Jesus. Just finished the game for the first time on heroic. Loved it overall but that ending seemed weird. I thought they would ACTUALLY let me finish the fight as Master goddamn Chief. It's not a big deal since I'm gonna fire up Halo 3 anyway, but imagine playing it back in the day and seeing that ending.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Wait, are you telling me Halo 2 ends on a cliffhanger?
- Thread starter Djost1kk
- Start date
Sorry I'm just catching up on some Xbox classics since I mostly played only on playstation.
It was an abrupt ending, but I wouldn't say the issue was expecting to finish to fight in that game given how apparent it was there was going to be a third game. If someone had that expectation back then, that's on them, I says.
But the cut to black endings in anticipation of a sequel are never a good idea. You can offer something more conclusive and still allude to a continuation without doing that shit.
But the cut to black endings in anticipation of a sequel are never a good idea. You can offer something more conclusive and still allude to a continuation without doing that shit.
I was going in expecting a cliffhanger.
When I beat Halo 2 a few years ago, I was floored. Cliffhanger is VERY generous and not the word I'd use. No ending, is more like it
When I beat Halo 2 a few years ago, I was floored. Cliffhanger is VERY generous and not the word I'd use. No ending, is more like it
Holy shit you played 100% spoiler free?
My congratulations and I envy you, I never ''care'' for Halo and I knew this when I played(a couple of months ago).
My congratulations and I envy you, I never ''care'' for Halo and I knew this when I played(a couple of months ago).
I think HL2 isn't that bad. Things are just over there, while in Halo 2 Chief actually says FINISH THE FIGHT and then game says like bye bye see ya later.
I don't have to imagine playing the game back in the day and seeing that ending.. does that make me old
It birthed the whole "Finish the Fight" motif that drove the marketing for Halo 3. The marketing folk certainly knew how to play it up.
Yeah, I'm still going tthrough for the first time and even I know I'm finishing the fight in halo 3 lol.
Lol was just about to post the same thing. Kids, these days.
I remember nothing feeling frustrated back when I played it. I thought the story was so strong and surprising I felt like I had my fill.
I'm not sure if this is allowed, but I'm loving this guy more than the Chief. I would love standalone game with my Arby boy. I dunno, he is just likeable and fun to play with the cloak.
They literally ran out of time. Halo 2 and Halo 5 in particular were victims of a forced, too short, "can't" delay timetable. Infinite as well, it seems, but they finally wised up and realized pushing the date is better than tanking the franchise.
A man of culture.
Arbiter's arc added so much more depth to the Covenant and the Halo universe. Turned it into a bit more of a space opera than shooty shooty space marine vibe.
Sentiment has changed a bit over the years. People were mad at the time, but now Thel's a fan favourite.
About the ending; I wasn't mad at the time, I just remember thinking, "oh, that's a bit abrupt." I eventually came to love the ending (on subsequent playthroughs, post-Halo 3, at least). I find it pretty hype-inducing these days:
"Master Chief, you mind telling me what you're doing on that ship?"
"Sir. Finishing this fight."
CUE MUSIC.
Yep, now you inderstand our old pains.
Honestly, Halo 2 got great reviews back in the day, but I was really disappointed in the campaign straight from Day 1. I think everyone was bummed out by the cliffhanger ending. Even if I still liked it (and loved the MP). It was actually a downgrade from Halo 1 in a lot of ways, like the scale of fights, and lacked creativity, or much new to play with in the sandbox in my opinion.
Halo 3 on the other hand though. If you loved Halo 2, Halo 3 is probably the best game in the series. I don't want to overhype it, but I just replayed it, and it's still an incredible amount of fun. Playing on PC with Keyboard and Mouse was awesome too. I think you are in for a treat.
Lol yeah I'm playing through MCC with a friend for the first time and I had no idea it ended like that either. I knew a fair bit about Halo but the end of 2 being so awful and one of the worst cliffhangers I've ever seen was quite shocking.
Halo 2 in general was lacking compared to the first game overall.
Halo 2 in general was lacking compared to the first game overall.
When you first saw that cliffhanger were you blinded by its majesty?
Nope. There's a comic that it's a bridge between the ending of Halo 2 and the beggining of Halo 3.
Nope. There's a comic that it's a bridge between the ending of Halo 2 and the beggining of Halo 3.
Didn't Bungie say they ran out of time to finish Halo 2 how they wanted because of the release deadline? Wouldn't have helped having that entire level shown at E3 being scrapped because it wouldn't run on retail consoles, that would've out them back a bit I expect.
I know, right? Now I actually care about the Covenant and want to know more about their lore and all that stuff. Arbiter itself is just great protagonist, even though they didn't give him much of a screen time. I'm hoping for more chemistry between him and Chief. They just have to do that.
Imagine indeed..... Halo 2's launch felt like the first HUGE game launch to me. A year and a half spent hyping it up the ass , the infamous "2 GUNS" gameplay reveal at E3 2003 , midnight launches at gamestops across north america.
And then... a week later at most , everyone finishes the game only to notice that the final stage was cut from the game :( This happened the same year that Half Life 2 pulled the same shit. Even though it made the campaign a bit of a let down, Halo 3 became even bigger because of it. Perhaps the cliff hanger would have gone over better if the overall gameplay in Halo 2 was better but... it was weaker in most ways, levels felt more narrow , fewer vehicle portions, having to split playtime between Arbiter and MC. What ultimately saved it was of course that Halo 2 was the XBL showpiece , playing online with voice chat in 8 player matches with some fun maps.
OP, just be thankful that it's now 2020 and you don't have wait 3 years to play the rest of the story.
Takes place a week after mate. Gotta read the official tie in merch to actually know what happened, screw the people who just play the games!
I've played Halo 2 recently with multiple people who have never played it and they all say the same thing lol
Imagine it? Many of us were there. It was the shitty cherry on top of the poop sundae of Halo 2, at least for me. I know others enjoyed it more than I did.
