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Why so much Backlash for Halo 2??

MrparisSM

Banned
I seriously don't understand. I don't think I've played a game(save for Ninja Gaiden) that has had me this hooked all this Gen. Single Player kicks ass, Co-op kicks ass, Multiplayer on Xbox Live kicks some serious ass... What's not to like?? I know the nay-sayers are usually always louder than the people that are loving the game or not having problems. But still....
 

BuddyC

Member
 
Every big hyped game gets inevitable backlash if there are certain things people don't like.

MGS got it, Zelda: OoT got it, Metroid Prime got it, MGS2 really got it, etc.

Halo 1 kinda got away from it because it was a bit of a surprise to many people.
 

duderon

rollin' in the gutter
I can't believe you have to make another thread for this, but have you seen the ending? I loved the entire game, but ohh that ending i will never forget as it was the worst ending i've experienced in a video game.
 

Andy787

Banned
I don't think it is getting nearly enough backlash. This is probably the most overrated game of all time, imo, and I'm a huge Halo fan.
 
soundwave05 said:
Every big hyped game gets inevitable backlash if there are certain things people don't like.
IAWTP or something... and when you add to formula certain groups of fanboys who just love to hate everything on their "enemy platform",lol, its only natural there's some hating going on.
 
And also games that have somewhat contoversial or abrupt endings or weird story twists will get bashed inevitably.

MGS2 got some similar criticisms.
 

MrparisSM

Banned
deadlifter said:
I can't believe you have to make another thread for this, but have you seen the ending? I loved the entire game, but ohh that ending i will never forget as it was the worst ending i've experienced in a video game.

I haven't beaten the game as of yet, still got a ways to go on Single player, been playing a LOT of multiplayer though. What is sooo bad about the ending though?? Is it just because it's a cliffhanger?? Movies have cliff hangers all the time... I don't see what the big deal is... Also would you have rathered Halo 2 be the last game?? They did it like this so they could make a Halo 3 on Xenon! :)
 

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
People have been blinded by the majesty of Halo 2

Ironically Halo 2 and MGS2 are my two fav games this gen!

However I personally didn’t hype them, I only purchased MGS2 two weeks ago!
 

BuddyC

Member
MrparisSM said:
Single Player kicks ass
Except it's "more of the same" for some folk, and they didn't want that. They wanted something "new." Oh, and the ending. Keeping in line with story complaints, there can also be claims made about slightly deceptive advertising, even bait and switch, but that would ruin the cliffhanger. No tie-ins to the book series or ILoveBees, and the game brings up more questions than it answers. They even included a booklet with the LE that introduces a few points that aren't even addressed.
MrparisSM said:
Co-op kicks ass
Except it's not over Xbox Live.
MrparisSM said:
Multiplayer on Xbox Live kicks some serious ass
Assuming you have a clan or a nice friend's list. Matchmaking can be a pain in the ass.
MrparisSM said:
What's not to like??
What happened to sprinting, melee combos and the last level? Oh yea, that "grand ending" got cut, along with a bunch of other features promised early-on that were absent in the final game without any prior word.

While I certainly enjoy Halo 2, I can understand these complaints very very well, even if I don't agree with all of them. But, that's it from me. I'm not going to defend these points, partially because I don't agree with some of them (though I can respect them) and partially because I'd rather play Halo 2 than wish I had the power to ban some folk.

On that note, I'm looking forward to playing online with you again Paris, you're a great teammate.
 

pilonv1

Member
playerz.jpg


"Bitches, after the success of the GTA Haters Club thread, we have to go back in time to create a Halo 2 Haters Club thread."
 

MrparisSM

Banned
BuddyChrist83 said:
Except it's "more of the same" for some folk, and they didn't want that. They wanted something "new." Oh, and the ending.

Except it's not over Xbox Live.

Assuming you have a clan or a nice friend's list. Matchmaking can be a pain in the ass.

What happened to sprinting, melee combos and the last level?

While I certainly enjoy Halo 2, I can understand these complaints very very well, even if I don't agree with all of them.

I don't ever remember them promising sprinting or melee combos.. so i guess that's why I could care less... Only thing I remember them saying was that this was going to be the LAST Halo... But I'm glad they changed their mind... even if that meant them taking off the last level...
 
People kicked their own ass with the whole "OMG NO SPOILERS" thing. Now everyone is dealing with the suprises. Its a good game, but didn't live up to the hype single player wise.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
It's the most anticipated game in years, and it isn't perfect.

OH TEH NOES!!!1





Seriously, that's the extent of it.
 
The backlash here is tiny compared to what I'm hearing from people I speak to. I know four Xbox owners who are absolutely gutted by the game. They don't have broadband and those that do don't have XBL. There are two people in work who stayed off work for two days, one got bored, the other completed the game in 7 hours and hated the stuff from the control of the covie to the ending.

I only bought my Xbox last week with the original Halo and Riddick. I was all set to buy the sequel, but now I'm not going to bother. Not at least until I get XBL.

Not that the games are anything like the same (I hate the comparison but see why people do it) -- but Metroid Prime 2 luckily sounds like the ying to Halo 2 yang. Solid brilliant single player and mediocre multiplayer. Both = best of both worlds.
 

duderon

rollin' in the gutter
MrparisSM said:
I haven't beaten the game as of yet, still got a ways to go on Single player, been playing a LOT of multiplayer though. What is sooo bad about the ending though?? Is it just because it's a cliffhanger?? Movies have cliff hangers all the time... I don't see what the big deal is... Also would you have rathered Halo 2 be the last game?? They did it like this so they could make a Halo 3 on Xenon! :)

The cliffhanger part was not the bad thing. I did not know i was playing the last level and i didn't know i was fighting the final boss. Usually a game will make you well aware of what the final level/boss fight is so it will be suspenseful and exciting. Halo 2 was neither of these, i was ready to kick ass on earth to be left watching the credits.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
deadlifter said:
The cliffhanger part was not the bad thing. I did not know i was playing the last level and i didn't know i was fighting the final boss. Usually a game will make you well aware of what the final level/boss fight is so it will be suspenseful and exciting. Halo 2 was neither of these, i was ready to kick ass on earth to be left watching the credits.
Eh? It was pretty obvious to me that I was coming up on the end. I mean, if I didn't know that the ending was going to be a cliffhanger, then MAYBE it might have been different, but since I did know in advance that it ended on some kind of cliffhanger, I could pretty much see the ending coming from a mile away. And since I'm pretty sure most people around here knew that the ending was supposed to be a cliffhanger (nobody really seemed to treat it as much of a secret), I'm kind of surprised by how many people said they had "no idea" it was coming.
 

duderon

rollin' in the gutter
MetatronM said:
Eh? It was pretty obvious to me that I was coming up on the end. I mean, if I didn't know that the ending was going to be a cliffhanger, then MAYBE it might have been different, but since I did know in advance that it ended on some kind of cliffhanger, I could pretty much see the ending coming from a mile away. And since I'm pretty sure most people around here knew that the ending was supposed to be a cliffhanger (nobody really seemed to treat it as much of a secret), I'm kind of surprised by how many people said they had "no idea" it was coming.

So you knew when
you were fighting the Master Brute (can't get his name off the top of my head), that you were fighting the final boss?
I didn't pay attention to any of the ending spoilers since i wasn't sure if i was going to play the game or not. But your average joe would definately not be "in the know" about the cliffhanger, so i could see a lot of casuals getting upset over this like i am. :lol
 
MetatronM said:
Eh? It was pretty obvious to me that I was coming up on the end. I mean, if I didn't know that the ending was going to be a cliffhanger, then MAYBE it might have been different, but since I did know in advance that it ended on some kind of cliffhanger, I could pretty much see the ending coming from a mile away. And since I'm pretty sure most people around here knew that the ending was supposed to be a cliffhanger (nobody really seemed to treat it as much of a secret), I'm kind of surprised by how many people said they had "no idea" it was coming.
It was pretty obvious to me that I was coming up on the end. I mean, if I didn't know that the ending was going to be a cliffhanger, then MAYBE it might have been different, but since I did know in advance
I did know in advance
So how is your personal experience here to be judged as criteria? I really don't think the majority of people knew it was coming (on this forum, let alone in the general public). I avoided all Halo 2 spoilers- save for the E3 footage- so I had no idea.

I still don't know how"It was pretty obvious to me that it was coming" is supposed to be relative considering you knew about it before the game was even released.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Mike Works said:
So how is your personal experience here to be judged as criteria? I really don't think the majority of people knew it was coming (on this forum, let alone in the general public). I avoided all Halo 2 spoilers- save for the E3 footage- so I had no idea.

I still don't know how"It was pretty obvious to me that it was coming" is supposed to be relative considering you knew about it before the game was even released.
Well, it's not like I knew where or how. But even beyond that, it seemed pretty clear that the campaign had already been quite long (right around the number of levels you would probably expect), and there was no real end even remotely in sight. So there was really only one logical point where they could have cut it off without it being COMPLETELY random. And it's not like the ending wasn't cliche as all hell anyway. Since it was just dug out of a hat of universally applicable plot chapter endings, I think it would have been fairly easy to figure out by the time you finished off
the last Master Chief level.
They laid it on pretty thick.

deadlifter said:
So you knew when
you were fighting the Master Brute (can't get his name off the top of my head), that you were fighting the final boss?
Did I know? Nope. Did I have a pretty good hunch? Yup.
 
MetatronM said:
Well, it's not like I knew where or how. But even beyond that, it seemed pretty clear that the campaign had already been quite long (right around the number of levels you would probably expect), and there was no real end even remotely in sight. So there was really only one logical point where they could have cut it off without it being COMPLETELY random. And it's not like the ending wasn't cliche as all hell anyway. Since it was just dug out of a hat of universally applicable plot chapter endings, I think it would have been fairly easy to figure out by the time you finished off
the last Master Chief level.
They laid it on pretty thick.

Did I know? Nope. Did I have a pretty good hunch? Yup.
Quite long? Not really. It's a fine length for a game, especially one of such quality, but I can't even see what you're arguing here. Are you saying you weren't told an exact pinpoint of when the cliffhanger entered, and thus you correctly guestimated when it was going to happen just before it did?

So?

Does this somehow translate into how it should've been obvious to everyone that a cliffhanger was coming anytime soon?
 

rastex

Banned
My biggest question for this generation is now: Since when did Halo players ever care about the damn story?! Seriously.
 

Anyanka

Member
Since forever? I know I always have and I've seen many people talking about. Why do you think there was such a huge deal made about spoilers?
 

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Halo has always been overrated. I'm one of the few that remembers what Halo was supposed to be like as I followed its development on the Mac prior to the XBOX announcement. The game has really changed since then.

I'd love to read the early Halo PR and see those screens again.
 

Keio

For a Finer World
In my opinion, Halo got Matrixed.

The first game/movie just hinted about a grander scheme of things, but didn't let the story get in the way of good action.

Then came the sequel and babbled pseudointellectual crap/had talking Piranha Plants and made the story too central, considering the abysmal quality of the script.

I still enjoy the game mechanics and had fun checking out the multiplayer options last night, but for those 85% who don't have Live... big disappointment compared to great expectations.
 

Anyanka

Member
On the Halo 2 LE dvd they have a feature where they show old footage from 98 and onwards while the guys at Bungie comment and make fun of it. It's pretty cool.
 

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
They never should've given the Convenant english voices IMO. The game takes itself a lil' too seriously.
 

AniHawk

Member
I wouldn't worry about it. Backlash is a sign of great success (er, in this case. Not in the case of something like Superman 64). Hate speaks louder than love, and when the love is almost as universal it is, the people who hate certain aspects of a game like Halo 2 defend their points to the death, while everyone else pounds on them (which explains all the HATs).
 

rastex

Banned
Andy787 said:
Since they wrote three fucking books of it.
Almost EVERY video game has a book dedicated to it. I remember seeing books for Contra when I was a little kid. So just the fact that it has a few books doesn't really mean much.

It's really only been the past half year or so that a lot of people have all of a sudden started becoming engrossed in the story even though the game was out for 2+ years. Whenever Halo was talked about it was always concerning the gameplay, the AI, the physics, the multiplayer. Seriously, bring up any old thread about Halo and 90% of the time the bitching will be about the level design and the praise will be about the gameplay. And now the story is the biggest focus? Come on, give me a break.

Now I'm not saying that gives the excuse for a bad story. But, what Halo is meant for is pure action with tight controls and great levels, and that's what it delivers.

You know, I think all the people who are disappointed with the story are the ones who were never into Halo in the first place, got caught up in the marketing hype which pushed the plot, and are now let down by their unrealistic marketed expectations.
 

Do The Mario

Unconfirmed Member
rastex said:
Almost EVERY video game has a book dedicated to it. I remember seeing books for Contra when I was a little kid. So just the fact that it has a few books doesn't really mean much.

It's really only been the past half year or so that a lot of people have all of a sudden started becoming engrossed in the story even though the game was out for 2+ years. Whenever Halo was talked about it was always concerning the gameplay, the AI, the physics, the multiplayer. Seriously, bring up any old thread about Halo and 90% of the time the bitching will be about the level design and the praise will be about the gameplay. And now the story is the biggest focus? Come on, give me a break.

Now I'm not saying that gives the excuse for a bad story. But, what Halo is meant for is pure action with tight controls and great levels, and that's what it delivers.

You know, I think all the people who are disappointed with the story are the ones who were never into Halo in the first place, got caught up in the marketing hype which pushed the plot, and are now let down by their unrealistic marketed expectations.

When I was a kid I had Mario choose your own adventure books!
 

TeTr1C

Member
Good game, good multiplayer, good single player (got a little tedious at times, as did Halo), dissapointing ending.
 

Anyanka

Member
The story is the focus of most of the complaining because it's the biggest, most annoying flaw.


And most of that complaining is based on the ending. Being disappointed in that ending is not based on "unrealistic marketed expectations".
 

Redbeard

Banned
Funny, it didn't seem like there was nearly this much hate towards Fable, but it was easily twice as bad as Halo 2 in terms of disappointments, features left out, and misleading marketing.
 
I would be more excited if half life 2 (the engine for the next 5 years) wasnt being released a week later.


halo 1 was a good game

I didnt play multi much at all and only co op a few times


Halo 2 will get a bit more playtime from me because I just spend 40+ on a keyboard adapter for it, but half life 2 really stole anything I had looking forward to halo 2
 

AniHawk

Member
Redbeard said:
Funny, it didn't seem like there was nearly this much hate towards Fable, but it was easily twice as bad as Halo 2 in terms of disappointments, features left out, and misleading marketing.

People knew all that ahead of time though.
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
Redbeard said:
Funny, it didn't seem like there was nearly this much hate towards Fable, but it was easily twice as bad as Halo 2 in terms of disappointments, features left out, and misleading marketing.


there was tons of fable backlash.
 

Prine

Banned
Do The Mario said:
People have been blinded by the majesty of Halo 2


:lol

i dont understand the big deal with the ending. I didnt feel cheated or anything, left me excited for 3

Regardless of the story, the gameplay is oustanding, nothing can compare atm
 

Willco

Hollywood Square
The reason why there's backlash is that it's so popular. At any point in time, a percentage of people hate any product. When a given product is extremely popular, the percentage doesn't increase, but the amount of people it represents does.
 

PhatSaqs

Banned
Willco said:
The reason why there's backlash is that it's so popular. At any point in time, a percentage of people hate any product. When a given product is extremely popular, the percentage doesn't increase, but the amount of people it represents does.
applause.GIF
 

Deku Tree

Member
BuddyChrist83 said:
that "grand ending" got cut, along with a bunch of other features promised early-on that were absent in the final game without any prior word.

I love the Halo 2 SP campaign (I think some small parts are weak but those parts are minor). You don't see me hating on halo 2. I just activated my 2 month free live card and I'm looking forward to getting into the multiplayer (even though I might be terrible). I expect the LIVE multiplayer will be incredible too.

But if you watch the LE disk, BuddyChrist83 is right, they talk about how there was a "grand ending" in the game which clearly got cut for some reason. Since I'm such a big fan of the campaign part of Halo and Halo 2, that really upsets me. For this and other reasons, I can respect some of the backlash even if I don't agree with all of it.

Big games usually get a bigger backlash than smaller games partly because of trolls and partly because people who don't think the game is worthy of the hype want to tear it down but also partly because people expect alot more from these super hyped games and the last reason is legit.
 

madara

Member
FPS and mass media lowest common demeanor generation X games are on finally on way out. Haha, I can only dream.
 
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