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[Renegade]

This review will not disclose any specific plot points, since you'll enjoy the game so much more if you experience it all firsthand. As such, if you take just one thing away from this review, then it should be this: Do not let anyone reveal the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2 to you, whether intentionally or inadvertently, before you play the game yourself. In fact, you'd even be better off not reading the manual that comes packaged with the game, as it includes more information than you'd probably like. You'll learn how to play the game in context anyway. If you do happen to hear something about the story, don't worry. Even if someone told you what The Matrix was really about, that still wouldn't replace the experience of watching the movie. It's a similar case with Metal Gear Solid 2, a game that can't suitably be described in words, even if its plot twists can.

From from Greg Kasivin's 9.6 review of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Mind you Microsoft has asked ALL reviewers under NDA to NOT spoil the story. Greg spoiled 2 main plot twists in his written and video review, and forum posters are up in arms at their and IGN's forums.

Gamespot has done their best to underhype, undermine and underpromote Halo 2. All they talk about is how 'lame' I love bees is and how many copies of Halo 2 have been ripped and sold before MS's launch.


Ask yourself how many times GTA:SA was promoted on the frontpage before it's launch, and then do the same for Halo 2. The ONLY AHalo 2 frontpage promotion was the netgative slant on the "i Love bees' game called "HALO HYPE HOAX"


Add this to the other negative things Gamespot has done to give the Xbox a negative look. Do you think that they're doing this on purpose?

 

[Mooreberg]

Even if there wasn't, Drinky Crow would still tell you something you didn't want to know.

 

[lexi]

*adds Gamespot to Bookmarks*

 

[shuri]

It's only a fucking review. Will it change anything to your enjoyement of the game? No.

 

[Wario64]

boohoo

 

[Baconäger]

I assume the NDA expired once they were allowed to review the game...

 

[SolidSnakex]

 

[GaimeGuy]

<insert baby picture here>

 

[Naked Snake]

 

[The Faceless Master]

well, ilovebees was pretty lame, only the ARG lovers kept at it...

and isn't mentioning MGS2 inadvertently spoiling Halo 2 in a way?

and what's the other plot twist they spoiled?

 

[Bristow]

Why are people putting up such a fuss about Halo 2 spoilers? The story is laughable. It's like people are treating it like a huge hollywood script or something.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Why are people putting up such a fuss about Halo 2 spoilers? The story is laughable. It's like people are treating it like a huge hollywood script or something.

BECAUSE IT'S HALO2 OMG CUMSHOT!

 

[Wario64]

I never understood what people saw in the plot as well. Halo was only good cause it was good first person shootin. The story took the back seat most of the time

 

[D2M15]

Gamespot has done their best to underhype, undermine and underpromote Halo 2.

For fuck's sake.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Why are people putting up such a fuss about Halo 2 spoilers? The story is laughable. It's like people are treating it like a huge hollywood script or something.

seriously.. the first game was pretty generic .anD this one looks to continue that Story line.. the game aint about the story.. its about the action .

 

[king zell]

Gamespot has done their best to underhype, undermine and underpromote Halo 2. All they talk about is how 'lame' I love bees is and how many copies of Halo 2 have been ripped and sold before MS's launch.

 

[Sullichin]

Gamespot didn't underhype Halo 2. Everywhere else overhyped it like crazy. A cover story every other month with just a few new screens, an assload of top stories and features, etc.

And if you're playing Halo for its story, and think the story is actually all that great, well, then, you need to play more games.

 

[Ghost]

Gamespot are c*nts to all platforms equally, they dont discriminate.

 

[neptunes]

I await your guys reaction to the upcomming metroid prime 2 review/score.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

insane rant

i read the review and it didn't seem to have any strikingly big spoilers - if you mean the video review.. what did you expect? IGN's LOZWW video review SHOWED you how to get 1 heart container. Again, reiterate, I didn't read any major spoilers in their word preview.

and if you mean the bit about earth

Spoiler

the halo2 impressions thread was pretty spoilerific about it not being all on earth. THANK MATLOCK

In MP2. There is ING vs Luminoth!
In MGS3. There is Big Boss!

 

[GaimeGuy]

 

[border]

Kasavin on Chronicles of Riddick :
"The Chronicles of Riddick is paced extremely well for an action game and will leave you riveted for the 10-or-so hours it takes you to finish the first time through. That's about standard for the single-player portion of an action game, but then again, you can never have too much of a good thing. Fortunately, the game has multiple difficulty settings (the toughest of which is great to play after you've finished the game on the default setting) and is open-ended enough and simply good enough to warrant playing through at least one more time."

Kasavin on Halo 2
"There's a good chance you'll feel emotionally betrayed by the story, and it certainly doesn't help that the campaign, at the default difficulty, is going to take an average player less than 10 hours from start to finish."

Around 10 hours is standard length for Riddick, not for Halo 2. Replay is encouraged by Riddick's extra difficultly levels, but no mention of the highly praised and quite time-consuming Legendary difficulty in Halo 2.

Things to Do This Week: Send private message full of MGS3 spoilers to adelgary, as soon as internet pirates leak everything =P

 

[SolidSnakex]

"Ask yourself how many times GTA:SA was promoted on the frontpage before it's launch, and then do the same for Halo 2."

The reason it seems like there have been so many GTA front page stories is because Rockstar chose to hype San Andreas within a few months. They didn't even start releasing info on the game till earlier this year. Bungie has been releasing info and screens since 2002 for H2.

 

[Mejilan]

Kasavin on Chronicles of Riddick :
"The Chronicles of Riddick is paced extremely well for an action game and will leave you riveted for the 10-or-so hours it takes you to finish the first time through. That's about standard for the single-player portion of an action game, but then again, you can never have too much of a good thing. Fortunately, the game has multiple difficulty settings (the toughest of which is great to play after you've finished the game on the default setting) and is open-ended enough and simply good enough to warrant playing through at least one more time."

Kasavin on Halo 2
"There's a good chance you'll feel emotionally betrayed by the story, and it certainly doesn't help that the campaign, at the default difficulty, is going to take an average player less than 10 hours from start to finish."

Around 10 hours is standard length for Riddick, not for Halo 2. Replay is encouraged by Riddick's extra difficultly levels, but no mention of the highly praised and quite time-consuming Legendary difficulty in Halo 2.


Things to Do This Week: Send private message full of MGS3 spoilers to adelgary, as soon as internet pirates leak everything =P

The apparent 180 between Riddick and Halo 2 might have something to do with the sense that Halo 2 is more of the same, whereas Riddick was something quite a bit different (relatively speaking.) Particularly since Halo masters will blast right through its sequel on the standard difficulty (and rightfully so, I'd imagine.)

*shrugs*

 

[Matlock]

He included them because they kept the review closer to the road.

 

[SantaC]

The apparent 180 between Riddick and Halo 2 might have something to do with the sense that Halo 2 is more of the same, whereas Riddick was something quite a bit different (relatively speaking.) Particularly since Halo masters will blast right through its sequel on the standard difficulty (and rightfully so, I'd imagine.)

*shrugs*

or maybe because the expectations for halo2 was higher than riddick? Riddick came out of nowhere and was a great game.

 

[IJoel]

I lost all respect for Kasavin, not because of the score, but because he was so goddamned evil in including a spoiler in the review.

Way to go, to fuck up the experiences of people awaiting to play the game.

 

[Solid]

But I agree with you guys, Kasavin is a turd. Thankfully I have not read or watched his review.

Gerstmann > Kasavin

 

[Catchpenny]

However, Halo 2's campaign--though it features a number of memorable, spectacular set pieces--frequently boils down to straight-up run-and-gun corridor crawls, one after another.

Again? Suddenly I don't feel so bad about not getting this right away.

 

[Deku Tree]

Glad I didn't read the review. My opinion is that I'm buying Halo 2 and no review is going to change my mind, so I'm not reading any.

 

[Code_Link]

But I agree with you guys, Kasavin is a turd. Thankfully I have not read or watched his review.

Gerstmann > Kasavin

You guys are silly. There is no way in hell Gerstmann's writing will compare to Greg's. Gertsmann is biased towards Grand Theft Auto and Zelda, and it shows.

Admit it. Just like the people who said EGM sucked because of the two 9's that MP2 got, you're mad at Greg for not giving Halo the 10 that you think it deserves.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

I lost all respect for Kasavin, not because of the score, but because he was so goddamned evil in including a spoiler in the review.

Way to go, to fuck up the experiences of people awaiting to play the game.

what's the fucking spoiler? Tag it.

 

[Ollie Pooch]

i don't mean to sound like a complete shit - but why does anyone even care about the review scores for these games? it's a fucking review with a number at the end - just some guy's opinion. how can someone's review score (based on opinion) rile people up so much?

it's like people are basing their enjoyment of and excitement for these games on what someone else thinks of it. and god forbid someone doesn't agree with the majority

HIDEOUS!

 

[Mrbob]

Kasavin is full of shit. Not because of the score. But because of what he says in Riddick and then changes his tune for Halo 2. He needs to keep consistent thoughts and not waffle like Kerry. And then he reveals the spoiler that was trying to be kept secret? He is batting 2/2 in this review.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I haven't read the review nor am I going to read it. Not for fear of spoilers though or because I'll disagree... I just don't care what GS think.

 

[Sho Nuff]

"Why did Greg K include spoilers in his Halo 2 review?"

Because he's a butthole?

 

[kitchenmotors]

Waaaaahhhh Gamespot hates teh Xbox Waaaaahhhh

 

[dark10x]

Greg K is still my favorite of the GS crew...

He's generally a bit harsh on the games he reviews, but I really do trust his opinion.

It's a shame he threw that spoiler in there, but it isn't really a big deal when you get right down to it.

 

[BenT]

Kasavin is full of shit. Not because of the score. But because of what he says in Riddick and then changes his tune for Halo 2. He needs to keep consistent thoughts and not waffle like Kerry. And then he reveals the spoiler that was trying to be kept secret? He is batting 2/2 in this review.

*From a dark office on Sunset Blvd., AEG sends another $5 to Mrbob's paypal account*

 

[Kanbee-san]

Halo gets 9.7 and Halo 2 9.4

Its not the end of the world, but i do think it should have deserved equal or better scores. He just seems really negative.

 

[Mrbob]

Haha. Do we really need GS guys here to make lame jokes instead of talking about the inconsitent review? I guess so.

Greg K is still my favorite of the GS crew...

He's generally a bit harsh on the games he reviews, but I really do trust his opinion.

It's a shame he threw that spoiler in there, but it isn't really a big deal when you get right down to it.

Same here. He is my favorite GS reviewer as well. But considering Halo is a sandbox shooter of sorts I'm guessing Halo 2 (SINCE IT IS MORE OF THE SAME) will be a sandbox shooter as well. Placing huge emphasis on replayability over Riddick. To say Riddick is the right length and Halo 2 isn't is flat wrong. But it isn't like I'm going to dwell on it at midnight tommorrow when I'm playing. Just some chatter to point out pre release.

 

[Hournda]

I read the review. He said

Spoiler

the game has a disappointing cliffhanger ending and the story mostly focuses on the Covenant. Where;s the spoiler? Someone here mentioned MGS2 so does that mean you play most of the game as a Covenant elite or something like that?

 

[dark10x]

I suppose he could come off as negative if you've avoided ALL Halo 2 discussions that have occured since the leak occured...but compared to the kind of things that were initially popping up, his review is GLOWING.

The fact is, a whole lot of people were really disappointed with Halo 2 and I've read some REALLLLLLLY negative impressions. I was starting to believe that the game really was a failure. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case, but after that...I was prepared for the worst. So, when I see perfect scores flying around...I couldn't help but become a bit suspicious. Gamespot's review and score seem a bit more honest to me...

 

[M3wThr33]

Haha. Do we really need GS guys here to make lame jokes instead of talking about the inconsitent review? I guess so.





Same here. He is my favorite GS reviewer as well. But considering Halo is a sandbox shooter of sorts I'm guessing Halo 2 (SINCE IT IS MORE OF THE SAME) will be a sandbox shooter as well. Placing huge emphasis on replayability over Riddick. To say Riddick is the right length and Halo 2 isn't is flat wrong. But it isn't like I'm going to dwell on it at midnight tommorrow when I'm playing. Just some chatter to point out pre release.

You mean you didn't get an early promotional copy?

 

[Kanbee-san]

He has valid points through and through. 3 years and only 10 hours gameplay ?

The story is a moot point, just ask any MGS fan.

 

[etiolate]

Gamespot has done their best to underhype,

I wish they did this with all games. Let's face it, hype was dictating Halo 2 would get 10s all over before anyone even touched it.

 

[Hournda]

The fact is, a whole lot of people were really disappointed with Halo 2 and I've read some REALLLLLLLY negative impressions. I was starting to believe that the game really was a failure. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case, but after that...I was prepared for the worst. So, when I see perfect scores flying around...I couldn't help but become a bit suspicious. Gamespot's review and score seem a bit more honest to me...

I played some of the multiplayer on the leaked version and felt the gameplay was a rehashed version of Halo 1 with better graphics, different weapons and new levels. Not that it was bad but it just felt like I was playing Halo 1.5 more than Halo 2. Hopefully once I get my hands on the real version and I play it some more then I'll warm up to it.

 

[Mrbob]

You mean you didn't get an early promotional copy?

No.

The story is a moot point, just ask any MGS fan.

:lol

 

[Deku Tree]

I think alot of people have made good points in this topic. But I'm having a hard time dismissing this quote:

There's a good chance you'll feel emotionally betrayed by the story

I can't imagine anyone would say something like this in a professional review if there wasn't at least some truth to it. I'll know for myself in a few days, but I'm feeling a little less excited than I was a few days ago.

 

[Mrbob]

I want to know how you get emotionally attached to a story in a videogame.