Beat numerous times since I got it in the mid 2000s, though I never had an original Xbox and only played on 360. First time was solo on Heroic, then multiple coop campaigns on Heroic with different people. I beat it once on Legendary in 2017 immediately after completing Halo 1 on Legendary. Unlike the 1st game, I used my …
Beat numerous times since I got it in the mid 2000s, though I never had an original Xbox and only played on 360. First time was solo on Heroic, then multiple coop campaigns on Heroic with different people. I beat it once on Legendary in 2017 immediately after completing Halo 1 on Legendary. Unlike the 1st game, I used my mouse and keyboard adapter for Legendary because this game was significantly more difficult with more obnoxious enemies and cheap 1 hit deaths that encouraged even more methodical gameplay around cover, camping and precise sharpshooting. In essence, Halo 2 leaned more so towards Call of Duty and the like instead of Doom. My biggest memory of Legendary was tediously backtracking to collect guns to stockpile at points of no return, especially beam rifles. I never did bother with skulls or pvp.
It was fun to experience it again in 2024 coop Heroic with my girlfriend. I used controller. This game and 3 tend to blur together for me. 2 was the one that introduced dual wielding, several new weapons and vehicles, lost the classic assault rifle, had boss fights, and switched back and forth between playing as the Chief and Arbiter. I did not remember the atrocious vertical screen split for coop instead of the standard horizontal. It made the fov way too low such that it was incredibly difficult to navigate and see what the hell was going on. I later looked it up online and had to change the xbox screen settings to 420 resolution to get the proper split. The game was also very dark at times and the Chief's flashlight was even worse than in the first game with its pathetically short duration. Really the light should have been toggled on and off at will with a slight penalty to shield recharge with it on. The Arbiter didn't even get a light but the short camo was much better anyway. Much of Legendary was abusing the camo then standing around waiting for it to recharge.
Much like the first game my tactics seen me using vehicles whenever possible and having a balanced weapon loadout to counter as many enemy types as possible; usually a 2 handed long range or power weapon paired with run of the mill dual wielding. Tank was still the best. Wraith was powerful but very difficult to aim at long range so it was best used at close to mid range. It was usually too much of a risk to melee hijack them especially when every other vehicle hard countered them. Warthog was even more fun in this game with the option to give npcs rockets or sniper for infinite shots. As usual I was always the driver in coop. The Covenant Specter was their version of the hog, but was slightly less effective because it traded forward speed for strafing ability. The ghost was better than being on foot and the Banshee was much easier to fly with strafing and barrel rolls that made it a bit more like a helicopter and less like a jet.
My general weapon preference order. I made sure that any offhand dual weapon was the weaker as I still used grenades while dual wielding if the opportunity was presented.
-
Fuel rod cannon. Not good for long range but absolutely devastating against everything. Just as deadly as rocket launcher but with much larger clip. Especially good for wrecking elites, groups of brutes and hunters.
-
Rocket launcher. Not as useful as the cannon but the lock on made it excellent against vehicles. I more often used it up rather than save it just in case.
-
Sniper rifle. Safest way to take out most enemies due to the long range. Best not wasted on weak enemies. It edges out the beam rifle due to being able to fire 4 consecutive shots when the beam would overheat after 2.
-
Beam rifle. The Covenant battery powered sniper, which was actually a common weapon. I hated the enemies that used this because it was 2 hit death on Heroic, and 1 hit on Legendary! The game pretty much forced it's use at many points. It was extremely effective against all enemies, even when used at close range where measured shots to prevent overheating made it more viable than the sniper.
-
Carbine. I love this gun mechanically because it was pretty much the Halo 1 magnum only better against shields and with a larger clip. It was great for sniping weak enemies, decent against elites, and one of the best ways to put down a charging brute. However I hate that this gun used ammo instead of battery, ruining the Covenant weapon theme. It should have been a less powerful beam rifle.
-
Brute shot. Decently powerful grenade launcher that was best at close to mid range, with bonus melee damage. Ammo was not plentiful and the splash damage area was tiny but it was very good when available.
-
Sword. Deadly against elites, brutes and flood but only effective at very close range. Depending on the level design this weapon could be the best or the worst. It especially worked well with the Arbiter's camo.
-
Shotgun. Not quite as effective against flood as in the first game but still the best weapon for them at close range. Decent against other enemies too but like the sword it largely depends on the level design.
-
Plasma rifle. Jack of all weapon that is not the best against anything. 2 of these does good damage, can burn through shields and has no recoil, but it is difficult to use at range against moving targets. I do not like to pair it with other weapons; the best way is to fire both at once for maximum dps without having to worry about different fire rates.
-
SMG. Much like the original assault rifle, this gun is extremely effective against flying enemies, grunts and jackals at close to mid range. This gun was mandatory for bugs on Legendary. Recoil was annoying but the gun was fun to use. Mostly paired with the plasma pistol to easily take out elites with a charged shot. It was also fun to dual wield them but I would only fire both at point blank range. The rest of the time I only fired 1 until it needed reloading so I could shoot the offhand and avoid any down time.
-
Needler. Best used with 2 rather than mixed with another weapon because it meant faster explosions and thus less time exposed to fire. It was really only effective against elites and brutes at close range with cover to hide behind while reloading and waiting for the explosion.
-
Plasma pistol. Much less effective than before because of the nerf to its firing rate. Now it is plainly inferior to the rifle, except for how amazing the charged up shot is against shields. Flood forms that used to be elites can have shields too.
-
Pistol. Huge nerf from the first game, but it makes more sense to have weaker backup weapons. It would be cool if you could carry this without taking up a weapon slot. It is functional against grunts, jackals and bugs but terrible against shields. It absolutely has to be paired with the plasma pistol or rifle to offset that weakness. It is a rare weapon that I only used a handful of times.
I do not like this game as much as the original Halo. The story was great with awesome set pieces and one liners. Seeing more from the Covenant perspective was great. Playing as the Arbiter was great. Vehicles were even better, dual wielding was awesome, the new weapons were great (except for a few nit picks and the loss of the classic assault rifle), and the level design was generally better (except when it was too dark). Despite all this, the game was not as much fun as the original, and it was probably impossible to recapture the magic awe and horror of first landing on a Halo ring and the introduction of the flood. The biggest problem with the game had to be the cheap 1 hit deaths. In Halo 1 you only died suddenly from plasma grenades (close or stuck), sword, wraith, rocket launcher flood, explosion flood, and getting hit/crushed by a vehicle. Halo 2 adds to that already too long list with crap like: snipers (on legendary), melee hits from brutes and flood that were also way too difficult to avoid given the player's slow movement, and shotgun flood. Every part with flying elites was also obnoxiously difficult and prevalence of carbines among brutes and elites made it far more deadly to be out in the open vs in Halo 1. The boss fights were more annoying than fun, pretty much relying on save scumming to win on higher difficulties. Perhaps the next time I play should be on Normal. Still an amazing game overall.
8.8/10
