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Halo 2
by Connor McManus
Monday, April 14 2003
The follow up to one of the most successful console shooters of all-time will be at E3.
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Title:
Halo 2
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Platform:
Xbox
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Publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios |
Developer:
Bungie |
#
of Players: 1 - 2 + Online Play |
Genre:
First Person Shooter
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
November 9th, 2004 |
Grapevine:
Halo 2 is going to redefine the game play in FPS's along with the depth of stories in the genre. |
--- Updated 9/18/2004
I had the opportunity to play Halo 2 for about an hour and a half, mulitplayer only, I had been playing zanzabar the whole time, because the build we were playing was still a post E3 cut, and was not the full final product, nonetheless it was Halo 2, so I did not complain.
First off the game speed is now very fast, the speed in which you move is alot faster than it was in the previous games, and not having a health meter in Halo 2 makes the battles that much more serious in nature, as you want to kill as soon as you can, or your gonna meet the same fate.
The SMG is a mow down machine, you can literally take down grips of enemies in your path, but be weary of flying frag grenades, they dont have as much of a waiting time before they blow like they did in the first Halo, so if you see a frag and you werent moving away when you saw it released your direction, you are gonna die soon thereafter.
Duel wielding is a great way to go, but it seriously is no match for a well placed shot to the temple while using a sniper rifle from afar.
The covenant blade is not as serious a weapon as alot of people percieved it to be, if you dodge out of the way quick you can humilate someone by decking them to the back of the skull, melee style.
However the heart of this game really lies in the close battles and watching the madness and frenetic fighting amass, and bodies pile up, rockets are still as cheap as sin, but thank god you couldnt target lock on ppl, only vehicles.
Oh and another thing, I was given my Halo 2 special edition headset, and this truly is the only headset to use, its really comfortable, it sits nice in your ear, and takes a minute or 2 to get used to, and you can even pop it in your cellphone and use it as a headset for that ( most phones have the plug in for the headset ).
--- Joe Soria
Congratulations you killed the Covenant, survived the Flood and destroyed an unknown ring-shaped planet called Halo. Now you're on your way home, expecting a parade for yourself, exotic women at your disposal? Wrong! Earth is being gradually destroyed by the Covenant, the human race is depleting and you're the only hope, what do you do? What will you do?
(Insert Monks Singing Halo Theme)
How can you make a sequel to one of the most top-selling console games ever made? Answer is you don't, but Bungie will. And judging from the trailer (clean up drool now) Halo 2 will be one of the most groundbreaking console games since?well, since Halo. Although we wont see any new media until E3'03, we here at XboxHardcore.com will give you all the information you crave until then.
Shortly after destroying the mysterious ring shaped planet infected by parasites and the Covenant, Master Chief comes home only to find earth, the last fully inhabited human world, being nuked up the?um what's the word, oh yes, Ass. So Master Chief being Master Chief takes it upon himself to be humanity's last hope and this time it's personal.
The very evil and cynical Covenant are back, but this time they brought some new friends with different ranks along. Besides having to deal with the Grunts, Elites and Hunters, Bungie will be introducing 2 new enemies. The political and strategically adept leaders the Prophets, Headdress beings who glide along on hovercraft chairs. And the Brutes, ape like creatures that have thick armor plates and one arm covered with heavy metal that looks like it could tear through any barriers. Keep in mind that none of the original enemies will look the same from Halo; Halo 2 will have an elaborate Bump Mapping effect that makes armor look sleek and gives enough detail to show how many bullets actually hit their target. Speaking of Bump Mapping Halo 2 will also have realistic lighting effects, like those seen in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
Besides fighting on Earth, Halo 2 will take you to battles on an Alien base, a moon's surface (not specified which one) and of course another Halo, hence the title Halo 2.
Bungie is going to make Halo 2's environments interactive, eventually changing the way you approach a situation or run from one in some cases. Along with the interactive environments the A.I. will also have an affect in every situation, for instance you and a squad of marines are taking heavy fire from the enemy, well your marines A.I. will know that he needs to take cover so he will flip over a table and take cover behind it, but this is where the true A.I. comes in, the enemies will know what environments could be destroyed, so they will probably start shooting at your marine until his cover is destroyed or made useless. In the other case if you decide to run away you can hide in some rooms by shooting out the lights and hiding in the corner but then again the Covenant can also come searching through the darkness with flashlights.
How can you have new enemies, expanded A.I. and new worlds to explore without any new moves or weapons? Besides the standard Assault Rifle and Pistola, from what we have seen and heard the Chief will have an Assault Rifle upgraded with a scope, a Sub-Machine Gun and a Covenant Sniper Rifle. The Master Chief will also be able peek around corners letting him evaluate the situation before he jumps in, giving more strategic game play options. Of course Cortana will return giving the Chief all the help he needs with strategic plans and Criticism.
The Warthog will have multiple variations (all with superior graphics) of itself. Including the original with the machine gunner on the back, a jungle Warthog complete with jungle camouflage, a snow mobile Warthog complete with sealed doors and tires with traction, there will also be a marine transport Warthog carrying up to 6 people. . And last but not least the MC will be able to get around and survive levels with the help of an ATV, which should supply faster mobility. We will also be able to commandeer a Covenant vehicle that has a gunner on the back, a position on each side of the vehicle for Marines or Elites and a seat for the driver.
How can anyone of us forget about those sleepless night's of Fraging, Capturing and Dominating. Then there was Halo's Multiplayer, countless hours of trash talking and physical abuse. But you were only able to kill the person sitting next to you. With Halo 2's Live capabilities we'll be able to kill our cousins and at the same time talk about how Uncle Bob smells during the Holidays. Strategy will certainly come into play with the help of Xbox Live headsets, expect more hours of yelling at your TV because of my unbelievable headshot.
Halo 2 is going to redefine the game play in FPS's along with the depth of stories in the genre. Halo ended with more questions then answers, Halo 2's trailer ended with more anticipation then curiosity. Now all we have to do is sit here in wait for about a year, the release date is set to be around the Holiday's of 2003. But I don't think anyone would be quite surprised if it was to be released on November 15. 2003, the 2 year anniversary of Halo and Xbox and 1 year anniversary of Live.
--- Connor McManus
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