Last night was the last time Halo 2 will ever be playable over Xbox Live. Personally, I didn’t attend (I got rid of Halo 2 ages ago – I never envisioned a time when we’d play it again), but I have spent the time being devoted to Halo 2 in other ways. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack (thanks again Orca, Secret Santa 2005), it’s telling of the iconic quality of the music that “Heavy Price Paid” is still used in Halo 3. I’ve been re-doing the forum, which is kind of a homage to Halo – I’d like it to be functional before Reach comes along. I’ve also been writing this blog entry, a retrospective of the Epic Win that was Halo 2.
Halo 2 was my first real experience of modern online gaming. Xbox Live itself was a revelation, with a unified friends list that was compatible through all Xbox Live enabled games, voice communication (well, apart from Powers to begin with) and smooth, high speed online gameplay. Then there was Halo 2. The Halo series was, and still is, the nicest First Person Shooter to control, it’s just so smooth and responsive. The Bungie FPS’s just feel so good. The engine underneath it all was solid. There was a satisfying recoil in the meaty weapons, both visual, aural and through the controller. The maps were (mostly) interesting and fun to play in. The icing on the cake though, were the in-depth stats available on Bungie.net. I spent almost as many hours on there poring over wins and losses as I did at my Xbox, making those wins and losses. Compare it to my previous experiences of online gaming (Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast) and you can see, this truly was next-gen.
Here are some random moments of RF! Halo 2 history that still stick out in my mind to this very day.
“When you spawn, you will find you have a Shotgun and a Sword”. The time all the Elites played in character – “Capture the Sacred Icon my Brothers! Burn the Heretics!”. Orca telling us not to worry, and that “they can’t arm it” – only for the opposition bomb to explode, losing us a round. RF! winning the “Best Thread Ever” on Gamesradar. Dante’s Peak. Cubeamania flying to the top of Headlong and never coming back down. Orca arming his SMG. Somehow managing to run myself over in a Warthog by going over a tiny hill on Coagulation. Dante blocking the grav-lift on Headlong. Dawn Of The Dead on Headlong (box yourself in under the stairs!). Dawn Of The Dead on Foundation (To Room 4!). Dawn Of The Dead on Waterworks (yeah, where the fuck is everyone?). Elites clearly being the same size as Spartans. Boosting a Wraith into a pillar on Burial Mounds hoping to see The Giant Master Chief. The time we were just standing and chatting up on top of one of the bases on Coagulation, and Jane just assassinated Grumpy for no reason. Destroying XBM at Halo 2. The various “Dress up as Orca for our Anniversary” evenings. Some French guy telling me to “Go and play Rainbow Six Black Arrow, you noob”. The incredible gametypes: Tony Martin, Ghosts of Mars, Snipe 1-flag, ASDA Flag, Heartbeat, Take The Turret, and so many more I cannot hope to remember.
Maybe you have some of your own? Make a comment here, or post them on the forum – go on, share.
The less initiated among you may be wondering what all these images peppered around are – they are cherished memories, each one. Could Reach be our Renaissance? Check out the Halo 2 image gallery which is elsewhere on my blog – they are mostly of the time we had a “Photocall” – loads of Furies showed up and Orca took pictures of his TV with his camera – and there are a few other random ones on there too.
Halo 3 just wasn’t the same. I’m not sure why it didn’t gel as well as Halo 2 – was it the lack of clan support? The maps not being as good as they were in Halo 2? Bastardising Dawn Of The Dead by making a proper Zombie gametype? By all accounts, with The Forge, screenshots and saved films, it should have been better. Still, Halo Reach is looking like it may recapture the brilliance of Halo 2, and it’s not long ’til we get a taster in the form of the Multiplayer Beta. Fingers crossed, eh?
