Halo 2 (PC) Review
Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 06.27.2007
He-re-tic! He-re-tic! He-re-tic!
In a concentrated effort to bring PC and console gaming closer together, Microsoft and Bungie studios re-released the Xbox classic Halo 2 onto both the Xbox 360 and the PC. This dual release could not have come at a more timely point as fans of the series, fresh from having their appetites whet with the recent Halo 3 open beta, clamor for more Halo action.
The selling point of this release is pretty straight forward. PC gamers using the Windows Vista operating system can now play Halo 2 against those using the Xbox 360 version of the game over Xbox Live. In addition, the game includes several new multiplayer maps and a very, very complicated set of map creation utilities.
Given the classic nature of the Halo series, I find it a little awkward to go over the well documented “Master Chief VS the universe” storyline. Even newbies who haven’t ever picked up a Halo game in their entire lives can still get a feel for what is going on in the single player campaign of this title, and almost nothing has changed since Halo 2’s original release on that end. The real meat of this title is in the new features and multiplayer aspects. Microsoft is attempting to carve out a brand new niche that will ultimately monopolize both PC and console gaming at the same time, with features so juicy no gamer will be able to resist. At least, that’s the idea anyway. While we only see shades of this in the re-release of Halo 2, the foundation has been set for a brave new world in gaming.
Microsoft recommends that gamers play the PC release of Halo 2 on a PC that has a “Windows Vista Experience Rating” of 3 or higher. The PC we tested the game on rated 5.5.
Graphics
Given the superiority of computer monitors over standard definition televisions, one would expect that the PC release of Halo 2 would have improved graphics that lay the original Xbox release of the game to shame. While the graphics here are certainly a clear cut improvement, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that even more could have been done on this front.
Sure, the character models are given a nice new finish that shows all the glimmer and rust of various metals surrounding each warrior’s armor. Sure, the explosion effects create transparent glassy effects that mimic the Windows Vista AERO interface with perfect emulation. Sure, the environmental and weather effects seem to take on a life of their own and hypnotize the eye. But the problem here is in the substance. While everything we see in Halo 2 looks better than ever before, the fact is we’ve seen it already, and unfortunately the resolution change between the old and new versions of the game just aren’t different enough to really amaze the eye. There’s not that many new textures to look at, and very little has been added into the classic campaign stages.
What’s more, even on our relatively high end performance machine, Halo 2 STILL suffered from occasional slow down and frame rate drops that you would expect long gone with this late of a release. The fact that an FMV sequence would skip at all on any dual core processor based system is just unimaginable, yet it happens in Halo 2. While its almost barely noticeable, when you add in the inaccurate speech motions on each character’s mouth combined with an expected delay in voice over (which admittedly doesn’t happen, the characters just aren’t designed accurately enough) the games graphical quirks really leave me scratching my head. It’s an improvement, but it’s not nearly enough.
Gameplay
I’m going to go to all the local video game stores with one of those label guns you see in the canned food section of your local grocer and slap the following across the PC release of Halo 2: WARNING – DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME WITHOUT A CONTROLLER PERIPHERAL.Halo 2 supports nearly all available game market controllers and even Xbox 360 controllers (which require no emulation software since Vista comes with the necessary drivers right out of the box) and thank god for that because the game needs it. Using a mouse and keyboard results in a significant delay of at least .15 seconds in reaction time that absolutely ruins any chance Halo 2 ever had of becoming a legitimate PC based first person shooter.
That being said, plugging in a game pad of any kind (but especially the Xbox 360 controller) results in getting the same wonderful alien blasting, dual wielding Halo experience fans have come to know and love. There’s just something magical about jamming down on both fire buttons and feeling the roar and rumble of your controller as you cut through your enemy’s shield and knock them off their elevated platform and into eternity. That magic is very present in this version of Halo 2 and the experience has not waned at all.
However, gamers will have to go through a lot to get to that experience. First of all, Halo 2 for the PC requires Windows Vista, an operating system that is not yet completely compatible with a lot of existing hardware out there. Second, even if you have Vista, the requirements for Halo 2 on the PC are on the slightly steep side, and if you don’t meet those requirements in full then be prepared to sit through several “warning” messages and menus reminding you that the game you are about to install is not going to live up to your expectations.
If you’ve avoided Xbox Live up until now, be ready to put an end to that too. Halo 2 for the PC bases a lot of its multiplayer features around the Xbox/Windows Live online multiplayer system. The plus side to this is that if you already have an Xbox Live account, your precious achievements will link into that same account and add to your already impressive gamerscore. You’re Xbox Live friends list will be waiting for you too, but if you don’t have Xbox Live then you’ll need to configure an account just to get the necessary updates needed to play the game. All of this takes time and is rather intrusive, and given some of the game’s loading times this doesn’t help the situation so much. Microsoft’s new “gamer network” concept is the real feature here overall, but it does backfire a little bit.
Sound
Most gamers are more likely to get better sound out of their computers than to have a THX theatre set up around their favorite game console. It’s obvious that Bungie was aware of this, and while the sound for Halo 2 on the PC might just be a rehash of what was already in the game, it just somehow sounds that much better coming out of a PC sound card and speaker set up. The classic orchestra and operetta vocals that take place both before and during the game play are top notch and really envelope the player, helping the game experience ten fold. Weapon sounds are also spot on and get an extra kick from PC speakers. The SMG in particular has an added bass to its previous “clicking” fire sound.
I originally thought I had discovered a serious bug in the game’s sound channels when I first went into an outer space area in the single player campaign. After a few plays I quickly remembered that Halo has that whole “in space no one can hear you shoot” aspect to it, and I was impressed to hear the muffled sound of my SMG’s firing off into nothingness. The sound was like nothing I’d heard before, but just faint enough to let me hear it during play. Overall the sound for the PC version of Halo 2 is far more than I could have hoped for.
Lasting Appeal
I’d be hard pressed to say which Halo multiplayer experience is superior as far as platforms go. Microsoft and Bungie seem to have engineered the PC release of the game in such a way that deviating from a console style hardware set up and settings actually makes the game suck. If you stick with Microsoft’s program though, the PC version of the game’s multiplayer becomes just as fun as the console version, if not more so. PC gamers also have the option of playing against other PC users only or on Xbox Live with console gamers, so that at least levels the playing field somewhat.
The game’s map creation utilities are really something else. While it’s almost impossible to put together a map using existing textures (which would have made things much easier) the level of customization here is impressive. Map makers can create completely original textures from scratch and even paint a completely new sky of their scenarios, creating an entirely new world for their fellow gamers to enjoy. There are really no tutorials or references in the game’s instruction book though, so unless you already possess some serious virtual design skills the map creation utilities become ultimately useless. That’s a real shame too, because offering some free lessons would have really increased the customization level of the game and probably resulted in more online play long after Halo 3 was released. For those of you professional graphics designers out there though, you’ll be playing with Halo 2 on your PC for a long time.
Fun Factor
At the end of the day, regardless of platform, Halo 2 is Halo 2 and that means the game is fun. As the series has progressed over the years, something inside of me has always secretly viewed Halo as somewhat of a glorified Goldeneye, but even on the PC release of the game the appeal of the game is hard to deny. Strangely enough, the game doesn’t even require use of the DVD once its installed and registered, conflicting with Microsoft’s hardcore anti-piracy policies big time. There isn’t even a desktop icon that shows up after the game is installed. My point in mentioning this is that Halo 2 for the PC is far closer to its console counterparts than any PC FPS that has come before, and with that comes all the fun and amusement that Halo 2’s previous release was so famous for..
The 411
With the PC release of Halo 2, Microsoft attempts to bridge the gap between console and PC gaming. While this endeavor is a failure in some ways, the fun of playing Halo 2 has not waned at all. The game is still fun and certainly a worthwhile purchase for map designers and PC gamers who have always wanted to find a use for that Logitech Rumble Pad they’ve had laying around. Everyone else though, might want to just wait around for the sequel.
