Well, Halo 2 is out.
"You know my great-great-grandfather Angus Griffin invented the game."
I wanted to write about this yesterday but got distracted halfway through writing and then in my gusto to get home and...well, play Halo 2, I closed the window without even saving what I had. And just let the record show, I do love Halo 2. It's gorgeous, very customizable, and above all else...it's a new game. But I'm not without my reservations and problems with the game.
"Oh, it's Cricket. Marvelous game, really. You see, the bowler hurls the ball toward the batter who tries to play away a fine leg. He endeavors to score by dashing between the creases, provided the wicket keeper hasn't whipped his bails off, of course."
In order change things up and improve them they seem to have made things unnecessarily complicated. There are no long big open levels or simple logical lay-outs, rather most of the maps are filled with obstacles and hindering terrain. New weapons and the ability to wield two weapons at the same time often leaves me standing over a gun for 30 seconds trying figure out exactly what weapon or combination of weapons I want.
"It's easy when you play with rejects and a fat kid, Rodriguez."
And I don't like to brag, but I was good at Halo 1. And what made me love it all the more was that I came into it from the bottom; being ridiculously beaten on every hand, to being the leader in kills. But the parts that I loved and got good at in Halo (specifically pistol fights in big open spaces)...are gone from the new incarnation and I am left sort of left with a nostalgic yearning for my comfort zone. Blood Gulch, a pistol, and Capture the Flag.
"Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money. It was the game... The sounds, the smells."
What made Halo a classic was not so much the game, but the people. Halo was only as fun as the friends you played with. It was about scraping together enough boxes, getting a comfortable seat, and rallying together as a team. Yelling out directions, whispering strategies to your teammate, going downstairs to rub in the glorious victory, or locking the door and turning out the lights to hide the shame of your loss. And while the medium has changed slightly, I guess I'll just have to wait and see if Halo 2 will bring together friends and good times like its predecessor did and still does...
"...Donkey Kong sucks."
"You know what? You suck."
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