Halo 2

Title: Halo 2
Platform: Xbox
Developer(s): Microsoft, Bungie
Release Date: 9th of November, 2004
Genre(s): FPS
Online/Single player: Online/Offline
Rating: 5/5


This review is work in progress...

Info
Halo 2 takes place about one year after Halo: Combat Evolved. After you successfully neutralize Halo in the first game, you finally come back to Earth to be rewarded for your heroic deeds. However it is too late, and the Covenant has already discovered Earth. An all out war begins, and you need to protect a city that the covenant finds oddly interesting. After you successfully repel Covenant forces out of the city, the enemy prepares a Slip Space Jump. You, and your fellow marines follow them and discover something that strikes fear in your heart... The second installation of Halo.


Gameplay

HUD:
The HUD has minor changes. The radar, weapon and shield bar have been modified so its easier to keep watch over both enemies and shield power. You don't have a health bar anymore. Instead, your health is recovered when your shields recover. This is a pretty useful update, as it was true hell to play Halo: CE with only one bar of health left and no health kits to spare.

New weapons and dual wield
Halo: CE was already filled to the brim with unique, creative and fun-to-shoot weapons. The ones

added in Halo 2 was not different. The game had a new type of rifle, called the battle rifle. Unlike its successor the assault rifle, this one had burst fire, and would help you in conserving ammo. They added the SMG, which was weak individually but could become insanely powerful if you dual wielded them. They added a stationary machine gun, which couldn't be carried, but when you find one it can unleash one hell of a powerful volley. Mostly used in crowded areas, it has infinite ammo and can kill everything you aim at. Of the alien weapons they added the Brute shot, which fires grenades, and it also has an enormous axe... knife... something sharp on the back of it. You know, like a grenade launcher, only 100 times more awesome. They added the Brute Plasma Rifle, which is the same as the plasma rifle but with red plasma instead. They also finally made the Energy sword available to players.
One of the things I DIDN'T like was the fact that they completely removed the assault rifle from the game, and severely nerfed the pistol, which was one of their trademark weapons.
One of the best things they added was the ability to the game was the ability to duel wield weapons. This was one hell of a cool feature, as two SMG's could unleash hellish powers.


Campaign

The campain, like all Halo games, was the best part. There's so much to discover, so much to kill! The thrilling story of how you discover the second Halo, how you once more must save humanity, and how you must once more must stop the Flood from spreading, is a well written and compelling story.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer ain't bad either. Most of the old maps have been replaced with new maps, some are better, some are worse, but they kept Blood Gulch and Battle Creek, which is good as these two maps are two of the best multiplayer maps I have ever seen. Battle your friends in a epic 16 player match, be it free for all or capture the flag, or any other mode.

Playing as the elites
One of the coolest things Halo 2 had in them was that you could actually play as the Elites, or rather the Arbiter, in his own campaign to destroy the Heretics. This feature got incredibly popular among fans, and is what sparked the ability to play as elites in multiplayer.

The Arbiter and Master Chief actually encountered each other before Halo 2, but that was as enemies. Arbiter got his ass kicked, and was literally kicked out of his own ship, which is why everyone apparently disrespects Arbiter.




This game is a masterpiece, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys FPS games. If you don't have the original Xbox console, they remastered the game for newer consoles and is called Halo 2 Anniversary.

More information coming soon...