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Official Halo 2 Thread

yeah, the covenant intro is real time. At least, it was apparent to me.

I don't think it is. Looks totally different than the MC sequences before and after, which are real time. Looks like mpeg2 footage.
 
morbidaza said:
Agreed totally. The complaints about story don't bother me at all.

yea i dont think i EVER cared for the story in any Real action game...

Ninja gaiden? no...
cutscene with big tittie bitch? i dont care...i wanna kill more ninjas dammit.

DMC? no...
Cutscene where dante stabs himself? why? i dont fuckin know and i dont care..
let me kill more whatever the hell i was killing

resident evil #whatever
oh clair why are you here? i dont care...i just wanna shoot zombies...

even in the FPS world...
Half life...
nope, dont care....want to kill wierd aliens please...thank you
No one lives forever...
nope...dont care, want to sneak around and shoot people
No one lives forever 2
Nope....dont care, want to sneak around and chop up people
Doom
lol...what story
Call of duty
dammit...lots of crap to read....let me just press any key to start the damn level..
etc etc etc

ONLY FPS game i can think of, where i CARED about the story at all...would be Deus Ex...
and thats because Deus ex wasnt just a FPS....it was a FPS/RPG.

peace
 
Okay, I caved in and bought the game. I've been playing the campaign for the past two hours and so far it's okay. Seems like more of the same, which is a good thing. The visuals are quite glitchy in some cut-scenes, but this seems due to the large amount of textures being pushed on screen. My only problem so far is multiplayer. As strange as it sounds I'm having a hardtime actually playing a game. I feel I'm doing something completely wrong, but nothing seems to work. *I should probably mention I'm having trouble finding games on Xbox Live, not offline.
 
I dunno. But if so, color me impressed.

There's just too much of a disparity in detail between that and the MC footage it's mixed in with. I guess it's the filter that makes it look so...different.
 
DaCocoBrova said:
I dunno. But if so, color me impressed.

There's just too much of a disparity in detail between that and the MC footage it's mixed in with. I guess it's the filter that makes it look so...different.

or the fact that all the covenant have shiny stuff
 
I'm loving this game, much better than the first in my opinion. A few things:

I think the reason why you now die from elite melee attacks is because you have much less life after your shields are down. This is supplemented by faster healing shields, but also makes it more realistic since you don't have tons of life after the shield ran out like you used to.

Dual wielding is awesome and adds a whole 'nother layer to the game. Dualling SMG and Plasma is the single best way to take down 7/10ths of the enemies in the game. Lill' plasma to get those shields down, lill' SMG to the head to finish 'em off, repeat on next victim. Lets you cut through elites like nothing, similar to having the assualt rifle and plasma rifle in Halo 1 and quickly changing, only now much easier.

The graphics are worlds better. As someone who's been playing Halo 1 non-stop I can't help but notice just how much more clarity and detail there is. Its great and I've never noticed any of these pop up and texturing glitches many mention (if I have I just assumed it was a reanimating flood and shot it).

The energy swords are great, nothing quite as cool as jumping off a cliff at a sentinel, giving it a quick slash on my way past, and seeings its burning scrap fall to the ground behind me.

I'm really digging the Arbiter as well, his levels are what I wish the flood stages of Halo 1 had been like. Lot of forced diversity, but in a way that makes you feel like some bad ass survivalist, running low on ammo so you jack a ghost, fly the smoking hunk right into a wraith, and give it that final shot it needs to blow itself and the wraith up. MC gives the change of pace where you get to, as XXX would say, "think playstation, blow shit up".

I honestly can't think of anything in the game that I like less than I did in Halo 2, so far definately my GOTY, even over GTA:SA and Fable (which I loved).
 
I'm totally disoriented. I'm on some sloping elevator-type section. Maybe I made a wrong turn somewhere, but these Marines are here right along with me.
 
Jesiatha said:
Best dialog....a marine fighting along side says: "That's weird, I can see your legs", or something like that. :lol

i think its funny they got that one comedian who is in the arrested development tv show to play one of the marines...he keeps making me laugh.
 
Just found a funny trick. On the delta halo level, near the last past where you can use the tank up on the structure (the "push through the covenant-held ruins" objective) if you shoot out all of those shields in the way, and they drive over them and stop, when they charge back up they'll send the scorpion flying about fifty feet into the air. You die though.
 
Mooreberg said:
Just found a funny trick. On the delta halo level, near the last past where you can use the tank up on the structure (the "push through the covenant-held ruins" objective) if you shoot out all of those shields in the way, and they drive over them and stop, when they charge back up they'll send the scorpion flying about fifty feet into the air. You die though.

So THAT'S what happened to me! I just chalke it up as a strange glitch!
 
Damn.. just picked the game up a few hours ago. Played single player for a bit, and then hopped onto mult. Only reason I'm stopping now is because I have to get ready for a basketball game. Holy crap, I don't how long this intensity and excitement will last, but right now multiplayer is so ridiculously good. Playing with GAF people is great.

GGs!
 
How are you guys finding any games to jump into? I'm not seeing anything on Live! This is driving me nuts, I'm starting to regret buying this game.
 
evilromero said:
How are you guys finding any games to jump into? I'm not seeing anything on Live! This is driving me nuts, I'm starting to regret buying this game.


What...? Just join your friends... Just go to the GA clan topic and add some dudes and then just join them when they are playing... Figures you'd regret buying the game though. ;)
 
It's initially confusing when it comes to joining games, but if you don't have anyone on your friends list, here's what I do;

Go to Optimatch. Select the type of game you want to play. Then exit back to the menu.

Now go to Quickmatch. It'll count down 5 seconds and then send you out to join a game (you'll see a 1, 2, 3, and 4 in circles).

The game then searches for anyone else looking to join the kind of game you picked. It grabs them, and brings them into the same lobby/waiting screen you see. Once enough players are brought to start the game, the real game lobby loads.
 
Mike Works said:
It's initially confusing when it comes to joining games, but if you don't have anyone on your friends list, here's what I do;

Go to Optimatch. Select the type of game you want to play. Then exit back to the menu.

Now go to Quickmatch. It'll count down 5 seconds and then send you out to join a game (you'll see a 1, 2, 3, and 4 in circles).

The game then searches for anyone else looking to join the kind of game you picked. It grabs them, and brings them into the same lobby/waiting screen you see. Once enough players are brought to start the game, the real game lobby loads.

Okay. Thanks guys. I didn't have a lot of time to mess around with Live before my vocal lessons, but I'll try this later tonight. If you don't mind, put evilromero on your buddy list, and if you see my sorry ass, please invite me. Is there any chance Bungie will alter the online interface with upcoming downloads? It just seems very strange to me.
 
Just beat the campaign on normal (I know, weak sauce!). What a wild ride. The last stage is so awesome! Especially in co-op! Played through the entire game co-op with a friend of mine who hates MS, hates XBox, but loved Halo. Played through the campaign, played online (Two people online on one box is smooth!), and he is now picking up his own Xbox, Xbox Live! and Halo 2 tonight! I don't want to talk about the story so I don't ruin it but I didn't mind the ending at all. Reminded me of the first game where the game really didn't end. The campaign tops Halo by far. So much fun. Such a better told story! Now I can watch my special edition DVD!
 
Ok, I beat it.

The 1 hit kills were lame. 1 close shottie hit = dead, 1 melee to the back from a flood = dead, 1 swipe from a sword = dead (That's to be expected though).

So many times I'd have flood around me, I down like 4 of them then some stray fucker comes up behind me and kills me with a random shottie hit. Lame.

What is with the purposely misleading ADs and story hints given for the past... 3 YEARS?

"No enemy has ever before withstood our might"
"They thought this day would never come, what have they to say now"

Both talking about the
Covie uprising/Covie vs Flood
. Yet both said in the tv spots referring to earth.

I'm kinda wishing MC had temp cloaking abilities now...

I went through most of the game with a sword and dual plasmas. Game has cake for the most part like that.

And the ending fucking sucks. I know they ignored the books completely, and I understand why, but they REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY need to have Eric Nylund write the story/script for the games too. I pray they have him write the book for Halo 2 and he fleshes it out more. If I remember right, they had someone else write 'The Flood', the book for Halo 1.

No gauss warthog in singleplayer, no engineers. Why are the engineers listed on the extra manual? Someone that hasn't read the books has no idea what they are and won't care.
 
What a rush, dear lord. Ahem...

can someone explain to me (im on level 7)

Whats the reason behind sending chief to the covenet ship and the artribitor to Halo? Will it be explained later on? I just know there was a giant venus fly trap talking to me, and missed everything he said

God damn i love the brutes, when they come charging towards you and your unleashing everything you got, but he still keeps coming, you're like OMGWTF and bam, knocks you out of the park. And the battles between the 2 forces are awesome, watching them go at it is hillerious.

I fucking love level 7, so so beautiful. and the MUSIC! Wow, gets the andreniline pumping. I know for certain im going to love this even more on my second time through (like the original Halo) i cant wait to play it on heroic. Then legendry with a mate of mine.

good times, GOTY
 
Halo 2 is HORRID.

I just played 6 hours straight on the campaign on Heroic and I turned off my Xbox without saving.

Oh and I can destify that the single player stops sucking after the second level, yes. In fact, it becomes quite good...in fact, I don't mind replaying those 6 hours again.
 
I just finished it. WTF is wrong with the ending? I can't believe how people are bitching about this. I liked the game and the ending. Can't wait for Halo 3 on Xenon.
 
Sysgen said:
I just finished it. WTF is wrong with the ending? I can't believe how people are bitching about this. I liked the game and the ending. Can't wait for Halo 3 on Xenon.


Exactly.

In fact. The ending isn't so far fetched from Halo when you think about it. It isn't like Halo ended with closure. I think most people complaining are worried we'll have to wait another 3 years to see what happens next. :P
 
Joe said:
why the hell is bungie.net listing my gamertag as "??????" and i cant access my stats.


Hmm. Did you send me a message last night in Halo 2? I saw a gamertag labled "??????" send me a message and I tried to figure out who it was!
 
I must have missed that part with the guass hog then.. cause I never heard one fire. Don't remember that part... But that was at 4 AM last night.

Kinda angry at the lack of a sprint feature though. I was in the super long tunnel under the bridge on earth and I got out to try and drive the shadow (I think) and the passenger marine gets out, gets in the driver's side, and DRIVES OFF WITHOUT ME.

THANKS A LOT. It was pretty funny though.
 
Hey, if you see me on, and I'm not saying a whole lot, that's because I'm trying to evade detection from the boss (waking her after hours, or while she's studying). Just know that I do have a mic, and I can hear everything. I'll just nod yes or no. Other signals will include the spin, double duck, and walking backwards.
 
Mrbob said:
In fact. The ending isn't so far fetched from Halo when you think about it. It isn't like Halo ended with closure. I think most people complaining are worried we'll have to wait another 3 years to see what happens next. :P



How can you compare them?

When Halo 1 ended the main threat had been stopped and the fighting was over. There were other Halos and the Covenant was still coming after Earth, but the main issue in the story was resolved. In Halo 2 Truth has the key and is on his way to destory the universe. Halo 1 ended with MC flying off into the sunset, Halo 2 ends with him about to kick ass. It's unsatisfying.
 
I love this game, although I do with they made a whole seperate game for the Arbiter. I enjoyed his levels more than the master chief ones for some reason. Maybe it was because
of how he got so screwed over and seeing his fellow elites getting royalled screwed as well. Felt sorry for the guy.
 
Anyanka said:
How can you compare them?

When Halo 1 ended the main threat had been stopped and the fighting was over. There were other Halos and the Covenant was still coming after Earth, but the main issue in the story was resolved. In Halo 2 Truth has the key and is on his way to destory the universe. Halo 1 ended with MC flying off into the sunset, Halo 2 ends with him about to kick ass. It's unsatisfying.

The ending is the lead in to the next game. They could of left it after the last boss but they gave you a taste of what's to come. It's not anticlimatic, you accomplished something and then you saw the lead in for the next game.
 
A lead in is in Halo 1 where you see the Moniter had escaped.

This is just ridiculous. The entire last half of the game is about MC trying to stop the Prophets from activating the key and in the end he escapes and is on his way to do it!

It'd be like if MGS had ended when you think Liquid dies in the Helicopter crash, but then you find out he's alive and still going to use REX and Snake says something badass and it just cuts to the credits.


What makes it even worse is that for years people have been hyped to see The Covenant invade Earth and the ending is just more hype for that. It's almost like Halo 2's story is a sidestory or demo of what everybody's been anticipating
 
dark10x: Yeah, I fuckin bought the game to play as Master Chief. Is that a shock? I read all three of the books and played more Halo 1 than what is probably considered sane. The guy is to me what Spiderman is to his fans. Nothin wrong with that.

Anyanka: Right fucking on. Somebody else gets it. I don't get why people defend the story. If you read the books, its a serious letdown.

modus: Be in denial all you want, but the Elite and Brute voices are WEAK. When the arbitor gets branded in the begining, the yell he lets out is incredibly wimpy sounding. The elites from Halo 1 sounded tougher, IMO. Plus, the Brutes just sound so.......cartoony. Its exactly how I'd expect them to sound if they were on the ninja turtles cartoon one day. I think an alien language with subtitles would have been more appropriate. I keep getting the image of Bungie just selling out and getting Laura Prepon and David Cross thrown in there to do voices.

You see, in my mind, my crazy mixed up mind, I imagine the Bungie employees took out the "Black" color for multiplayer so they could reserve it for themselves. Along with Incubus, Laura Prepon, Michelle Rodriguez, Linkin Park, and whoever else they wanna give blowjobs to in order to feel "cool". I also like to imagine them setting up a test-room for magazine editors so that when they came to Bungie to play the game to completion, they could watch the looks of complete dissappointment on their faces once they saw the ending. At that point, the Bungie employees lean back, laugh out loud, and then put on their sunglasses and say, "That's right sucker! Halo 3 will be out in 5 years. Better go fucking pre-order it right goddamn now! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!" Then they give the reviewer a threat in order to secure a perfect review score. They say that if they do not give a 10, they will not get to recieve any information on Bungie's upcoming games. Or any Xbox games whatsoever from Microsoft. No Halo 3 info. No Project Gotham 3 info, and worst of all, no Blinx 3 info.

Really guys, I don't think I'm out of line with my complaints. I think what's really happening is that I'm pissed about the changes they made, and the shitty story with the even shittier ending didn't make things any better. But to look on the bright side, the multiplayer is the most fun I've had on Xbox LIVE. And for what its worth, the story mode IS fun, I just don't like where they took the story and how they ended it. And I don't like most of the gameplay when you're the elite. That sucks cuz its Flood a lot of times and I think fighting them is tedious. But that's all I'm saying. I'm bowing out of here for now cuz I don't wanna make anyone else cry. Or lead them onto the idea that I'm even more crazy than they know. :)
 
Anyanka said:
A lead in is in Halo 1 where you see the Moniter had escaped.

This is just ridiculous. The entire last half of the game is about MC trying to stop the Prophets from activating the key and in the end he escapes and is on his way to do it!

It'd be like if MGS had ended when you think Liquid dies in the Helicopter crash, but then you find out he's alive and still going to use REX and Snake says something badass and it just cuts to the credits.


What makes it even worse is that for years people have been hyped to see The Covenant invade Earth and the ending is just more hype for that. It's almost like Halo 2's story is a sidestory or demo of what everybody's been anticipating

So there was a logical endpoint. I still don't see the issue.
The key was recovered, you killed the chief brute and you prevented mass extermination

What more do you want :)
 
Just got to the part right after you leave Earth.

I suspected I'd get to play as an Elite, but it's cooler than I thought with the recharging active camo. I really freaked out when, on the elevator lowering into the Forerunner facility, I saw the Sentinals. Freaky music helped, of course.

I'm anxious to see where this is going.
 
Uno Ill Nino said:
dark10x: Yeah, I fuckin bought the game to play as Master Chief. Is that a shock? I read all three of the books and played more Halo 1 than what is probably considered sane. The guy is to me what Spiderman is to his fans. Nothin wrong with that.

Anyanka: Right fucking on. Somebody else gets it. I don't get why people defend the story. If you read the books, its a serious letdown.

modus: Be in denial all you want, but the Elite and Brute voices are WEAK. When the arbitor gets branded in the begining, the yell he lets out is incredibly wimpy sounding. The elites from Halo 1 sounded tougher, IMO. Plus, the Brutes just sound so.......cartoony. Its exactly how I'd expect them to sound if they were on the ninja turtles cartoon one day. I think an alien language with subtitles would have been more appropriate. I keep getting the image of Bungie just selling out and getting Laura Prepon and David Cross thrown in there to do voices.

You see, in my mind, my crazy mixed up mind, I imagine the Bungie employees took out the "Black" color for multiplayer so they could reserve it for themselves. Along with Incubus, Laura Prepon, Michelle Rodriguez, Linkin Park, and whoever else they wanna give blowjobs to in order to feel "cool". I also like to imagine them setting up a test-room for magazine editors so that when they came to Bungie to play the game to completion, they could watch the looks of complete dissappointment on their faces once they saw the ending. At that point, the Bungie employees lean back, laugh out loud, and then put on their sunglasses and say, "That's right sucker! Halo 3 will be out in 5 years. Better go fucking pre-order it right goddamn now! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!" Then they give the reviewer a threat in order to secure a perfect review score. They say that if they do not give a 10, they will not get to recieve any information on Bungie's upcoming games. Or any Xbox games whatsoever from Microsoft. No Halo 3 info. No Project Gotham 3 info, and worst of all, no Blinx 3 info.

Really guys, I don't think I'm out of line with my complaints. I think what's really happening is that I'm pissed about the changes they made, and the shitty story with the even shittier ending didn't make things any better. But to look on the bright side, the multiplayer is the most fun I've had on Xbox LIVE. And for what its worth, the story mode IS fun, I just don't like where they took the story and how they ended it. And I don't like most of the gameplay when you're the elite. That sucks cuz its Flood a lot of times and I think fighting them is tedious. But that's all I'm saying. I'm bowing out of here for now cuz I don't wanna make anyone else cry. Or lead them onto the idea that I'm even more crazy than they know. :)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Of course, what you said about the campaign (and the voices) is a steaming pile of crap, but hey, go for it. Some people just like to complain. Me, I like a good back rub.
 
Sysgen said:
So there was a logical endpoint. I still don't see the issue.
The key was recovered, you killed the chief brute and you prevented mass extermination

What more do you want :)


Yeah, except that's NOT how it ends. You don't save the day and say "well, Truth bailed, but we'll get him sooner or later. It's over for now...".

You save the day....but then 343 is like "uh, btw guys, you can still activate this at another location....." meanwhile Earth is under attack and MC is on the way to kick ass right when it ends. It doesn't end with the main threat over but some loose ends remaining, it ends right when the climax is about to start.


And based on the bonus DVD it's obvious they had originally planned to have it in Halo 2. They say the story starts on Earth, ends up on another Halo and then ends up back on Earth for a huge showdown....

More like starts on Earth, ends on another Halo then previews a huge showdown.



As for playing as an Elite, I didn't really mind. The Chief is much cooler, but whatever. My main problem with the Elite is that the Covenant weapons suck. Maybe they're useful, but they're just not cool. Plasma rifles and all that sci-fi stuff just isn't fun. I'd much rather use the human guns. With the exception of the sword. That's the best new thing!
 
I can understand people's reactions. How would people feel if LOTR:Two Towers ended with the orcs massing outside of Helms Deep and the leader yells "attack!" and then the credits roll?
 
I just completed the campaign.

Wow! What a ride. This just jumped at the top of my favorite games. Simply amazing in scope and epicness.
 
The ending of Halo 2 reminds me of the ending of Shenmue II... except I may actually see what happens next in the story line in this case.
 
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