Halo 2 (Xbox)

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A big factor in this is balance of design, both in level architecture and tools on offer to overcome each obstacle. Increased emphasis on the vertical plain is apparent upon encountering new Covenant flying Yanme'e infantry and more run-ins with Phantom warships. Level design, meanwhile, consistently throws up instances of being pinned down by lofty, unseen enemy snipers. Again, the realization of life on the battlefield wrought by Halo 2 is both gritty and satisfying; challenges overcome in the sandbox of battle giving a pleasing feeling of achievement.

Essentially the game hasn't changed. It's still Halo.

Such a feeling is only increased by using your enemies' own ideas against him. Raise a wry smile as you boot a foe out of his charging Ghost with a timely press of the X button. Bask in your own brilliance as you double back upon a cowering Elite ducking for cover, awaiting the return of his precious energy shield. And revel in your own smugness as you fell a foe, only to turn his dropped weapon on his counterparts with Halo 2's new dual wielding function, holding Y to add his automatic to your own human variant and mowing down all who stand before you.

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These improved in-battle options are helped out no end by some much-needed and well handled weapon balancing. Gone are the assault rifle and pistol as generic artillery, replaced instead by the SMG and battle rifle that evolve the original's basic firearm partnership. The shotgun is still present; less effective from distance, but deadlier from point blank range, and melee attack does less damage than before, but includes a handy dash function that homes in on opponents in the player's firing line. The rocket launcher too is improved, retaining its power and gaining a handy lock-on function.

Aside from these however, are new offerings that level the playing field. The beam rifle, for instance, is ostensibly a Covenant sniper rifle, and provides an avenue of attack and abundance of sources that the solitary human sniper of the first game could never approach. Likewise, the brute shot and fuel rod gun both offer explosive counterpunches to the human rocket launcher, that can just as easily be appropriated for the players own use. Then of course we have the Energy Sword, an impressive and deadly one-hit-kill melee weapon with limited charge, but devastating effect.

This makes Halo 2's gunplay a deeper, more strategic evolution of the first title's form

The upshot of all this is an unheard-of level of customization available to individual players style of play; both with two primary weapons and favoured dual wields. This makes Halo 2's gunplay a deeper, more strategic evolution of the first title's form; the impact of which on the campaign mode cannot be understated, especially in Co-Operative, where such personality only compliments the mode's teamwork ethic. Rarely can a combination not be made that will suit two players, especially when vehicles of both human and Covenant origin are also to be considered.

So far then, all seems rosy. Yet, despite these many improvements, it is only upon extended play that several of the games biggest clichès begin to reveal themselves.

The first of these is also the least initially apparent, and the most indicative of a lack of evolution in terms of overall game structure from the original. In a word, it can be called linearity, though in truth it applies more to over-reliance in later, plot-heavy stages to drive the action along by this more truncated means. While proceedings rarely degenerate to the lows of Halo's linear corridor blasting, they do degenerate earlier, creating the sense of less freedom and a dearth of ways to approach later scenarios; ironic, given the added options potentially afforded by the new weapons.

Coupled with this is the confusing design of many of these later levels; Covenant and Forerunner-built architecture carry the same colours and hues on their many identical walls, with very few identifying marks, imbuing a feeling of disorientation.

Dual wielding is a great addition, although you lose your ability to throw grenades.

If interior design is often annoying, however, it is nothing when compared to the disappointment embodied by the vast majority of outdoor areas on the second Halo ring, and their own linear nature. That there is no equivalent to the original's self-titled first level, Halo, or the roving snowy plains that made up the battlefield for many of the first adventure's closing scenes, is frustrating. That they have been replaced by the confusingly choreographed corridor control mentioned above is enough to disillusion the series hardcore following, for whom these levels embodied the true spirit of the game.

The true disillusionment however, is saved for the very ending; or more precisely, the lack of one. For no sooner has the story and action truly reached the edge of inspiration when it cuts out without the faintest of warnings, leaving no feeling other than an empty one of none-accomplishment. The big finish of the original Halo may be a memory in the ongoing narrative of the series, but the fundamental discourse laid down by it and its genre forebears still rings loud in the mind. For Bungie to leave us at the finish of a console generation's most awaited game with an ending that amounts to "To Be Continued" just feels like a cop-out.

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