If 'good' games arent good enough for you, then you have to get this!
To get the bad points out of the way, i didn't like the single player campaign. Not only was it a little on the short side, but it wasnt as solid its predecessors'. The story about the Arbiter and the elites battle with the brutes was unwelcome in my eyes. I wanted a game where i was MC and i saved the world, not play as an elite. Another bad point about the single play was at times i felt it got a bit boring. There were times where you would be on a lift for example, which would take about 10 minutes just to get to the top, and while you stood there, wave upon wave of enemies would come at you. This is quite boring when compared to Halo where you are almost constantly moving, with no parts where you have to stay in the same place and defend yourself. It reminded me of Serious Sam *shudders*.
"Nailed 'em." Sgt. Johnson
Anyway, enough with the bad points, and on to the good points. The game has amazing graphics which is instantly noticable. The whole game has a very polished look, and loads of small new additions all add up to make the game look a whole lot better. Everything looks great, from the guns in your hand, to the vehicles your sitting in, to the rock your crouching behind.
Another great thing is the sound. I love the crackling of the SMG as it pierces the armour of elites, and the nearby grunts who are running away saying funny things, just like in the first Halo.
"There's more where that came from." Sgt .Johnson
The guns in Halo 2 are also an improvement to Halos'. While the magnum is no-where near as good as Halo's famous pistol, the battle rifle does a good job in replacing the assault rifle. And the addition of the carbine and beam rifle to name is few is very nice. As is the extra vehicles, like the wraith which couldnt be commandeered in Halo. The vehicles carried on from Halo have been improved with new features, boosting for example, and also have been upgraded in the visual department.
"POINT THAT THING SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Pvt. Mendosa
The gameplay to has also been tweaked with, making it faster. It's still the good old Halo formula which makes the game one of a kind, but with Halo 2, it is faster, which is what makes the mulitplayer excellent.
The multiplayer part of the game is truely amazing. Its the 'perfect' part of the game. Its what has kept me playing the game for the past year and a half since it was released. The matchmaking has to be the best thing to have hit Xbox Live. Its so easy and quick to enter a game with random people (or a party) and have some fun. They are ranked games, which shows you and your friends how good you are at the game. The playlists are great, and they dont get old because Bungie update them every so often. There is also the option to create custom games which arent ranked. Overall, the multiplayer alone is the reason why the game got such a high score from me, and also the reason why everyone with an Xbox should get this game.
"Ha! CANCEL CHRISTMAS!" Sgt. Johnson.