So I just finished Halo 2. Not being much of a online gamer, I tend to evaluate games in terms of their single player campaigns. Had I not played Halo 1, this would have been a fun game. Unfortunately it is so much like the first that it's really more like an expansion pack. At least the first Halo had a little novelty. Sure in Halo 2 you get to drive more vehicles and see the big spider things (scarabs), but aside from that you still have to deal with the flood, which just pisses me off. The best parts of the game (earth city scenes) were few and short. The story was actually really dumb.

Really the only good thing I have to say about this game is that I've finished it and I can go back to playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. A game, which by comparison, has almost limitless playability.

I know this has so little to do with the empeg community, but I figured if any of you were on the fence about buying this game, I could save you the trouble.

Attaching a poll to get your opinion of it...

Greg

I don't like first person shooters at all so what do I know but I would guess most people buying this game care more about the on-line part than the single player.

One of the things I liked about Halo 1 was the Flood, I thought those scenes were the most intense. My only problem was the excessive repetition. Just when I thought I'd had enough octagonal rooms connected by bridges, here comes another one.

Does Halo 2 at least reduce some of that same-room-over-and-over repetition?

go back and play it on something other than easy

I think the main attraction of Halo 2 is what you're not particularly interested in. i.e. multiplayer and in particular XBox Live. I know a number of Halo fans who have said the main thing missing from Halo is XBox Live support. It does have LAN multiplayer but that means everyone dragging TVs and XBoxes around to someone's house.

I don't like FPS games unless they are multiplayer. Playing against AI just doesn't cut it for me.

BTW: I don't have an XBox that I play games on.

I'm waiting until they port it to the PC before I play it.

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Does Halo 2 at least reduce some of that same-room-over-and-over repetition?

I didn't play through the campaign of the first Halo but i had this feeling when playing through the halo 2 campaign in some of the later stages. I had to back-track a few times just to make sure i had advanced and not gone back the way i came.

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I think the main attraction of Halo 2 is what you're not particularly interested in. i.e. multiplayer and in particular XBox Live

I agree. I have the most fun from FPS' when in multiplayer and going through the campaigns is only something i do if no ones around and i'm bored, or improve my aim w/ those irritating controller joysticks (still used to keyboard and mouse). sniping people is just so fun

I will say the AI has greatly improved over last time. In one particularly nasty part, I slaughtered a bunch of Flood beasts with this energy sword thing (pretty effective, with only 1 swipe to kill). When I got to the last one, he seemed to know his fate, so he kept running away from me, while I chased him. Little did I think the AI would be smart enough to have him run into a shaded corner where 5 of them waited in the dark for me. I was boned.

g

It does except in a few short cases, but it counters that annoyance with another one. You finally get out of cramped quarters into a wide open area outside. You kill everyone you're supposed to, then can't find an exit. So now you wander around for about 30 minutes until you find a little path or tiny hole way back where you can't see it. This is where you're supposed to go for the next checkpoint. I got lost many times.

Additionally, as the marine, you have a flashlight. As the alien, you have cloaking ... no flashlight. A lot of the game is spent navigating in dark places. If you don't know where you're going as the alien, you won't be able to see anything without a light, and you'll get lost again.

G

Just wanted to chime in and say Greg's mini review echos my feelings exactly... Except for the "Sucked" part. I felt it was a good game, but not the second coming as was foretold. It was surprisingly short too...

The best part is, after the crappy ending of the Single Player, I am now able to go back to GTA:SA... I missed my homies.