"Halo 2: Sweeter than a Rotten Pie"

Ever hear of a system seller? This is practically what Halo 2 represents, day in and day out. A game based around first person shooting, but with superb production values, giving it an almost instant 10 rating on every reviewing site you check. Why is the series so darn good? Because of a great developer. Why is the game so darn bad? Well, frustration.

Let me quickly start off by saying that I love Halo 2, and would rate it a 9/10. With that being said, most of this article focuses on the negative aspects.

I have to admit - I never played the original Halo's multiplayer system against anyone else. While I believed it was an awesome FPS, and it had its ups and downs, the appeal slowly went down the drain with a limitation on campaign mode. The anticipation of Halo 2 grew inside my belly. I personally was not a huge fan of the series, but with raves about a great X-BOX Live multiplayer system (the best for the expected release date), and definitive reviews, what wasn't there to like about the game? So as any other casual gamer, I went out and purchased it 3 days after the game's release. It hooked onto me like some form of detached malaria. While campaign was a short breeze and not very enticing, the multiplayer system was unheard of, featuring semi-particle RPG elements (based on leveling up), combined with a huge player base of over 1,000,000 different accounts. Right off the bat, I found myself cruising through levels.

Soon enough though, the eagerness plunged to the depths of hell in a little over 6 months. Cheats, Glitches, and Secrets were exploited on each map. Due to its popularity, I wrote an incumbent guide which seemed to go underappreciated, even though I made a few bucks here and there. The stand-by glitch popped up and completely ruined legitimate skilled players from earning their high rank. The game of Halo 2, rock solid as a ripe potato, got mashed into a bowl of putrid sauce. What else can I account for, by taking the Halo 2 Experience Class?

• Smacktalking (players kill you, and you can hear their voices over your dead body)
• Teabagging (players hump your dead body)
• Cursing (players curse quite often, whether at you, or in disgust of their own actions)
• Cheating (standbyers, bomb hiders, superjumpers, the list goes on)
• Blaring Music (easy to avoid, mute)
• Waste of Time (gained from the experience - nothing)

This practically sums the online play of Halo 2 up. While the Autoupdate by Bungie has been released, too much too late.

Honestly, the autoupdate by Bungie was suppose to fix most of the problems flawing the online elements of Halo 2. However, it has done more harm than good in my opinion. Why should I go out, wait for the stats to reset, and try my best to make it to the leaderboards? The answer is, I shouldn't. Because of Bungie's purposeful delays (claiming beta testing for maps/new patch?), not only do they keep the Halo 2 audience occupied, but it should hold over just long enough for the release of Halo 3. What ever happened to increasing a game's quality to maximum potential right off the bad? Now I know Bungie isn't the best developer out there, but to have the game's FIRST Live patch 6 months after its release is a disgust. I know certain third-party developers don't even bother updating their games at all, but to allow rampant standby cheating, an overload of high levels for no apparent reasons just belligerently angers me.

I have wasted over 200 hours playing this game to amount to a stat reset, and a complete balance of the game. Now the game is perfect, but my attitude is not. I use to play for fun, and enjoy joining Friends in Live games. Now, I set my online status to offline, block friend requests because their level isn't high enough, or teabag dead bodies to take the frustration away. All in all, Halo 2 has made me a less commendable player than I should be, and I believe any other Halo 2 player out there should recognize the same. Ask yourself if it's worth investing another 200 hours into the game, or simply moving on to another friendly online community.