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[CrimsonSkies]

GoFreak. There's actually a HUGE difference between Halo 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004. Halo 2 actually features character design that isn't forgetable. The vehicles are also unique and interesting. Could UT2004 be anymore generic if it tried? I mean seriously. That game is fun and great on the PC. But it's just so damn typical. Way more than Halo 2 is in the console world.

Also does UT2004 feature a single player game? Nope. Does any other FPS on the PC have just as solid a Single Player aspect as it does online. Not many, and much fewer in the console world.

 

[Future]

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Legendary has a more realistic damage structure....and surprise, realistic means being killed with a high powered snifle rifle with one bullet...pretty much what a Sniper is trained to do.
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I hate this too. No fun, and getting sniped almost always feels cheap. Sometimes these snipers respawn and pop out of areas you can't expect the first time through. Only strategy is to know ahead of time where snipers are, and then pop out of hiding and snipe them yourself. Even more of a pain in the ass when you don't have any sniper rifles. This is the only design decision I just don't get about Halo2, cuz the sniper sections just kill the action packed flow of the game

 

[Sysgen]

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Legendary has a more realistic damage structure....and surprise, realistic means being killed with a high powered snifle rifle with one bullet...pretty much what a Sniper is trained to do.
---------------


I hate this too. No fun, and getting sniped almost always feels cheap. Sometimes these snipers respawn and pop out of areas you can't expect the first time through. Only strategy is to know ahead of time where snipers are, and then pop out of hiding and snipe them yourself. Even more of a pain in the ass when you don't have any sniper rifles. This is the only design decision I just don't get about Halo2, cuz the sniper sections just kill the action packed flow of the game

I'm not sure that Legendary was meant to be fun. Seems to be that it's the type of thing where if you complete it then you should consider yourself pretty elite. I've played on Normal and Heroic. Normal is just for the casual player, heroic is for anyone with any types of skills. On these levels of difficulty there are no one shot sniper kills and you are never left without a sniping mechanism. You can even snipe with the Battle Rifle and the Covenant equivalent if you wanted to.

 

[quin]

well I have fun on legendary so...

 

[lexi]

GoFreak. There's actually a HUGE difference between Halo 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004. Halo 2 actually features character design that isn't forgetable. The vehicles are also unique and interesting. Could UT2004 be anymore generic if it tried? I mean seriously. That game is fun and great on the PC. But it's just so damn typical. Way more than Halo 2 is in the console world.

Also does UT2004 feature a single player game? Nope. Does any other FPS on the PC have just as solid a Single Player aspect as it does online. Not many, and much fewer in the console world.

You might have some points if Halo wasn't basically a carbon copy of Bungie's Marathon games. Make no mistake, it was the elements borrowed from Unreal/Marathon that made Halo/Halo 2 what it is.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Call me crazy, but I agree with a lot of his points. Hmmm...

crazy

 

[Sullichin]

Missions blandly lead you through one ambush point after another.


Many corridors were virtually unadorned, and rooms lacked cohesion and common sense. All areas were lifeless.

I would have to say I agree. The enviroments in Halo 2 are so lame and boring, especially compared to Metroid Prime 2.

 

[Sysgen]

I would have to say I agree. The enviroments in Halo 2 are so lame and boring, especially compared to Metroid Prime 2.

I thought the outdoor environments were gorgeous adorned with waterfalls, streams and plant life, oceans filled with wildlife, ruins conveyed a once thriving civilization. Lame and boring? Not quite. Try again please though the corridor levels were standard fare.

 

[buck naked]

As a long time FPS gamer and critic, something has finally dawned on me... there is no one all-encompassing first person shooter. There is no first person shooter that got everything right. It just doesn't exist. There are so many variables within each single player FPS that none of them truly satisfy and none of them reach all of their potential - and this is where the 'dissapointment' and 'over-hyped' sentiments around the big first person shooters this year come from.

Look at noteworthy first person shooters of the past:

Quake 1 / 2 / 3 (all very different types of games)
Deus Ex
Star Wars: Dark Forces / Jedi Knight
Unreal
No One Lives Forever
Goldeneye / Perfect Dark
Operation Flashpoint
Rainbow 6
Duke Nukem 3D

Now look at the diversity between this years first person shooters. Other than sharing a perspective, how much do they actually have in common?!

Riddick
Theif 3
Far Cry
Battlefield Veitnam
Unreal Tournament 2004
Metroid Prime 2
Halo 2
Painkiller
Half-Life 2
Doom 3

Are this years first person shooters better than first person shooters of the past?

Yes, they are.

However, I think that over the past 8 or so years, frustration has developed in the lack of evolution within the genre. Environments are not as interactive as Duke Nukem, vehicle intergration is not as in-depth as Operation Flashpoint, objectives are not as open-ended as Deus Ex. Fantastic multiplayer games are often not good single player games. Great ideas are often held back by poor execution or hardware failings (sloppy framerates, bad control implementation - or just the physical limits of input devices).

While this years first person shooters may not provide that same exhilaration as you got from the first time you played Doom, or Goldeneye, or Half-Life, or Battlefield 1942, 2004's first person shooters need to stop being criticised on the grounds of nostalgia.

 

[XS+]

I would have to say I agree. The enviroments in Halo 2 are so lame and boring, especially compared to Metroid Prime 2.

The outdoor levels are pretty nifty, but I agree that the indoor levels are just so drab and interchangeable. Halo 2 is a lot like the original, in that it feels so conventional, almost to a fault. The game feels extremely solid, but there's something so bland and by-the-book about its design. It's hard to describe, but it's there each time I play it. Both the gameplay and the narrative are dreadfully insipid. The story especially, playing out like the hokey crap you come to expect from a midnight movie on showtime. I don't know if the game deserves as low a rating as 70%, but it's definitely not the AAA title some reviews make it out to be. I'd give it a 83%. Not a bad game, but very contrived and empty.

 

[CrimsonSkies]

"I'd give it a 83%. Not a bad game, but very contrived and empty."

And you would still be low balling it. I think some of you enjoy being in the minority on opinion. Those that complain about Halo 2 being boring and cook book in design make me laugh. Tell us about games you enjoy. I'll rip them up just the same as you are this game .

 

[shpankey]

anyone can pick ANY game apart. but firing squad didn't even do a good job. half his complaints aren't even legitimate (reading the highlighted ones in this thread -- as i didn't read the review), but flat out wrong. if someone has an agenda or has an axe to grind, they can take an elite game from any platform and tear it down. and i've seen a lot better complaints from other reviewers who hated half-life 2, metroid 2, metal gear solid 3, and GTA: SA and even halo 2.

i didn't reward this site with my "hit" because i already knew what they were trying to do and wouldn't be so stupid to give them my support only to read some deep pent up hate all come out on paper in an effort to make himself feel better and at the same time get their site some noteriety.

firing squad has been known to hate the xbox for a very long time now... most people who've been around will know this already. they are big pc and ps2 fanboys and it's been that way forever.

 

[_Angelus_]

"I'd give it a 83%. Not a bad game, but very contrived and empty."

And you would still be low balling it. I think some of you enjoy being in the minority on opinion. Those that complain about Halo 2 being boring and cook book in design make me laugh. Tell us about games you enjoy. I'll rip them up just the same as you are this game .

Hell I'd love to see what the trolls dare to list as favorites of theirs. Cause you just know some where along the way theres goingto be atleast one oddball game that doesn't make sense.

In return I'll supply the munchies while they type up their lists.

 

[XS+]

"I'd give it a 83%. Not a bad game, but very contrived and empty."

And you would still be low balling it. I think some of you enjoy being in the minority on opinion. Those that complain about Halo 2 being boring and cook book in design make me laugh. Tell us about games you enjoy. I'll rip them up just the same as you are this game .

I don't think I've lowballed it. I've played the game on the two highest difficulties, and while it's decent, there's nothing there that hasn't been done to much better effect elsewhere. Right now, I'm playing Half-Life 2, and the difference between the two couldn't be more cavernous. Half-Life 2 draws you into its story with the amazing atmosphere that wraps itself around the gamer from the moment the game begins. Aside from the AI, everything about Halo 2 is listless. The game is VERY "cook book" in design.

 

[Azih]

Thing is of course, how much importance do you give to A.I?

Halo's amazing A.I gives every room a challenge that brings the level design up.

HL2 for experience, Halo 2 for combat gameplay.

Edit: I personally rate A.I very highly on list of priorities.

 

[adam20]

UM the AI and the battles are what make Halo 2 what it is. As far as a large part of it. The enemies are more intelligent than seemingly every FPS out there and it's greatly satisfying to be in combat. The battles can be intense and feel significant (when playing on Heroic and Legendary). You dont get such a feeling of trulyy SOLID enemies from any other game. The controls are spot on and the game is fluid. What it does it does very well. It feels very well put together. Killing the AI and the human opponents on Live is all very satisfying. There are enough good moments very often to make the game a blast to play. Unless of course you are anti xbox and just enjoy putting the game down.

I dont know how someone can say various elements of Halo 2 have been done better in other FPS's. That is just fanboy talk.

 

[Azih]

I dont know how someone can say various elements of Halo 2 have been done better in other FPS's. That is just fanboy talk.

Acutally I agree with your first pargraph, but nooo.. to say that Halo 2 is the best at everything is the real fanboy talk.

For one thing, man the ending sucked.

 

[Mainline]

The truth hurts.

 

[XS+]

Thing is of course, how much importance do you give to A.I?

Halo's amazing A.I gives every room a challenge that brings the level design up.

HL2 for experience, Halo 2 for combat gameplay.

Edit: I personally rate A.I very highly on list of priorities.

You're right. In a way, Halo 2 is truly about the AI, a simulator in that respect. Though, with that said, I care more about atmosphere, which I was unable to find in Halo 2. I want the world to breathe, drawing me in with each step I make towards the ending. I'll take decent AI and amazing atmosphere over unparalleled AI and a tepid gameplay experience. I love FPS -- it's one of my favorite genres -- but Halo 2 just wasn't to my liking.

 

[Prine]

still havent seen an FPS that can match the genius of Halo2 combat.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

You talkin about Multi or single player? I cant comment on this single player debate because i dont play many FPS for their single player mode not after i got my first tastes of CS and TFC. If there is something that is great about Halo 2 it BETTER be its single player mode because i've experienced is multi player. Its...er interesting maybe my friend had the life settings up too high but I personally got sick and tired of hitting people all day with bullets and them not dying. Its almost a little too weapon based. And wheres the pistol from Halo 1? That was a great gun and everyone could have it, now its all about ok who knows the map , wheres the overshield, and some plasma gernades, i win. Or better yet wheres the shotty and camoflage. I personally do like certain PC FPS better (multi player!) and yeah its fair to compare them all, Halo 2 included because its a FPS , same genre. Its not like theres a long list of FPS better than Halo 2 just because its on PC, even then in my opinion, there are still only 2 FPS's better than Halo2 both HAPPEN to be on PC and thats CSS and BF 1942(and all its bastard children). Not to mention that damn controller you gotta use unless you got the keyboard and mouse for xbox bleah , if theres one genre where controllers just wont do its FPS.