Halo 2 (Xbox)
The Master Chief is back, wowing the crowds at E3 with a glimpse at the continuing war with the Covenant.
By Sal "Sluggo" Accardo | 5/15/2003
All screenshots Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft
Release Date: January 2004
Genre: Action
When it comes to E3 presentations, it's not often that you get a solid round of applause before you even kick off your demo. Then again, there aren't many games like Halo 2, and Bungie's sequel -- being shown off in a theater at the Microsoft booth -- has had people waiting in line for hours for a glimpse at the highly anticipated Xbox title. After seeing the demo for ourselves, we'd have to say: it's worth the wait.
The demo was played live for us by the game's lead designer, who quickly found himself in a argument with an on-screen sergeant (staged, of course), who informed the crowd that we about to see "a work in progress". Halo 2 is set on Earth, as the Covenant has finally located our home planet, and the battle was about to take place on what appeared to be the eastern seaboard of the U.S. After a few moments of levity (including a tiny old-school pixilated version of the Chief kicking a similarly rendered version of a Covenant alien in the rear, and the sergeant referring to our presenter as the "demo be-yatch"), the proper portion started up.
The beginning of the demo started with the Chief -- and AI Cortana in tow -- heading for the landing area in a Pelican dropship. On the super-large presentation screen, it was hard to tell how much of an improvement has been made in the graphics department. The game still has the same basic look and feel as the world of Halo (which isn't a knock, as the first game is still drop-dead gorgeous). There were new some jaw-dropping effects, such as a Covenant ship bombing a human building, nearly filling the entire screen with the glow from the explosions.
Once on the ground, the Chief fights a group of Grunts, using a new sniper rifle and picking off the little guys one by one. After clearing out the area, the Chief met up with the on-site commanding officer, who gives the Chief another new present: dual machineguns. From here, the Chief wasted no time jumping down into the action, mowing down more Grunts around a series of corners before running across a squad of five Elite, advancing on your position from behind their energy shields … until a friendly Marine arrives on the scene in a Warthog and quickly runs a few over.
From here, the demo shifted to vehicular combat, and -- if this demo is any indication -- Halo 2 appears to expand greatly on what players got to do in the original Halo. In the original game, your fellow soldiers were only useful for shooting other enemies; now, they're fully licensed to drive, and one extended sequence features the Chief manning a gun in the rear of a Warthog, taking down numerous flying Covenant craft, while another Marine handles chauffeur duty.
Perhaps the highlight of the demo was after the Chief has dismounted, with a Ghost hovercraft coming his way. Timing his jump, the Chief was able to jump on top of the Ghost, perform a side kick to dislodge the driver, and assume control of the Ghost (sending the crowd crazy).
Overall, the demo had an extremely cinematic feel to it, packed wall-to-wall with what appeared to be scripted sequences and memorable moments, right up to the finale where the Chief -- after an extended hovercraft chase -- barely sails through the closing gates of the city highway system as it's being shut down. It was only an 8 minute demo, but packed in more exciting and memorable moments that you sometimes see in an entire game. Outdoing Halo is a tall order, but if Bungie can keep up this level of action throughout the entire game, there's no doubt Halo 2 will be an instant classic the moment it's released in early 2004.
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