Official Halo 2 thread

[kai123]

I thought I would get the ball rolling. If you have negative things to say about the game please wait until it is released. Then you can bash it all you want. I don't want this thread to turn into flame war about the merits of Halo and etc. There are plenty of other threads like that.

Anyone going to the midnight release? I am going to my local Ebgames store. They are going to do drawings and some other fun stuff. I can't wait. I will see all of you guys on XBLive.

[Half Japanese]

I'm going to a tournament for the first Halo tonight at Blockbuster, but I'm not going to pick up the game there. I have to work early in the morning and I'll pick it up at work where I can get the free watch with it. I probably have no chance of winning, but tournaments are generally fun regardless!

[kai123]

I'm going to a tournament for the first Halo tonight at Blockbuster, but I'm not going to pick up the game there. I have to work early in the morning and I'll pick it up at work where I can get the free watch with it. I probably have no chance of winning, but tournaments are generally fun regardless!

Do you know if all Blockbusters are doing this? I am going to call my local store later. I love playing in tournaments. :D

[gamegirl79]

My copy of the collector's edition (with the DVD) is on it's way. I'm hoping it gets to me by Thursday because I have that day off and can spend it playing on Live.

My gamer tag is EmergencyCakes if anyone cares. :)

[Pedro Lambrini]

We have to wait till the 11th over here :( That means I won't be reading tis thread again for another few days. I don't want anything to spoil the story for me! On the bright side, I am getting the Limited tin with the DVD etc :-P

[Oobgarm]

All I can say is if someone makes an MP3 of the gorgeous orchestration that plays on the title screen (not the Halo theme), I'll be your friend for life. It's not on the CD soundtrack, sadly...

[IcewynG]

I should get my copy of the LE Halo 2 tomorrow evening. My brother will pick it up with his. EBgames here was supposed to open at midnight, but for some reason, it will only open at 7am instead... Oh well, 7 more hours to wait.

I sure can't wait to play it with all the good reviews I have seen so far... I guess I will sleep a lot less for the next couple of days :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Alright, in my Philosophy of Religion class, somebody just said "Halo 2" as an example of a material good one might be very much focused on.

No, it was not a session of "give us an example of something that..." I take real classes, not this pansy hippie crap that seems to have been popular lately.

...But that's besides the point. It seems to me that Halo 2 must have very wide coverage to get to the point where random people I'm acquainted with know about it. I think five guys (myself included) must've nodded knowingly at that, though my being at the front of the class (you expected that one, eh? Well, I'm too lazy to walk to the back, so sod off) did impede my ability to check faces for reaction. Heard a fair bit of appreciative-sounding noises, though.

[Daria]

My boyfriend's friends with an EB manager, and he was saying they had gotten 300 preorder requests for Halo 2. So they're being sent 600 copies of the game. That's a lot of Halo for one store. O.o

[MarioAllStar2600]

I am not trying to bash the game right now, but here is what I think of the game so far.
The campaign mode will be average, overrated like the first one. But Multiplayer is gunna be awsome. I want there to be more weapons hopefully, I haven't read up on this game much at all. Online should be awsome, and will definatly be lots of fun.

I won't be picking this game up probably ever. But I am looking foward to trying it. I guess only time will tell the end result.

[Tank]

I will be picking mine up tonight at 12:00 am. LOL

But honestly, im kind of tired of the hype this game is creating. Dont get me wrong I think it will be a great game. But I dont think it will be the end all be all of games.

Theres my 2 pennies ;)

[slip81]

I have yet to play Halo or even see the game in action, but now that I have an Xbox I'm gonna have to see what all the hooplah is about. I won't be buying Halo 2 anytime soon, but I'm gonna rent it as soon as I beat X-Men Legend.

[Ed Oscuro]

The campaign mode will be average, overrated like the first one.
Well, it's true that there's only so many ways of doing a strait-laced shooter with a realistic bent of mind, but I think you're selling the game short - hopefully by far.

In any case, it's comments like this that make it obvious to me that there's really no outstanding shooters anymore...it's either average or it's sub-par, if comments like this are to be believed (at times I agree).

[SoulBlazer]

And they probaly will sell 500 of those 600 copies in the first 24 hours. :eek 2:

I do plan to get the game but I'll pick up a used copy later.

[norkusa]

Earlier today I was at EB and played the H2 they had in the demo Xbox. This was my first time ever playing a Halo game and got very sick & dizzy after only 5 minuets of play and had to stop (I usually get motion sickness when playing fps).

The ironic thing is that I already have H2 Collectors Edition on pre-order at Gamerush and will be picking it up at midnight tonight. No way in hell I'm going to be able to play this game though without throwing-up every half hour.

Oh well, maybe I can find someone that'll trade me Taiko Drum Master for it. :/

[Spartacus]

I pre-order Halo 2 LE at my local EB store. Went in yesterday to pay it off and they gave me a free years subscription to Xbox Nation magazine. The guy tells me I should show up at the store around 9PM and get a ticket, then come back around 10PM and get in line. He's telling me this line is going to stretch across the malls parking lot by midnight! I'm not getting involved in that crap! I'll pick mine up tommorow after work.
I received an Email from Target's 'Get Into the Game'. Says if you buy Halo 2 from Target they will give you the strategy guide for it free. Now that's a great deal!

[Videogamerdaryll]

I just came back from paying it off......I had a pre-order..Gamestop.


I wasn't going to be in the line at Midnight Madness tonight...But I have no choice..

[Six Switch]

My boyfriend's friends with an EB manager, and he was saying they had gotten 300 preorder requests for Halo 2. So they're being sent 600 copies of the game. That's a lot of Halo for one store. O.o

At my EB they have over 1200 preordered copies,now that is a lot of Halo!

[Daria]

My boyfriend's friends with an EB manager, and he was saying they had gotten 300 preorder requests for Halo 2. So they're being sent 600 copies of the game. That's a lot of Halo for one store. O.o

At my EB they have over 1200 preordered copies,now that is a lot of Halo!

Wow. Where do you live?

Edit:

Earlier today I was at EB and played the H2 they had in the demo Xbox. This was my first time ever playing a Halo game and got very sick & dizzy after only 5 minuets of play and had to stop (I usually get motion sickness when playing fps).

I know how that is. Luckily though I've never liked FPS games very much. Course I might like them more if I wasn't running to the bathroom every 5 minutes.

[Kid Ice]

Check out Gamespot's video "review". HIGHLY SUSPECT. If you've ever watched a Gamespot video review, you will immediately notice the difference. It is SO much like a commercial for the game, with the game's music playing throughout, and the reviewer saying stuff like "Halo 2 is more fun to play than other first-person shooters". Wow, that's insightful.

Here's my problem with Halo. Let's take another game system, let's say the Gamecube. Your average GC owner has an affectionate relationship with a number of games; Metroid Prime, Viewtiful Joe, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX etc.

The Playstarion owner is crazy for Castlevania SOTN, Wipeout XL, Gran Turismo, Ace Combat 2, and about a dozen other great games.

The X-Box owner is into: HALO. Oh my god Halo it's so great! That's all I've ever heard about the X-box. Honestly. If I bought an X-box tomorrow that's all I would know to buy, except for that wicked Steel Battalion controller.

So all the hype over Halo 2 comes as no surprise...it's the 2nd great game for the X-Box in 3 years...of course people are knocking each other out of the way to get their hands on it.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'd be able to name as many (if not more) games probably worth a purchase on the XBox as I would the GameCube (and of these I'm quite sure all are at least as good as the stuff I'm thinking of for the GameCube, especially as this stuff targets my demographic more than many GC games...), so it seems our problems have been reversed :P

[Porkchop]

I have it on preorder at my local FuncoLand. They are opening at 0000 (thats 12:00AM for you civilians 8-) ) to start selling it. They said they had so many preorders that they needed to start at Midnight to keep the store from being packed all day.

No way I am staying up for that. I go to work a 0600 so I will be picking my up after work. Hope the lines are are gone by then.

[kainemaxwell]

Local gamestop in my mall couldn't go 5 minutes without a call about Halo 2, lol. Guy there said they'd be opening around midnight for couple hours for Halo 2's release, figure the EB and EBX upstairs would be doing the same (mall offically closes 9:30pm)

[Kid Ice]

I'd be able to name as many (if not more) games probably worth a purchase on the XBox as I would the GameCube (and of these I'm quite sure all are at least as good as the stuff I'm thinking of for the GameCube, especially as this stuff targets my demographic more than many GC games...), so it seems our problems have been reversed :P

If you could actually name the games you'd be doing me a favor, as I'm sure I'll someday own an X-box. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the GC is a better machine in any way. It's just that Halo is all I've ever heard about from the X-box camp. Remember Marcia Marcia Marcia from the Brady Bunch? It seems like it's Halo Halo Halo (soon to be replaced by Halo 2 Halo 2 Halo 2).

Although not actually owning an X-box puts me pretty squarely in the ignorance camp, I honestly just haven't heard much about any other X-box game.

[norkusa]

If you could actually name the games you'd be doing me a favor, as I'm sure I'll someday own an X-box.

Crimson Skies
Top Spin (still the best tennis game ever made)
OutRun 2
Chronicles Of Riddick
Ninja Gaiden
Fable
DOA Ultimate
Metal Slug 3
Steel Battalion
Project Gotham 2

There are plenty of great Xbox exclusive games out (other than Halo) that are worth purchasing the system for.

[Ed Oscuro]

If you could actually name the games you'd be doing me a favor, as I'm sure I'll someday own an X-box. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the GC is a better machine in any way. It's just that Halo is all I've ever heard about from the X-box camp. Remember Marcia Marcia Marcia from the Brady Bunch? It seems like it's Halo Halo Halo (soon to be replaced by Halo 2 Halo 2 Halo 2).

Although not actually owning an X-box puts me pretty squarely in the ignorance camp, I honestly just haven't heard much about any other X-box game.
Well, you can console yourself with this tidbit: I own a GameCube and I'll be damned if I can think of more than five games right now that I'd want to get for it...hmm...make that seven.

As for the XBox, here's a few games I've heard shouldn't disappoint:

Ninja Gaiden
Burnout 3
Splinter Cell...any of them, really!
The upcoming GoldenEye 2
Gladius (believe it's also on PC though)
Fable (might as well throw this out there)
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions (first gen title, but a great one, and great looking to boot...a bit short though, challenges get somewhat daft near the end)
AirForce Delta Storm isn't the nicest looking game, and has a rather silly map view, but it does provide some nice aircraft shooting action.
Breakdown (Namco) got some decent/good reviews as a sort of Punch-Out! gone FPS game.
Panzer Dragoon Orta
I-Ninja
Morrowind (play it on PC if you're at all able, though, but it actually looks halfway decent here...just turn off shadows)
Kill Switch
Time Splitters 2
various other shooters here and coming out: Riddick, Oddworld: Stranger, Snow Blind (? on name) and a few others.
Crimson Sea (the original) should be alright, as well.

[DynastyLawyer]

If you could actually name the games you'd be doing me a favor, as I'm sure I'll someday own an X-box. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the GC is a better machine in any way. It's just that Halo is all I've ever heard about from the X-box camp. Remember Marcia Marcia Marcia from the Brady Bunch? It seems like it's Halo Halo Halo (soon to be replaced by Halo 2 Halo 2 Halo 2).

Although not actually owning an X-box puts me pretty squarely in the ignorance camp, I honestly just haven't heard much about any other X-box game.


Halo does get a lot of attention, but not any more than Mario/Crash/Sonic got during their prime. A lot of stuff on the XBox is pretty sweet, and it's probably the console on the market now that is most comparable to the Dreamcast in terms of it's games being flat out fun.

Other Titles worth seeing? Most of them are from Sega, but...

Crimson Sea was flawed, but definately worth the 15 bucks or so it costs now...
Jet Set Radio Future was a worthy sequel...
Panzer Dragoon Orta was probably this generation's most classic game...
Dead or Alive 3...
KOTOR is another flawed but definately worth 15 bucks deal.

[gamegirl79]

Good lord....I am watching the local news and they have a reporter outside a Toys R Us and they are talking about the midnight release of Halo 2, etc.

Jeez....I mean, I like the game and all, but people act like Halo was groundbreaking or something. I guess they missed Wolfenstein, Doom, Half-Life, etc.??

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes, perhaps everybody did miss those games. Gaming is starting to become a real phenomenon...I can't speak about what it was like during the days of the VCS, Intellivision, and Astrocade, but things are starting to move again.

[BHvrd]

I agree that Halo wasn't that grounbreaking, but if you've ever played through the game in 5.1 Dolby Digital with a friend on co-op, and that orchestra music kicks in while you plow through an onslaught of covenant on Legendary difficulty then you would get it.

Halo has strategy and a pulse and I have had yet a game to give me nearly the adrenaline rush or thrill that it can. It's just such tight gameplay design that it seems unworldy. Then again some people just don't get it, and usual those are the people that never played on legendary, and ruled it's ass. The strategy is all about the right gun at the right moment.

I'm not gonna be getting the game at midnight, but i'll definetely be in line tomorrow. :)

[Neonsolid]

Gone.

[DynastyLawyer]

Kotor Flawed? Its the best rpg of this console generation lol.

I might agree with you, but I'd chalk that up to lack of pure RPG competition. KOTOR was pretty flawed. It's moral choices were pretty obvious with little to no surprises (I would have loved to see a simple good act like saving the Ithorian merchant come back to bite you in the ass as he orders a death sentence on you later, or a rather obvious victim of "Sith Slaughter" end up serving the greater good: "Thank you for slaughtering that person for no reason! His name was Hitler, and he was a baaaaad man.") It's primary characters were pretty lackluster, it's secondary characters were far from inspired (Care to name one way the Yoda-esque character differered from Yoda?) and the overall "plot" wasn't too inspired (The "kicker" surprise could probably be guessed by anyone with a Degree of Xenogears playing, no doubt you'll have to retrieve every last piece of the star map.) For all the freedom of movement the developers CLAIMED to have given you, they can't escape the fact that it was your basic RPG on rails, with two possibile endings.

If you don't believe all that stuff, I DARE you to tell me you enjoyed slugging along the ocean floor of Manaan. I just DARE you.

[Half Japanese]

Well, I just got back from my Halo tourney at GameRush. I got eliminated in the first round (6 people going at once, two top dogs advance). At least I wasn't last! Anyway, I came out of it with some cool shit: a Halo 2 tshirt (too bad it's too small) and a Halo 2 lanyard, plus one of the local top 40 radio stations was there and I won some basketball game they had and got to pick a prize (their logo stuff or a cd, I went for a Jason Mraz cd, but since I'm no fan of him, but I can sell it). Overall a good time.

Also worth mentioning is that after myself and my friends were eliminated, we managed to convince a guy from the free weekly, the organizer for the event and the DJs from the top 40 station that we were press from "Scientific Proof Magazine." We faux-interviewed them. Or actually my friend Josh did, had I been around I surely would have died laughing and ruined it all. Great time, can't wait to pick it up tomorrow at work (free watch!) 'cause the lines at GameRush/BB were ungodly.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I just got it....
I pre-ordered the regular edition..then I went to Gamestop earlier today and paid it off.
Got there around 11:45 PM....In line tonight inside Millcreek Mall was about 200 people..
They were giving away stuff/holding shout out rafles..for the people waiting...I was 100th in line they moved up to the front of the line to around the 50th person..
The person behind me got there at 9:30 and waited till they opened...
I was put in front of him since I prepaid but got there 11:30
They had a Ton...
When got up to the counter I paid $5.00 eaxtra and bought the Limited Edition instead..(no problem)

I just got a call from a friend who is there now and he says there are only 70 people left in line and they still have piles of Halo 2 on hand.
I overheard one guy say he pre-ordered this Last Year..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/2004_1109_030659AA.jpg

[swlovinist]

To be quite honest, I was not a big Halo fan when it came out. I then took the time to play it with my friends, and I have to say it is very solid. I got to be in management when the Dreamcast launched, and have been asked to work on the Halo 2 launch at Gamestop. I am pumped, and look forward to coming home at 3:00am to play it. I am not that good, but it is a chapter in video game history that I dont want to miss. I predict this will be the game that will rule this Christmas, just due to the fact at the sheer number of people that bought the system for this franchise. I dont think it is the ultimate videogame(I just got done playing Robotron on my 7800), but the Halo 2 launch will be remembered as one of the biggest game launches for the next gen systems.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Though I picked it up I'm not playing it tonight..

GTA San Andreas has me absorbed :p
.............and I still haven't even started KILLZONE...

[Neonsolid]

Gone.

[norkusa]

I just got back from my Gamerush midnight H2 release. Lines weren't too bad but they were giving away free rentals for everyone that got the game, so they were moving pretty slow. I was #16 and and it took a half hour to get my copy. x_x They did have separate lines though (1 for the limited edition and 2 for the regular version) Glad I didn't reserve my copy at Gamestop. Me and my friend drove by there on our way to Gamerush and there must have been at least 100 people waiting in line outside freezing their asses off. At least Gamerush let you wait inside the store.

Just played the game for about 30 min and was pretty impressed, mainly for the fact that I didn't get motion sickness like I usually do when playing fps. Looks like I'll be keeping it instead of trading it off like I originally planned.

[DigitalSpace]

As I post this, it's 11:47pm PST. I'm kinda tempted to take a walk to the Gamestop that's about 5 blocks from my house to see how long the line is, but I think I'll pass.

[petewhitley]

Jesus, it seems that the online play is a disaster. Basically, you can't choose match conditions unless you're playing with people who are exclusively on your friends list. Let's hope that gets patched in the near future ...

[sirgeoph]

I just want to say that I've had a copy for a few days and have had a chance to play a good bit of it. I like it more than Halo 1. Graphics look better, adn overall, the game looks nice. I look forward to playing more.

[Nubiandaze]

Hey All,
I enjoyed my HALO 2 session at my nephews place tonight. I agree it's better than HALO 1. The new flying vehicles are a blast and much better weapons. Plus you can get a sword and other stuff early on. Im not sure who got it first, we got it here in Australia today. X-Box LIVE is fun though at times confusing. Meanwhile I'm just sticking with my Dreamcast and some NGPC on the side.

Nubian.

[Nature Boy]

I didn't bother preordering it for myself (I'll wait for x-mas) but a co-worker did. Took a nap from 7 'till 11 last night, got into line at about 11:20 and there were 100 people in front of him. He didn't get out of there 'till 1:15. Played 'till 6:00AM. And he's at work today and tomorrow (but he has Thursday and Friday off for some *serious* gaming).

It's fun living vicariously :)

[Rogmeister]

Today is "Halo 2 Day" on G4TechTV...every show they broadcast today features Halo coverage in one way or another. Too bad there's no Judgment Day with an actual review of it...ditto for XPlay, though XPlay will be on, just not reviewing it. Many of these shows are reruns as they've had coverage of it on many shows throughout the year. G4TV.com at 10PM is the one new show I want to check out. Of course, most Halo fans won't be watching these shows...they'll be playing the game.

I'm not getting it today...I'll wait awhile. But I may pull out and play another FPS game to mark the occasiion, perhaps the original Halo or Serious Sam...

[YoshiM]

The EB in Sheboygan said that about 100 people will show up for sure. I was tempted to go check it out but I was working on fixing a PC till like 1 AM.

Anyway, this morning 97.3 "The Brew" (an 80's rock retro station) is having several audio "name that classic 80's game" contests throughout the morning to pseudo promote Halo 2's release.

I'll probably give Halo 2 a rent. I enjoyed the first one but it didn't move me like it did others. Probably because my group of friends don't do LAN parties and have issues with dual stick control.

[Rogmeister]

I wonder if those people who were paying more than $200 for Halo 2 on Ebay have gotten and are enjoying the game by now? Paying 4 times the game's cost just to play it one or two days before anyone else is insane. But, hey, no one ever said gamers were normal people :D

[captain nintendo]

I am picking mine up at lunch and will be playing tonight. I also picked up XBOX live last week in order to prepare for the madness.

How many of you will be playing online ? And what is your gamertag ?
If you have not posted your gamertag before , please do so in this thread: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26269&start=50

Mine is CaptainNintendo :)

[LiquidX01]

Picked mine up last night at EB. I got there at about 10:30, picked up my number(171) and then left and came back at 12am just to wait there until 1:45am which was the time I left. I picked up 2 LE's.

There was a total of 312 people picking up the game last night in that one EB and not to mention all the friends some people brought along with them, myself included. Thinking I might just beat the game first before hopping on XBL.

Im still pretty beat, so I wont start playing it until sometime this afternoon, Got the afternoon off, Yay!! :D

[jgenotte]

Ill be pickng my pre-ordered copy up on my way home from work today.

QUESTION: Can co-operitave play be done over lan or xbox live?

-james

[GunPanther]

Wow, enjoy the games, guys.


As for us San Franciscan EB Games customers, some of us got shafted if we were unfortunate enough to pre-order the game at locations besides the Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square EB Games stores.

Even though it was advertised to be open for "Midnight Madness" on the EB Games website, the store I pre-paid my copy at was unfortunately closed.

When I stopped by the Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf stores to at least see if anything special was happening, I walked away even more dissappointed because neither of the two stores were doing 'nice' things like give away free promo items, hold raffles for prizes or anything fancy for that matter. All they did was sell the game. :/


Man.... do the San Francisco EB Games stores suck, or what?





:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[Rogmeister]

I wasn't planning on getting it but I cruised by my local Wal-Mart, saw it there and picked it up. It's only the 2nd time this year I've paid $50 for a game...MVP Baseball 2004 (which I'm still playing) was the other. I'd say both are worth the money.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I wonder what the lines looked like today for this game at the game stores etc..

[IcewynG]

I know for sure you can't do co-op over live, which is a real shame. Hopefully, they'll address that in future downloadable content.

[Needle]

I just got back from the Gamestop I work at here in Connecticut. We officially had 803 preorders at our store, and sold 325 copies in the two hours we were open for Midnight Madness. Before 2PM today, we probably sold another 150 or so - mind you, that's before people get off from work.

Also, in this particular area (Manchester) there are two Gamestops within 2 minutes driving distance from each other. Apparently preorders at our other location were similar to ours, meaning our area probably had close to 1500 total preorders. We ended up mopping the floor with the EBGames down the hall ;)

Also of note, we've been selling a LOT more Collector's Editions than standard editions, and generally have more Collector's Edition in stock. We got such a huge shipment of Halo 2, that you could come in and pick it up even if you didn't preorder it.

Also, we had a guy come up who had rserved the game around 11/16/02. He was one week shy of having the game preordered for two years - and he still had the receipt. Amazing! :)

[gamegirl79]

Also, we had a guy come up who had rserved the game around 11/16/02. He was one week shy of having the game preordered for two years - and he still had the receipt. Amazing! :)

Wow! You all were actually taking pre-orders for this game back in November of 2002? C'mon now... :hmm:

[ubersaurus]

I was at the midnight release, and have played the game 6 hours last night, and 4 more today.

First off, Live is seamless...I noticed no lag whatsoever. I love the dual weilding, and especially the plasma sword. Single player levels are fucking massive, Other then the graphical hiccups here and there, the game is pretty much everything I've wanted...of course, I haven't beaten it yet :P

[kainemaxwell]

Intresting story: Went to EBX this afternoon to buy something. Guy there told me I was the 1st non-Halo 2 purchase the whole day so far.

Anyone buy a Halo 2 poster from EB yet?

[Needle]

Also, we had a guy come up who had rserved the game around 11/16/02. He was one week shy of having the game preordered for two years - and he still had the receipt. Amazing! :)

Wow! You all were actually taking pre-orders for this game back in November of 2002? C'mon now... :hmm:

Strange? Yes. True? Also yes. I didn't believe it either until I saw the receipt. I'm guessing the guy preordered it thinking, like many people, that the game was not going to be delayed so many times. Who knows for sure! The point of the matter is, I really have no reason to make something like this up :D

[LiquidX01]

Also, we had a guy come up who had rserved the game around 11/16/02. He was one week shy of having the game preordered for two years - and he still had the receipt. Amazing! :)

Wow! You all were actually taking pre-orders for this game back in November of 2002? C'mon now... :hmm:

Strange? Yes. True? Also yes. I didn't believe it either until I saw the receipt. I'm guessing the guy preordered it thinking, like many people, that the game was not going to be delayed so many times. Who knows for sure! The point of the matter is, I really have no reason to make something like this up :D

Its 100% true. I knew way before last night that Halo 2 was pre-ordered by many people awhile back and just last night I was talking to a few people who also had the game pre-ordered for many many months.

Like Needle said, The game was delayed many times.

Side note, Im about 50% done with Halo 2 on normal difficulty, I know this because my friend has already finished it and told me where I was in the game overall.

Next stop, Xbox Live.

:snipersmile:

[ScottK]

Yeah, one guy at the EB I went to was wondering how someone had a pre-order slip when there was no deposit paid on it. He asked the other clerk and he said that it's because they've been taking pre-orders for 3 years and it may have been put under reserve instead of pre-order. So yep, they've been taking pre-orders for a long-long time.

As for me, I went and stood in line at 10:15pm. I froze my ass off and was #93 in line out of over 500 people. What pissed me off was that I was close to the front of the line and at midnight they made everyone form 2 lines. One line for everyone who had paid in full and the other line for the people who owe money on it. Pissed me off because I was moved back to the line again all because I only paid $20 on it. It was about 1:45 when I finally walked away with my copy and there were still people coming into the mall. The employee told me they had over 1,000 pre-orders on it and everything was spoken for except for about 50 copies of the standard version.

As for the game, I played it for about 4 hours with 2 buddies. First impression is I was kinda dissapointed as I think it was overhyped as to me it's just about the same as the original. Not bad as it's definatly worth owning, but I think it's a tie with the first one and not too much better. Then again I didn't go online with it yet as I want to complete the game first. I hope online it will replace my daily Unreal Championship matches I've been playing for years and haven't found anything more enjoyable online.

Overall I think it's an excellent game just like the first one. Just don't think it's too much better though. Just my 2 cents.

[8-Bit Master]

I rented the game tonight, just to see what all of the fuss is about. After playing up to about the 10th mission I can say that Halo 2 is a better game than the original. I don't think it will "redefine" the way that people look at games, but is a good, solid, game nonetheless. I won't be making a $50 purchase for it, but I'd buy it next year when the price drops.

BTW: My local video store (not Blockbuster) only has 6 copies of Halo 2 for rent. Only one other copy was checked out. :eek 2:

I guess everybody is just buying the game instead of renting it.

[Perkar]

is it just me, or is one of the marines in the Outskirts level (the city...), voiced by David Cross? i swear to christ it is...

[youruglyclone]

can't say I'm a big fan of the battle rifle...but otherwise all good and the plasma sword is way too powerful (I had a lead against a friend then he got a PS and he won the match)

is it me or do the human models in the cgs look a little awkward, especially keye's daughter look like she was 80 when her hand reached for the medal?

what do people think of the multiplayer levels? I don't know but unless you have a lot of players it seems like every level is like blood gulch a whole lot of blindly running around (waterworks I'm looking at you!)

[youruglyclone]

is it just me, or is one of the marines in the Outskirts level (the city...), voiced by David Cross? i swear to christ it is...

well at least it's not in vain

yeah that's cross

and the elite in the opening cg is voiced by keith david also known as the voice of spawn, and goalith from gargoyles

[Nubiandaze]

Hey All,
I actually got lost in one of the new levels last night and so did my brother. It's hard to defeat someone with a plasma sword. I'd say you'd need a really big gun to defeat someone with the sword. You can always just get a plasma sword and do heaps and heaps of jumping around to dodge and get by.

X-Box LIVE is good with HALO 2. Problem is I had trouble picking out which was the red team and which was the blue team, so I shot some of my own men. Time splitters 2 was good for the PS2 but it just didn't have the large playing arenas like HALO & HALO 2. Halo 2 would have to be the best FPS Iv'e seen by far that I've seen.

We got a deal here in Australia where you got the game for around US$40.00. I;'m more oldskool with my Dreamcast, and my nephew's the one with the X-Box, but I can appreciate a good next gen game when I see one. Halo 2 goes off. I would have loved to have seen the big lines of people in the big cities in America it must have been a fabulous launch day over there.

Regards,

Nubian.

[ubersaurus]

You can tell how good the graphics of a game are, when you spend 2 minutes checking out Cortana because, for a blue chick, she's totally hot. :embarrassed:

[Ed Oscuro]

http://www.newdoom.com/articles/images/spider.jpg
Arr, you wouldn't know hot if it poured a stream of lead into your quivering body!

[videogameking26]

Got Halo 2: Collecter's Edition tonight, put a few hours into single-player and man does it rock..awesome game :D

[DHG Hunter]

I suppose I should get my flack suit on...

I'm actually not all that impressed with Halo 2.

Yes, it does have excellent graphics. Yes, the sound is pretty good despite what seems like a few recycled bits. Yeah, there are some nice new features to the game like dual wielding guns and kicking people off their rides. There's a lot going for this one.

But here's the thing - all those great early videos Bungie wet our appetites with and what seemed like an incredibly involving story line was apparently either dumbed down, scrapped, or was never really there to begin with. Honestly, the story doesn't really do much for me... It seems to borrow heavily from some titles from the early point I am in the game - Wing Commander 3/4/5, I can see some Star Trek: First Contact in it, and I'm reminded a bit by Metal Gear Solid 2's questionable Raiden game play. The scope of the single player game just feels like it was pulled back quite a bit.

Another strike against the game is that for me anyway it seems quite a bit on the easy side of things. Granted I had the game on easy the first stage to test things out, reset to a higher difficulty, and then played it again... But I'm still going through stages with nary a scratch on me. I do have the mouse/keyboard set up thanks to the SmartJoy FRAG, but even Halo gave me some fits on Legendary difficulty which at this early stage I haven't had a whole lot of. I've heard the game gets much harder later on, but... well... I'm not all that excited.

The AI has been improved somewhat, and it is nice that I can simply trade weapons with a marine now rather than shooting him in the back and taking his gun, but there are still those moments in the game that you realize how much further we need to go with AI before you can really feel like being a part of a real human-like unit. On the second/third stage my driver got stuck on a pole and couldn't simply turn left and go around it. The AI is impressive, but stuff like that can really take you out of the moment. Also, notice how Bungie still hasn't included bots in multiplayer modes... Apparently they didn't trust the AI enough either.

Now the multiplayer is the one area I don't have any issues with. Granted I would have liked head shots to return and the butt of my gun doesn't do nearly as much damage now in the face of plasma swords, but so many other things like the aforementioned dual wielding and vehicles make you forget those minor issues. Xbox Live play is very impressive (mouse/keyboard 4 teh win!), and you can have friends on your own Xbox join you in Xbox Live I believe which is cool (no online co-op mode, however), but I'm disappointed with what I've seen single player so far and that's what makes writing this post so difficult for me. The first Halo, Half-Life clone it may have been, was still one of the best console FPS' in part because of both a very good single player mode with well-designed levels and twists (like the Flood), and then of course the outstanding multiplayer. Yet with Halo 2, it seems like they did improve on the multiplayer quite a bit, but somebody seems to have just dropped the ball ever so slightly in the single player missions.

Halo 2 is still worth a purchase, but a bit reminiscent of another Microsoft Studios-published game, Fable, it doesn't deliver on all of the hype, nor does it completely improve upon the original. I'm not nearly as disappointed with this one as I was Fable, but best game ever this is not. It’s possible, however unlikely, that this may not even be game of the year material with MGS3, Metroid Prime 2, and KotOR 2 on the way yet. We'll see.

Later.

[Oobgarm]

A review of sorts:

I was not, and still really am not, a fan of the first Halo game. I like the premise, and it looks wonderful, but there was just something there that could not pull me in and get me interested in the single player mode. I really don’t have very many friends around that play games anymore, as most of them have moved away from games for more ‘grown-up’ activities. So multiplayer, which seemed to be a HUGE aspect of the game, was a non-issue for me. I tried numerous times to get into the game, but ended up stopping and turning the console off after about a half-hour. Just by guessing I’m about ¼ through the game since I bought it on LAUNCH DAY back in 2001.

But I LOOOOVE Halo 2. I’m not sure what they did to it, but I cannot put this game down. Actually, I do think I know what the difference is: The game feels like it actually has a soul, as compared to the first one, which felt pretty lifeless to me. That’s mainly got to do with the story and the way it’s conveyed onscreen. As games get more and more cinematic, it’s a common complaint that games don’t offer as much gameplay in order to make room for more story/CG/what-have-you. And, as numerous people have told me already, the campaign mode isn’t that long. But the story is great (even if it borrows or rips off ideas) and it’s all done in a manner that is very engrossing-so it really takes the time needed to tell the story and puts it to good use. I am personally not very far into the game at the moment, so I’m sure there are many more surprises up ahead that will knock me flat.

I won’t go on too much about how much I enjoy the graphics of the game-they’re nice, yes. A game of such high caliber (and first-party development) should always take advantage of the system to the fullest extent, and there’s no doubt that Halo 2 does that. Textures and models are great, worlds are expansive, and everything is well detailed.

Same thing goes for the game’s sound. I won’t gush about how sweet the sound effects since it’s kind of expected. Well, that and the fact that I don’t have a nice 5.1 setup to enjoy all of the positional audio. But the music in the game is incredible. There is one orchestral song that is played on the title screen after the traditional ‘monk chant’ title theme. It’s gorgeous, and I’ve found myself leaving the game on the menu screen just to listen to it every time I pop in the game. It’s one of those songs that has stuck with me, much like good movie music does. By all means, if you enjoy the game’s music, seek out the soundtrack. It doesn’t have the song on it that I mentioned above, sadly, but overall it’s worth the money-and the licensed tunes on it aren’t too shabby either.

The gameplay enhancements make the game much better and also help make the game flow a bit better. The much bally-hooed dual wielding isn’t the godsend it was made out to be, although it is useful is implemented correctly (don’t fire both at once). The ability to steal vehicles is awesome, and it can turn the tide of a skirmish quickly. Also, the abolishment of health packs is most welcome. Running back and hiding while your shields recharge is a hidden blessing.

Multiplayer is where the game really kicks in, and is honestly why many people are buying it. Whether it’s on a LAN, split-screen, or the new Xbox Live inclusion, there’s plenty of fun to be had. I’ve hopped on Live a few times to give it a try and have enjoyed what I tried, even if I was a bit overwhelmed since I’m still a n00b at it. There’s nothing quite like having 12+ people go at it all at once, just going after each other. The ability to form Clans and get groups of friends together for a session is great fun. Matter of fact, I’m considering getting a Digital Press clan set up for everyone here who’s got the game and is on Live with it.

No doubt it’s got my vote for best game of the year right now.

[captain nintendo]

Played online for 5 hours last night and loved it ! The only bad thing was when you searched for a game it took too long IMO.

I have a bunch or "friends" now and have been asked to jion a few clans.
But I was wondering if anybody here wanted to form a digitpress clan ?
I played one game where I had 10 flag saves. Needless to say I got stuck with base defense the rest of the night (but I actually enjoyed spoiling the other teams chances of touching my flag. DONT TOUCH MY FLAG !!!!! :rockets: Eat it LOL


CaptainNintendo = xbox live gamertag
And yes I get alot of wisecracks about being a Nintendo "dude" on the XBOX.. :P

[PhoeniX]

is it just me, or is one of the marines in the Outskirts level (the city...), voiced by David Cross? i swear to christ it is...

Woohoo! The voice talent in this game is awesome. As it has been pointed out, that is David Cross. And I have to say that Keith David's (the Arbiter) presence is soo cool, am I the only one who loved him in "They Live"? Check out the other voice credits (I think its on page 31 of the instruction manual), Orlando Jones, Michelle Rodriguez, truely top notch production value. Other games would brag about having such talents in their marketing and press releases, Halo doesn't have to.

[8-Bit Master]

And I have to say that Keith David's (the Arbiter) presence is soo cool, am I the only one who loved him in "They Live"?

I knew that was him, I just couldn't put my finger on it! I recognized his voice from John Carpenter's "The Thing" (one of my favorite movies ever) and "They Live" (also by Carpenter).

Anyway, I've played a little further now in the single player campaign (past where you kill the first prophet) and I'm still liking the game better than the first one.

[LiquidX01]

Played online for 5 hours last night and loved it ! The only bad thing was when you searched for a game it took too long IMO.


Yeah, Thats one of the few issues I have with Halo 2. I dont like the way they screwed with the optimatch system. Theres a statement from Bungie answering the complaints about that. In a nut shell, it basicly read, "We dont want people to have to scroll through a list of like 5,000 available matches".

What the fuck... I wouldnt have minded at all. It would have been much more a convience then the way its set up now.

[LiquidX01]

Sorry for the double post.

But did you know, when playing on Xbox Live, the person with the highest internet connection automatically hosts the game regardless if you created the room? Thats why it never seems to lag. LOL

Whats sucks about that is, you dont know when and if your hosting, so if you pay for your internet by the bandwidth you use...Cha-Ching.... :/