The End is Nigh: Halo 2

By Martin Gaston

‘The End is Nigh’ is a weekly column by Play.tm’s Martin Gaston, pondering the nature of videogame endings and why we do or don’t choose to finish the games we play. This week: Halo 2, and Bungie biting off more than they can chew.

When viewed as the middle part of a trilogy, Halo 2 is easier to appreciate.

Thinking of it like that didn’t help much in 2004, however. Despite some strong level design, and a then-unprecedented approach to cinematic storytelling, Halo 2’s impressive highs were often diminished by its messy lows. Formulaic corridor plodding remains a big upset, although the majority of players’ displeasure is aimed squarely at two things: a shamed Sangheili named Thel ‘Vadam, commonly referred to as the Arbiter, and the game’s abrupt ending.

Halo 2’s lacklustre finale is made all the more upsetting after its gloriously bombastic introduction, which also provides a much needed change of atmosphere: the early Earth levels, whilst stunning, are grounded in aesthetic normality. The spectacle is provided by the invading Covenant armies, which culminates, fittingly, in the humongous Scarab that pops up towards the end. When the narrative takes us to Delta Halo, where the other end of the apocalyptic ring can always be seen in the sky, the player has returned to familiar alien territory. Whilst this is not an unexpected direction for the story to take, you only need to look at the name of the game to realise its inevitability, temporarily grounding us to the Earth’s surface makes the worlds of the Covenant and the Forerunners seem all the more alien. A clever touch.

Bungie have always had a splendid knack of playing with perspective: take High Charity, the covenant’s absolutely massive capital space city. It starts with a series of twisty, narrow corridors – toying with the player’s predefined expectations – then throws up reams of gargantuan outdoor areas. It’s the Arbiter who serves as Bungie’s finest example of turning perspective upside down. His existence, purposefully kept a secret during development, plonks the player into a new and unfamiliar perspective. With a sassy pink HUD to boot.

Much like Master Chief’s thrilling introductory jaunt across New Mombasa, the beginning of the Arbiter’s storyline is impeccable in its execution. In terms of gameplay he’s virtually identical to everyone’s favourite SPARTAN-II, but as a tool for narrative the Arbiter allows the player a peek into Covenant society that would be otherwise impossible. We get to see the alien oligarchs, experience their bizarre theocracy, appreciate their irony (Truth tells everything but, Regret shows none and Mercy ultimately fails to receive any) and learn to despise them for entirely different reasons than their loathing of humanity. You couldn’t get that into the story with Master Chief: put him in the same room as a Covenant Prophet and he’d punch them in the face until they collapse.

As the story progresses it takes a turn for the worse. The narrative, whilst laying a trail for an epic space opera, ultimately fails to live up to its ambition: adding in the maligned deuteragonist produces twice as much work for the writers, and by the time Halo 2’s end credits scroll they’ve barely had time to resolve the storylines of either character.

Bungie’s primary error is that they fail to adequately tie the dual storylines together by the end of the game. Halo 2’s narrative tries, and fails, to fashion itself upon a specific, and common, plot mould: bringing two enemies together and uniting them. The two leads converge while the narrative is rising, meeting as prisoners to the Gravemind, and are separated long before the climax and denouement, both of which Master Chief is mostly uninvolved in. And with Halo 2 screeching to a halt before he gets his own satisfying resolution, Chief’s final declaration of finishing the fight sounds as much an apology as a statement of intent.

Halo 2 is by no means a bad game, and its narrative is strong enough to push most people through the game’s lengthy campaign. The homogenous level design has been mostly disinherited from its predecessor, its set pieces are engaging and the gameplay is balanced. But it’s ending blights the experience, leaving the player with all sorts of unresolved narrative issues. It’s not until the sequel that these mistakes are properly rectified.

It’s easy to see why people felt short-changed, but it’s worth remembering that Halo 2 is an ambitious attempt at storytelling that comfortably slots in as an integral part of the trilogy, and that it adds a considerable chunk of detail to the narrative that neither Halo nor Halo 3 could accomplish. It’s also a much easier ending to appreciate in retrospect.

Ultimately, Halo 2 tells a good story. It just doesn’t finish it.