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WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 10:29 AM
Halo 2 Preview
by: Matt Pearce

Disclaimer:
All of the information I have put together has come from either Bungie themselves or other trustworthy previews. I have not scanned message boards or chain mails or anything of this nature for information. However, being that this IS A PREVIEW, all information presented is subject to change. This preview may be printed, copied, and linked to without limitation. If you plan on adding my preview to your website via copy and paste, though, you must contact me, or if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, e-mail them to me at zig@k.st

(note, I am Matt Pearce so its not a violation of my disclaimer to post this here but if you want to link to this preview, don't link to it here, link to it at my site at Halo2.owns.it)

Preview:
Familiarize Yourself:
Halo: Combat Evolved was rightfully named the best FPS (First Person Shooter) on any console or system ever. Bungie, the creators of the original Halo, are now working on the sequel to this incredible game. If you've ever played the original Halo, you know why this has gamers everywhere so excited. The original Halo featured an intriguing and captivating single player story line, coupled with intense multiplayer either on a single Xbox or a network of Xboxes. Halo 2 will feature all of these aspects and will include Xbox Live, Xbox's Internet multiplayer service. With the capability of live voice chat via the Xbox Live Starter Kit's microphone and the ability to host an unlimited number of games with many people in each at the same time, Xbox Live is the best online multiplayer service for any console.

Overview:
But enough about the peripherals, you're here to read about the game. It will feature massive, beautifully detailed environments with bump mapping at every turn (the original Halo' s environments were bump mapped but the 3D models themselves were not, they WILL be in Halo 2). There will also be a number of new weapons and vehicles with the ability to hold a gun in each hand. This amazing feature will allow you to fire each gun separately with each controller trigger respectively. Some of the new weapons include the "Battle Rifle" the SMG, and POSSIBLY a flamethrower! Bungie has said that they will only include the flamethrower if every flammable object in the environment can be set on fire.

Graphics:
One disappointment from the original Halo was the somewhat repetitive levels. They literally had to place arrows on the floors so you wouldn't get lost. Bungie stated that this was due to the fact that Xbox needed Halo as a console launching title so they had to rush the completion of the game. They have said that the levels in Halo 2 will not be like this, they are taking all of the time necessary to finish this game including all of the features they want. This is why they pushed back the release date from the Christmas season of 2003 to (prospectively) March of 2004. One such feature is the dynamic lighting that shifts as objects move. In other words, when master chief hefts his assault rifle up, not only will it leave a real-time shadow on the ground, it will also leave the shadow on his body! Along with per-pixel shading, these dynamic lighting effects will create a stunningly realistic environment. Very few games have even attempted this due to the complexity and the sheer power a system would require to use it. What can I say? Bungie is pulling it off for us. Another feature that the dynamic lighting will help to provide is destructible and movable environments. If you've seen the Halo 2 real time demonstration video then you already know what I'm talking about. Walls being blown to pieces, signs and billboards falling over and exploding, and my personal favorite, physically accurate, explosive vehicles. PS2 and Gamecube, step down.

Artificial Intelligence:
The game's AI has also been given a massive overhaul. Completely scrapping the original Halo's AI structure, Bungie has created an entirely new AI system. Your allied marines will talk to each other, giving them tactical information. The covenant will be much more realistic with their strategy and interaction with their fellow fighters and the environment. If, for example, you were to fire into the midst of a group of covenant and then ran off, they would send out a search party for you. The rest of the group would stay back and prepare for a second attack in whatever ways available. They will also take advantage of lighting and the environment. If for example you are fighting with an Elite, he might hide behind a billboard. If this billboard were destroyed, though, he would immediately seek other cover or begin fighting with you. The covenant will also be equipped with flashlights as you were in the original Halo. They will use these to find you if you are hiding in a dark area (much like real life... coincidence? I think not). Another feature that will help with the game's immersive qualities will be the AI's interaction with the real-time lighting. Didn't it suck when you were in complete darkness and the elite on the other side of the room (that you couldn't see) could see you as bright as day? You didn't stand a chance! Now the AI will modify itself depending on lighting situations. If, for example, you went into a small corridor and shot out the lights (you really can shoot out the lights!), surrounding yourself in darkness, a covenant searching for you would not be able to see you, unless, of course, he whips out his flashlight which will also render real-time lighting effects. The AI has now been revamped to allow for better NPC drivers. Your marines can now hop in the driver's seat while you grab the gunner's spot, shooting down covenant transports (which are destructible this time around) with various stationary weapons. On the subject of the warthog's stationary weapons, I have a few speculations. We already know there is going to be a minigun warthog, but the E3 Real-Time Demonstration video shows another type of warthog. Though it hasn't been stated what kind of weapon it was, I'm going to assume it is either a gauss cannon or some type of plasma weaponry stolen from the covenant arsenal. Another type of warthog that may be introduced into Halo 2 is the rocket warthog. This style of warthog was introduced in the Halo for PC. Bungie hasn't said ANYTHING about releasing this on Halo 2 but coupled with the speculated flamethrower and banshees in multiplayer that were in Halo for PC... I'm assuming all three will be there along with the covenants' fuel rod cannon. Bungie HAS TO include everything that we've loved from the previous games in Halo 2, otherwise the consumers would be disappointed, and they wouldn't want that now would they... Would you Bungie? *Commences evil stare*

Continued below:

WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 10:30 AM
Vehicles:
One of the original Halo's distinguishing qualities was the excellent use of vehicles. All of your original favorites are returning, completely remodeled to fit the new graphics engine, along with a new line of wonderful vehicles. The warthog has been given several different types of body styles for a whole new world of gameplay. There is now a transport warthog which can carry large quantities of soldiers into the midst of battle, just make sure nobody is toting a rocket launcher nearby when you've got four of your friends in the back seat. Another form of the warthog is the Arctic version. This style comes with treads for added traction on snow and ice. There will also be a 4-wheeler you can ride around at high speeds, basically a faster, 1-seater version of the warthog. The humans will now also be equipped with stationary turrets. One thing I have to mention though is that Bungie stated they have upped the textures and sounds that go along with many of the covenant vehicles, the ghost they mentioned in particular. It has been given a distinctive whine and all around eerie presence. I can't wait to be scared out of my pants by the sound of a ghostly... ghost coming up behind Me.

Xbox Live Play:
Though all of these features are nice, some people don't even care about them. All they want Halo 2 for is the legendary online multiplayer that has been revealed. There will be massive, full-scale warfare with armies of covenant and humans going at it via Xbox Live, both the humans AND the covenant being controlled by player characters. There will also be the traditional slayer, team slayer, capture the flag, probably all of our old favorite B class game types like oddball and king of the hill and hopefully all the customization that the first Halo offered. Remember when you finally got three of your friends together at the same time and had a four-player slayer? Or that time you had that party and your friend brought his Xbox and you had an eight player capture the flag game? That was the most fun you've ever had in your entire gaming existence. Unfortunately it very rarely happened. How often can you get eight people together who all want to play Halo? With Xbox Live play in Halo 2 it can be every... single... night. But why stop at eight people? There's no telling how many users can be in one online game at a time but you could have 16 people over a LAN connection with Halo, why shouldn't you be able to in Halo 2? Most games are mixing their servers at 16 connections so I think its safe to say that Halo 2 will as well. How fast it will run with 16 people is yet to be determined BUT Halo 2 is a massive opportunity for gaming communities and the like. Our favorite Halo 2 and Xbox sites will probably host their own T3 dedicated servers, which will run non-stop. I assume there will be no shortage of high-speed 16 player servers so get ready for THE fragfest.

Picture This:
Imagine this scenario. You've just connected to Xbox Live and joined a 16-player team slayer. You find your seven other allies at one end of the map and collect yourselves two warthogs and two banshees (banshees haven't been secured in multiplayer but... its gonna happen). Six of your teammates pile into the warthogs while you and your friend, who just connected, climb into the banshees. It's time to make your assault. The banshees lead the charge, firing their explosive, green plasma charges into the midst of a group of four Spartans. Two put up their weapons and begin running at full speed away from the combat (running will be possible in Halo 2, the downside is you can't use your weapons while running) the other two are caught in the blasts and are sent vaulting across the level, flailing their arms and legs before they hit the ground. You can't hear them but you know that the two that got away are yelling across their microphones for the other Spartans to come back them up. You and your friend quickly double back, telling your teammates about the encounter, laughing and calling them pansies (you know you would be). You then meet up with your warthogged teammates and continue your onslaught into the heart of their base. The two you killed have respawned by now and you see them and the rest of their team waiting for you. They have a scorpion. A stream of smoke shoots through the air, following an explosive missile. It’s heading right for your friend. He tries pulling up but the shot barely hits his wing. The powerful explosion kills him instantly, sending his banshee flipping three times before it hits the ground. You scream his name over the microphone, probably cussing a few times, as you proceed to aim your plasma cannons at the scorpion. Fortunately it takes quite a while for the scorpion to reload. Using this time to your advantage you unload an explosive plasma blast directly on top of the scorpion. Two of the passengers are flung from t he vehicle but the driver is still alive and kicking. As his cannon finishes reloading he begins firing the built-in machine gun. Though this gun has terrible accuracy, its very powerful and your health diminishes quickly. Fortunately, a warthog flies around the corner and rams itself into the scorpion. Not necessarily a smart move but hey, JoshNE146D9 is new at the game. The rear gunner of the warthog then fires his new gauss rifle at the scorpion, immediately destroying it. The other two passengers of the scorpion are also killed when the other warthog makes a last ditch effort and rams the scorpion as well, launching it onto the side of the scorpion, smearing the scorpion's passengers against their own vehicle. The last group of three enemies pops around the corner in a warthog of their own, blasting one of your team's vehicles off the side of the scorpion. You then direct your plasma cannon towards the guest warthog and unleash hot fury.

Though that was a little long winded, it does illustrate in full detail the fun that could be attained in every game you play over Halo 2's online multiplayer.

Continued below:

WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 10:30 AM
E3 Presentation: My Take:
As the E3 Presentation begins, we view a cinematic of our glorious Master Chief, riding into what appears to be a full fledged war on human soil on board a Pelican. We get a glimpse of the battle as we watch a few marines checking out the situation. They transmit via radio that they recommend the mission be aborted, but the Pelican's riders know better than to back off with a spartan at their disposal. The Pelican swoops down into the city of New Mombasa, an Eastern African Protectorate city. The landing gear is lowered and the soldiers "pile out". Here the cinematic breaks and a Bungie employee takes the helm. The level begins as the Master Chief approaches a soldier beckoning him closer. The soldier informs him of a little bit of whats going on then leads him past the medical facilities, taking a break to get a little more info. Had I been playing things would have gone a little differently. First off I would have done a little more exporation of the terrain. Second, I would have pulled out my fragmentation grenades and blown the snot out of the limping soldiers and surgeons. Say what you might but you know you would have done the same thing! Back to the presentation, Master Chief is then led through a small building, up a flight of stairs, and past a couple marines, firing stationary minigun turrets out of makeshift windows. The marines are intently talking to each other and giving advice, showing the teamwork that will be implemented in the games AI. We walk a little bit farther to find a few marines hiding behind a wall. One shouts "Is it clear!?" immediately afterwards an explosion sounds and nearby wall is blown to pieces, demonstrating the destructable environments. The other marine then responds to the previous question saying "You tell me!" The Master chief then wanders outside to spy a gigantic weapon firing at an unprotected building. He then peers over a ledge to spot a group of grunts in hiding. The Master Chief proceeds to unload a fragmentation grenade at them, sending them flying across the level in agony. Nearby debree is also thrown around, demonstrating Halo 2's interactive environmental capabilities. He then continues down a staircase to find a soldier hiding in a corner. This battle-torn man is surprised to see a spartan come to his rescue. He then devises a plan to get rid of the giant weapon thats threatening them. He calls for an airstrike while the Master Chief takes out some unlucky Covenant from a stationary minigun turret. As the Master Chief finishes his one man assault, the whine of incoming bombers can be heard. The aircraft fly overhead and drop a devastating payload on the weapon. The Master Chief then turns to the soldier with a smile under his visor. The injured soldier then relinquishes his sub-machine guns to the Master Chief. Note: I said guns not gun. The Master Chief is now carrying two sub-machine guns, which he makes excellent use of in the next few combat sequences. The Master Chief heads down another ramp, SMGs blazing the covenant the whole way. He then dashes across a fallen building's debree, taking care of a few lonely covenant along the way. The Master Chief comes across a group of his allies, standing off with a group of covenant. A soldier across from him lobs a fragmentation grenade down the hall. Unfortunately, not many covenant are hit. Its time for the spartan to go to work. He jumps around the corner, hailing bullets from his SMGs onto the unsuspecting covenant, demolishing them in seconds. After his successful battle he wanders around the corner and up a ramp to find a group of jackals in formation, marching directly toward him. The situation looks bad, could this be the end of our beloved Master Chief? No. A couple warthogged marines jet around the corner, plowing through the jackals ranks. The marines tempt him to join them in the gunner seat, and he does. But this aint your ordinary warthog, this time its equipped with some kind of cannon, gauss cannon maybe? Who knows. The Master Chief uses his new found glory to barrel down the city streets, destroying covenant vehicles right and left. But all good things must come to an end. The Master Chief runs into a new breed of enemy, these called Brutes. This massive creature, comparable with a hunter, throws itself on top of the warthog and proceeds to maul its passengers. The Master Chief dives off just in time, running up to the Brute and bashing him with his battle rifle three times in rapid succession. The Brute's lifeless body plops onto the cement and the Master Chief pumps a few rounds into his chest, just to be sure. But, as they say, you can't keep a good man down. And fortunately for us, the Master Chief is a good man. He then turns to find a few more Brutes heading right for him. Using quick thinking he aims his rifle at a nearby car, shoots it a few times, and kills the Brutes with the explostion produced by the car. But the Master Chief is beginning to feel naked without a vehicle beneath him so he spots a ghost piloted by a Brute heading for him. He jumps at just the right time to land on the ghost's wing and then hurls himself at the pilot, feet-first, ejecting him from the craft. He then uses his brand new ghost to effectively finish off the last few Brutes, just before heading off to lead the Phantoms away from the rest of the fight. This then transfers back into a cinematic, depicting an incredible chase scene. The Master Chief speeds down a highway and then into a tunnel, bringing a few ghost-riding Brutes with him. The doors at the end of the tunnel begin to close and the Master Chief barely slips through, skidding to a halt in his armor. His persuers weren't so lucky. The Master Chief stands up and then begins to recieve another briefing from Cortana when objects begin falling all about him. These are actually pods containing beam sword toting Elites. The Master Chief finds himself surrounded by snarling Elites so, what does he do? He activates a plasma grenade. Thats the Master Chief we all know and love. Cortana then places a bet with the Master Chief "Bet ya' can't stick it!" she says in reference to the ability of the plasma grenade to stick to its targets. "Your on." the Master Chief solemnly replies as he begins to throw.

Didn't get enough? Want 100 Halo 2 screenshots, streaming and downloading locations of Halo 2 videos (including streaming and downloading locations for the E3 video), tons more info, a community and xbox live clan? Take a look at my shrine to Halo 2. If its been released, you can find it at my site: Halo2.owns.it

Matt Freegard
11-06-2003, 10:45 AM
My eyes got dazed reading all that,my question is...

DOES IT HAVE GUESTS?:huh:

I whis previews for Live games would say whether or not they allow this feature.

SnoochyBoochy
11-06-2003, 10:47 AM
*changes underwear*

thanks to this thread, I'm extremely excited for halo 2, once again...

WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 10:49 AM
That isn't in any previews because it hasn't been released yet. Bungie is keeping many things secret as of now (though why they wouldn't tell us if it allows guests or not is beyond me). I couldn't even guess about this if I had to, the odds are about 50/50.

And Snoochy... thats why I posted it :p

Matt Freegard
11-06-2003, 10:59 AM
It is very anoying cause most of my live games allow guests apart from GRIT,even PGR2 allows guests and that seemed impossible to me!

I hope Halo 2 doesn't do a Rainbow 6!:watchout:

WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 11:03 AM
My thoughts exactly, the back of the rainbow six 3 box is very misleading. It said 1-16 players when I bought it so I went ahead and assumed that meant if you linked 4 xboxes together you could have 16 people. Nope, there isn't any kind of split screen whatsoever. If it wasn't so freakin' awesome I'd want my money back.

Duke
11-06-2003, 11:03 AM
Hey Freegard, do you like it when live games support guests? Just curious.

Matt Freegard
11-06-2003, 11:12 AM
It's probably cause I'm so Xenaphobic!

The real reason is cause I have a mate who hardly ever comes round and cause I'm online alot I like having him being able to play aswell!

And also if you've got a mate online aswell it doesn't seem so pathetic.

thrAsher
11-06-2003, 11:40 AM
That was a good, if not long, read. Thanks WrathfulPoppa. Very informative and like Snooch said, got me amped for Halo 2 all over again.

Your site is looking good, too.

:cheers:

mattgame
11-06-2003, 11:52 AM
Now that's more gut wrenching aniticipation. I appreciate the info though.:)

RagunCajun
11-06-2003, 12:02 PM
Great info. If halo 2 doesnt have ts, ctf, koth, odd ball like the current one has, it will be crap in multiplayer. They need to have new levels for multiplayer.

mattgame
11-06-2003, 12:27 PM
Well, according to another thread we will be waiting forever now, henceforth my excitemnet has been dashed.:mad:

No Fear 23
11-06-2003, 01:02 PM
the only thing that bothers me the most in the preview is this.


Two put up their weapons and begin running at full speed away from the combat (running will be possible in Halo 2, the downside is you can't use your weapons while running) the other two are caught in the blasts and are sent vaulting across the level, flailing their arms and legs before they hit the ground.


godangit :cuss: :cuss: u cant shoot when ur running on foot.

WrathfulPoppa
11-06-2003, 01:07 PM
Originally posted by thrAsher
That was a good, if not long, read. Thanks WrathfulPoppa. Very informative and like Snooch said, got me amped for Halo 2 all over again.

Your site is looking good, too.

:cheers:

Thanks thrAsher, we've recently finished a project to make the site more visually appealing.

thrAsher
11-06-2003, 01:09 PM
Originally posted by WrathfulPoppa


Thanks thrAsher, we've recently finished a project to make the site more visually appealing.

NP, man, and let us know when you get it all updated.

RagunCajun
11-07-2003, 12:48 AM
Of course you will be able to run and shot liek in halo 1. He meant when his throws his guns down to run EVEN FASTER.....i think.

TheCovenant
11-07-2003, 01:48 AM
Originally posted by RagunCajun
Of course you will be able to run and shot liek in halo 1. He meant when his throws his guns down to run EVEN FASTER.....i think.


yea. when you put your weapons down you can go into a full sprint.

and one more thing, why do you always write in blue, rajun cajun? everytime i start reading one of your post i always think a mod changed somehting.

l Maximus l
11-07-2003, 02:26 AM
Halo 2 is going to own XBox Live.

mattgame
11-07-2003, 08:19 AM
Well has anybody found out about the release date, I mean if it is like I have read this is all premature.

No Fear 23
11-07-2003, 06:35 PM
Originally posted by Maximus-XBA
Halo 2 is going to own XBox Live.

of course :cheers: