Halo 2 for Xbox

Three years ago, Microsoft entered the world of console gaming with a gargantuan machine known simply as the Xbox—expectations were not particularly high amongst the gaming mainstream. While MS fought the uphill battle against industry leader Sony and venerable gaming legend Nintendo, one title carried the system—Bungie's Halo.

Halo, despite having some flaws (like repetitive level design in the game's late stages), not only helped give the Xbox an identity with console gamers, it helped redefine what could be done with a console-based First Person Shooter (in much the same way Rare's GoldenEye had done on the N64). Halo proved that one didn't need a mouse and keyboard combo to effectively experience an FPS—with planning and foresight, a console controller could work quite well.

A lot has changed in three years. All but the most ardent gaming fanboys now view the Xbox as a legitimate gaming system with a rich library of interesting titles. MS has grown, and while it may not have done as well in Japan as the company had hoped, it's certainly found its market in America. And yet, during those three years, some things have stayed the same--Halo is still the pinnacle of the Xbox line-up—that is, until now. What could possibly unseat Halo as the cream of the Xbox gaming crop? Only Halo 2.

Story

The less said about the plot of Halo 2, the better. There's a rich story at work here that continues not long after the end of the first title. Far be it from me to spoil that for anyone who's looking to experience the game without any prior knowledge.

I will say that what we've been led to believe leading up to the release of the game isn't entirely true. Yes, the Covenant come to Earth—but no, that is not how the bulk of the game plays out. There's a "plot twist" early on in the game that takes the franchise in an entirely new direction (it's really something of a gameplay tweak, but I'm calling it a twist for lack of a better description)—how gamers have reacted to this twist has been mixed. Personally, I found it to be one of the shining examples of just how great Bungie is at crafting stories. This twist changes the perspective of the gamer dramatically and adds some subtle nuance to what is otherwise a straightforward action FPS.

Aside from that, the game has a story like what fans of the first Halo have come to expect—there's intrigue, interesting characters, seemingly impossible situations, and some great writing and dialogue. Those who like a little plot with their fragging action will be more than happy.

Graphics

One area where the game has taken some flak from gamers is the graphical presentation. I'm not sure why this is, though, because it's pretty while sticking with the aesthetic vision of the original.

Unlike the PS2 (a machine whose developers are still learning how to truly tap its potential), it's pretty easy to program games on the Xbox. Because of this, a lot of the early games utilized the full power of the system—meaning there wouldn't be a big jump in graphical quality as second and third generation titles tapped ever deeper into the machine's capabilities. Because of this, there's not a huge graphical jump from Halo to Halo 2. This would be disappointing if the first game had aged badly in the past three years, but Halo looks almost as good today as it did three years ago—which is no small feat in the 3D era.

This is not to say that Halo 2 looks just like Halo--that's not the case. The enhancements of Halo 2 are just more subtle in the graphics department.

What does really stand out in both a positive and negative way is the game's cutscenes.

First the bad—much has been written about pop-in and magically appearing textures. Both problems are real, and you will see them during your time with the title. In one scene, the crew of a spaceship floated in mid-air for several seconds before the game actually put the ship background in around them. It was quite jarring.

In other segments, players will see the models appear, then the textures pop in after a split second. It's really fast—blink at the wrong time and you could miss it completely—but again, it's disconcerting.

On the plus side, what few people seem to realize is that the game's cutscenes are done in real-time. There's no CG here, so the level of detail becomes that much more amazing—and the minor flaws all the more forgivable. And, in the game's defense, there seem to be less of the pop-in issues in the latter stages of the game.

Gameplay

Really, though, who cares about graphics? The real make-or-break element for any game is the gameplay—and Halo 2 delivers in spades.

The first Halo came with the subtitle "Combat Evolved", and this second game sticks to the creed. Halo 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel in terms of first-person combat—it merely takes what was already there and enhances it.

The game plays almost identically to the first. Players get some story, then wind up with a mission with multiple objectives. The player then blasts the holy hell out of everything in sight with a multitude of guns, grenades, and vehicles. Occasionally, A.I.-controlled allies will assist you.

Bungie has added several new wrinkles to the mix in order to keep things fresh.

The most talked about is the ability to dual wield single-handed weapons. Now Master Chief can go all Chow Yun Fat with twin pistols, blasting away at evil Covenant aliens with a heater in each hand spewing forth hot death. This simple addition adds a ton of depth to the gunplay in the game, as each enemy has certain strengths and weaknesses. Using the charge shot of the plasma pistol will kill an enemy's shield in one shot, then a few well-placed bullets from the magnum pistol will finish the job. The key to succeeding is finding which combos work best for each kind of enemy.

The second enhancement is something of a nod to the Grand Theft Auto games. Players can now carjack an enemy vehicle. Getting close to an enemy in a vehicle and hitting the right button launches your character onto the vehicle, where he can then toss out the bad guy and take the ride for himself. However, keep in mind that the enemies can do this to you, too—what goes around definitely comes around…

While both of these changes are great, the real game breaker is the inclusion of online multiplayer. Yes, finally, Halo is Live-enabled. Players get full Xbox Live functionality, can form clans, track stats, and more. Playing the game online is a blast, and even if you suck, you'll still have fun. The single player campaign may take 10 or so hours to beat, but the multiplayer will keep this disc in your Xbox for years to come.

About the only downside to the gameplay is that your A.I. teammates still need some time back at boot camp. With the advent of squad-based games like Rainbow Six and Freedom Fighters (two titles that allow you to issue basic commands to your computer-controlled soldiers), having teammates who act completely on their own feels a bit archaic. The guys will fall off cliffs, get caught on things, and fail to take cover in a lot of instances. Being able to issue even the simplest of commands (like attack, take cover, or "get on the friggin' tank with me") would be a major enhancement.

Fans of the first game who felt that some of the weapons were unbalanced (I'm looking at you, pistol) will be happy to know that Bungie has tweaked things this time around. The pistol is no longer overpowered, and new weapons (like the Covenant carbine) are fun to use. The plasma swords could become a bit unbalanced in online play, but they're not so out of whack that they ruin the experience.

Sound

The aural accoutrements of Halo 2 are top notch. From the choral singing to the rock guitar, everything here just sounds right.

What really stands out, though, is the voice acting. Bungie has gone out of their way to get top notch talent like Keith David, Miguel Ferrer, Orlando Jones, and more. Voice acting in games has come a long way from the early days, and this is one of the finest groups I've seen assembled for a game yet.

Not much else to say in that regard—if you have a Dolby Digital receiver and surround sound set-up, crank it up and prepare to be amazed.

Conclusions

It's too early to start calling a title "Game of the Year" (especially with Half-Life 2 and several other high profile titles right around the corner), but Halo 2 is certainly a game that's going to be in the running when everything's said and done.

This is not a perfect game, but it's also not an example of a company resting on its laurels. Bungie has come out swinging in this sequel, yet manages to tweak the core gameplay elements without destroying everything that made the first game so magical. Halo 2 won't make people who hate FPSs suddenly love the genre, but if you're already predisposed to these kinds of games, they don't get much better than this.