Review
With all the things I disliked about how Halo: Combat Evolved told its story, Halo 2 effortlessly solves all of these issues in some pretty stylish fashion. I wanted a better understanding of the villains of the series. I wanted a tighter narrative focus without so much back tracking. What I did not expect is how much more I was going to get with Halo 2’s story as it juggles 2 heroes, political dissonance and villains that actually are quite intriguing.
Taking place about a month after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, our original hero, John-117 (The Master Chief) has returned to Earth after saving humanity from the activation of the Halo ring. What adds to this is we now get to see the effects that the Halo had on The Covenant, an alien race that believes Halo is a religious artifact that will start what they call “The Great Journey”. This takes the form of The Arbiter, a disgraced elite who was meant to protect the Halo that the Chief found.
Juggling 2 stories of great warriors on opposing sides shows Bungie’s strength in being able to tell both without feeling like either are eclipsing the other. Chief’s story is much of the same, with him doing whatever it takes to stop The Covenant and protect humanity, even if it means jumping out of a space station to give The Covenant back a bomb. The Arbiter’s story focuses on his redemption as he blames himself for not being able to protect the Halo and losing his political & military respect.
What makes Halo interesting is that our heroes are able to share the screen with others without feeling like they are stealing the focus but rather share harmoniously. Seargeant Avery Johnson returns from the first game and is as charismatic as ever and Captain Miranda Keyes settles into the role of ship captain fairly easily with her inquisitiveness and her willingness to get her boots on the ground. Rtas Vadum, proves to have honour and respect for those under his command and his demeanour almost makes you forget he’s probably killed millions of humans.
What is even better is that this is not the only insight we get into how our villains work and perhaps just how horrifying they are. The Prophets come off as holy but behind their grand hovering thrones and finery, they are truly masters of manipulation. Through how they speak to the Arbiter, it is obvious how they have been able to maintain power, not just through their religious zeal but their cunning as well. An early enemy of The Arbiter, however, does show that not everyone is beyond saving as another elite, Sesa Refumee had made efforts to debunk the lies told by the Prophets, before he was killed by the still Covenant loyal Arbiter.
Getting a much better spotlight is the ravenous and horrifying Flood. As the first Halo was only destroyed, it stood to reason that not every trace of The Flood was destroyed. Having returned and as dangerous as ever, we even get a look behind the curtain in how this hungry parasite was once capable of conquering the entire universe. When the Chief & the Arbiter meet the mind behind the Flood, The Gravemind, they meet a gargantuan creature that isn’t just a monster but an intelligent being and its agency and guiding hand can be felt heavily as the game reaches its climax.
Making a return in Halo 2: Anniversary, the terminals cover 3 individual storylines that do not feel forced but rather self-contained but provide a much heavier context on who The Arbiter, what he has been through and what he can still do. They also serve to showcase the varying levels of fear & respect the Arbiter is shown by Humanity, Elites and the Prophets. The writers clearly knew we wanted to know more of The Arbiter and they chose to give us what we wanted, without feeling fan-service. The Terminals are a meaningful tool for greater context and are sought after by player curiosity and finding them made me feel excited to learn more about The Arbiter.
The Verdict
Halo 2 delivers an exceptional story, supported by nicely written new and returning characters. The individual stories of The Master Chief and The Arbiter give us a great perspective on the Human-Covenant war and the deep political insights to the alien forces. Halo 2 surpasses Halo: Combat Evolved in almost every way without making it seem bad.
Characters – Halo continues on building characters that a huge impact on the story, even if they are only in a handful of scenes. Returning characters like Johnson and Cortana now show even more heart and resilience in an ever-changing world. New characters like The Arbiter feature’s a great redemption arc that feels earned and natural and the excellent performance of Keith David adds gravity to the character. The villains of the series are better fleshed out with manipulation being a key tool that they all use to control others. The only thing that would be perfect would be greater character focus on the Chief, instead he stays the same, which while not a bad thing, doesn’t allow for many surprises - 9.5/10
Narrative – The Story of Halo 2 flows very well. At no point did it feel too disjointing to switch from The Chief to The Arbiter. Both of their individual adventures compliment the overall narrative and make a cohesive story that builds on the momentum that Halo: Combat Evolved built up. The Story builds up and introduces even more stakes than we thought when we learned of a Galaxy-Wide superweapon – 10/10
World Building – Halo 2 carefully focuses and builds drama on all 4 factions in the series: The Humans, The Covenant, The Flood, & The Forerunners. Each receive world building in the sections where they need it and the wealth of information we get is focused to highlight what takes agency in the moment and in the long-term – 9/10
Collectibles – Expanding even further by creating 3 individual stories centred around a single narrative variable is wonderfully done. They do not shine away from who the Arbiter is and what he has done but rather help us to understand why he has done the things in his past and shows how his eventual road to redemption did not start on a whim – 9/10
I give this game 9.5/10 Penitent Tangent
