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> Results: Halo 2
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The ESRB Says
Blood and Gore: GamerDad splattered Covenant blood everywhere. Partial Nudity: You get an image of someone's backside when you get a certain combination of errors - already patched. Language: From the very outset there is plenty of colorful language, but never to the point of feeling gratuitous of out of place. Violence: This is a combat game - you are going flat out from start to finish, killing every hostile to cross your path. When I finally got to play Halo 2 courtesy of a borrowed Vista laptop which was capable of running at 1900 x 1200 resolution with all settings on 'high', I was faced with somewhat of a dilemma: do I review it as a 2004 game or a 2007 game? Based on the fact that this is a full price game with 2007 system requirements, it is only fair to treat it as a new property. However, it does so poorly in that analysis I thought perhaps I should look at it through a 2004 lens. In that context, I would have already played Far Cry, Painkiller, Doom 3, Call of Duty: United Offensive and Star Wars Battlefront, and been looking at the nearly simultaneous release of Half-Life 2. That doesn't help the case for Halo 2 very much. The problem is that the game doesn't look as good as even the 2003 game Star Trek: Elite Force 2 and has some of the sloppiest movement and controls I can recall outside of ultra-budget releases. The story works well enough for a FPS, though it feels somewhat fragmented - I suppose that for fans of the series this helps build the feeling of immersion in the political conflict taking place on both sides of the battle. Of course, those who felt frustrated by the non-endings of short games such as Medal of Honor Allied Assault will have their heads just about exploding - the game is perhaps 8 hours long and has a annoying non-ending that is very unsatisfying. Especially paired with the lack of cross-platform multiplayer. Loading up multiplayer in a game that is the showcase of Microsoft's Games For Windows and Live for Windows initiatives, you'd expect to get cross platform support - but all you get is a few PC guys playing rounds of deathmatch and team deathmatch that would have seemed dated back in 2004. But a FPS lives and dies in the gameplay, and with Halo 2 it just isn't there. The basic shooter element reeks of the 'killed by 100 shots to the toe' style that was outmoded on the PC by the late 90's, and a movement system that has you feeling as though you're visiting Master Chief during his dotage instead of as a glorious war hero - and the gameplay is no better when you switch to the Covenant side. If you have played any of the couple dozen solid shooters released on the PC since 2003 you will wonder why this game sold millions and got such glorious reviews. Because on the PC it is a game that Microsoft should be embarrassed to use as the cornerstone of their support for PC gaming - were it not for the name this would be laughed off and hit bargain bins instantly. When I reviewed You Are Empty I couldn't imagine recommending it to anyone, and while Halo 2 is a better game, I enjoyed the novelty and unique storytelling of You Are Empty much more. But instead of buying EITHER of those losers just hit the bargain bins and grab Star Trek: Elite Force 2 instead: the shooter elements are better and the story is more intriguing, and when it is over you will be left feeling much more satisfied and still have enough in your wallet for another game.  
As mentioned in Colleen Hannon's review of the XBOX version of the game, there is plenty of language and violence and unrealistic blood, but nothing outside of the content that is getting a T-rating in many other games that have been released recently. So I concur and echo her recommendation of a GamerDad Seal of 14+.
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