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Halo 2
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Much better multi-player options have been confirmed for Halo 2, the sequel to the most successful Xbox game so far. Xbox Live support has been confirmed, as well as an "Assault" mode, where a team of spartans must fight against a team of covenant elites to attack or defend an object. Bungie have said there will be twice as many weapons as the original, but so far, only two new weapons have been confirmed. The battle rifle is a modified assault rifle. It has a slower rate of fire, but is much more accurate and is fitted with a scope. The sub-machine gun is essentially the reverse - fast firing but very inaccurate. Two more weapons are speculated - remote controlled explosives, and a flamethrower. (This was intended to be in Halo: Combat Evolved, but had to be cut to get the game out for the Xbox launch) Master Chief can wield two one handed weapons at the same time. These don't have to be the same type - you can go akimbo with a plasma pistol and sub-machine gun. The left and right triggers fire each weapon individually, so you can use the plasma pistol overcharge to take down an enemy's shields and then use a bullet firing weapon to finish him off.
A few new vehicles have also been confirmed. The Warthog returns, in Jungle, Desert, Snow and Troop Carrier versions. An ATV, which currently has no weapons, although the driver can fire a one handed weapon while driving, as well as the Covenant Shadow, a flying vehicle with a pilot, gunner and 2 passengers. The Scorpion tank and Ghost will return, the former now being vulnerable to weapons, and a variety of turret guns for both the humans and the covenant, including surface to air weapons. The Banshee will also return, and will be available in multi-player games. New moves are also available. The Master Chief can lean around corners (although he must expose himself to shoot) and shoot out lights to hide in the darkness. Master Chief can also sprint for a short distance, although he can't shoot while doing this. He can also combo melee attacks, but so can the enemies. Some are designed with this in mind. This will hopefully make melee more useful if you are caught out of ammo or with ineffective weapons for the enemy you are fighting. A new race of aliens has also been confirmed.
Halo 2 will feature destrucatable environments, (although not to the extent of Red Faction's Geomod) with the enemies taking advantage of it (An Elite may kick over a table and take cover behind it) Halo currently has the best AI in any first person shooter, and Halo 2 can be expected to set the standards for AI in future games. The marines will cover each other and call for vehicle support when neccesary, without scripting. To keep the balance, the enemy will get a similar AI upgrade - patrolling in groups, send scouts, and use the terrain more intelligently, climbing rocks, etc. Covenant will communicate, take up sniper positions, surround you and even run to bring back reinforcements and hunt you down. Whereas in Halo, each enemy stayed in it's assigned area, in Halo 2, they may travel half way across the level to get to you. Drop-ships, instead of just following scripted movements, will have their own AI, which will allow them to be shot down.
The graphics have been greatly improved. A whole new lighting system, with real time lighting which includes all of Master Chiefs weapons, limbs and equipment. The whole environment uses bump mapping (only the buildings and terrain were bump mapped in Halo - all the vehicles and soldiers use it in Halo 2) which can create 3 times the detail with the same polygon count. What is hard to believe is that Master Chief uses less polygons than the original Halo, while looking better. This will allow more enemies on screen at the same time. The destructable terrain, possible due to the new lighting engine, will make battlefields look much more real, giving them a war torn look. It appears that there will be more night-time missions, which will give Bungie more opportunity to show off the new lighting engine. While vehicles did have lights in Halo, they will be much more impressive in Halo 2. The covenant have also been totally re-modelled, and have a much more menacing appearance than Halo.
With all this, and more, Halo 2 looks like a definate contender for Game of The Year . It will be released some time in 2004
Review By: Hasan Sadiki
Game Info: Halo 2
Buy Game: Buy Halo 2 Now!
Screenshots (11):
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