Summary

Halo 2 is the sequal to the hit game Halo. But this time around Bungie must have not though when they made the game! I am a hardcore fan of Halo and have been eat, breathing and living Halo 2 since i heard about it. Then i got it. Popped it in my XBOX and i was shocked after i beat it. The story is very bland and short and the ending crappy. The gameplay was horrid. Bungie messed up royaly! They took Halo and updated it and added polised MP. The only thing i did like alot was the MP which is the onyl reason i am writing this review. The MP is amazing online. That much has improved since Halo.

Sound

There is one thing i do like alot and thats the soundtrack. Halo 2 like Halo has awsome music. At least if your going to buy the game. Play the game with the sound off and just the music turned up!

Gameplay

The gameplay at first is fun and gets funner with things like dual guns. But soon feels like Halo and nothing new and exciting like a sequel should be. The AI hasnt improved much either. I did enjoy some of the new guns but still felt like i was playing Halo instead of this new game that i was promised. The controls were a little hard to get use to again.

Summary

I read lots of reviews before I find enough time to go and buy this game. I'm not crazy about XBOX and I am not a serious fan of FPS games. I liked Halo as the best FPS ever and I think BUNGIE made a great job in Halo 2. I believe this is the best FPS ever and I think its the best XBOX game ever. I never gave 5 points to any game, (even not to Splinter cell's that I love them so very much) but I believe this game is absolutely perfect and deserves a strong 5/5.

Sound

Using sound proximity in XBOX Live, is really smart. This means you will hear someone better if they are closer to you! Isn't that cool? The ingame sound is excellent. The music kicks in in the right time with the right pace. I love the sound effects. Even it is a bullet passing by you or the sound of a dead body, hitting the ground!

Gameplay

Gameplay is smooth and you'll find yourself really comfortable with the controls. Multiplayer is excellent and it makes your heart beat faster than ever!

Summary

I can't explain. Just read someone elses review! In one word: BREATHTAKING!!!!

Sound

One of the best parts about the game! The music is sooooooo dramtic, that everytime action starts, the music kicks in at the exact point!! With is having its own Official soundtrack, people are already nominating the music for a Grammy award!!! The voice-overs are no different! They are VERY well put together and the marines have over 12,000 lines of dialogue. So basically, you may never hear a marine say the same thing twice. Emphesis on MAY! Overall, if I thought the sound of this game is good on just 3.1, imagine it on 5.1 surround sound!!!!

Gameplay

This has to be one of the most addicting games I have ever played!!! With an incredable campaign and intense multiplayer combat, other first-person shooters have something challenge. With simply, hands-down the BEST XBOX Live experience EVER, I mean it!!! I have NEVER played anything like this before! I thought Unreal was intense, this is FAR mor better and the best thing is that I experienced no lag AT ALL!!!! JUST PLAY THIS GAME!!!!

Summary

This is an awsome game and is on par with it's earlier version. In the years that have past since Halo's release, I was hoping for a bit more from Halo 2. There are 15 missions listed in H2 but 1 or 2 are basicly cut scenes with little interaction! The menu setup in H1 was much better than H2. In my opinion, H2 is not the ground breaking masterpiece that H1 was at it's release. H1 was extreemly polished. H2 isn't. From the abrupt mission endings to the over use of cut scenes. Even the game itself ended unexpectedly. H1's music was absolutely perfect and fit the gameplay. In H2 Bungie tweaked all the music and some new additions are very nice, but many do not seem to fit at all. At one point the game breaks into a metal type tune that sounded absurd to the game. The music for the most part isn't H1's quality at all. There is the strange addition of a woman taking the place of Keyes, his daughter. What's that about? Listening to 2 woman talk thru your headset is kind of confusing. There were many times I could not tell who was talking, Keyes or the construct. Kortana's voice is distorted thru much of the game as well, like she phoned in her voice work. There are a few more issues with the game, but for the most part it is as good as H1, different, not better. The video game revolution that came with H1 isn't apparent in H2. In the 3 years since H1, Bungie should have pushed the development a great deal further and surpassed their previous release a bit better. That didn't happen. This is the danger in hyping a game. Expectations were high, but sadly unfullfilled. The biggest improvement in H2 over H1 is the online aspect. I haven't played online, but being the fact that online mission co-op is missing, I'll probably not go Live. Games like Rainbow 6 with mission co-op are awsome and what I prefer to play online with people. The other game modes end up being frag fests and basicly pointless. Some graphic advances are very nice. Online is H2's biggest improvement. As I say, H2 is a great game and superior to H1. It's sadly not the thrill ride I expected. This may be intentional. H2 does not make H1 a dead title. It keeps H1 desireable and the franchise collectable. I played thru in 18 hours on the heroic difficulty. Normal is so easy it's silly and legendary is insanely difficult. Many people have claimed that the assault rifle is the tool to use and it is, but you cannot find one thru most of the game, especially in alien environments and it is limited to 3 shot bursts which really blows. I was wasted many times while using the assault rifle simply due to the foolish 3 shot burst. There should have been weapons options. Bottom line: Great game, superior to H1 but not the revolution that H1 was.

Sound

Sound is great, but music and voice has low points.

Gameplay

Very little vehicle driving and flying in H2. There are many kool vehicle additions but not much use. Jacking the ghost is kool. Much of the gameplay footage I watched online which looked awsome was cut completely and not even in the game! Missions are well designed, but NOT with environments 10 times as large as H1 as Bungie's own claimed. Brutes are a pain when berzerking, but just jump over them.

Summary

A great game, period. It draws you in to its world and keeps you there. It is awesome.

Sound

Spectacular and emmersive.

Gameplay

Near perfection. It keeps varied and Is always exciting.