- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
To be honest, I was a little disappointed by H2's campaign. The mulitplayer is possibly the funnest experience I have EVER had playing a game, but campaign is didnt really live up to what I thought it would be.
The Earthcity part of the game was way too short, in my opinion. It fits with the story, I guess, but it doesnt make for a compelling experience. I also dont understand the decision to change the final game so much from the E3 demo. Its still good how it is, but it could be much better. The level in the streets of Old Mombasa feels way too 'confined'. I would have liked to have more options on how to get to my objectives. The other level designs are great though. I really like all the moving geometry. It does feel more like Marathon, and really makes the levels come alive.
The cinematics are another weak point for me. Not the graphical glitches, or the direction and voice acting (both excellent by the way), or the story itself, but just how over-the-top some of the scenes are. Its just not neccessary. If they were trying to make the Chief look like more of a bad-ass hero character, they failed. It comes off feeling a little too much like a cheesy hollywood action movie. The Chief didnt need lame one-liners and stuff like that to be a bad-ass. I liked him more when he talked less.
The thing I liked about Halo was that even though it was a game about a cybernetic super-soldier fighting religious fanatic aliens on a giant ring world, it still 'felt' like it could be real. Halo2 doesnt have that feeling for me. I would have liked to hear the Marines and other characters in cut-scenes use more military slang too. They do a little, I know, but enough in my opinion. Stuff like that really adds to the suspension of disbelief.
The AI was another let down for me. Dont get me wrong its good, very good in fact, especially compared to other games, but I was expecting more. It would have been really cool to hear Elites commanding grunts and jackals, telling them to go flush me out from my cover, or to track me down when I try to fall back. It would also be cool if Covenant surivors from a battle would run away and go get reinforcements.
In the end, Halo2 is an amazing game. Its just not the evolution of Halo1 that I wanted it to be. It doesnt quite live up to Bungie's own standards, but is still far better than 99% of other games. Mulitplay on Xbox Live is solid gold. It doesnt get any better than this. Campaign...not so much.