Official Halo 2 Thread
- Thread starter LukeSmith
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I only played a couple hours of the campaign on Heroic difficulty so far(drohne beat the fucker last night??) but the combat is definately rich and the environments lend all the usual tactical camping zones and barriers you would expect. It's already been mentioned plenty, but hocking grenades into groups, sniping, shooting, and melee finishers are as enjoyable as in Halo 1. The new functions fit into the mold wonderfully, and this game is really just chock full of thrilling gunplay and uniquely executed duels...well at least the first few levels I've seen so far. Heroic difficulty is a good challenge, being resourceful is necessary, but not yet have I felt overwhelmed or resort to cheapish tactics. It has slightly guaranteed that I won't be curising through the quest at such a brisk pace.
The most astonishing upgrade so far to me has been the smooth controls. The analog sticks and on screen viewpoint pivots with grace and accuracy of one of those new fancy lazer mice. It's immediately noticeable when directly revisiting Halo 1 how improved the dual stick control is, even in the several multiplayer matches I've enjoyed, there has been no stutter or change in the extension of your inputs. I love it, just polish, polish, polish.
My only complaint thus far(besides the sorta jerky texture pop-in) is that gun sounds are a bit too teeny, particularly the rattle of SMG's. I hope this can be adjusted, but I want them to really sound devastating in duel wield. This isn't a knock to the overall sound design though, which is marvelous and amazingly distinct in a surround environment.
Oh and the bonus DVD is a great watch, I skipped the section on plot design though. Be sure to check out the audio surround setup for a stupid little animation.
The most astonishing upgrade so far to me has been the smooth controls. The analog sticks and on screen viewpoint pivots with grace and accuracy of one of those new fancy lazer mice. It's immediately noticeable when directly revisiting Halo 1 how improved the dual stick control is, even in the several multiplayer matches I've enjoyed, there has been no stutter or change in the extension of your inputs. I love it, just polish, polish, polish.
My only complaint thus far(besides the sorta jerky texture pop-in) is that gun sounds are a bit too teeny, particularly the rattle of SMG's. I hope this can be adjusted, but I want them to really sound devastating in duel wield. This isn't a knock to the overall sound design though, which is marvelous and amazingly distinct in a surround environment.
Oh and the bonus DVD is a great watch, I skipped the section on plot design though. Be sure to check out the audio surround setup for a stupid little animation.
Only a couple of hours into it so far, but I have to disagree with the buzz regarding the first few levels being 'bland' or 'boring'....I loved them. Made getting to earth even more epic-feeling.
Edit; Agree with Brandon, some of the sound fx are a little..underwhelming. The ghost sounds like a motor scooter :lol
Edit; Agree with Brandon, some of the sound fx are a little..underwhelming. The ghost sounds like a motor scooter :lol
Kabuki Waq
Member
Man the Plasma sword is really fucking cheap.
hopefully that can be dealt with in the custom game options.
hopefully that can be dealt with in the custom game options.
Pedigree Chum
Banned
When I go to quickmatch/optimatch, is there any way to narrow down my search? (i want to choose levels, and game types).
Burger said:
It would be nice if there was a halfway point, but I like that they are pursuing two roads: Balanced and meaningful rankings, and strong community building tools. Still, for someone like me who will be brand new to Live in a few weeks, it will be tough to build a good friends list fast.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
GhaleonEB said:
It really won't be hard to build a list. you play so many games, and because of the rankings you will be at a similar skill level with whoever you play, then you just add people who you had a good game with. My friends list jumped by about 14 people just yesterday playing.
gunstarhero
Member
Hold X and get to the side of the vehicle (I dont think directly in front works, but could be wrong). Then press B to bitchslap the driver. You can also toss a grenade in the enemy tanks this way with the triggers (only tried this on the tank - not sure if it works with all the vehicles.)
Great game - up to Shooting Gallery.
ToyMachine228
Member
I feel like a retard asking this, but it's really bothering me...When I'm playing on Xbox Live, how do I set it up to match me with a game at a certain level, or of a certain varient? I can't figure it out...
shpankey
not an idiot
LOL, anyone noticed the laughable warthog driving A.I.??? OMG!!! This shit is so fucking funny. I swear, the A.I. that drive the warthog go fucking bannanas! They fly all around flipping donuts, smashing into shit and I've even see em go top speed straight into a wall in a head on collision for no reason whatsoever lol!
I think Bungie hired the Killzone A.I. programmer to do the warthog drving A.I. routines or something.
It's even beyond crazy, it's just fucking BIZARE (sp?) ! It's like they lost their minds or something... one driver, with a truckload of other A.I. came screaching past me (on foot) done a donut around me while they were addressing me by name saying various things to me hehe, it was kind of spooky, I thought they were thinking about doin me in or something. It kind of reminds me of max thunderdome lol.
I think Bungie hired the Killzone A.I. programmer to do the warthog drving A.I. routines or something.
It's even beyond crazy, it's just fucking BIZARE (sp?) ! It's like they lost their minds or something... one driver, with a truckload of other A.I. came screaching past me (on foot) done a donut around me while they were addressing me by name saying various things to me hehe, it was kind of spooky, I thought they were thinking about doin me in or something. It kind of reminds me of max thunderdome lol.
shpankey said:
heh, it is bad, its not half as terrible as UT2k4 bots driving though.
Has anyone found a way to make the ally drivers stop? whenever i get out of the 'hog they drive off (fair enough, but i wanna get back on without throwing myself infront of the thing)
shpankey said:
I haven't had any bad AI driving experiences, oddly enough. However, they DO tend to get a bit crazy.
Fact is, programming AI to handle something such as driving a vehicle in a combat zone is NOT easy to do. It seems decently solid, when you consider what they are making the AI do...but it does have issues. I really do think the feature is cool, though. I had two warthogs, each with gunners following me through the underground areas of the city (while I flew a ghost). They actually did very well and survived until the end (and really helped out).
It's a shame that multiplayer is so difficult to get rolling. I can't join anything. It just sits there on step 1 for a while...
shpankey
not an idiot
anyone figure out what's going on with the flaky flashlight? why does it only stay on for a few seconds sometimes, then other times it stays on longer. i can't figure out what's goin on with it.
p.s. i am having so much fun with the single player, this is so far shaping up to be one of the greatest games ever... even with the few problems i've found.
here are the main problems i've found so far on this masterpiece, someone else can add anymore:
1. flaw with the texture LOD (level of detail) abrutly changing, causing bodies on the ground to look like their moving and for some funky cutscene level of detail changes (how this got thru without being fixed is kinda surprising!)
2. really flaky A.I. drivers that gone bonkers (although it's so funy i'm starting to personaly consider this more of a "feature" lol)
3. flaky flashlight that doesn't work right (won't stay on sometimes and shuts off at various times on it's own, but with no rhyme or reason -- sometimes it'll stay on a long time, sometimes short and basically at any amount of time in between depending on i don't know what)
4. occasionaly studdering framerate in the cutscenes (actually it's pretty much a lot -- i'd peg the framerate in high teens or low twenties in most cutscenes, although gameplay seems locked to a rock hard 30 and is very smooth.
5. 16:9 mode stretches the HUD (although the game itself supports 16:9 correctly, the 2d overlay stuff is stretched -- minor annoyance but have to wonder why it wasn't fixed)
in my mind, all that stuff is pretty minor (excpept for LOD which is medium annoying). the game is easily the best and most fun game i've played in a very VERY VERY loooooong time (scratch that, it is the best ever)! I am loving it and cannot congratulate Bungie enough on an awesome job!
GOML (Game Of My Lifetime)
p.s. i am having so much fun with the single player, this is so far shaping up to be one of the greatest games ever... even with the few problems i've found.
here are the main problems i've found so far on this masterpiece, someone else can add anymore:
1. flaw with the texture LOD (level of detail) abrutly changing, causing bodies on the ground to look like their moving and for some funky cutscene level of detail changes (how this got thru without being fixed is kinda surprising!)
2. really flaky A.I. drivers that gone bonkers (although it's so funy i'm starting to personaly consider this more of a "feature" lol)
3. flaky flashlight that doesn't work right (won't stay on sometimes and shuts off at various times on it's own, but with no rhyme or reason -- sometimes it'll stay on a long time, sometimes short and basically at any amount of time in between depending on i don't know what)
4. occasionaly studdering framerate in the cutscenes (actually it's pretty much a lot -- i'd peg the framerate in high teens or low twenties in most cutscenes, although gameplay seems locked to a rock hard 30 and is very smooth.
5. 16:9 mode stretches the HUD (although the game itself supports 16:9 correctly, the 2d overlay stuff is stretched -- minor annoyance but have to wonder why it wasn't fixed)
in my mind, all that stuff is pretty minor (excpept for LOD which is medium annoying). the game is easily the best and most fun game i've played in a very VERY VERY loooooong time (scratch that, it is the best ever)! I am loving it and cannot congratulate Bungie enough on an awesome job!
GOML (Game Of My Lifetime)
Burger
Member
shpankey said:
IT'S NOT A FLAW!!!!!!!
The *only* other way to impliment a dynamic LOD system which wouldn't cause the jarring effect of changing the polys/textures would be 'Real Time Tessalation and Deformation'
This would reduce polygons one at a time depending on processor load (polys only, textures would stay the same).
It just so happens that this looks worse than the way bungie implimented it, which is to have a certain number of 'stages' of detail, and dynamicaly swap them out at predefined processor loads and/or player distances.
If you want an example of Real Time Tessalation and Deformation, play Messiah for the PC.
How most people are moaning about this is kinda surprising.
I know why...
In addition to the already draining light itself, they added a bloom lighting effect to the light when point at certain surfaces. Basically, running around in some of the larger areas with your flashlight on would hurt the framerate (ESPECIALLY in co-op)...so they limited it in a way that prevents people from always using it.
MightyHedgehog
Member
I'm really impressed with the near-instant loads for multiplayer maps and the 2-3 second load for campaign levels. They really did a great job here.
I'm in the midst of some outdoor levels. My god this has to be the prettiest game on the Xbox (I'm playing in 480P widescreen). That along with the normal mapping = drool. How GS awarded a 9 to H2 graphically is beyond me. I don't know how far I am as of yet, but already I am looking forward to playing the game on the next 2 difficulty levels. That + multiplayer = unmatched replay value. I don't know why some people said they were disappointed in the single player. It's great but maybe I just need to play more. I think the story and the cut scenes are awesome so what's with the poor cut scenes garbage I read at gamespot. You really have to be anal not to see the beauty and the polish that's makes up this game. The other thing is the lack of almost any type of loading. I'm finding it difficult to get up from my couch because before you know it the next level is freakin loaded. My dog almost shit on my carpet because I forgot about her.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
oh my god.....
maybe its cause ive been making myself believe this game is gonna suck hard so that it would make the wait for it much easier (which it did cause i actually made myself believe it was gonna be crap hence waiting for nov. 9th was a peice of cake).....
but wow, this game is blowing my away and its just the first fuckin level.
SOUND is incredible, by the way....
Dual Wielding FUCKIN ownz.....but then I love to Not Dual wield also because of being able to melee and throw nades....i thought ud be able to do everything plus dual wield but bungie balanced that shit out.....good shit!
im loving this game right now...and i havent even done multiplayer yet...
Im not gonna harp on negatives cause I am enjoying the game way too much right now to do so....im just taking it all in...its too enjoyable for me to even want to look for negatives right now...
this damn game makes me feel like a Kid with a New game again (all giddy inside).....a game hasnt done that for me since.....zelda 64.
peace
maybe its cause ive been making myself believe this game is gonna suck hard so that it would make the wait for it much easier (which it did cause i actually made myself believe it was gonna be crap hence waiting for nov. 9th was a peice of cake).....
but wow, this game is blowing my away and its just the first fuckin level.
SOUND is incredible, by the way....
of course the music is fuckin great but WOW, i love how they handled the Sound in the part of the first level where u go outside into space fighting those flying elites or whatever....wow, that was awesome.....and the awesomeness of it was amplified for me cause im playing the game with some headphone monitors on.
Dual Wielding FUCKIN ownz.....but then I love to Not Dual wield also because of being able to melee and throw nades....i thought ud be able to do everything plus dual wield but bungie balanced that shit out.....good shit!
im loving this game right now...and i havent even done multiplayer yet...
Im not gonna harp on negatives cause I am enjoying the game way too much right now to do so....im just taking it all in...its too enjoyable for me to even want to look for negatives right now...
this damn game makes me feel like a Kid with a New game again (all giddy inside).....a game hasnt done that for me since.....zelda 64.
peace
You can do it from directly in front, and I've never had to use B, I just run up to them and quickly hit X as soon as I'm in range, MC hops on, smacks the lamer off in some fashion depending upon my angle of attack, and I'm off.
Anyone figure out how to run yet? I seem to recall Bungie saying that they would be including the ability to run in this one, but I've been unable to get it going. ;P
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
Drek said:
that got canned...as did peeking.
<edit>
Can you change the rate of fire on the on the gun that has the scope?