| |
|
The single player in Halo 2 was, imo, awful. Level design was generic at best, tiresome at worst (there are a number of lengthy stretches throughout where it's possible to just run or drive from one end of a poorly-disguised corridor to another without even attempting to attack enemies or defend yourself). One of the new enemy types - the most common of the new ones - was intensely frustrating to fight against. And the derision heaped upon the attempts to flesh out what was previously a basic, if enjoyable plot was entirely deserved - I have no problem with Bungie wanting to expand on the mythos, but the way they did it was kind of terrible.
Thing is, the campaign from the first game never had much of an effect on me, either. Not until after me and a few mates had got together for a big LAN gaming weekend and spent most of it in Halo multiplayer. At that point, it all came together - the mix of weapons, the superb vehicles, the recharging shield that makes running away and hiding a viable and useful strategy. The teamplay aspect - even though we were limited to 2 vs 2 matches, they were still excellent fun.
Campaign was still a bit meh afterwards, but not quite as much meh. Co-op campaign was great.
Halo 2 online was revolutionary. To date, no other game has managed to get all of the elements so very right. The lobby system is second to none - exceptionally easy to navigate, perfectly callibrated to encourage the development of a sense of community. Custom games are another element that nobody else has matched up to yet. I've said all of this many times before, so I won't go into it all again here.
Just had a go on a ranked deathmatch game and the first campaign mission in 3, and it's more of the same. Did pretty well in the online game, despite it being my first attempt - led for most of the game, only coming a cropper right at the end and getting pushed into third place after failing to kill anybody else for the final three minutes. It always goes wrong when you start paying attention to your own score, eh? Point being, it's identical to 2's online game in terms of how it feels to control and the kind of tactics that you can rely on. This is a good thing. New weapons, new levels - those are enough to guarantee that I spend a lot of time with it. Just needs tomorrow to come around and more people from my friends list to get hold of the game - the old crew, no doubt. Custom games should, once again, be an absolute blast. Stoatie, you need online, stat.
Campaign seems to be better than last time around, at least. Bungie have done an interesting thing here. Those really annoying enemies from 2 - the Brutes - have replaced the Elites in the structure of things. They now take the same amount of damage as Elites used to and also have shields exactly like those of the Elites in 1 and 2. It even goes as far as their voices sounding - to my ears, at least - as though the Elite actor has taken over duties on them. To all intents and purposes, the old Brutes have been wiped out. A bit odd, but a smart decision. As long as the old style don't make a sudden appearance later on.
The actor voicing the Grunts has changed, too. Feels weird atm. The script for their random comments is much more amusing, though.
Visually, the environments are great, human character models not so much. The female officer from the previous game often looks like a hideous monstrosity. It's odd - the detail level on faces doesn't look to be any higher than it was in 2, yet the faces look less realistic.
Gameplay? Same as ever. Movement feels quite a lot quicker than before - maybe it's just a smoother frame rate - which is taking some getting used to. Dual weilding has been toned down, I think, which has a knock-on effect in multiplayer.
I doubt there's anything in the campaign to hook anybody who failed to be excited by the equivalent in the previous two games. Online co-op might make a difference, though.
So, it's a nice game. Great multiplayer again - the best on any machine, no question - decent enough single player. I won't be needing a change of underwear as a result of playing it, but I never suspected that I would. |
|
|
