Halo Reach PC über alles!
WARNING: WALL OF TEXT! THE FOLLOWING OPINION MAY BE TL;DR TAKE EXTRA CAUTION!
OK, lets get started. Halo 2 was just OK, I mean, sure the Multiplayer had Auto-Aim, but none the less, it is great for casuals. And the campaign wasn't even finished. (ala, end on abrupt note.) But overall it was only OK. Then H2V came along. And No effort was taken to even fix it. Allow me to elaborate.
(going by merit Lowest to Highest)
Graphics:
All they really did was resize the textures, and that's it, however, the weapons animations were upgraded. And support for higher resolutions was introduced. But overall, no real improvement. Whereas, HL2 (also released in 2004) looks 10X better.
Story:
Personally, the story (on the UNSC side) was just as mediocre as Halo 1's story. Adding the covenants side of the story was a brilliant idea, and it meant more in-depth characters and not just "GOD HATING EVIL ALEINZ!!!1" The only problem, it wasn't finished. And it had probably the most abrupt endings I have ever seen in a video game in my life. Nothing is added/improved in H2V, it just remains the same. No online co-op, (although...) No added levels, nothing more, nor anything less.
Gameplay:
Shoot kill, teabag, and a few things in between.
Multiplayer:
Same as above, but with auto-aim for controller users. Ironic, because the xbox version also had auto-aim in its multiplayer. (also, whenever you are in quick-match, you are at-least 75% sure to get Coagulation/CTF)
Mods:
Is nowhere near as intensive as Halo CE, or Halo 2 Xbox. Instead, you are given limited supplies to work with, thus limiting your creativity with skins, weapons, vehicles, etc.
All in all, the original H2 should have NEVER been the game to start up MLG (they could have gone with Counter Strike, but IDK Xbox users were stupid back in 2004) And Halo 2 Vista is no exception, not to say it is bad. I am sure it is great for casual gamers, but as for the little kids that are saying "I AM PRO AT ALL GAEMZ, CUZ IM PRO AT HALO 2!!!111" My recommendation to them, go play Counter Strike and see me after class.
[Edited on 10.17.2010 5:36 PM PDT]