This post is spoiler ridden.
: I was able to tear through the first hangar bay on Cairo, and most of
: the second using this combo.
Most of the second bay. Hehe. How funny. I guess that second bay was a show stopper for more than just me.
: It doesn’t seem to me that the AI has been too radically changed, which means
: it’s still very good.
I found that Elites tended to flank you a lot more. A couple of times, when trying to get to the bomb, I got surprised by three at once. One over the top of a box, one in front, and one in behind me.
: Speaking of the warthog, the radically altered handling is, at
: the very least, going to take some getting used to. It’s probably too
: early yet to say whether it will make maneuvering better or worse in the
: long run, since I still keep trying to drive it like the old hog.
When you get used to the E-brake, it'll feel like the old hog again, even better. You can control the amount of sliding you do with amazing precision.
: Overall, I thought the level design was excellent. For one, there was a lot
: of variety in the terrain. I often found myself stopping just to look
: around and admire the magnificent scenery. For another, the situations
: were very inventive.
:) I agree!
: Also, like many people, I would have liked to
: have seen more of the game take place on earth, and I thought that some of
: the later levels did not live up to the promise of the earlier ones.
:) I agree!
: I’m also not too thrilled about the invisible barriers and insta-kill zones
: that conveniently obstruct access to some areas. You know what,
: developers? You made this spectacular looking level, and if I want to jump
: off the moving platform and wander around pointlessly on the floor of the
: library, why not just let me?
Some of these barriers are just annoying. One of the things I truley enjoyed about Halo was the utter lack of any invisible walls in any places that were easily accessible. You had to go out of the level or way out to sea to get to a zone barrier.
: One thing, however, that pretty much ruins some parts of the levels are the
: sniper jackals.
Don't get me started. I could rant for an hour (and have come close to it) about Jackal snipers.
: A close runner-up for dumbest addition must
: be the inexplicable decision to include boss battles. Again, one of the
: best features of the original Halo was the avoidance of the lame and
: archaic video game convention of boss battles. Some genres are conducive
: to the inclusion of such battles; the military-themed FPS is not one of
: them. Nothing breaks the feeling of immersion more than suddenly running
: into some magical enemy that defies the otherwise consistently-applied
: rules of the game.
I'm totally split on this. Of the three boss battles, only the last really felt like a boss to me. The Heretic was just as weak as any other enemy (I used Stabby to take care of him) and thI never really expected a Prophet to be an easy enemy to take down. Only Tartarus seemed like a boss, and he was easy enough to take down. Of course, I've played tons of games with huge boss battles, so if it's not an enemy that is bigger than you and can easily wipe you out in one hit (Tartarus), it doesn't scream "boss" to me.
: The music was excellent—even better than the original, which is saying a
: lot--and generally very appropriate to the action.
Go Marty!!!!!
: it seems—the sniper jackals alone will make it a nightmare in some
: places.
Don't get me started. I could rant for an hour (and have come close to it) about Jackal snipers.
: Worst new features: sniper jackals/boss battles. Enough said.
Don't get me started. I could rant for hours about Jackal snipers.
: Best new weapon: the carbine. Probably the best all-around weapon in the
: game.
I love it. Feels like the pistol from Halo.
: Best level: Outskirts/Metropolis. I also loved Delta Halo/Regret. Beautiful,
: open, varied missions.
Only problem with Delta Halo and Regret was the Jackal snipers. I could rant for an hour about Jackal snipers.
: Hardest battle: The beginning of Gravemind. It’s like Belly of the Beast, but
: with no marines, two doors opening at once, no active camo, and no
: opportunity to prepare before hand.
Ick. I'm almost there on my Legendary run.
: --In the arena area in Metropolis, after I finally had enough of the sniper
: jackals,
I hate Jackal snipers. I could rant for hours about Jackal snipers.
: through elites and sniper jackals,
I warned you, and you didn't listen. How could you really? But now you've got me started. I HATE Jackal snipers. Of all the enemies to place in a game, Bungie puts in little dudes with heads that dart from side to side, making sniping them harder, and then they place them in areas that you cannot see until you round the corner. Aside from the fact that they kill you in one hit if you're not moving, they NEVER miss their second shot, and they have a tendency to hide and pop out right as you take down that Elite. I wouldn’t mind one or two in an area, but when you have to guess and check 10 times just to pinpoint their location, it takes the fun out. Worst of all, when you know their location, it still doesn't matter if they happen to be looking in your direction. This is the most annoying thing of all, I'm smarter than them, and faster, and better looking, yet they can kill me in one hit even when I know where they are as I strafe the corner. Their two redeeming qualities are the fact that they provide a constant source of sniper ammo, and they immediately drop their guns when you surprise them. A nice feature in close quarters.
One thing you never touched on has got to be one of the best features in Halo 2, double checkpoints. Maybe you never got a bad checkpoint in the game, but I did. The checkpoints seem to come no matter what happens, no matter what enemy is facing you. I strafed a corner, and there stood a jackal sniper (don't get me started) and then a checkpoint came. Wouldn't you know, he was firing as that checkpoint came. There was absolutely no chance for me to survive. After he killed me about 10 times, the game went back to a previous checkpoint. This time, I came around the corner and game him a good whacking (he was very surprised).
Overall, I give your review a 9.9 out of ten. ;P We disagreed on maybe 3 areas, but the logic in your arguments were un-flawed, and therefore it came down to personal preference.
