Halo 2

We play Halo 2 on PC, and are surprised to find some slight differences from the console version.

At the Games for Windows booth at CES, I finally got my hands on Halo 2 for Windows Vista. It's been a long time coming, but one of the six playable PC stations had my name on it. The game was Slayer in Beaver Creek, and I brought my A game.

It's funny how after more than two years on the Xbox/Xbox 360, I still found myself virtually salivating at the thought of playing Halo 2 against people, yet again. Whenever it is fired up, I get a competitive urge that feels the same as playing a dirty game of basketball. There's just something about it that brings out the competitor in me. And it seemed the same for everyone around me. Easily one of the most popular booths, Halo 2 for Vista attracted herds of CES gamers to it all day long.

The only noticeable difference on PC as opposed to Xbox 360 is that the resolution gets a boost, but not even that much. You'd swear the game's textures and mapping looks better, but really, it's not that much different than on 360.

I hopped into the five-person (one of the stations was down) slayer game on Beaver Creek first picked up the Xbox 360 gamepad. All stations had 360 pads, as well as a mouse-and-keyboard setup. The pad worked great--just like the console version--and I was fragging in no time. Everything in the game was exactly the same. There are no exclusive PC weapons or changed item locations. It's all Halo 2, nothing more, nothing less.

The only gameplay difference is that movement is a bit slower. And it's not just frame rate. Master Cheif's actual movement feels like he's wearing ankle weights. It's not that big of a difference, but being that I'm very used to the console version, it slightly altered my style of place. I felt sluggish, and even though I got about 17 kills, I felt like I was out of my element because of it.

I then switched over to the PC controls, and wow, what a difference. Look sensitivity made no difference because the mouse allows you to look around as fast as you like. Aiming with the mouse is a nice bonus for precision, but I like the melee button much better on the 360 pad rather than on a keyboard or mouse button. So it's a trade-off.

Halo 2 is due out sometime this year, though PC to Xbox interoperability is not happening.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment