- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I am looking forward to the release of Halo 2 as much as any other addict out there, I can't wait to see the new weapons and features such as the tuck away sprint and dual weilding. I can't wait to enable clan features on online play and being able to attach logos to the uniform, but with all these nice add-ons many worries come to mind as well.
All true players of Halo know that the game revolved around 2v2 and 4v4 play, not 8v8. The larger maps like Blood Gulch and Sidewinder have been frowned upon by the top players as they rely on vehicles much more than actual skill. It seems to me Bungie may not recognize this and may be making maps more suited to vehicle play and may actually even be removing the pistol, the key asset in any Halo player's arsenal, the one weapon that seperates the good from the great. Halo has became a nationwide competetion, giving bragging rights not only to friends on large local LAN parties, but bragging rights across the nation. I know in my hometown Halo is such an addiction that your Halo skill means more than even athletic ability in a lot of cases, and that these skills are not determined by the ability to drive a warthog or the other 20 vehicles that seem to be coming out in Halo 2.
My worries are not without cause, seeing the first couple of maps from Halo 2 being somewhat like a juiced up version of Blood Gulch with two seperate bases and large driving areas in between. I purchased Halo for the PC and it made me sick how they adapted everything to online play, making almost every new map large and meant for 16 players and heavily reliant upon vehicles. I fear that since Halo 2 will be on X Box Live that Bungie will feel the need to make large maps for 16 players instead of the small ones where the good, the bad, and the totally bad ass are seperated. I know that larger maps are nice for such things as CTF with large groups, but the true nature of Halo exist with two relatively small teams competing to see who can score 50 kills the soonest, it's the way it is and it's the way it should remain.
I hope Halo 2 will add on to what is already a great game, giving new weapons and options galore. More things for each of us to master, and new things to learn each step of the way. I just hope the true nature of Halo that we all love will not be lost because of the addition of online play and the need for larger maps. Halo would simply not be Halo if not for the sneaking around the corners of Chill Out to take out the entire other team with just a shotgun, or sniping from every corner of Prisoner not even letting your enemy spawn... the difference in owning and pwning, the control of every single inch of the map. This can't be done at places like Sidewinder, and this is what truly seperates teams and makes a clan a clan.
If anyone from Bungie reads this post I hope that you do keep the small maps in tact and don't base Halo 2 entirely on large gaping areas. I hope that the pistol still remains instead of trying to give alternate weapons to learn. I promise you all true haloers agree... don't change the game, just make it better... cause if the true nature is lost I wouldn't doubt seeing it thrown in the garbage right behind Halo PC.
But anyways, I figure they will make the game kick more ass than any other FPS ever has, it looks great and November 9th will be a day that will change video gaming forever. I look forward to playing all of you on Live. Any replies to this would be great, I wanna know if anyone else has these concerns. Thanks for reading.. Hasta.
Shade