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Posted By: Socrates <fuel4freedom@yahoo.com> | Date: 11/18/04 7:55 p.m. |
In Response To: My Thursday morning BBQ (just add flames) *long (Ducain) I understand and share many of your frustrations. Throughout the first time I played through the game, I was waiting for the story to really get going. Just before I hit the credits, I thought I'd reached maybe level ten or eleven, and was looking forward to a particularly tasty, meaty ending to the game. In finding a cliffhanger, I was dissapointed; others with me, at the time, were outright furious. The with the story does not, I suspect, stem from the plot itself as it does from the setup to the plot. Two Halo novels and an immense amount of hype--not half of which came out of Bungie or Microsoft, to be fair--set up those of us who were looking forward to playing Campaign mode all the way through as soon as we had that lovely box of brushed aluminium (or plastic) in our hands for a story which would have matched any of Homer's works in length, breadth, and depth. I and others I knew were expecting Shakespeare, and we received T. S. Eliot, instead; through the work of truly excellent authors, the first Halo team, and the actions of the Halo community itself (including those involved in marketing Halo 2, and by extension hyping it), we expected a great bit more than what we got, and I think most of us are dissapointed for it. I've played through the game twice, now, once on heroic and once on legendary; I'm currently dabbling in Normal and Heroic. Through these latter two experiences with Halo 2, I've gained more appreciation for the story. Because I was waiting for the end of the Halo story the first time through, I missed much of the actual plot of Halo 2. What we, the players, face in the Halo 3 story is much, much different than what we thought we would face with the Halo 2 story. For one, the Covenant, though they are apparently in the middle of assaulting Earth with nearly their entire fleet, are simultaneously in the middle of a civil war--this civil war, if played out, will rend the Covenant apart into two lesser factions, if not to the point where each individual species in the Covenant is at war or no longer allied with every other species in the Covenant. For another, we now have the Flood in a position to engage in interstellar travel with Covenant ships, and maybe one Human ship (the In Amber Clad), and we've met what would be the Flood's equivalent to the "Command Form" of the Vang. There are more changes, of course, but I'll leave them for you to discover at your will. As for gameplay, I personally think that Halo 2 is an improvement over Halo, though I agree with your sentiment that there seems to be an unusual but subtle emphasis on easter eggs and "tricking," this time around; if it is there at all, as I think it is, it is likely a response to the surges in interest surrounding the discovery, hunt for, and displays of easter eggs and tricks within the first Halo. There are only three other faults I can find with Halo 2's gameplay, and two of them are weapon-related; the first is that we, the players, spend more time as the Arbiter than as the Master Chief (or so it seems). I cannot overstate my appreciation for seeing this conflict from the Covenant's point of view, or for the chance to experience the major changes in the plot that I can experience through playing the Arbiter, but I think I might have been a little more content with the gameplay if I'd been able to play an equal amount of the game as the Master Chief. As for my two weapons related complaints: I wish that we were able to pick up those ceremonial staffs and use them, and I wish that the ratio of Human to Covenant (to Other) weapons in the game were a little more equal. (Currently, that ratio stands at 6:8:1 by my count.) The music I can barely find any fault with at all; one of the tracks sounds like Enya composed and performed it; this isn't a problem, except for the fact that Enya puts me to sleep, something that isn't exactly well-matched with an adrenaline-pumping first-person shooter. Even the inclusion of music not made by Marty O'Donnell and crew I am learning to overlook, to the point where I'm now open to considering placing the first volume of the soundtrack on my "wish I could have, if I had more money" list. The visuals are spectacular, at least on the screens I've been playing the game on. The "popping in" of characters and scenery can get rather annoying, but I understand the limitations of the xbox and their ramifications upon the cutscenes in Halo 2. Overall, I like the game. I do wish that the Campaign mode experience was a little better, but I still think that the Campaign mode alone is worth the high price I paid to have the Halo 2 LE shipped to my residence such that it arrived on the morning of the 9th. Honestly, Ducain, I advise that you play through it again. But this time, clear your mind of the pre-release hype expectations and play it as it is, a sequal to Halo. Like I said at first, I understand and share many of your frustrations, and I have shared your disappointment. It is not the "fanboi" in me which brought me to make my first post here in months, only to offer my differing opinion; part of it is that I wanted to share my opinion, even though it is different, and another part is that I want you to find yourself able to fire up the Xbox and play Halo 2's Campaign mode without feelings of remorse, disappointment, or anger. This I do because I think I understand why you hold those feelings you mentioned now, and I think that you might not have to hold them for a very long time. At any rate, I've probably posted too much text at this point. Use my email address if you want to discuss this further with me, Ducain. Pax Vobiscum, Socrates |
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