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Pros & Cons:
Pertaining to My short list below.
Full Pros & cons re-review coming soon...
This is great follow up to Halo, with heavily improved graphics, the addition to steal enemy vehicles, dual gun wielding, and a still interesting story. However, gone are the wide open and explorable environments, which are replaced by still large, but more linear levels. And they've also added a second playable character, and some will find that you seem to play the new character in more levels than the original (and more appealing) main character (although you still play as Master Chief more than 50% of the time). Lastly, there's lots of annoying, and very prominent texture pop-in during most cutscenes. But, despite its problems, it adds a lot of cool new elements to the series—if you're a fan of the series, it's definitely worth playing.
Content review for this game:
Pertaining to the ESRB rating.
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Content sum up: This is a bit more subdued than Halo 3. However, I still don't think it's good for those under the age of thirteen. But for an "M" rated game, it's mild, with tame blood effects, very little language, and could have received a "T" rating. So, taking this and the moderately disturbing "Flood" into account, I recommend this game for ages 14+. |
Full content re-review coming soon...
Blood and gore: When you shoot or hit an enemy, its blood hits the ground in wide, thin puddles, and lightly stain walls. Blood also does splatter—well, more like trickle. Most of the enemies in the game shed neon blue, purple or green blood, which isn't too offensive or graphic. But, there are two races that shed red blood: humans, and the aliens Brutes. It sheds the same as listed above, and again, it really isn't too graphic for an "M" for Mature rating. Also worth mentioning is that blood and bodies linger, and throughout the game you see many injured or dead soldiers lying on the ground—most are visibly bloodied. There is no option to turn blood off.
Specific scene of blood & gore:
- The beginning shows the enemy aliens disciplining one of their own for failing to protect the previous halo ring. You see him hung by his arms, as they brand him like an animal, while he screams in pain, with smoke searing from his skin. As they place him in view of the alien leaders, they tell him the council had decided to hang him by his entrails and parade him through the streets. However, they instead want him to act as their warrior servant.
Violence: Halo 2's story takes place a short time after Halo's ending, and involves the aftermath of Master Chief destroying what the humans thought to be the only Halo (a galaxy destroying artificial planet) in existence. The Covenant, an extremist (alien) religious group, who worship the Halo, are outraged, and blame the Elite (aliens who serve and guard the Covenant), who was charged with guarding the ring. They strip him of his title, and put him on a suicide mission to destroy Master Chief. The humans soon find out there is a second Halo ring—there may be thousands. Not only this, but the Flood (an enemy to both Humans and the Covenant, who take over and mutate organic bodies) have made a reappearance. Time to save the galaxy again...
The main character has a variety of weapons at his disposal, from grenades and pistols to submachine guns and rocket launchers. You also have access to the aliens' weapons, and can knock enemies with the butt of your firearm. Many vehicles are granted to you throughout the game, and you are able to shoot and run over enemies with them. Also, you can shoot, hit, run over, and kill your fellow human soldiers, if you choose to do so, that is. The enemy consist solely of the alien Covenant, ranging from "grunts," who are small and have squeaky, comedic voices, to "Elites," who are over 8 feet tall, and wear full body armor. The overall gameplay is heart-pumping, stressful and intense, with you being put in almost insurmountable and impossible situations throughout. But overall, it really isn't too graphic or offensive, especially for a "M" for Mature game. And honestly it's hard to say how offensive the violence in this is, because it's all a bit over the top, and even cartoony—an enemy I am about to explain might change the "not too offensive issue" I was talking about...
They are called the "Flood," and are enemy both to the main character and the aliens. The Flood give the game an overall light horror feel; screaming and howling in spooky tones, giving the whole area a feeling of despair and hopelessness. They're symbiotic creatures, which means they take over the human and alien bodies as hosts. In their default form they resemble a shrimp-like creature that latches onto the bodies of it's victims, and takes over the DNA, resulting in a large, hideous mass forming from the remaining body. In their new form they have yellowish colored skin, and you can still see whatever remains of the human or alien body here and there. When you hit them they surprisingly break apart into dry, flaky chunks, and not bloody chunks like you would imagine. They're predominantly present in 3 of 15 levels. Last of all, another Flood enemy resembles a huge piece of mutated popcorn with legs; they carry the shrimp-like creatures I mentioned above in their bodies. They'll run at you, drop and then explode, leaving the smaller enemies to attack you.
Language: There are under a dozen uses of hell and a**, three or under uses of p*ss and bastard, and one use of d*mn and b*tch. Other than the main script, allies use d*mn, hell, bastard, a**, and b*tch infrequently while they fight.
Mild Suggestive themes: (The ESRB didn't mention this in their rating) One of the main characters is an AI construct, whose gender is female. You can see her overall figure quite clearly, as she has what looks like a skin-tight jumpsuit on.
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