By now everyone with access to an Xbox has played Halo 2. In fact, I bet everyone's played it A LOT. I have not seen the numbers, but it must be one of, if not THE top game of the year in regards to xbox live play. This is why I'm writting this now.
I have noticed that I am getting destroyed in matchmaking games. I'm a damn good gamer and have been playing halo since it was launched multiplayer; split screen at first and later on xbconnect over the internet. I have friends who are also amazing halo players and some of the finest FPS gamers I've ever met. We party up and hit the matchmaking scene almost nightly. So why is it we will win a few and then get destroyed over and over and over?
Before I get into this, you're probably wondering why I'm reviewing Halo2 now when it came out so long ago. I'm sure you are thinking, "jeez, we allready know the ending sucks, why is this dude wasting his time?" Well, I don't want to review the mechanics of the game, I want to review the ongoing measures by Bungie to improve the game and make it a constant struggle. This is strictly about Xbox Live! and the ranking system.
Bungie has consistantly stated that your level is not a reward system, but a way to match you up against people that will be an even match. This is a great idea. Why would a casual gamer who isn't very good and doesn't care want to go against some clan fanatic player who knows every inch of every map and racks up 45 of his teams 50 kills a round?
My friend list is filled with people I met playing Rainbow Six 3 which is clearly defined as a simulation shooter. It's slow and realistic. No respawns, no weapon with a clear advantage over any other, no weapon switching beyond what you bring to the round, it's basic. Now we played together for a very long time and did very well in organized competition against the finest rainbow players in the world. When we would get on for a night of casual r6 we would no doubt win at least 75% of the rounds. There weren't many groups of randoms who could stand up to our onslaught. When someone would cheat or talk trash we'd boot him. If it was getting unballanced we'd even out the teams and go back at it. Every aspect of the game was under strict control. Anything seem funny? BOOT EM! When you saw them again, BOOT EM! It was easy to keep things the way you liked it because not many people wanted to get booted from a good room.
Now, this brings me to why my friends are divided over Halo2. There are 3 main camps of people who are angry at this game:
1. Trash talkers make the game awful - Yes they do, but if you're ok with dumping out and risking the double loss you get for leaving to enjoy yourself, it's not a problem.
2. Cheaters/questionable situations - Bungie is doing a fantastic job of monitoring the gaming community and if you leave feedback, and the person truely is a problem, they will be dealt with. Yes it's frustrating when someone pulls some cheap ass move on you that really shouldn't be part of the game... and Bungie agrees. As time goes on they are only making cheating harder, which is the best compliment a game community can receive from me. [UBISoft needs to take a hint from Bungie] The questionable situations I'm talking about are when you blast someone at point blank with a shotgun, slash them with a sword, stick em and it doesn't stick, direct shot with an explosive, etc etc etc and they DON'T DIE! That is why several of my friends have given up. They just don't understand why the things that work for others work for them. My best solution... I don't know? It's a game and it's not perfect. Deal with it... and I should listen to my own advice as I'm screaming at myself.
3. "I am awful at videogames" syndrome - This is the main point I want to get accross. If you are being ranked to play against people that are on your skill level you are going to get to a point where you are getting smashed on a regular basis. You will watch your level shoot up and then WHAM! You start dropping. Some people I know will freak out if they go from a 27 to a 26 because someone betrayed a teammate late in a round and others don't care. The problem is that the people who are used to dominating rooms that were under the watchful eye of their friends in games like r6 are now having to adjust to a gaming community that's as dynamic and difficult as any that we've ever seen. I believe I've topped out my level at 20. I'm at a .521 winning percentage accross all gametypes. I have friends who say, "god I SUCK! WHY DO WE KEEP LOSING" and I keep trying to explain that we are being matched up against people that are AS good as we are or BETTER because winning every single round isn't what Bungie had in mind when they designed the ranking system. With the extended duration of most matchmaking gametypes as opposed to the 2 minute gun fights of rainbow six and the consistancy of excellent competition people just get frustrated. In order for the ranking system to work you HAVE to lose! You have to find that place where you are winning as often as losing and everyone you play is the same skill as you.
If Bungie has done this right than in time I should never see a 50 to 15 win or loss again. They should all be 3 kills one way or the other. I'll even accept 10 kill wins/losses if they are clean.
The last point I'd like to make about Bungie and Halo 2 is that they actually LISTEN to the gaming community and do whatever they can to make everything better. They've allready changed the playlists twice to make the games more fun, released more maps, and changed weapon sets to eliminate some of the "cheap garbage" that people are pulling (n00b combo...). I hear that they are going to eliminate everyone's favorite plasma pistol/battle rifle combo in the next update. I'll hug my CAT5e cable when that happens.
So this is my question to you few and unfaithful readers: Would it be so bad if rank was tossed away and everyone had to just play against whoever came on into the game? It didnt' make rainbow six bad. It didn't make wolfenstein bad. It didn't make Unreal bad. Would it ruin halo 2? I have run into my fair share of psychopaths playing rumble training. I'm talking about that 38 who you can't get near because he will snipe you from anywhere and if you spawn near by you are going to get smg'd to death even though you have a BR. The guy who sticks you while running and jumping from accross the map. That guy. I still don't think it is that bad. The only problem I can see is a PARTY of that guy's friends who are also as good as he is, but I doubt we'll ever know what that's like because the ranks are here to say. What do you think?
Here are three good reasons to keep at Halo 2 on xbox Live!
1. The competition is great
2. You can find a match alone or in a team at any hour of the day or night without a moment hesitation
3. when you assasinate that 12 year old who only knows one word that starts with N and ends in R it ALWAYS puts a smile on your face as you quietly tea bag him.
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