Microsoft's Vista-powered shooter finally makes its way to the PC.
Halo 2 isn't due out in stores for a few weeks but Microsoft was kind enough to send us an advance review copy so we get a jump on things. Though the title won't carry many surprises for the handful of gamers who haven't already experienced it on the Xbox, there are a few graphical improvements, some interface changes and a whole new range of Vista-powered multiplayer options to consider. Although those are worthwhile additions to the game, Halo 2 will live or die on the strength of the outstanding game design. With that in mind, fans of the original Halo will find that Master Chief has a whole new range of cool tricks here that he can use to put an even greater hurt on the interstellar baddies stupid enough to cross his path. Those who have played the game on the Xbox already might have to look a bit further to the new LIVE features and editor to find a compelling argument for picking it up on the PC.
We won't spoil the story here but we will say that there are some cool new surprises in store and you'll get to see the action from a variety of perspectives, including getting a look at how things look from the enemy's side. Across 15 levels, players will see the story from the original Halo develop into an even more dramatic and intricate (if sometimes confusing) tale of sci-fi slaughter.
Unfortunately, as well paced as the action is, it can sometimes be hard to place the individual battles or levels within their proper context. Those of you who have played games like Call of Duty or Half-Life 2 can understand how well those games relate each encounter to the overall story of each level. Here you'll find yourself taking elevator rides, battling through massive hangars and jumping onto the backs of giant war machines without a clear idea of how it relates to the action that comes before or after it.
The original Halo led players through a variety of inventive and unique locations and Halo 2 goes even further to deliver several large and original levels. There are loads more locations here than we saw in the original game, each of which presents spectacular architectural design. On the downside, the symmetry and monochromatic palette for many of the interior levels tends to get a bit tedious.
We honestly weren't sure how much we'd like the keyboard controls. Having had some hands on time with the game at GDC, it felt more natural to use the gamepad. Now that we've had the chance to play through a lengthy portion of the game, we're actually finding that we prefer the mouse and keyboard controls. The game's still fun with a gamepad, but the precise aiming that the mouse allows more than makes up for the finger dancing required to access the rest of the commands on the keyboard. You can remap the keys to give you access to the actions you use the most but the default layout is very intuitive and convenient.
Halo 2's dual wield system is brilliant. Being able to pick up a second pistol or submachine gun in your off-hand makes you so much more lethal this time around. It's true that you won't be able to throw grenades while you're carrying two weapons, but you can more than make up for that by delivering twice the firepower. Switching and picking up additional weapons is just as easy as it ever was and you can also swap weapons out with your allies if they've got something you really want.
With one lone exception, the weapons are all much better this time around. The new submachine gun is terrific for in close fighting and the new and improved Needler finally makes it a worthwhile weapon to use in a firefight. Other neat alien weapons include the powerful carbine and an awkward but oh-so-enjoyable grenade launcher. The only weapon that really disappoints is the new pistol. It's deadly enough, to be sure, but it just pales in comparison to the sniper pistol from the original game.
There are some cool new vehicle options this time around as well. Most significantly, you can actually jump on vehicles and toss their drivers out on their heads. The great physics system from the previous game is still in place but added to it is a cool new incremental damage model. The Ghosts and Warthogs now take progressive damage, catching fire and dropping parts as they're hit with weapons. Seeing your vehicle smoking with fire and cracking with energy as fenders and wings fly off really ups the excitement of vehicle combat. Additional drama is provided by the cool secondary explosions that sometimes occur when a vehicle is destroyed.
The AI shows a bit more initiative in terms of using vehicles as well. We've even had small sequences where we'd be driving around in one vehicle while another group of marines followed us in their own Warthog. It really adds to the feel of being in a massive battle when you run into these multiple vehicle combats. The AI still drives into walls from time to time but then again so do we under the wrong circumstances. Outside of the vehicles the friendly and enemy AI seem a little savvier about taking the appropriate actions during battle. Enemies armed with long-range weapons don't tend to press the flesh quite as much and enemies that feel overpowered will definitely look around for some cover.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has requested that reviewers not post their own screens of the game, so we can't show you just what the game looks like on our systems until after the game is released. There are a number of graphical options that you can adjust to get the right balance of performance and quality but the high-resolution visuals definitely hamper the framerate. If you stick with the level of visuals seen in the Xbox version, the game runs much better. There are also some very noticeable hiccups in the transition between levels. While these are usually cleverly hidden by cinematic triggers, you can sometimes run into the stutters while in the middle of a fight.
The game also makes use of lots of bump and normal mapping. While it's a wonderful effect during the battles, it can be a bit too much during the cutscene close-ups. You'll sometimes feel as if you're watching a skin cream commercial starring Edward James Olmos and Morgan Freeman. Overall though the character models are definitely improved from the previous version, both in terms of their detail and their animations.
The cutscenes incorporate lots of dialogue and can be at turns quite humorous or dramatic. For our money, the little chicken aliens are still the funniest part of the game. It's hard not to laugh when one of them intones, Star Wars-style, "I've got a bad feeling about this." It's great the way the dialogue relates to the action as well. While you won't be getting cues for every single event in the game, hearing the odd, seemingly spontaneous comment that relates to the action in front of you really brings the game to life.
The new Vista platform still presents a few significant hardware and software complications but it adds some intriguing elements to Halo 2. The Tray and Play feature seems to work okay once the game has managed to transfer sufficient data to your PC but the beginning of the game, particularly the tutorial, is a bit clunky. Happily, no one's actually shooting at you during the first minutes of play so this is more of a nuisance than an actual obstacle. Once the game gets enough information loaded, you won't have to worry with the clunkiness ever again. Even if you reboot your PC, the information is still present and readily accessed.
Since the game isn't on shelves yet, we haven't had a chance to check out the promising LIVE options for Halo 2. All the maps previously released for the Xbox version are included right out of the box with the PC version and there are even two new exclusive maps just for the PC. If that's not enough (and it probably should be), the PC version also includes a brand new map editor that allows players to create their own playing areas and game types. Additionally players can now host their own servers.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Is three years too long to wait?
Well, after three years of waiting (not to mention several last-minute delays) Microsoft has finally managed to deliver up a PC version of Halo 2. Beyond just being a port of a very popular Xbox game, the new PC version of Halo 2 also happens to be one of the launch titles for Microsoft's new Vista platform and its new Games for Windows Live! features. For gamers who missed Halo 2 when it came around on the Xbox, the experience of playing the PC version will be rewarding but more than a little dated. For gamers who already blasted their way through the Master Chief's second adventure, Halo 2 for the PC is a very tough sell.
The game really doesn't offer many surprises to those who already played it on the console. There's no new content and very few graphical improvements. But if the last time you saw Master Chief was as he was driving down that ridiculously long hall in the first Halo, then you're in for a treat. There's a new dual wield system for the weapons now, new opportunities to steal enemy vehicles, more interesting and varied locations and even a few other surprises in store. Better still, the pacing has improved and there are no incredibly long backtracking sections.
The dual wield system is a wonderful addition to the game. Being able to pick up and use two one-handed weapons at once allows for much more mayhem in each level. Picking up, switching, firing, and reloading dual weapons is just as easy as it can be which leaves the player free to consider just how best to use the weapons he or she has equipped. This system is nicely balanced by restricting the player only to one-handed weapons (a carbine and a shotgun would just be too much) and keeping them from being able to toss grenades. Whatever the limitations are, being able to charge into battle armed with two weapons is hugely exciting.
Many of the weapons have been tweaked a bit. The original game's main rifle has been basically split in two. The new SMG gives you that same volume of fire while the new assault rifle focuses on high damage hits. Having two such varied yet equally effective weapons gives players a great sense of choice as they progress through the game. The new alien weapons are, in some cases, even more effective. The carbine and energy sword are two particular favorites but there are others that, used appropriately, are just as effective.
The AI in Halo 2 exhibits real behavior, both on the friendly and enemy sides. Sure, you'll still have folks driving Warthogs repeatedly into huge walls, but for the most part, the folks in Halo 2 act in a way that's believable and tactically challenging. Enemies seem not to want to get shot so they'll make effective use of the abundant cover. Fire off a shot as you enter a room full of unsuspecting enemies and they'll all immediately run for cover. Well, the weak ones at least. The really tough guys will turn and start shooting the crap out of you. Enemies also seem to know when it's advantageous to attack in groups, to circle around your flank or to charge straight ahead and hope for the best.
As in most games, the real challenge is found online. Designed, like Shadowrun, to take full advantage of the new Games for Windows Live service, Halo 2 has a lot to offer in the multiplayer arena. The maps and player limits have been kept down at the levels they were at when the game was released. Gamers looking for Battlefield style matches won't find them here. What they will find are intelligently designed maps that offers lots of tactical excitement for small numbers of players. The wide variety of game types and abundance of maps will ensure that the experience stays fresh for some time to come.
The Live functionality is a great step in the right direction for Microsoft. We've been saying for years that online games need more consistency and more options for interacting with other players outside of the game world. (Longtime readers who remember the news posts, board threads and email chains it took just to get a game of Tribes or Battlefield 1942 going can surely sympathize.)
The game browser, party matching system and voice over IP feature are definitely overdue in the world of PC gaming, but there's some disagreement as to whether or not it's worth actually paying to have access to some of those features under Microsoft's two subscription plans. On the one hand, some games have been giving that stuff away for free (or nearly). On the other hand, Microsoft's attempt to build some consistency and reliability across the PC catalog deserves our support. The fifty-dollar-per-year Gold membership would be easier to swallow, of course, if you weren't already being asked to pay fifty bucks for the game and another hundred-and-fifty for Vista.
The good news is that Halo still gets by on style. The characters are all inventive and generally believable and the environments range between cramped and eerily lit sci-fi style hallways and truly stunning outdoor vistas. We still feel that the rooms you'll be fighting through have no apparent purpose behind them (Where do the aliens eat? Where do they go to the toilet? Oh, look! Another completely superfluous conveyor belt!) but they do make interesting spaces to fight in. Even if the rooms seem to have no real reason for existing, the architecture is appealing. Things can sometimes get a bit monochromatic and overly symmetrical from time to time but, for the most part, the levels are inventive and unique.
Among the various cutscenes in the game, there are some really dramatic moments and, even if the camera sometimes gets too close for the game to look pretty, the whole affair is staged nicely. Personally, we didn't find ourselves getting too wrapped up in the details of the story. If all a cutscene ever told you was "Kill every single thing you see," it would be sufficient to get the player through to the end of the game. Technically, when we say "end" what we mean is "middle." Halo 2 has an ending that ties everything up just about as well as The Empire Strikes Back so you shouldn't play this game if you're not also planning on playing the inevitable sequel. It's good marketing for Microsoft but we're likely to stop caring in the three to four years it might take before we see another Halo game on the PC.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved