Halo 2 offers everything that was missing in the first Halo. It is a great FPS.
Halo 2's graphics have slightly improved from a close range perspective. The characters look very shiny and detailed, and Master Chief's suit looks amazing. I also thought that his suit looked much better than it did in the first Halo. The landscapes look really nice in this game, and you can see landmarks from quite a far distance. The battle scenes also look really nice because of all the fire and explosions. It really gives you the feeling that you are fighting to save the planet, and that it is not going to be an easy road ahead. Even though Halo 2's graphics are not quite as impressive as some other Xbox titles, they still look great and they fit the game well. The only problem that really stood out to me was the fact that the characters would sometimes be underdetailed in the cinematics. They would look blurry at first, and then all of a sudden they'd look great. That was just a minor problem though, and it really did not affect the game too much.
Gameplay is another great improvement for this sequel. With some new vehicles to drive, along with new moves to pull off, this game hust gets better and better. Halo 2 now allows players to drive the Wraith, which serves as a tank for the Covenant. You are also able to drive the Spectre, which is almost like a Covenant Warthog in some ways. There is just one new vehicle for the marines, but it proves to be an amazing killing machine. The Gauss Warthog is equipped with some type of proton beam, which fires in short blasts. It can kill almost any enemy in just one shot, and it is great for getaways. It is also useful for taking out Wraiths, Spectres, and Ghosts that often get in the way. Along with these new vehicles comes a new move. Instead of just throwing the enemies out of the Ghosts, Master Chief jumps on the front and literally kicks them out of the seat. It is really cool the first time you try it, but then it just becomes commonplace for the campaign mode.
The physics have greatly improved in this game, and most objects seem to move in a more realistic fashion than in Halo. Now, when a vehicle is damaged to its maximum point, it will actually explode into pieces that fly in all directions. Using the Warthog as an example, when it blows up, the tires, rims, and many other pieces scatter in all directions with a large blast. The same thing happens with the other vehicles, and some of the vehicles can even be blown in half. This adds a lot of fun to the gameplay because it is more gratifying to see a vehicle blow up. In the first Halo, the vehicles could not even be damaged, but the new damage modeling looks great. Players can also experiment with the physics in some pretty funny ways. If you park the tank on the regenerating shields, the tank will fly 50 feet in the air an come crashing down. Even thought that might not be the most realistic aspect of the physics, it is still cool to experiment with.
The only thing that really disappointed me in Halo 2 was the story. Its basically the same thing as the first game, but it explores some different paths. For one thing, you kind of team up with the Covenant, because there are some rebel Covenants that try to help you. Basically, the main goal of this game is to find the key to destroying the rings. Throughout the story, you can play as Master Chief, or an elite named Arbiter. While it was great to be able to play as an elite, I do not think the story was that great. Sure, there are some really cool moments, especially when fighting on Earth, but unfortunately there weren't very many Earth battles. The ending is very disappointing, and it fails to answer questions that the player might have. Its like a train going 200 mph, and then it comes to a complete stop. You go from fighting a huge Brute, to watching the credits scroll up the screen. I found myself asking, "Is this really the end of the game?" The story mode was fairly short, and very easy. I beat the game on Heroic, and even then it was not much of a challenge. Despite the disappointing story, the Campign mode was still a very entertaining experience.
The sound is one of the stronger aspects of Halo 2. The weapons sound great, and the voice acting is top-notch in most cases. The vehicle sounds have imprived greatly, which makes them much more fun to drive. The constant sound of war enhances the gameplay experience because it makes the gameplay believable. When you hear explosions in all directions, and see concrete falling to the ground in a shower of debris, you really feel like you are in a war. The music is a bit different also, because instead of just the normal "Halo Chant," they have added some heavy metal to the music. The music often adapts to the gameplay, which makes the music appropriate for what is going on in the game. There was really nothing wrong with this games sound, and that is why it was one of this game's stronger aspects.
When people think of Halo 2, the multiplayer is usually the center of discussion. That is because it is so addiciting and fun, and it can give the player hundreds of hours of fun. It also adds some replay value to the game, because you can play co-op mode or versus modes like Slayer and CTF. I thought that some of the new versus modes were a lot of fun. Bungie has also added some new weapons, such as the Battle Rifle, the new magnus, the SMG, the Brute Plasma Rifle, the Brute Shot, the Covenant Carbine, the Energy Sword, the Covenant Sniper, and the Fuel Rod Cannon. These new weapons add some new fun to the game, and it is more interesting to be able to play with a wider variety of weapons. I wish they would have allowed the use of Fuel Rod Cannons in multiplayer mode, but I think they took it out because its explosion was much too colorful. That might have slowed down the multiplayer. Overall, the multiplayer mode is even better than the Campaign, and it is a lot of fun to play on Xbox Live, or even with just 4-8 people at home.
In the end, Halo 2 is a great experience, and it is a must have for Xbox owners. Most Halo fans will not be disappointed by this game, because it still gives the same gameplay experience as the first Halo, but with a few extra improvements that enhance the gameplay. If you are looking for a great story, this game is probably not the best thing to turn to, but I can admit that it does have a better story than most games in its genre. If you have Xbox Live and you do not have Halo 2, then you should definetly get it. Halo 2 offers one of the most entertaining Xbox Live modes on the Xbox, and you will probably find yourself staying up until 4 AM saying "Just one more game." If you like FPS games, then you will most likely enjoy playing Halo 2.