>>ALERT<<
Class 1337 "noob sauce" inbound; Troll units cleared to engage.
I have to say that Halo 2 is, was, and most likely will forever be my all-time favorite. Halo 3 did indeed improve upon many gameplay aspects of Halo 2... but when it comes to this franchise I never really pay attention to that.
Halo 2 felt like a breath of fresh air, and felt so different from the first game - yet at the same time, it retained that Halo feel. Plus... I got to play as the freakin' Arbiter, and got to take a closer look into the actual Covenant faction. The Marine dialogue was kickass - even without IWHBYD - the Grunt were kinda cute, they nerfed the heck out of the pistol (yes, I consider that a good thing), the shotgun had MORE THAN SIX FRIGGIN' ROUNDS... Overall, I just loved that game so much.
Halo 3... eh. It felt a little too similar to the first game, and they didn't even have much involvement with the Elites. And they bumped Arbiter down to a freakin' sidekick. Honestly, I wouldn't have mind in the slightest if it was made its own game: more new themes than what the game had, a focus on... the Forerunner themselves, I guess... and I also wouldn't have mind if they didn't turn the Grunts into freakin' demons.
That last part isn't as bad as it is in Reach, mind you, but still.
So, all in all... I much prefer Halo 2 to Halo 3; that said, I still like Halo 3 very much.
[Edited on 06.29.2011 10:11 AM PDT]