We continue our review of Halo: The Master Chief Collection by examining what makes Halo 2 so great.
It’s the best game in the series.
Two great warriors must sacrifice everything by games end so that finish the fight against the Covenant.
Better days loom over them just beyond the darkness of space.
THE NECESSARY REVIEW STUFF
Really, Im just giving you full disclosure here.
Note thatHalo 2: Anniversarywont be receiving a numbered score from us.
Well save that for the completeMaster Chief Collectionreview on Friday.
Not to sayHalo 2doesnt show its wrinkles at times.
Chief doesnt always respond when you need him to and the AI is even worse.
Actually, Id completely forgotten just how bad the AI was back in 2004.
Or was it justHalo?
The point is that you never want to get caught in a firefight with Marine NPCs covering your back.
Theyll be dead in seconds, and youll be left to fend for yourself pretty much the entire game.
But thats how you like it, right?
Mobility wasnt what it is now.
I do recall feeling like Chief was ridiculously overpowered by the time the third installment rolled around.
He was more versatile, faster, stronger.
Beating that game on Heroic was no sweat.
Halo 2, though, has given me a run for my money.
After spending hours withHalo 2: Anniversary, I feel like perhaps todays console FPS fanbase is too pampered.
The dawn ofCall of Dutydid really streamline enemy AI to the point where its all become a shooting gallery.
The hierarchy in command is always apparent during a firefight.
Not that THATS smart AI, but it is an example of the enemy AI reacting to you.
Its more than I can say about Rodriguez and Jenkins over there.
Maybe todays lazy enemy AI is a symptom of bad storytelling and world-building.
Too bad it doesnt work as well.
The streets are claustrophic and twist and turn like a maze.
There are snipers at every turn, inconveniently placed where theyll definitely get a good shot on you.
Theres no sitting in cover in such close quarters.
Its done so incredibly well.
Ah, but I wont review the already oft-reviewed.
Everything that looked and felt great in 2004 looks and feels even better in 2014.
Its a fantastic remaster.
There are even a couple additional melodies within the new and improved score that deliver their own epic moments.
Of course, I thinkHalo2has one of the best video game scores ever made.
Couple of technical things: besides stiff movement, there is the occasional graphical glitch.
Driving vehicles is still kind of the worst.
Theres just something about doing everything with one joystick that really irks me.
But you get used to it.
Oh, and the BIG ONE.
Youll notice that I havent even bothered mentioning the multiplayer component.
), the entire multiplayer experience inThe Master Chief Collectionis pretty broken.
For this write-up, I abstained from trying to join a match playlist from the other games.
Attempting to get a game in any of theHalo 2playlists is a big disappointment.
After this, Ill try the other playlists, but I dont expect any of the matchmaking to work.
In case you havent heard, Microsoft knows about the matchmaking problem and is attempting to fix it.
Maybe Ill update this onceHalo 2: Anniversarys multiplayer is up and running.
Ill be too busy blowing your head off in Team SWAT.
WHAT IF YOU MISS?
So Im sure they were panicking just a little in between popping fresh bottles of champagne.
One thing is for sure, Bungie took much bigger risks withHalo 2.
And thats commendable in todays formulaic play-it-safe approach to first-person shooters.
By being able to glimpse at both sociopolitical environments, were able to really unfold the world ofHalo.
We learn that the rulers of the Covenant are not guided by the gods but by their own greed.
Things get way grayer as the story progresses.
Bungie were bold enough to tell the story of both sides, and it pays off incredibly well.
WhileHalo: CEs tale is in large part an adventure narrative,Halo 2is something more.
A 15-level epic about one characters place in his decaying society and that societies place in the universe.
Most importantly, it answers the thematic questions posed in the beginning of the game.
Does the Covenant deserve to go on the Great Journey?
I think we all know the answer to that by games end.
Is the Arbiter an honorable warrior fighting for the greater good?
By the time the credits roll, indeed he is.
The Arbiter and his society have changed.
That is the narrative arc ofHalo 2.
But it was a risk worth taking.
A logical one for developers who are used to adapting high concept theopolitical science fiction into their games.
This is why it takes its place as the best game in theHaloseries.
Nothing was ever quite like this game again.
For moreHalo, check outour coverage hub.
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