Halo 2

11.06.2007

We looked upon the release of Halo 2 (exclusively for Windows Vista) with mixed feelings. On the one hand we felt a bit uneasy about the Microsoft’s marketing strategy of releasing a game which is three years old and only making it available to Windows Vista users, while on the other hand we were looking forward to the DirectX 10 support for Halo 2 and the connection to the XBOX “Live” network.

One really successful innovation, which future games should definitely make use of is already noticeable in the installation. When you insert the Halo 2 DVD into the disc drive the auto-start screen is displayed with the message “Play Halo 2”. We looked for the “Install” button in vain and were a bit annoyed when we could not find it. This is because Halo 2 offers the option to install the game while you play. This was very successfully done, as of course everyone wants to play a newly purchased game as soon as possible.

The initial euphoria, however, soon bottomed out with the main menu of Halo 2 directly pointing out that you can only fully enjoy Halo 2 with a LIVE Gold account (online gaming, updates etc.). Luckily the package came with a one-month trial Live account, which could be extended without a problem if we liked it. Otherwise a 12-month Live membership costs €49.99.

The Live membership brings with it some nice features. For starters a list of friends can be set up, which makes communication and online gaming with friends easier, and in addition there are the GameStats we know from the XBOX.

With our XBOX360 Live profile registered, the “Enjoyment-graph” went back upwards a bit. As with the XBOX360 we registered on the Live network which we were already familiar with. Everything is listed there – our list of friends from the XBOX, the GameStats, messages etc. Microsoft has done well here. Unfortunately platform-spanning game-playing is not possible. It was originally announced, but dismissed a few months ago by Microsoft / Bungie. This is a shame as we were really looking forward to this feature.

After the destruction of the Halo ring-world in “Halo – Combat Evolved” the alliance does not have much good to say about the people. Their primary aim is to destroy humanity. As the Master Chief, model SPARTAN 117, it is your job to prevent this. The story has a few nice twists built-in for “Halo fans” and in general is told grippingly. This means that the Covenants, who were just the evil baddies in Halo 1, are finally given more depth. Halo 2 tells a great story, spiked with intrigues and the associated religious fanatics.

Once the Halo 2 campaign started the disillusionment came. Neither the game-play nor the graphics had changed particularly. The game looks terrible and no trace of the announced DirectX 10 effects can be seen. What was considered high-class 3 years ago on the console, even though the technical improvement from the predecessor was not very great, is no longer possible today with the next generation competition. The AI has also not been improved.

Nevertheless, Halo 2 is fun. However, due to the fact that there is nothing more revolutionary about Halo 2 (in the meantime every game now has vehicles and planes) the game is no more and no less than a linear shooter with a good storyline.

On the XBOX, Halo 2 still remains one of the most-played online games. It will not keep this status on the PC (due to the plethora of online shooters). Even one week after the release we only found a maximum of 4 servers with more than 2 players. In our opinion, however, this is mainly to do with the “Vista-only” requirement of Halo 2.

On an active server Halo 2 is great fun. The speed of the matches is, of course, faster than on the XBOX due to the navigation on the computer, but this does no harm to the fun factor, whether you are playing Showdown (Death-match) or Oddball. The balance of Halo 2 is very good.