webmasterbob
The Webmaster
This review was written very quickly, sorry for the lack of photos.
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Ah yes, Halo 2. A great game that came out for the Xbox almost three years ago. For the rest of us whom do not own an Xbox, we've waited quit a long time for the PC release. Was the wait worth it? Well, you'll find out very shortly
.
Story:
If you have already played Halo 2, you know the story. The story begins directly after the events of Halo, beginning on what seems to be the central city of the covenant. The poor commander responsible for the fall of Halo to Master Chief is daubed a heretic and sentenced to death. At this point, we pick up again with our good old friend Master Chief...and Johnson...whom I have no idea how he survived. Halo 2 is actually far more story driven than the previous installment. The events within the game are much easier to follow and will still throw you through loops as did the original Halo. Not much else can truly be said, other than another great story. 10/10
Gameplay:
This is a rather difficult category to score for Halo 2 Vista. So, I'll begin by simply saying if you have already played Halo 2 on the Xbox, nothing has changed. Unless you have a desire to give your keyboard and mouse a whirl, you'll find the same experience. As with Halo's first port to the PC, each difficulty level *Easy, Normal, Hero< legend* has been raised to the next highest difficulty as per PC advantage. So, if you are looking for a slightly more challenging Legendary mode, you're in for a treat. Of course, if you happen to have a wired Xbox 360 controller, you can simply plug it into your PC and play Halo 2 with that, although it, of course, takes away the point of the game being on the PC.
All that grumbling aside, Halo 2 is a fun game to play, At times you will be in intense battles whether they be large scale gun fights to huge dogfights, you will find every battle unique and exciting. You will also have the times where you are just sleuthing around. In addition to this, you will have the chance to play as multiple characters, each following their own backstory, which is a very interesting addition. Bungie has also changed around the suit energy system for the better. Rather then health packs and the slowly recharging energy bar, you have one long lasting, quickly recharging energy bar. It sounds stupid, although in the long run you will find the new energy system will get you out of more tough situations than the previous Halo's system.
Now, to get back to grumbling a bit, multiplayer. Now, Halo 2 is one of the first games for the PC to take advantage of Live, Microsoft's online service for the Xbox 360 *now PC too*. When you first pop in Halo 2, you will be asked to make a Live account or sign in with an existing account. This is actually very cool as you can earn achievement points for in-game activities, meet up with friends, all the good stuff you would expect from Live. However, to get the most out of Multiplayer you will be forced to upgrade to the gold membership level. Without the gold membership level, about all you can do is browse the game list and join a random game in hopes you did not make the mistake of joining a group that can kick your ***. In addition, without a gold account, you can not earn multiplayer achievements...which is rather crude. Halo 2 comes with a subscription code for a one month free gold upgrade, which is really nice, although limiting these abilities so much is really rather disturbing. Just as well, unlike other Windows Live games, you can't play with your friends using the Xbox version of Halo 2. This is probably due to the fact that Halo 2 is not a 360 game and would require massive server loads to let the PC user communicate with the Xbox servers, but it should have been something Microsoft could have implemented, even if it were only playing with those whom own a 360, especially when every other Windows Live game has this ability. So, overall, I'm giving the gameplay a 7/10.
Sound:
Just as in the original Halo, you will hear much of the same odd chanting choirs, large symphony orchestra, etc. However, a great variety of pieces have been strung together ranging from hard rock to...well...Spanish. In addition all the voice acting is very well done. When Truth begins telling the tale of the arbiter, you feel captivated by his words. When you hear Johnson screaming at the top of his lungs, you know it's time to run for your dear life. So, overall, the sound earns a 10/10.
Graphics:
As back on the Xbox, the graphics are very pretty. The transfer to Windows Vista has brought forth many improvements such as better textures, bloom lighting, etc. However, even with these improvements, the graphics still look dated compared to what Microsoft is producing for the 360 and other Windows Vista games at the present. So, the graphics will need to be stuck with a measly 8/10.
Overall:
Overall, a brilliant game. If you have Windows Vista and have yet to play Halo 2 *like me* you should certainly purchase the game. If you already own Halo 2, this should not be your reason to upgrade to Vista unless you are a diehard fan that needs the play the PC version to hold off until Halo 3. Also, if you plan on playing the game, make certain your computer has at minimum 1GB of ram. As I found out through skippy cutscenes and 12 minute loading times, 512mb doesn't cut it *now I have 3 gigs though, loads so quickly the light going across the Halo logo while loading doesn't even get to the other side, lol*. So, in the long run, never played it...have Vista? Buy it! If you don't have Vista or have played the Xbox version, it may be a good idea to pass it up unless you really want to jump in.
Story 10/10 30%
Gameplay 7/10 28%
Sound 10/10 20%
Graphics 8/10 8%
Overall: 86% B
---------------
Ah yes, Halo 2. A great game that came out for the Xbox almost three years ago. For the rest of us whom do not own an Xbox, we've waited quit a long time for the PC release. Was the wait worth it? Well, you'll find out very shortly
.Story:
If you have already played Halo 2, you know the story. The story begins directly after the events of Halo, beginning on what seems to be the central city of the covenant. The poor commander responsible for the fall of Halo to Master Chief is daubed a heretic and sentenced to death. At this point, we pick up again with our good old friend Master Chief...and Johnson...whom I have no idea how he survived. Halo 2 is actually far more story driven than the previous installment. The events within the game are much easier to follow and will still throw you through loops as did the original Halo. Not much else can truly be said, other than another great story. 10/10
Gameplay:
This is a rather difficult category to score for Halo 2 Vista. So, I'll begin by simply saying if you have already played Halo 2 on the Xbox, nothing has changed. Unless you have a desire to give your keyboard and mouse a whirl, you'll find the same experience. As with Halo's first port to the PC, each difficulty level *Easy, Normal, Hero< legend* has been raised to the next highest difficulty as per PC advantage. So, if you are looking for a slightly more challenging Legendary mode, you're in for a treat. Of course, if you happen to have a wired Xbox 360 controller, you can simply plug it into your PC and play Halo 2 with that, although it, of course, takes away the point of the game being on the PC.
All that grumbling aside, Halo 2 is a fun game to play, At times you will be in intense battles whether they be large scale gun fights to huge dogfights, you will find every battle unique and exciting. You will also have the times where you are just sleuthing around. In addition to this, you will have the chance to play as multiple characters, each following their own backstory, which is a very interesting addition. Bungie has also changed around the suit energy system for the better. Rather then health packs and the slowly recharging energy bar, you have one long lasting, quickly recharging energy bar. It sounds stupid, although in the long run you will find the new energy system will get you out of more tough situations than the previous Halo's system
.Now, to get back to grumbling a bit, multiplayer. Now, Halo 2 is one of the first games for the PC to take advantage of Live, Microsoft's online service for the Xbox 360 *now PC too*. When you first pop in Halo 2, you will be asked to make a Live account or sign in with an existing account. This is actually very cool as you can earn achievement points for in-game activities, meet up with friends, all the good stuff you would expect from Live. However, to get the most out of Multiplayer you will be forced to upgrade to the gold membership level. Without the gold membership level, about all you can do is browse the game list and join a random game in hopes you did not make the mistake of joining a group that can kick your ***. In addition, without a gold account, you can not earn multiplayer achievements...which is rather crude. Halo 2 comes with a subscription code for a one month free gold upgrade, which is really nice, although limiting these abilities so much is really rather disturbing. Just as well, unlike other Windows Live games, you can't play with your friends using the Xbox version of Halo 2. This is probably due to the fact that Halo 2 is not a 360 game and would require massive server loads to let the PC user communicate with the Xbox servers, but it should have been something Microsoft could have implemented, even if it were only playing with those whom own a 360, especially when every other Windows Live game has this ability. So, overall, I'm giving the gameplay a 7/10.
Sound:
Just as in the original Halo, you will hear much of the same odd chanting choirs, large symphony orchestra, etc. However, a great variety of pieces have been strung together ranging from hard rock to...well...Spanish
. In addition all the voice acting is very well done. When Truth begins telling the tale of the arbiter, you feel captivated by his words. When you hear Johnson screaming at the top of his lungs, you know it's time to run for your dear life. So, overall, the sound earns a 10/10.Graphics:
As back on the Xbox, the graphics are very pretty. The transfer to Windows Vista has brought forth many improvements such as better textures, bloom lighting, etc. However, even with these improvements, the graphics still look dated compared to what Microsoft is producing for the 360 and other Windows Vista games at the present. So, the graphics will need to be stuck with a measly 8/10.
Overall:
Overall, a brilliant game. If you have Windows Vista and have yet to play Halo 2 *like me* you should certainly purchase the game. If you already own Halo 2, this should not be your reason to upgrade to Vista unless you are a diehard fan that needs the play the PC version to hold off until Halo 3. Also, if you plan on playing the game, make certain your computer has at minimum 1GB of ram. As I found out through skippy cutscenes and 12 minute loading times, 512mb doesn't cut it *now I have 3 gigs though, loads so quickly the light going across the Halo logo while loading doesn't even get to the other side, lol*. So, in the long run, never played it...have Vista? Buy it! If you don't have Vista or have played the Xbox version, it may be a good idea to pass it up unless you really want to jump in.
Story 10/10 30%
Gameplay 7/10 28%
Sound 10/10 20%
Graphics 8/10 8%
Overall: 86% B
