I've now clocked an honest 15 hours or so, dividing my time between single-player and Live. The two experiences are different, as with most games, and while the campaign isn't quite grabbing me like the original did, it's still far better than most solo offerings that come packaged with Live standouts—I've barely touched the single-player modes in Wolfenstein, Rainbow Six, or Pandora Tomorrow. Truth is, since online console gaming really started to take off, playing alone is just that, lonely.
It would have been incredible to have online co-op, a feature which certainly beefs up the campaign, and it was a
bit of a tease for Bungie to place a ?Switch To: Co-Op Game? button in the Live menus (some of you know what I?m
talking about?). But alas, it was not to be, and we are left with, well, only the most robust multiplayer online
mode ever created.
My initial fears have been quelled, and
if you?re not too concerned with building online stats, you can enjoy endless action via custom games, which
automatically assign a new host when the active one leaves. The catch is, you can only access these games through
invites or your friends list, but Bungie is banking on the fact that the Xbox Live community is a thick web of
interlocking players. True noobs might find it difficult at first, but just shooting some invites to all of the
recent players you?ve been matched with will certainly land you more than a couple
<i>friends</i>. It?s not like the custom games are all rooms full of longtime comrades since new
players are jumping in and out all of the time, so don?t feel hesitant about joining.
What?s more is that you can take your whole party with you. At one point I was playing matchmaking
games with a friend and received an invite from another friend to join his custom game. I saw (Bungie
shows you how many slots are available in the games your friends are playing & who is playing!) that two slots were
open, so I told the guy I was playing with that I was going to join the other game and that he should follow
me. When I went back into the menu to join, I saw an option to bring my entire party. It?s that
simple! What I really enjoy about the Live experience with Halo 2, is how trouble-free the set-up process
is. It?s obvious that Bungie really studied the community and understood what players needed.
The custom game ended up being a blast. When we arrived, the room was maxed-out with 16-players and we proceeded
to play a few rounds of free-for-all?which was insane. Afterwards, we switched to team games,
primarily classic CTF. We played for a long time on the touched-up version of Blood Gultch (from Halo 1),
Coagulation. It was chaotic at first, before the teams could organize, and I found myself sneaking across the
outskirts of the battlefield, as a virtual war ensued. I snuck my way into the enemy base, grabbed the flag, and
ran back into the open air. That?s when I realized that the flag had rendered me weaponless and had taken some
serious pep outta my step. I need help, I thought. And then?and this is where my surround sound
really pays off?I hear the roar of a Warthog approaching over my left shoulder, and I?m scared to turn because I know
it?s the red team? but the sound carries to the front speaker as the vehicle comes into view on my flank, and there?s
my buddy, uncanny timing! I hop in the passenger?s side and we go barreling back across the battlefield dodging
rockets and Banshee fire. There?s just nothing like this on any console platform anywhere?
[Check back for more updates as I continue to tackle all-things Halo 2. And if you?re looking to mix things
up a bit, try organzing a big match into three or four teams, it?s awesome!]
