Ephemeris of the Mind (Game Review) Halo 2
Time to read: 3 min read
Game Cover
I am a monument to all your sins...
Past Halo review:
Platforms played on: Xbox
Review
Halo is one of my favourite shooter franchises growing up; while I’ve played Halo: CE for hours on end, I’ve never really touched its sequel that much. I finally completed the second campaign and after hearing much about how disappointing the campaign was, I was pleasantly surprised.
Campaign
Halo 2 follows the story of Master Chief, a genetically-enhanced supersoldier clad in armour who takes a crucial role in the United Nations Space Command’s fight against the alien alliance known as the Covenant. In Halo 2, however, you also get to play as the Arbiter, a disgraced Elite commander being sent on suicidal missions.
While the core gameplay between Halo: CE and Halo 2 are similar, the sequel felt like a complete overhaul of the first game. A new graphics engine is used and the weapon balance is revamped. Many of the weapons from the first game were nerfed (cough magnum cough), new weapons, such as my favourite, the carbine, were added, and new features such as dual wielding were introduced. Overall, the game felt like it had much more variety than the first; there were even new species of the Covenant being shown for the first time.
Dual wielding
I also enjoyed the story, especially learning more about Covenant society and culture. I do understand why people were upset, though, as much of the story ended up being cut from the final release of the game. Overall, the story felt like a step forward but at the same time, also a step back.
Multiplayer
Halo 2 was the first game of the franchise to allow people to play online through Xbox Live; unfortunately, I did not have Xbox Live when the service was still up so I did not actually experience the true online experience. I did play splitscreen with friends and the Halo 2 multiplayer felt more polished and the maps were generally larger and filled with more features. There were also many new multiplayer game modes (which I didn’t really play).
Conclusion
This is an amazing game but it lacked some of the magic of its predecessor, especially in regards to the story.
Overall rating: 9.0
DLC Reviews
Halo 2 had several DLCs which were all multiplayer map packs; despite not having Xbox Live, for some reason one of my friends had the physical release of the DLCs. I had actually played on some of these maps in splitscreen.
Bonus Map Pack
There were only two maps included; I really liked Warlock (a remake of Wizard from Halo: CE).
Overall rating: 7.7
Killtacular Pack
Another two maps were added; Sanctuary was the only map I really played on.
Overall rating: 7.6
Maptacular Pack
This DLC added a whooping 5 maps; Elongation (a remake of Longest from Halo: CE) was my favourite map from this pack.