MadCap's Game Reviews - "Halo 2 Anniversary"

So remember last time when I said that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was not a cheap cash grab, but that this most definitely was? Well, I still stand by that. Halo 2 Anniversary is pretty much literally just Halo 2, which I already covered way back in 2016. The controls are mapped to the Xbox One controller, the voice acting is the same (including Keith David as the Arbiter). It has the same shoot 'em up running around action that is the same. Literally, there is no real change here.



...okay, there's a bit. Mostly connections to the trilogy that begins with 4 through findable terminals and a prologue and epilogue that are supposed to tie things into Halo 5 for even more maximum over-confusion. for newcomers. And people who care about the story. Yes, I'm afraid when I say that the Halo series started dropping off that this was the point, I mean it. Connecting it to 5 (thereby jumping over 3 and 4 without so much as a damn spoiler tag) just really confuses me when I'm far more interested in the story of the game itself rather than trying to connect it to a larger universe.

Bungie realized, after 3, that trying to connect the games to the expanded universe of canon was a big mistake. It's a same that Microsoft couldn't see the forest for the dollar signs and pressed on with it anyway...but we'll get to that.

But no, there's a mysterious armored Spartan who is questioning the former Arbiter (again voiced by Keith David) about the history of the Master Chief...which apparently has all of squat to do with the plot of Halo 5 (or so I'm told, I haven't played it myself as of the time of this writing). I'll get into my full feelings on the Halo expanded universe when I do the review of Halo 4 in a bit. But, needless to say, I do not care for it as a whole. The Star Wars expanded universe worked because that was all fans had between 1983 and 1999. And Star Wars was a cultural phenomenon that has not been matched before or since.

Halo? Yes, it's very popular, but not nearly that popular. It's an FPS that admittedly did start a trend of many of them actually trying to have a plot. The Halo series as a whole started that trend and went completely off the rails with it. More on that when we get into Halo 4.

But as for Halo 2 Anniversary, it's harmless. It's not anything special, but I do enjoy it. I said in my Halo 2 review that I had a good bit of nostalgia for it and I still do. All that was good is definitely there and it is nice to play it again. I just wish that modern console developers would remember that backwards compatibility is a good thing and that charging full-price for something they've already played just because you stuck a bunch of fancy new graphics on it is kind of a major dick move.

Halo 2 Anniversary is available from 343 Industries, Saber Interactive, and Microsoft Studios on Xbox 360 and Xbox One as part of the Master Chief Collection.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.