Halo 2
- May 20, 2003 15:56 PM PST
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Master Chief returns, a little bit shinier, and with a few new tricks up his heavily alloyed sleeve.
In The Name Of All Things Holy and GoodThere are few names as sacred to modern gamers as the name of Halo. The original adventures of Master Chief were what sold the Xbox hardware?heck, it?s arguably still the best game for the system?and there?s no doubt that his further musings and wanderings will push a few systems more.
Gamepray
The world recently got its first glimpse at Halo 2 at E3 2003, and here?s what could be gleaned from the madness: At least a portion of Halo 2 takes place in a bustling city setting, as Master Chief is called upon to defend humanity on its own turf against a Covenant (the main religious-themed alien nemesis from the first game) invasion force. Much like the first game, characters in the demo led Master Chief through the scenario with minimal interruption of the gameplay. At various points in the demo, Master Chief showed off some of his new abilities?such as wielding two pistols simultaneously, and a new technique where he can hijack a Ghost mid-flight (and other vehicles, presumably) by leaping on the rider and hurling him off. A couple new enemies made an appearance too--the demo ended on a ?cliffhanger? with Master Chief surrounded by new creatures with segmented jaws and ethereal light swords.
Arc of the Covenant
Of course, that leaves quite a few questions unanswered: such as, what other enemies are there aside from the Covenant (you know there?s got to be another biblical twist?right?)? What of the touted ?revolutionary? Xbox Live support?just how far will Bungie go to make this the ultimate Xbox multiplayer experience? And?perhaps most baffling of all?why the hell is it still called Halo?
Pagan Poetry
Unfortunately for humanity, Halo 2 isn?t coming until early 2004. It?ll be interesting to see how Bungie responds to Half-Life 2 (yes, it was that good) and Doom 3, seeing as the ?interactive environments? aren?t on par with HL2?s Source engine magic, nor are the improved (and shinier!) visuals quite on the same level as what?s going down in id?s Doom 3. After all, no self-respecting first-person shooter wants to go down as third-best-of-show.
