There were moments where I caught myself having fun! I just feel like Bungie neglected a really crucial aspect of the game.
It's hard for me to hate on Halo 2. With each entry I play, I do understand more and more why people love this series so much. I was estranged from Xbox growing up, 360 included, and I never really understood the appeal of Halo. Playing these games now, there is clearly a lot more under the surface, and even if I don't really agree with the heart within the Halo series, it is admittedly well-crafted, and there is a ton of potential within its world-building. I don't think I could recommend Halo 2 in good conscience, but I didn't hate my time with it. If anything, it has me excited to hop into Halo 3.
One of my favorite things about Halo: CE was the level design within two respective missions. That is, Halo, and The Silent Cartographer. When I think of Combat Evolved, these chapters are the first thing that come to mind. They embody what I appreciate about the series, which is, evolving the pre-established non-linearity of FPS before it in its own unique way. Though it wasn't the first game to replace keycard hunts in walled mazes with complex objectives on sprawling maps, it did this in its own unique way, and I absolutely loved it during my playthrough.
Halo 2 has better feeling weapons, new and unique foes, cleaner enemy AI, slicker aiming, yet all of its levels really feel like straight corridors from point A to point B. With the occasional vehicle segment stapled on, which, to be 100% honest, is my least favorite part of Halo. So while the game mostly iterates on its predecessor, it completely slacks on the part that, to me, matters most. Which is the levels!
Extravagant cutscenes in between levels are going to catch me zoned out if the actual missions don't have me engaged. I don't think this was an impossible thing to pull off, either, but it does feel like the level director was more focused on set-pieces and geometry mapping than actually building on the first's level design ethos in any meaningful way. Of course, to say Halo: CE didn't have bad levels would be disingenuous, but in that regard, Halo 2 learns all the wrong lessons from its predecessor, which is disappointing.
That said, the dogfights are fun as always. It never gets old pulse-rifling an Elite's energy shield with a Plasma Rifle, before clocking them out with an SMG. Or shotgunning a Flood Carrier's infectants into dust. The vehicles are admittedly better to handle in this one, but I don't play first-person shooters because I want to drive long distances. The newly added weapons are all great additions, and I used every single one of them. Again, I didn't dislike my time with this game. There were moments where I caught myself having fun! I just feel like Bungie neglected a really crucial aspect of the game.
It's hard for me to hate on Halo 2. With each entry I play, I do understand more and more why people love this series so much. I was estranged from Xbox growing up, 360 included, and I never really understood the appeal of Halo. Playing these games now, there is clearly a lot more under the surface, and even if I don't really agree with the heart within the Halo series, it is admittedly well-crafted, and there is a ton of potential within its world-building. I don't think I could recommend Halo 2 in good conscience, but I didn't hate my time with it. If anything, it has me excited to hop into Halo 3.