Halo 2

[SidewinderX]

Hey guys... not sure if any of you get OXM, but they had a huge feature about Halo 2 in there.... some new info...


i'll write a proper summary later, but here are some things..

-Vehicles visable gimp now.... can be destroyed and not used. (in mplayer too)
-You'll be able to tell how much damage has been done to it.
-there is a "Spec Ops" master cheif in multiplayer
-There is a Covenent Carbine rifle now... similar to battle assualt rifle
-yes, you cna duel wield thos smgs as seen in the e3 demo.

[Warbie]

Can't wait :)

[Sprafa]

Halo 2....

I felt so stolen since I can't get the books and they suppposedly explain so much.....I fecking lost all the hype about the Halo story after that.

[Soundwave]

Halo 2 is right up there with Doom3 and HL2 as my most anticipated games this year. If only they would release it for PC later on. Even still it's gonna be one of the best games of the year no doubt.

[Axyon]

Sounds very good, have been anticipating this for a while, since Halo was such a letdown.

[SidewinderX]

how was halo a letdown?


i personally loved it, but i'm curious as to what you didn't like.

[Direwolf]

Its single player had a lot of unfulfilled potential.

[Soundwave]

Yeah I love Halo, but it's level design on the interiors were the most repetitive I've seen in an FPS. To be fair to Bungie, though, it was only like that because they were rushed by Microsoft so the game would be finished in time for the XBox launch. Halo 2 will be MUCH improved in that aspect. I expect it to be the best XBox game released this year easily.

[AmishSlayer]

Game Informer has a few pages on Halo 2 as well...talks mostly of Microsoft's closed Xbox Live multiplayer test. Showed some pics of maps and such. Not much new info really. They just said there will be a lot more rule customization for multiplayer games and such.

-Oh yeah.. and another thing that got my attention. 4 team battles can go on. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Gold teams.

-Ghosts and Banshees will have a boost function of some kind to, "send you screaming across the level at unheard-of speeds." I just hope this boost doesn't make capturing the flag in these vehicles too easy.

-Online Co-op is likely

-Some kind of ATV will be in the game as a vehicle

-Some low-grav maps in SP/MP

-They talk about a new kind of game for specific maps called, Assault - Offense carries a bomb to the opposing base - but the defenders have mounted guns and such at their disposal...so it sounds different from just switching capture the flag to "assault" in Halo 1.

They also have some cool pics from multiplayer (apparently they aren't up to par with the quality of graphics that we'll see with the release - "This basic version of the game points to the final build being visually staggering" - when they were talking about better character models and such.

[ShinRa]

halo was so bad. i cant stand games where u shoot "aliens" and it takes 50 shots to the head where it isnt even satisfying when u hit them because it looks like crap. the entire halo story is lame as well. i really dont see the hype at all in this game.

[FictiousWill]

What was that Halo level called? "Final Run" I think. Where you exit the tunnel and come out into the snow, the music makes you shiver - I hope they duplicate that sort of subtle coolness in Halo 2, rather than the super-scripted on-rails gunnery that was shown in the Halo2 preview video.

[Soundwave]

halo was so bad. i cant stand games where u shoot "aliens" and it takes 50 shots to the head where it isnt even satisfying when u hit them because it looks like crap.

so you can't stand half-life either?

[Sprafa]

Please don't make this another Halo vs HL or even "good Halo vs bad Halo"

I really enjoyed Halo much more than I ever enjoyed HL. The story is very well developed, anyone who says otherwise simply hasn't seen the whole thing (books, etc.)

[Soundwave]

Alright, I won't continue that, but it is kinda funny that what he described there is exactly how Half-Life's enemies are as well.

[Sui]

is the PC version going to be realeased alongside the x-box version, or am i going to have to steal... er... buy, an x-box?

[Soundwave]

Unfortunately, a PC version hasn't even been announced, but if they do end up making it, it will be at least a year from the XBox version release. Sucks I know.

[smwScott]

I personally wasn't impressed with Halo. It wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't extraordinary either. It had a lot of flaws, such as the extremely repetitive level design and monotonous gameplay, but also some good moments like the vehicles and final level. Overall I would rank it as a somewhat above average FPS, certainly not one of the greatest FPS games of all time, even for consoles.

Halo 2 looks better though, I'll certainly try it.

[SidewinderX]

I don't know.... Halo still has 2 of my best gaming moments....


1) The first level where you find the flood..... I was fecking creeped out.

2) every single 8v8 CTF match I have at my house. pure gmaing fun.

[Styloid]

Alright, I won't continue that, but it is kinda funny that what he described there is exactly how Half-Life's enemies are as well.
Not that I want to push the topic but I don't remember HL being like that... maybe because the shotgun and the revolver were my most used weapons.

[Axyon]

how was halo a letdown?


i personally loved it, but i'm curious as to what you didn't like.

The repetitive single player really bored the heck out of me... the environments could have been so much more diverse, instead it was the same room or valley repeated over and over. I didn't think much of the multiplayer either - no bots, limited weaponry, the vehicles were fairly boring. Nah, I just really didn't like the game.

[CrazyHarij]

I loved Halo.. One of the best games ever, and I'm really anticipated for Halo 2.

And I hope this thread is for discussing about Halo 2, and not whether Halo was a good/bad game/vs half life or anything, cause we all know how that ends up.

http://media.xbox.gamespy.com/media/482/482228/img_2081840.html?fromint=1

[Sparta]

Halo was awesome, one of the best FPS games out, but doesn't even come close to that of Half-Life or the NOLF Series. NOLF got you TOTALLY obsored into the game with the intelligence items, the wacky gadgets and the original storylines (The 1st one had the best storyline though, albeit it was pretty crazy). And i doubt i need to say anything about Half-Life on this forum.

Halo wasn't as good as those two because of the level design, i hate that f*cking library level. Also the "Flood" reminded me of the headcrabs, and they do virtually the same thing, except they do it in humungous groups that make you shit your pants everytime you see them. Although i gotta say Halo on Xbox is by far the BEST multiplayer game i've ever played.(I haven't played UT2004 or any of the Battlefield games online, only single-player) i've only played a 3x3 team deathmatch on Blood Gulch and that other vehicle map, and it totally rocked.

[Soundwave]

Not that I want to push the topic but I don't remember HL being like that... maybe because the shotgun and the revolver were my most used weapons.

The thing is, the guy who said that stuff about Halo has obviously never played it. It takes 1 headshot (sometimes 2) to kill almost every enemy in the game with even the pistol (except for hunters due to their armor). I really can't stand these people that bash a game that they obviously haven't played.

It's one thing to bring up some legitimate problems with Halo, like the shitty level design that has been mentioned alot in this thread, but to make up complete bs is lame.

[AmishSlayer]

It takes 1 headshot (sometimes 2) to kill almost every enemy in the game with even the pistol (except for hunters due to their armor).

Just a little side-note: You can kill hunters in one hit even on legendary as long as you have a pistol. There's an orange-red section on their back you can put one bullet into and they go down. The easiest way is to have them charge you and actually swing. Strafe out of the way and at the end of his swing he will be bent forward further exposing the orange-red part. I think one shot to the same place with a sniper does the trick as well.

I'm really excited for Halo 2. Just seeing new stuff and playing through SP will be awesome...but to think that playing multiplayer will be a whole new ballgame is just amazing to me. I still play MP Halo over the college LAN when I can...and I still have a blast.

Halo 2 multiplayer needs some cool maps though. There were very few I liked in Halo 1. They were: Hang 'em High, Blood Gultch, Sidewinder, Chill Out (Kinda), Rat Race (Kinda). The rest I couldn't stand unless it was just messing around.

[Soundwave]

Oddly enough I'm looking forward to the Halo 2 single player much more than the multiplayer. The first time I played through Halo I was kind of underwhelmed by the overall story due to the level design, but after playing through it a few more times, it's gotten me extremely excited to see where they take it now. There is no way the single player of Halo 2 will be a let down if the 8 minute gameplay vid from last E3 is any indication.

[SidewinderX]

man.... I still havenm't had a gaming moment that beat 16 player CTF....


Abom: if you found the vehicles boing, you obviously didn't spend enogh time with them... when we don't have anough people for massive ctf games, we jsut ram each other inw arhogs, and see who does the msot flips.... and then try and run over everyon who fall out. :p

[ShadowFox]

I was never a fan of Halo, and since there won't be a PC version, I will never get to play Halo 2.

I didn't find the Halo multiplayer very fun, and when I tried UT2k4's Onslaught mode, I thought to myself that this is what Halo should have been. That leaves the singleplayer. The beginning and the end are pretty fun. But the middle leaves something to be desired. The island map is fun, but then there is that snow map where the indoors areas just repeat.. and repeat.. and repeat. Then comes the swamp and library which I thought were fun.

Funny moment from the library, the robot asks me "Are you alright?" and I am getting killed by all of these Flood, and two seconds later it says "Splendid!" Anyway, then after the swamp, they have the same snow level as before but with the little things in them. I will say the last level was a lot of fun, but overall I wasn't impressed. Not to mention those little Covenant with the high pitched voices. What was Bungie thinking?

Perhaps I was just disappointed because the game didn't turn out like the 10 minute PC E3 video, which had me drooling.

[OCybrManO]

The repetitiveness of Halo's singleplayer had a lot to do with the fact that Microsoft was paying them a ton of money to finish the game in time for the XBox's launch. They had to come up with a way to have a game of a decent length with a very small amount of time left. Their solution was to have you back-track through some of the earlier levels and, of course, the infamous "Library" level. They had a lot more time to work on Halo 2 so it should be much less boring. I still wish they had stuck with the version of Halo for the PC that they were working on when Microsoft bribed them to convert it to the XBox and change the game mechanics.

[ShadowFox]

Yes, that was what I was talking about. The original PC version looked mindblowing.

[A2597]

Halo PC (Original) SWEEET
Halo MS Style...meh
Halo PC MS Style...meh

face it, MS RUINED that game...hopefully Halo 2 will rock...I know I want to play, but I'm not buying a console. Nasty buggers consoles. 5 years from now I will play on my PC. :D

[Axyon]

Abom: if you found the vehicles boing, you obviously didn't spend enogh time with them... when we don't have anough people for massive ctf games, we jsut ram each other inw arhogs, and see who does the msot flips.... and then try and run over everyon who fall out. :p

Too few and too boring, really. Only one vehicle that facilitates multiple people, and none that fly (yes the banshee was in PC MP, but not in Xbox). Why bother playing with them when something like UT2k4 does it so much better?

[A2597]

the halo jump vid owns UT2k4 vehicles. ;)

unless you make them lighter....but then driving is a pain.

NOTHING beats the tanks in TreadMarks though for fun physics. :D It's what, 5 years old now? Bloody fun.... *Sigh*

I remember playing on the flying tanks and cookie dough server...a bullet could send you flying, and a concussion missle ment five minutes in the air, or a suicide. :D

[blackeye]

The best part about Halo was the story hopefully the story of Halo 2 will be even better. The books were great, if you have played the game read the books it will explain a lot more then cortona could.

[Naft]

Just a little side-note: You can kill hunters in one hit even on legendary as long as you have a pistol. There's an orange-red section on their back you can put one bullet into and they go down. The easiest way is to have them charge you and actually swing. Strafe out of the way and at the end of his swing he will be bent forward further exposing the orange-red part. I think one shot to the same place with a sniper does the trick as well.you can also shoot them in the stomach when they swing at you...just back up, and when they lift their arm, pop em one in the stomach. (although i never have the balls to do that, i just run around back and melee them a few times in the soft spot)

[Warbie]

I'm more hyped up about Halo 2 then ever now :) (after watching the multiplayer vids)

We're basically guaranteed a top single player game (with co-op) and amazing multiplayer (which you can play online, split-screen or in a LAN :)) It doesn't get any better \o/ :D

[Warbie]

The repetitive single player really bored the heck out of me... the environments could have been so much more diverse, instead it was the same room or valley repeated over and over. I didn't think much of the multiplayer either - no bots, limited weaponry, the vehicles were fairly boring. Nah, I just really didn't like the game.

What difficulty setting were you playing on? - and pc or Xbox?.

I found the game far too easy on the pc, even on Legendary . On the same skill level it was a super tough and harrowing experience on the XBox. Levels that had felt repetitive on easier difficulty settings, or on the pc, no longer felt this way (for the same reason classic online maps don't get boring - you're too engrossed in trying to stay alive, and having too much fun, to notice much else. Halo is the only single player game to ever achieve this imo)

//offtopic fanboy ranting:

Halo is a console game through and through. I'm not suprised at all when ppl belittle it on the pc, because on the pc it is an average game. I hate to start a mouse and keyboard vs joypad debate again - but it does annoy me when ppl disregard a joypads obvious benefits.

The new thief game is a good example - to fire off an arrow you slowly squeeze the analogue trigger ...... Garett notches the arrow and draws the string back. You release the button and let the arrow fly :) That's such a tactile experience, imagine how much that will increase the sense of immerion. Now compare that to using a mouse button. (this one feature is worth so much more than more detailed gfx, or a higher res)

Rumble can be a great feature, and often an annoying gimmick. Analogue movement, however, totally shits on keyboard movement (compare Splinter Cell on the PC to on the XBox ....... the Xbox version owns it soley because you have analogue movement. It's the same with Prince or Persia)

Mouse is good when super fast aiming is needed - which is basically only in online gaming( or RTS/management). In all other cases (including single player FPS) a decent joypad owns :) ............. and one of the reasons why Halo 2 should be fooking amazing \o/

(once the XBox 2 is released Microsoft are gonna be plugging the S-Pad on pcs apparently ..... this is good news for pc gaming imo)

[Axyon]

What difficulty setting were you playing on? - and pc or Xbox?.

I found the game far too easy on the pc, even on Legendary . On the same skill level it was a super tough and harrowing experience on the XBox. Levels that had felt repetitive on easier difficulty settings, or on the pc, no longer felt this way (for the same reason classic online maps don't get boring - you're too engrossed in trying to stay alive, and having too much fun, to notice much else. Halo is the only single player game to ever achieve this imo)

Xbox, and on legendary. No matter what I did, the repeating areas and rooms just really pissed me off alot. Really, really bad levels like the library where you have to hold the trigger down the whole time really didn't make me think any better about the game, either.

[Warbie]

Have to agree with you there - the library was terrible :/ .... think I mentally blocked it out. But that's the only part of the game that was a let down imo ( apart from the end driving bit :/ ........ which some ppl seem to like :? )

[Axyon]

( apart from the end driving bit :/ ........ which some ppl seem to like :? )

Heh, I actually enjoyed that part... the vehicles were pretty much criminally underused in the SP part of the game, so it was a refreshing change.

[Chewcky]

IGN got to play 1 level of multiplayer of Halo 2 and they absolutely loved it so check out the hands on tid bit http://xbox.ign.com/articles/513/513152p1.html

[BHC]

eagerly waiting, jesus the lans will be INSANE!!!!!!!! omg -splooges self-

[Foxtrot]

What was that Halo level called? "Final Run" I think. Where you exit the tunnel and come out into the snow, the music makes you shiver - I hope they duplicate that sort of subtle coolness in Halo 2, rather than the super-scripted on-rails gunnery that was shown in the Halo2 preview video.
Hahahaha, that is funny because that event was NOT scripted. The AI was driving on its own, just given a general destination.