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Review:
In some ways it is amazing that Halo 2 is as popular
as it is-and it is popular indeed-selling more than five million
copies in two weeks (it took the original Halo two
years to achieve this). Although the game does some things
well-technically the game is very sound, the game is primarily
just a B-grade sci-fi storyline attached to a typical first-person
shooter.
Essentially,
Halo 2 continues the storyline and action from where
the first Halo left off. To start, the player continues
the battle as the "master chief", earth's best killing
machine-a mammoth super-soldier standing seven feet tall and
wielding a variety of weapons. The primary enemy is "the
covenant", a group of aliens bound by a cultish religion
and a universal hatred of anything human. This time they are
attacking earth directly and it is up to the player to defend
the human race from extermination.
Later,
the story shifts, and the player takes the role of "the
arbiter", a suicide soldier for the covenant, who is
tasked to destroy a heretic that is dissenting from the will
of the covenant. A converging storyline brings the arbiter
and the master chief together as allies on Halo-a super weapon/space
station revered as a sacred icon by the covenant and capable
of destroying the entire galaxy. Along the way they battle
an even more deadly enemy-"the flood", a parasitic
alien life-form that possesses humans and covenant alike with
a voracious appetite.
In either
role, the battles are vicious, deadly and expansive. Players
can snipe at enemies, toss grenades, blaze away with duel
sub-machine guns or even use a high-powered energy sword to
decimate their foe. Drivable vehicles are included in the
action, adding potent firepower to defeat the enemy. Blood
is prevalent through much of the game-although it should be
mentioned that the covenant's blood tends to look like bright
colored paint. Human blood looks exactly like that-human blood,
and stains the pavement after a marine is shot down. The battles
are very large-in many of the scenes, the player will be playing
with a squad of computer controlled allies, making the battles
immersive and sometimes confusing.
A few
other factors to consider are the scariness of the cut scenes
and the aliens themselves-both the covenant and the flood
characters would be scary for younger children. Some of the
cut scenes also contain material that would be inappropriate
for younger players-for example the arbiter is tortured before
being sent on his mission. In addition, parents can expect
to find a sprinkling of minor curse words throughout the game-primarily
in the animated cut scenes that tell the story.
One last
consideration is the multi-player abilities of the game. For
one, and this is enjoyable to a point, is the ability to partner
up with a buddy to play the missions cooperatively on a split-screen.
However, and perhaps more importantly, is Microsoft's push
to get people onto Xbox live-their new online multiplayer
service. With this, players can challenge anyone with the
game and a subscription to Xbox live to a multi-player free-for-all.
Of course this adds additional concerns for parents concerned
with the type of gameplay their kids are involved in.
In the
end, the game doesn't introduce anything spectacularly different
from the first game-just better graphics, and some new weapons
and enemies, and it doesn't add much to the already full ranks
of first-person shooter games. Although well-made from a technical
perspective, Halo 2 offers little of value for kids.
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Jeremy
Gieske has been an avid game player since the days
of the Apple II+ and Karateka. Recently, however,
his interests have developed beyond simply playing
the games, but also trying to understand the historical,
social and cultural impacts of video games. He recently
acquired his Masters degree with distinction from
the University of Salford in Manchester, England,
where he conducted research on videogames. Jeremy
has a background in design and marketing, and has
worked with several Internet and publishing companies.
Recently, he has written articles for DIGA-the Digital
Game Archive and has worked with the Computerspiele
museum in Berlin, Germany.