K.R. Wicks of Rockslide Megabattle fame put up his own review of Halo 2, entitled Halo 2 Disappointment. Generally, it is a nice collation of most of the complaints that many players have had about the game, altough the postscript, added on November 29, is more harsh:
Put my copy of Halo 2 up for sale, restored Halo to its natural resting place in my Xbox, and loaded up some good old rockslide megabattling. Ah... blissful relief! Jackals that point and roll. Grunts that are truly grunty. And when an Elite bounded up and greeted me with "Wort Wort Wort!", I almost went over to give him a hug (but no don't worry, I quickly regained my senses and blew his ugly great head off). Just like old times. And wow, this gameplay is so much more enjoyable, it's like a breath of fresh air after the last few weeks. Makes Halo 2 seem like a bad dream to be forgotten.
For awhile I was thinking that criticism of the game was due to overhype and unreasonable expectations, but when someone who clearly loved the first game so well actually sells his copy of Halo 2 and feels good about it... ouch.
Comments
Shotokan
Opinions are opinions...but man his was stupid.
OK, i read his entire review. He did bring up some good points, but basically all he did was complain about everything that wasn't EXACTLY like Halo 1. He did't like weapons, characters, graphics, sound, overall gameplay, or basically anything about halo 2. And why? Because all he wanted was Halo 1 with a new campaign. That is pretty poor to me, and a slap in the face to the Bungie developers who worked their asses off to bring us a great game.
Anonymous (not verified)
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH H
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anton P Nym
I have to agree with Shotokan
I enjoyed Rockslider's little skits and the Megabattle, but feel that his expectations for Halo 2 were unreasonable. The vast bulk of Rockslider's objections were that Halo 2 wasn't Halo 1... which it, of course, isn't. So naturally he's disappointed.
(I for one would have been disappointed if all we got was Halo 1 with a few different levels and a brushed-aluminum box. It does not take 3 years to build a mission pack.)
His opinion isn't "a slap in the face" for Halo fans... his expression of it is perhaps abrupt and highly negative, but he's entitled to his opinion. If indeed all he wished was more Halo 1 then he has taken the correct action. It's his opinion and his choice.
However it won't affect my opinion that, of the two titles, Halo 2 is (albeit by a slender margin) overall the superior despite its shortcomings.
-- Steve's not sure if he should go the tagline route here.
narcogen
Sequels, Expansions, New Games
It seems to me that something like a Hippocratic Oath for game design should apply to a property you're trying to make a sequel to: that you should at least do no harm.
Bungie is, of course, a group of extremely talented people in a number of disciplines; not just writers and artists, but designers, programmers, and engineers.
I'm sure just an add-on to Halo 1's engine would have been disappointing not just for fans, but to Bungie itself.
However, if the continuation of Halo 1's story has got to be carried out by a new and improved game engine, then I think it should strive to do at least two things:
1) not get in the way of continuing the story, and
2) not make the player feel as if he's in a universe different from the one in the first game.
I also enjoy Halo 2; I don't want my money back, and I haven't yet succumbed to nostalgia and popped in Halo 1.
However, I do think that Halo 2 strains the very limits of those two goals: It seems clear from the LE DVD that we aren't getting the "end" of the story here, and the sum total of so many changes, both small and large, has obviously made at least some people feel as if Halo 2 isn't "Halo" any more-- that the look and feel of everything is so different that it no longer feels like a continuation of the original, but something entirely different. Something TOO different. If it really was a separate game, why call it Halo 2 at all? Why not make a new shooter, with a new engine and a new story?
In a way it's like what has happened to star wars. The desire to push technology has resulted in something that looks and feels so different from what came before that some fans are understandably disoriented.
Let's just hope that Bungie spares us a "Halo: Combat Evolved, Special Edition" with the first game's story and the second game's physics, graphics engine, enemies and weapons.
Or who knows.. perhaps some people would like that?
Anonymous (not verified)
retard?
ru kidding halo2 owns halo
Anonymous (not verified)
After playing Halo 2 since th