- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: Art Vandelay
Here is my information on my playtime in Halo 2(I actually spoke with Frankie!!)
I am the luckiest man in the world. If you want to know why, read on. If you just want to hear about Halo 2 skip down to the part that says Halo 2 in Big letters.
Saturday 9:00 a.m.- I wait in line for about a half an hour to get into the totally unorganized expo. Once inside, my three friends and I head to the Console Room to compete in the Halo tournament. We won the first round by 7 and lost the second by three(it was to fifty). Then we headed to the Exhibition room where they had a variety of yet to be released games. I will review each of them below:
-------------------HALO 2---------------------------HALO 2---------------------
This is where I was lucky. First off, I was there when they began to announce that tickets were being handed out for Halo 2 and that only 200 people were going to play. I got #40 so I didn't have to wait in line very long. I met the guy who got #117. He asked Frankie if he got something special for it and Frankie said a signed copy of Halo 2 by Marty O'Donnel!(my bad if I spelt it wrong). When I was in line I met the guy who had ticket #41. His father worked for Microsoft and got to Beta Test Halo 2. He said he got to play Zanzibar, Ivory Tower, Midship, and some others that are top secret. I did an interview with him and here it is:
Me: Was it fun?
Him: Hell yah
Me: In your opinion what is the best weapon in the game?
Him: The brute shot by far. It shoots grenades that bounce off everything and are super deadly.
Me: How's the carbine? I heard it was super sweet!
Him: Meh, it is okay. I prefer the battle rifle. The carbine seems a little more powerful but it is so hard to find it just isn't worth the trouble.
Me: Favorite level?
Him: Ivory tower.
Me: How's the pistol?
Him: -blam!-. It lost the zoom and is much less powerful. Dual-weilding is kind fun but I prefer smg's. Use the battle rifle, it's the new pistol.
Me: Is the wraith tank too powerful like OXM reports?
Him: No, it's not that powerful. The boost is kinda unfair but the aim of the mortar is so bad it kinda makes up for it.
Me: Have you ever stolen a tank?
Him: No, it is way too hard to do. Getting close to a tank is too dangerous so you do not have too many chances to pull it off.
Me: Human Sniper or Beam Rifle
Him: Human
And after that question it was our turn to play. When I played and watched the game for two hours I have an answer to all the nagging questions. You can see your feet but cannot shoot them. The ghost floats over the water but it is kinda glitchy. After about ten feet in the water you hit an invisible wall that blocks you from going further. I hope they fix that cause it makes the game feel unreal. I achieved two double kills, one of them with a plasma sword(which is da -blam!-!, and I mean that in a good way). My second best play was seeing a guy walking buy a ghost and I shot the ghost which then exploded killing him and giving me the kill. My best play was seeing three guys in a warthog and I boarded the passenger seat. I then turned and shot the driver while we were still moving!! It was -blam!-ing sw33t!!! The best weapons to dual-weild is two plasma rifles by far!
When I was watching, I saw a guy take a plasma sword and melee a warthog till it went up in flames and exploded!!!
I also got to have a small chat with the illustrious Frankie where we discussed a glitch I saw where a spartan was punched in the back three times and didn't die.
After the play time was over, a fellow nerd asked Frankie a few questions:
Nerd: Why did you take the ATV out?
Frankie: It was never in. We tried it for a while and it just wasn't fun. It is a poor man's warthog minus the rocket launcher or laag in the back. Only one level(I am assuming Burial Grounds) worked for the ATV but It still was just sorta meh.
Nerd: Can we expect Halo 2 to include some of the old maps like Blood Gulch?
Frankie: We know our fans and what they want.
Nerd: Will the "normal" weapon set be changed by the time Halo 2 is released?
Frankie: Yes, it will be changed. The pistol is definatly in this level.
The only complaint I have about Halo 2 is the fact that after it was over, Bungie just grabbed the xbox's and left leaving a huge mess to clean up after and delaying the Mario Kart tournament. It may have possibly been payback for the remarks the penny arcade forum members said in the one Bungie Weekly Update but who knows.
If you have any questions just ask 'em and I am sure I will be able to answer them.
I was that nerd, lol