The Official Halo 2 Thread

[Razola]

It's being hyped to high hell, and it's only a matter of time before the threads pour in.

It's coming in a week. Feel free to gush over it and talk endlessly about it once it's actually released. And hey, arrange some Live matches while you're at it.

Rawr.

[PNT510]

Thankfully I have Paper Mario 2, GTA:SA, and Tommorow(hopefully) Smackdown vs Raw to keep my mind of Halo 2.

It should also be noted, if you live in Pakistan you can get a pirated english version, instead of french.

[ryandude713]

im one fo the few that thinks that halo is overrated.
im pretty sure the sequel is going to be better than the first, but still kinda lame to me
i have gta sa ,and city of heroes, so i dont care.

[MetalScyther]

I played it a bit at a friends house a few days ago. It's pretty cool.

I'm not going to be buying it though, because:

a) no broadband, so no xbconnect or live
b) its 50 dollars - that is quite a bit of money for a videogame
c) my friends are buying it - I'll play co-op

I can't wait to geek out to 16 people halo 2 parties though.

[Crazy]

I already bought it. I put it on layaway and it is fully paid. Oh,and 50 dollars is the norm for a new game. You should know that. I got am getting the collecters edition. The first was overrated,but it was still a great game.

[PNT510]

I played it a bit at a friends house a few days ago. It's pretty cool.

I'm not going to be buying it though, because:

a) no broadband, so no xbconnect or live
b) its 50 dollars - that is quite a bit of money for a videogame
c) my friends are buying it - I'll play co-op

I can't wait to geek out to 16 people halo 2 parties though.
How could you play it at a friends house? It's not out yet.

[Razola]

How could you play it at a friends house? It's not out yet.
Halo 2 was leaked a few weeks ago.

EDIT: Pirate smilely removed because it licks dick.

[MetalScyther]

Yeah, this friend is kind of a little geeky, he knows how to pirate shit and stuff. He showed me how to pirate games off the internet. No idea how he got it on his Xbox. I think he downloaded it and 'chipped his Xbox or something.

I only played it for like 10 minutes - really cool, but I wanted to go to a party instead. :(

I know 50 bucks is normal for a new game, but that is still pretty damn high. 50 bucks goes a long way towards other stuff. Therefore, anything that I can pirate/freeload off of I do, and stuff that lasts long enough and is worth the 50 bucks (GTA:SA), I buy. :]

[shazza]

i can't wait for Halo 2 but i need my xbox fixed :cry:

[PNT510]

I just found out monday night that my gamestop is having a Halo 1 tourny, and the winner gets a free copy of Halo 2. But it starts the same time as wrestling! what am I gonna do? :(

[MetalScyther]

Give up watching two men grab eachother in a wild jungle sex manner and win yourself a $50 game.

[ryandude713]

Give up watching two men grab eachother in a wild jungle sex manner and win yourself a $50 game.

i concur
wrestling is the same every week, but halo can at least give you some long lasting pleasure
and its a sure bet that they will show the highlights on the next episode
so go play halo
and if u loose then that just sucks

[Razola]

Let me put it this way: it's a lot easier to just download wrestling off the internet than it is Halo.

[PNT510]

I think I'm gonna actually watch it, because I will be to busy playing Halo 2 after it comes out to worry about WWE.

[MetalScyther]

i concur
wrestling is the same every week, but halo can at least give you some long lasting pleasure

You're full of shit. What could be more pleasureful then watching two young, athletic men in spandex grabbing eachother in every position imaginable?

Oh wait.

On a serious note, my friends are having a Halo 2 thing on saturday. Assuming my weekend doesn't **** up somehow, I'll let you dudes know how it goes and if it is fun or not.

So far, from what I hear battlecreak and blood gulch are back. They were also talking about a new game type called "Territory," which apparently is pretty awesome.

[.hacker]

The game will be released at Midnight on Monday night where live!

I have a reserve for it, but I can't stay up that late on a school night. I'll probably pick it up after my classes are over on Tuesday. (And I don't want to wait in line with 1000 people for the game)

[shazza]

awesome it is the 9th here and it is out. my xbox is ****ed but my friend is borrowing me his. going to get it hopefully after school.

[homeofmew]

I heard Halo 2 is way better than halo 1, Paper Mario 2 is way too hard though.
Challenging is ok, but oo hard is not.

[PNT510]

Paper Mario 2 is too hard? When does that start? I am halfway through chapter 3 and getting bored with it because every battle is to simple.

[Razola]

Paper Mario 2 is very easy. No get me wrong, it was very fun, but if it's hard you have problems with gaming in general.

Going at midnight to get my copy. WoW, however, gives it stiff competition. I'll try to play it some, but I really would like to hit 25 by tonight...

EDIT: omghalo. I was at the midnight selling, and I was number 164. It was packed. Played it for an hour, and it's pretty good so far. Duel-wield was well implemented.

[PNT510]

Just got back from a 4 1/2 hour LAN Party. We started with 9, and ended with 3. All and all I would say its a blast. Most of the weapons were alot of fun and really well balanced(except the battle rifle and pistol, I found both all but useless). I also like the way you can edit all the game types and the indepth stat tracking. I am upset about not being able to play with infinite grenades anymore :(

I'll update on the single player after I try it.

[Razola]

I found the cutscenes to be graphically underwhelming. Too many times did I see minor slowdown and the details in MC's armor lagging.

Also, the scene with Master Chief sending the bomb back to the Covenant ship was stupid as hell. It was almost like Anakin shooting down the capital ship in Episode 1. "Oh, I managed to get to the ship's core in zero gravity. Oh, I managed to get out just in time. Oh, I manage to reach a friendly ship before being sucked in by Earth's atmosphere." Had he just launched it via some other instrument (trash disposal, a cannon of some sort), it would've been badass, but that just seem too over-the-top for me.

[shazza]

i got it nearly two days ago, and my friends xbox. most of it lived upto the hype, and i am very happy.

i don't really like playing as an elite in single player.

[Crazy]

Got it when it came out. Got the collector's edition. This game is better than the first. Looks better. 2 stories. Plays better. Online rocks. It lived up to the hype. YAY! I've been reading some of the bad reviews(because I am tired of good ones). Some idiots are comparing it's length to GTA:San Andreas. They are 2 different types of games. No one wants to play a 150+hour shooter. Some complain about the controls,when they are exactly the same as the old. The game,from what I heard,is 10-12 hours long for most people. That's fine with me. I mean it has 4 different skill levels.

[Razola]

GTA isn't 150+ hours.

[Roy Karrde]

Just finished the game, it will go down in history as the most annoying game ever. Here is why

The Arc which can activate all the Halos and destroy the Galaxy arrives at Earth which is in the middle of a huge ass battle, Master Chief and the main baddies are on it. Earth Command orders to fire at the Arc when Master Chief contacts them. The dialogue goes as follows

Master Chief: This is Spartan 110 * I believe was his code number *
Earth: Find out where he is on that ship, Master Chief what are you doing on there?
Master Chief: Finishing This Fight.
Roll Credits

[MetalScyther]

spoiler: i am going to play the game tommorrow at a friends house

I heard something about CTF with more than one flag to capture. That sounds mad fun.

Anyway, is it true that ATV's and "snow-warthogs" were taken out? I was looking forward to ATV's the most out of everything. My magazine talked about a level called "burial mounds" made specifically for ATV's, and if those aren't on it anymore that would be sucky. :(

Wtf is a 'snow warthog' ?

[PNT510]

A snow warthog is a warthog that rides on snow and ice.

[Last Exile]

Well, I'd want a game that would actually last longer than that myself. Sounds like Halo 2 has the online capability though.

I doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon though. All my friends and I either own PS2s or Cubes. ;)

However, Halo 2 has sold about 8-10 times more than other games have in this country.

[Razola]

Halo 2's campaign was way short, and the story started nicely, but felt rushed at the end. It was good, but I was expected more.

But Halo has always been about multiplayer. It is fully online this time 'round, and loaded with personal stats for you.

[PNT510]

Well, I'd want a game that would actually last longer than that myself. Sounds like Halo 2 has the online capability though.

I doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon though. All my friends and I either own PS2s or Cubes. ;)

However, Halo 2 has sold about 8-10 times more than other games have in this country.
10-12 hours isn't that short for a shooter, also the game is longer on harder difficulties, and most play halo for the multiplayer anyways. Me and my friends have probably already played 15 hours of multiplayer.

[Outlaw JT]

The battle rifle is far from useless! While it lacks the single shot power of the pistol from the first game the zoom is identical and even when zoomed it maintains a faster rate of fire than the pistol. If you have any sense of accuracy the battle rifle can save you a lot of stryfe by picking off enemies at midrange before they can get a good line of fire on you. The new pistol is pretty useless though.

As for my impressions of the game:
The new multiplayer modes, while fun, are just copies of game types that already exist in several other shooters. The single player/co-op game so far is very good although the story is a bit more complicated than it probably should have been for a shooter. I am happy to say they did fix one of my biggest gripes with the first Halo. The environments are not nearly as repetitive as the first game. That's not to say that none of the rooms or hallways are identical. It's just a lot less obvious now. One last note; the energy blade is freaking awesome!!!

[MetalScyther]

My impressions:

Single player co-op is AWESOME. I only played the first three or four levels with a friend so far though. The story is great. Cut-scenes are gorgeous(I can't believe people bitch about graphics..). Gameplay is the best though. It's awesome since you can drive so many vehicles. So far the highlight of it for me was driving a wraith(covenant tank). I think that is so sweet. :X

Multiplayer was pretty sweet too, but not as great as I expected. Infact, I think I like halo 1's levels better. There doesn't seem to be too many smaller levels for splitscreen besides 1 or 2, most of them seem like 16 player levels meant for online play. I think the reason I didn't enjoy the multiplayer THAT much is because I sucked so much ass(had no idea how to dual-wield, hijack vehicles, and had no idea about the levels).

I'm gonna go to another halo 2 thing soon, and hopefully that will be better.

Anyway, CTF on coagulation(very similar to blood gulch) is as fun as ever. That is where it is for me. :]

[Razola]

Dual-wielding and hijacking are very easy to understand...if you actually read the manual. Not that it takes a genius to figure them out; I mean, if you get close enough to a vehicle the game will tell you how to jack it.

And there is no greater thrill than hijacking a wraith.

[Prodigy]

Dual-wielding and hijacking are very easy to understand...if you actually read the manual. Not that it takes a genius to figure them out; I mean, if you get close enough to a vehicle the game will tell you how to jack it.

And there is no greater thrill than hijacking a wraith.

How about hijacking a Banshee?

[PNT510]

How about hijacking a banshee and the person who was thrown out of the banshee falls down a bottomless pit?

[MetalScyther]

how about hijacking a banshee and throwing the person into a bottomless pit of SPIKES full of the halo 2 equivelant of sharks? surely that is the greatest

I did figure out how to hijack the vehicles, it just took me awhile. It doesn't matter if the game tells you how to, because you have to be right beside the vehicle to do it. And a ghost doesn't let you stay beside it very often..

[Crazy]

I beat the game 2 days ago. It was fun. ONLINE HERE I COME.

[freshmex]

Single player legendary decent, coop fun, xbox live/xbconnect ****ing own you. Glad I have english one now was getting tired of listening to my hero sarge speaking french :(

[Outlaw JT]

10-12 hours my foot! I beat the game the other day and I finished it in 7 hours. I could have finished it in probably 3 or 4 if I were to play through it on easy. Up until the credits started rolling I thought it was going to be a lot longer. As is, I actually think the single player/co-op is shorter than the first Halo. It took me twice as long to finish the first Halo on the same difficulty setting. That either means Halo 2 is a lot shorter or a lot easier, neither of which is good. Mind you, the single player game is still really good. It just ends way too soon. It also fails to deliver one thing that the first game did. That one thing would be any remote sense of resolution. Still a great game, still enjoying it, but these few things are starting to annoy me about it.

Also, the energy blade, while awesome, is completely unbalanced. Anyone who is halfway decent with it can wipe out 3 to 5 people with the best weapons in the game regardless of skill level. The only way to balance the energy blade is with a lucky grenade throw, an expert sniper, or a suicide grenade/rocket shot.

[Razola]

Okay, I'm on Live. tag is Razola.

[PNT510]

10-12 hours my foot! I beat the game the other day and I finished it in 7 hours. I could have finished it in probably 3 or 4 if I were to play through it on easy. Up until the credits started rolling I thought it was going to be a lot longer. As is, I actually think the single player/co-op is shorter than the first Halo. It took me twice as long to finish the first Halo on the same difficulty setting. That either means Halo 2 is a lot shorter or a lot easier, neither of which is good. Mind you, the single player game is still really good. It just ends way too soon. It also fails to deliver one thing that the first game did. That one thing would be any remote sense of resolution. Still a great game, still enjoying it, but these few things are starting to annoy me about it.

Also, the energy blade, while awesome, is completely unbalanced. Anyone who is halfway decent with it can wipe out 3 to 5 people with the best weapons in the game regardless of skill level. The only way to balance the energy blade is with a lucky grenade throw, an expert sniper, or a suicide grenade/rocket shot.

Well if you were playing the game on normal it would be easier seeing how they toned down the normal difficulty. Playing on Heroic/Legendary takes a bit longer to beat, I agree though, it's too short.

I also disagree with you about the energy sword, any good play should be able to drop someone with the sword before they get close enough to use it.

[Outlaw JT]

Well if you were playing the game on normal it would be easier seeing how they toned down the normal difficulty. Playing on Heroic/Legendary takes a bit longer to beat, I agree though, it's too short.

I also disagree with you about the energy sword, any good play should be able to drop someone with the sword before they get close enough to use it.


You'd think so PNT, but no. I've seen a single energy blade wielder with a 2 rating take down 5 guys in a row with 5 and 6 ratings. The only things that can kill fast enough are explosives. And I was playing it on Heroic, as I did the first Halo on my first playthrough.

[PNT510]

Well I don't know how big a difference there is between a 2 and 5 rating seeing as how I haven't played online yet, but I do know that players of my skill level and lower never own me with a sword. I normally take them down half the time.

[Crazy]

On Big Team Battle I am ranked 5,and I still have trouble with swords. They sneak up behind me. Grrrr.....

[Craig]

Well, I have to wait until Christmas for this... as will Im sure many other people will.

Pretty crazy though, when I buy my Xbox, I'll get 3 free games (crimson skies, fable, jedi academy) and when I buy Xbox Live i'll get Countstrike for free

nuts isn't it.

Shame that Christmas is just oh so far away.

I've heard that the phase sword is pretty awesome, you just need to learn a few tricks (not that I know what those tricks are..) and you are nigh unstoppable with it.

I heard the pistol got nerfed quite a bit - any truth to that statement?

[PNT510]

Yes the pistol got nerfed majorly, you can no longer shoot when zoomed, and it does less damage. It's alright when duel weilding, but alone it's pretty useless.

[Outlaw JT]

Pretty crazy though, when I buy my Xbox, I'll get 3 free games (crimson skies, fable, jedi academy) and when I buy Xbox Live i'll get Countstrike for free.

Where are you getting that deal on an Xbox? My friend is going to be buying one in the next month and I am sure he wants two of those three free games.


Oh, and they completely nerfed the pistol. It has nowhere near as much power as it did in the first Halo and it has no scope. The zoom PNT referred to with it is part of your armor now, like a built in scope. It doesn't work in conjunction with any weapons, though.

[freshmex]

Where are you getting that deal on an Xbox? My friend is going to be buying one in the next month and I am sure he wants two of those three free games.


Oh, and they completely nerfed the pistol. It has nowhere near as much power as it did in the first Halo and it has no scope. The zoom PNT referred to with it is part of your armor now, like a built in scope. It doesn't work in conjunction with any weapons, though.

Holy shit if you pair an smg with a pistol, or just use 2 pistols, you are un-****ing-stoppable on Xbox Live. Learn to shoot at the head nub.

btw gamertag freshm3x

[Outlaw JT]

Holy shit if you pair an smg with a pistol, or just use 2 pistols, you are un-****ing-stoppable on Xbox Live. Learn to shoot at the head nub.

btw gamertag freshm3x


Obviously you've never run into anyone decent with a battle rifle while using that combo freshmex. The battle rifle in the right hands can destroy anyone trying to dual wield pistols and/or smg's. Dual Needlers can also destroy anyone dual-wielding pistols/smg's if they have the 1/2 the accuracy you need for the pistol/smg.

[The Muffin Man]

Picked up Halo 2 a couple days after launch, taking my time. I must say, I'm not really impressed.

Do I like it? Sure. Is it the "BEST GAME EVAR"? No.

[freshmex]

Obviously you've never run into anyone decent with a battle rifle while using that combo freshmex. The battle rifle in the right hands can destroy anyone trying to dual wield pistols and/or smg's. Dual Needlers can also destroy anyone dual-wielding pistols/smg's if they have the 1/2 the accuracy you need for the pistol/smg.

It's called taking cover, throwing a frag, then running to a new cover spot while ducking so you are not detected on radar, then owning them. Also if you rush someone with a battle rifle you are pretty ****ing retarded. Also, the sword is not unbalanced. Again, if you are charging them, or do not see them coming from behind on radar, you are retarded (unless they are ducking to evade radar which means sux2bu).

Edit: Dual needlers are only useful on Battle Creek or in close corners etc. If you get owned in pretty much any level by Dual Needlers you need to train harder (try jumping).

[Mikey]

The game is great, it's not perfect but it's great. Halo was the game that turned me into an Xbox fanboy. I waited 3 years for Halo 2, and it finally came. I went to Midnight Madness for it and everything. The gameplay seems awkward at first, but it actually becomes better the more you play. The story was awesome. I have to say I was slightly dissapointed with the campaign at first (especially the ending) but the more I play the levels the more I enjoy them. I didn't take the time to look at all the neat things found within it. Even the first level is awesome. If you guys actually take the time to look around it in when you enter the low gravity zone, you'll notice the fricken gun of the space station shooting and the covenant battle cruisers flying around and even some exploding. The detail is amazing if you actually look. The ending dissapointed me a lot, but it just reassured my hopes that a Halo 3 will be made. So now I can rejoice that this wasn't the last in the series. I don't get why people say the graphics suck because they are outstanding. Sure, there are some times when the cutscenes don't have bump mapping for a split second, but it's called loading. If they didn't do that the loading would be slow as hell. Everything is well balanced and great. It is an outstanding game and Bungie should be proud regardless of all the trolls out there.

[Razola]

I wasn't dissapointed by the ENDING, persay, but the very crappy plot twist near the end. It did several things that should have taken a few stages to build up in a matter of minutes.

[phaedrus]

maybe halo2 has a secret ending if you do a certain thing that allows you to fight that hugeass battle at the very end right before the credits? :confused:

don't even have an xbox but maybe they wanted to be tricky there.

[Dark Scizor]

And there is no greater thrill than hijacking a wraith.

Hijacking anything is a thrill. Its funny when the person your hijacking doesn't know to get out and kill you so you just stay there for a while punching them every so often.

I haven't played on X-Box Live, so I wouldn't know what its like on there, but playing with my brother, cousins or friends I do enjoy stalking and killing them off using the Energy Sword (my new favourite weapon behind the Rifle).

[The Muffin Man]

Hijacking anything is a thrill. Its funny when the person your hijacking doesn't know to get out and kill you so you just stay there for a while punching them every so often.

I haven't played on X-Box Live, so I wouldn't know what its like on there, but playing with my brother, cousins or friends I do enjoy stalking and killing them off using the Energy Sword (my new favourite weapon behind the Rifle).

EDIT - Forgot my original point.
I also love hijacking the Ghost. I did it in the temple levels and was like "HaHA! Gimme that." he threw me off. So I grabbed the battle rifle, followed him, and GUNNED HIS ASS DOWN.

On a side note - I love just wiping everything out with the Scorpion. That's an amazing vehicle.

I love the Shotgun. Sweet jesus do I love the shotgun.

If Spoiler tags are different than on PA bear with me:
I got a shotgun as an Elite. Not my FIRST human weapon, but I was getting thoroughly slapped around by the flood, and all I had was an SMG and a near-empty battle rifle. I saw "Hold X to swap for Shotgun" light up, and decided "Oh what the hell, go out fighting." I pick up the shotgun, one of those big Flood(marine, but the bigger ones with the tendency to claw at you) and shot him once at mid range. The ****er FLEW back. I immedietly fell in love with the shotgun. From then on it was "Hmmmm..I wanna use the Sentinel Gun to blow away the guard droid over there...*Drop SMG, grab Sentinel gun, saw off the arm and blow it up, grab SMG*"

Cool-ass moment of the...moment - A Flood warrior-dude-man(I have no ****in' clue, but I THINK It was an infested Elite) leaps at me. JUST as he lands, he's about to claw me(I stepped back so maybe it delayed? I have no clue). I fired the shotgun, hitting the gun who was now in my reticle AND sending him flying back. Also, numerous times I've just fired at a Flood JUST as he's flying at me.

The shotgun is my big badass baby.

[Razola]

I came here expecting one of your standard anti-Halo rants.

I'm a bit dissapointed.

[The Muffin Man]

I came here expecting one of your standard anti-Halo rants.

I'm a bit dissapointed.


I'm sorry. Can I try that again?

*Cough*

This game is shit. I swear, they gave Master Chief a useful second hand(which, I might add, is still shit) and a very slight facelift. And we're supposed to go apeshit? So they capped the SMG off at 3 shots, and slashed it's ammo by like half and they called it a new weapon. Half the new covenant weapons look like Unreal Tournement weapons from like the first Unreal. And this game is NEW?

And seriously, **** the energy sword. It's crap. No really, this isn't part of my angry rant I really do not like the energy sword at all.

[Greyfox]

Halo:CE > Halo 2. All there is to it.

[freshmex]

Why does Master Chief chuck grenades like a girl now ;_;

[nick]

assemble your crew and meet me freshmex and ghost online

bitches

[freshmex]

Me, ghost, and nick will own your ass. (Me and ghost get 25 kills each, nick 0).

http://www.bungie.net/Stats/PlayerStats.aspx?player=freshm3x

[nick]

Me, ghost, and nick will own your ass. (Me and ghost get 25 kills each, nick 0).

http://www.bungie.net/Stats/PlayerStats.aspx?player=freshm3x
more like 9 as of late, atleast against noobz
:cry:

[freshmex]

more like 9 as of late, atleast against noobz
:cry:

And stop saying fa ggots every 5 seconds in game :070::patriot::wag::police::gun::hammer:

[nick]

And stop saying fa ggots every 5 seconds in game :070::patriot::wag::police::gun::hammer:
that :070: is a pic of it after ghost was done l o l
dang furry

[PNT510]

This is a discussion about Halo 2, not ghosts love for furries.

[Craig]

My mom decided to let me have my christmas presents (atleast the xbox + halo 2 + xbox live) early, so I get the most use out of it this temporary "holiday" vacation.

Gamertag: Vasilev

HIT ME UP

[PNT510]

I just got back from my friends house where we had some four player action going on(I can't belive I once thought that four player Halo is the greatest thing ever). But I did get to teach my friends the awesomeness of the battle riffle, and we played assasult for the first time. It's alot more fun than the reverse capture the flag that it was in the last game. Plus the bomb just looks cool.

[Mikey]

Wow, I couldn't believe it myself but yesterday I played an arranged multiplayer game online with Frankie, the Bungie employee everyone knows best and the one in charge of marketing. Shishka, the head mod of the Halo 2 forums at bungie.net, was also in there. It was such a fun match, King of the hill on Lockout with no shields and nothing but Pistols, Plasma Pistols, and grenades. It lasted forever, but it was fun. It was a 16 person match so it wasn't just me and them. I came like 10 minutes into the 42 minute game and still managed to have better stats in everything but control of the hill than Frankie. But, it was a tough match and Frankie was doing good, I can see how any good person could still go down easily with no shields and grenades everywhere. Don't believe me, check out the stat page. (My gamertag is ItalianCrusher).

CLICKY (http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStats.aspx?gameID=30749581&player=ItalianCrusher)

[Ghost]

Halo 2 on Xbox Live is AWESOME. Have you guys ever played Zombies? If not, you NEED to play it.

Gamertag: xxjeran123xx

[PNT510]

I've wanted to Try Resident Evil/Dawn of the Dead/Zombie/Whatever it's called today, but none of my friends wanna do anything where they would have to learn rules.

[Ghost]

I could arrange a game with you later if you want.