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Translation of Telenet's Halo 2 European Developer Tour Writeup
Original Article posted here, on 14 September 2004
Translated by Soulblighta from the original Dutch on 17 September 2004
The road to Paris
An alarm clock that wakes you at 6.30 in the morning, while many students are still comfortably in their beds enjoying a well deserved summer holiday, that's asking for trouble. So after smashing the alarm clock to pieces, followed by a short, but saturating breakfast and a trainride to Brussels-south, my day could finally begin. Luc Casterman, Product Manager of Microsoft Belgium, accompanied the whole delegation of half sleeping people that called itself "press" down to the red and grey Thalys-train (Is THAT for US?)
Some hated the hour and a half train ride, but a ride in first class, with a nice breakfast included, is always a nice extra. Once arrived at Paris, there was a cab waiting for us outside, who brought us for a good French price (read: way to expensive to Belgian norms), to the Microsoft offices.
Master Chief "in real life"
But of course we didn't came all the way to Paris for the luxurious train ride, the expensive cabs or French blondes (altough...). We came to see and play Halo2, where the multiplayer part of the game would be shown. Ten consoles were ready to play on arrival, but of course there were some snacks first. Once that was done, we were led to a large room, where a kind Bungie-employee gave us a short introduction to the multiplayer features in Halo 2. Until Master Chief himself came on stage and forced pick an xbox console and "Play 'till you die!", As the green man said himself. That was one thing he needn't say twice.
What's the deal?
Before we really start, a small reminder: what we saw was only the multiplayer part of Halo 2. About the single player we didn't recieve any word. But that doesn't take away the fact that the game left a strong impression!
The goal of the Halo 2 multiplayer is simple: fun for everyone, whether you want a quick match or fight a long battle with some of your friends. The "Match Making Service" comes in handy for that. It's a system where a server is chosen that satisfies your personal demands. In reality this makes sure a server with around the same skill as yours is chosen (based on your ranking level), the connection is also being taken into account and your personal preference is the most important factor: Do you want to play a "small game" or the rough action? You just have to press a button and you're able to start!
If, however you want a more precise search, and you want to chose what exactly you're going to play, there are the "Arranged Games", where you can invite your friends or form a party (irrespective off their ranking). Also map and gamemode are selectable. But be warned, at the time this event took place, Bungie hadn't decided yet which of the gamemodes would make It Into the final build.
Speaking of parties: Bungie emphasised that this is a unique sytem, because the people with whom you form a party don't have to be in your friends list! So if you meet some people, you really get along with (be it game- or communication-wise), you can form a party and invite these people. A party is a group of people that decides to play together for a night, nothing more. See It as a very temporary clan. This naturally gives an extra dimension to your games, because eventually you will work more as a team while in a party, than in classical games.
But also the real group-beasts are not forgotten, because now you can form clans. It's up to you to lead yours to first place!
Of course Lan games with almost the same options are possible. Natuurlijk kunnen vrienden ook LAN-gewijs zich uitleven met grosso modo dezelfde opties als in de multiplayer. however, It is sorry that there can't be bots added to Lan games (also not in a Live-session, by the way), which might be a small default for the gamers without Live
Ingame.
The gameplay however, is still making use of the good ol' Halo-feeling, because you'll have to pump a lot of lead into your opponent to slay him down! To make that easier, there is a whole arsenal of new or modified weapons at your disposal. You can also find back recognisable desings like the Needler, the plasma sword, the rocket launcher and the Plasma Gun. All these weapons you can also "dual wield", which means you can have a (different) gun in both hands. Sensation ensured! Grenades are also in the mix again, and will certainly come in handy during a tight 1on1 battle.
But Halo 2 wouldn't be Halo 2 without the necessary vehicles. And also here there have been introduced a couple of new, but still unknown vehicles. This means the Warthog, the Banshee and the ghost are back in the game. Also tanks are included, but they still have to be balanced because they are still overpowered. A new feature is that you can now hijack vehicles (Now you can trow a driver out of his seat and kill him with his own vehicle). Nice!
You will be able to perform this goodness in one of the many new maps. We were given the opportunity to test five of them, and each one of them excelled in design and well tought trough stucture. There will be a lot of variation in the maps, ronging from vast, rocky landscapes to close combat in narrow walkways. This certainly is an improvement with respect to the original Halo!
Graphically the game has also been polished, altough the level of detail is similar to that of Halo. New are the improved physics, because you will now be able to shoot out windows, which will shatter to the ground after when you hit them. Despite the improved technical side, the whole game ran at a sturdy 30fps (smooth when seen trough the human eye). Taking in account an optimalisation when the game releases, this is very promising.
Impressions.
If you'd ask me what I think of Halo 2, then I'll answer: Addictive! During the 3 hours I played the game, I wasn't bored for one moment. The maps are well designed and varried. The controls are, again, very good; aiming works because even a clumsy pc-gamer can practically start gaming without any problems. This makes Ith accessible to the beginner as well as the professional player. Bungie has also put some effort into the look and feel of the levels and it really pays off. To me, Halo 2 posesses that tiny bit of magic that so many shooters lack, and these days, that's something unique. In my opinion Halo 2 has all the potential of becoming a major player for many game of the year awards. So mark November 10th with a big red X!
Halo 2 is well on schedule and promises to become one hell of a sequel. A simple but at the same time ingenious gameplay delivers some unforgettable online massacres. Bungie already deserves an honorable mention for the level design. Only the the weapons and vehicles need some more balancing, but I'm sure this will be taken care of.
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