Date played: January 4th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10
Halo 2 holds a special place in my heart. It came at a time when I had a lot of free time (oh man do I miss those days...). It changed the way people play online games forever too... It's hard to even remember that stuff sometimes, but there was a time when people chose a server to play on from a list. I mean, that still exists, but it's been largely replaced by matchmaking systems, Halo 2 being the grand-daddy of all matchmaking systems.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I played some of the Halo 2 Anniversary campaign from the Master Chief Collection . I played a lot of it... It all starts on a space station orbiting Earth. Mankind has built large defensive cannons in orbit to protect itself from the Covenant. Master Chief is back in town from his adventures in the first game. As he is being debriefed and fitted with new armor, the Covenant attack!
The first thing that really stands out in the anniversary edition of the game are the absolutely stunning new cut scenes. Wow. Fucking wow. Every single cinematic sequence has been redone in CG with beautiful detail and animation. The in-game graphics also look great of course, being redone the same way the first game was.
I defended the station from the small Covenant attack force. There were even a few battles in space where Elites float in the air and use jetpacks! We then followed the attackers down to Earth in a drop ship to defend an area. The new weapons, enemies and mechanics were fun to play with. Dual-wielding is the biggest change from the first game. Using the new SMG with a plasma rifle or even a plasma pistol is a very effective and very fun way to play. It prevents Master Chief from using grenades and limits his melee use though, so it's not always the best way to play. The incredible battle rifle has to be my favorite weapon in this game, possibly in the entire Halo series. The 3 round burst, mid range rifle works well against almost all enemy types and it very powerful.
Anyway, after defending the place, I got into a Warthog and made my way towards the objective. The iconic vehicle handles a lot better than it did in the first game and now features AI drivers so the Chief can handle the turret in the back if needed. I assaulted a Scarab by jumping into it. These large, 6-legged vehicles act as tanks and troop transport for the Covenant. The next mission had me driving a Scorpion tank through the city, blowing up Ghosts, Banshees and Wraiths all over the fucking place. That tank is a joy to drive in Halo 2...
Then, plot twist! The game is now played from the perspective of the Arbiter, a Covenant elite that was shamed for his failure on Halo. He was given the role of Arbiter to atone for his failure and must carry out the wishes of the Covenant rulers. We find out that the attack on Earth was led by one of the 3 prophets of the Covenants, the prophet of Regret. His peers, the prophets of Truth and Mercy, were not aware of his actions.
The mission had the Arbiter assault a base to assassinate a heretic that is trying to release the Flood. Arbiter has an energy sword and a cloaking ability. I made my way through the base and killed the dude, all the while fighting the Flood. There was even a chase in a Banshee aircraft!
Master Chief and crew followed one of the assaulting ships on Earth through a portal and reached a new Halo ring, Halo Delta. It turns out that the Covenant are trying to activate it, which of course, will be disastrous. Master Chief must assassinate the prophet of Regret before things get out of hand. With the help of the ODST troops, we made our way through this new Halo. This was one of the best missions yet where I got to fight plenty of Covenant using all types of weapons, including the new Carbine and a Covenant sniper rifle. I even used a Scorpion tank for a while!
In a cool battle, I killed the prophet of Regret by jumping on his weird little aircraft and punching him in the face until he died. I fell down in the lake below and was grabbed by a mysterious tentacle! I really like playing this again with good graphics. The story is a lot more interesting than I remember and combat feels so much better than in the first game.
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 9/10
Halo 2 holds a special place in my heart. It came at a time when I had a lot of free time (oh man do I miss those days...). It changed the way people play online games forever too... It's hard to even remember that stuff sometimes, but there was a time when people chose a server to play on from a list. I mean, that still exists, but it's been largely replaced by matchmaking systems, Halo 2 being the grand-daddy of all matchmaking systems.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I played some of the Halo 2 Anniversary campaign from the Master Chief Collection . I played a lot of it... It all starts on a space station orbiting Earth. Mankind has built large defensive cannons in orbit to protect itself from the Covenant. Master Chief is back in town from his adventures in the first game. As he is being debriefed and fitted with new armor, the Covenant attack!
The first thing that really stands out in the anniversary edition of the game are the absolutely stunning new cut scenes. Wow. Fucking wow. Every single cinematic sequence has been redone in CG with beautiful detail and animation. The in-game graphics also look great of course, being redone the same way the first game was.
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| Fuck yeah! |
Anyway, after defending the place, I got into a Warthog and made my way towards the objective. The iconic vehicle handles a lot better than it did in the first game and now features AI drivers so the Chief can handle the turret in the back if needed. I assaulted a Scarab by jumping into it. These large, 6-legged vehicles act as tanks and troop transport for the Covenant. The next mission had me driving a Scorpion tank through the city, blowing up Ghosts, Banshees and Wraiths all over the fucking place. That tank is a joy to drive in Halo 2...
Then, plot twist! The game is now played from the perspective of the Arbiter, a Covenant elite that was shamed for his failure on Halo. He was given the role of Arbiter to atone for his failure and must carry out the wishes of the Covenant rulers. We find out that the attack on Earth was led by one of the 3 prophets of the Covenants, the prophet of Regret. His peers, the prophets of Truth and Mercy, were not aware of his actions.
The mission had the Arbiter assault a base to assassinate a heretic that is trying to release the Flood. Arbiter has an energy sword and a cloaking ability. I made my way through the base and killed the dude, all the while fighting the Flood. There was even a chase in a Banshee aircraft!
Master Chief and crew followed one of the assaulting ships on Earth through a portal and reached a new Halo ring, Halo Delta. It turns out that the Covenant are trying to activate it, which of course, will be disastrous. Master Chief must assassinate the prophet of Regret before things get out of hand. With the help of the ODST troops, we made our way through this new Halo. This was one of the best missions yet where I got to fight plenty of Covenant using all types of weapons, including the new Carbine and a Covenant sniper rifle. I even used a Scorpion tank for a while!
In a cool battle, I killed the prophet of Regret by jumping on his weird little aircraft and punching him in the face until he died. I fell down in the lake below and was grabbed by a mysterious tentacle! I really like playing this again with good graphics. The story is a lot more interesting than I remember and combat feels so much better than in the first game.
