Pretty much everyone has heard of Halo 2 by now. It is at the pinnacle of console games. It has a brilliant mix of shooting, fighting and driving action in a brilliant array of well designed levels although the ending to the campaign is rather abrupt. Apart from the 15 campaign levels there is multiplayer, system link and xbox live play. Xbox live is where Halo 2 comes into it's own. There is a number of different game types such as slayer and oddball amongst others which will keep gamers playing Halo 2 for years to come, it is that good. Even though the Xbox 360 has many online games Halo 2 is still the most popular online game, recently two new multiplayer maps have been released by Bungie to add to the load Bungie has given Halo 2 players and the ones that are already on the disk.
In total there is 15 different missions, between each mission there is some wonderful little cut scenes which tell you how the story unfolds very nicely. You play as Master Chief in most levels but sometimes you play as one of the covenant in a few levels. Each level provides different challenges. the only thing I would say is that some of the levels can be hard to navigate on occasions. Apart from that the games level designs are virtually perfect and allow you to use vehicles and different guns, grenades and everything you can find on the map. It is very enjoyable to play through and each mission will last a reasonable amount of time, longer if you have a higher difficulty level. Every environment
is different and there are a variety of different challenges you will face on every level. Overall the only other thing I can find fault with in the campaign is that the ending to the game is poor. But I am sure nobody will be that bothered especially when the highly anticipated Halo 3 comes out.
There are several different game modes and multiplayer maps to choose from in this part of the game and if you have friends you can play upto 4 players on one xbox. If you have 15 friends and 4 xbox's you can have 16 player system link using the same game modes as normal multiplayer just with more people. But these modes are really just like practice for the real battles which take place on xbox live. On xbox live you cannot choose a map or a game mode you just choose whether you play in a team or individually and there several different games to choose from on live. Alternatively you can set up a custom game where you can choose the map, game settings and whether you play in teams or not. One of the best features of online multiplayer is the fact that you can play through the campaign missions with online friends, this means you can try harder difficulty levels and get more enjoyment out of the campaign. Online multiplayer is extremely fun and I would recommend you play Halo 2 on xbox live if you haven't already. In the game your fellow soldiers are a little bit more helpful than in the first Halo, they can actually drive the vehicles which allows you to use the gun turret on the back of vehicles rather than just driving which is most enjoyable. All the vehicles are very good in the game and seem to be extremely well placed, they are highly usable and are a lot of help in certain situations. The vehicles all handle well making them fun to drive and they will help you to get around the maps easily. Some of them are fitted with weapons so you can unleash carnage on the covenant.
Your enemy, this is who you are fighting, a highly intelligent enemy race that are trying to take over earth. You as master chief are there main enemy and you will strike fear into the covenant, well some of them anyway. Within the covenant there are several different ranks of enemy. Grunts are the smallest weakest members of battle and usually the majority of enemies are of this type. this is because they are small and they stick in groups to try and attack you. They are very small and are easy to kill with a quick melee attack or a couple of shots to the body. jackals are the next rank up in the covenants army and these guys are very weak. They fight from distance and are protected by a shield because of there weak bodys. Knock the shield down and there very easy to kill. They are fairly easy to kill but provide the covenant with a long range attack which makes them hard to get to as they hide behind more powerful covenant or obstacles such as walls. The next rank up are called elites. These are the your most evenly matched enemies in terms of height and strength. They lead groups of grunts around and are hard to kill, they are strong and if you get close to them they will hit you hard. Even more powerful and strong than elites are the brutes. These creatures are very ugly big and strong. They are slow but hard to kill. The final enemy you will come across are the hunters, they are massive and have very powerful rod cannons. the only way to kill them is to shoot there green patches on there backs. Don't get hit by a hunter or you will die. Overall the covenant are a very intelligent bunch who attack from all angles and will try to kill you constantly.
In the game the graphics are very nice, each character has been designed very nicely. The enemies all look excellent, if you have an xbox 360 you can play the game with the improved graphics and it looks even better than it does on the first xbox. Even if you don't play Halo 2 on the 360 it still looks top on the xbox, all the environments are very nice and buildings, scenery and vehicles all have very nice detail. Nothing in the game looks average and you will notice that Halo 2 is a very nice looking game if you ever stop to look. Lighting effects are also very good and almost look real. As you would expect the in game sound is very good, actors voices sound professional in cut scenes and the music is some of the best ever in a video game. Every time you hear the music it just adds to the intensity of the game and just makes it seem even more brilliant. The enemies shout things out and you can really feel there rage sometimes. The noise is incredible especially in intense battles, you will be able to tell which gun your using just by the sound, it's that good. Overall Halo 2 is a very good video game, considered the best xbox game ever it is also the most played and is extremely popular still a few years since it was made. I can't wait for Halo 3, I can't think how they will make the third edition better.
Thanks for reading :-)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Great Review! I take my hat off to you :D. Craig :♥D
Magrippinho 21.06.2007 11:58
I know quite a few people that passed on the Halos, simply because they couldn't navigate through the first level; a pity, because it only gets better. Great review!
The original Halo was one of that rare breed of games that was so compelling it persuaded ... more
millions of people to go out and buy a new console just to play it. Without Halo the Xbox would probably have failed instantly, which gives this long awaited sequ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: lots of new games and a brilliant package deal Disadvantages: none apart from when you buy an old second hand consol the red light error might appear
toppetsaha 12.11.2009 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Microsoft Xbox 360
Jun 13th, 2007
exceptional by (10%):
very helpful by (90%):
