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Ok, so, I was looking through threads to see if there was a designated halo 2 one, since I'm about to get on and play and was going to see if anybody on here might be on. I came across this.
As somebody who's been playing it online for almost two years, here are my thoughts:
First, I've played halo 1 about a handful of times. I don't like it. It's boring. The levels suck, the weapons are just awkward, the controls are poor, etc.
Second, you truly cannot compare halo 2 to any PC games, because the huge fan base of halo 2 is mostly comprised of people who have either never gotten into PC FPS games, or who do not have the interest or hardware to play them. This very fact contributes SIGNIFICANTLY to the popularity. There are VERY few good FPS titles on consoles compared to PC. Good PC shooters have been around forever. One of the huge problems, though, has always been the difficulty, as I'll get to later.
As for halo 2, the single player is decent at best. It's very easy to beat, even on legendary, and there are parts that're far too easy, and parts that're insane. The story blows, and, as mentioned, the graphics are just plain mediocre--they're not bad, they're not great, they're just mediocre. They look good enough that you don't feel the need to complain, but it's not like you're ever in awe for one second.
Now, the multiplayer is a step-up. It's a lot more fun, but with a screen split up in 4 pieces, it's limited.
The reason halo 2 is SO popular and still has hundreds of thousands of people online ever day, two & a half years later, is solely due to the xbox live version of the game. First off, the ease of communication is very convenient. Other games have always had some means of communication, but with team talk available with a single button, and local talk simply by talking, it makes it much easier and more enjoyable for people to talk--no software required, and the game, itself, relies HEAVILY on communication between team members, particularly at higher levels.
Second, the controls, while fairly generic, are very well-done and make it very simple and enjoyable to get used to playing the game, while also offering just enough difficulty to separate the skilled from the less experienced players, which brings me to the main point.
The reason that Halo 2 has continued to be so popular is that it is a game which is both extremely easy to learn to play and become fairly adequate at playing, but one which also has such an extraordinarily high end that allows for continued advancement for more serious and talented players. It is very simple to get into the game and to begin to play, without immediately being clobbered by others. The level system provides those newer users an environment in which they can continually have fun from their first day to their 500th or later, as it continues to adjust with the user's ability. Many other games have some similar system, but it simply is not as well done. You can simply start a game, and it will automatically match you up with others of similar levels--rather than having to sort through to find one well suited for you. On top of that, with each hour of play, you truly can get better and better, so that it is very very difficult to beat someone more skilled than you are. At the same time, there is just enough luck involved, through the design of the weapons placement, to the gameplay itself, that upsets can and do happen.
To add on to that, there are a number of tricks that you can pull off to gain a significant advantage. They are not cheating, but they do take significant skill and practice to be able to utilize in regular games (see: warthog launches, superbounces, bxb, bxr, double shots, invisible grenades, n00b combo, triple-weilding, gas tanks, etc.). Add those to the knowledge of which combinations of weapons work best, and you have nearly an entire other game for more serious players to explore and master. Those techniques I mentioned do everything from allow you to instantly kill someone with a battle rifle to making a bomb-carrier fly across a level to bouncing out of a level and firing a weapon twice as quickly as it's designed to do so.
In addition, they've been adding levels and making adjustments to the gameplay since the day it came out. If you play through the single player game, the battle rifle is worthless. Not so online. Three body or head shots, followed by a head shot, and your opponent is dead. Grenades are more powerful. Plasma grenades explode quicker. Melees do more damage (2 to a kill). There are a bunch of others. Hell, they just released another set of maps three days ago.
Not to be dismissed, though, is the fact that the popularity of Halo 2 makes the game popular. The mere fact that there ARE so many people playing it continues to make it desirable. With hundreds of thousands of people online at any given moment, you can always find a game with people of your own skill level at any time. Such is not the case with almost any other console game.
All in all, while I've not played very many FPS games in my time (which is quite common for Halo 2 players, as I mentioned), this is, by far, the game I have spent the most time playing in all of my life. The FPS genre has long been one exclusive to those with years of experience and incredible experience, and Halo managed to provide the rest of those with some interest in the experience with a platform on which to enjoy a game while not facing complete and utter humiliation. Throw all those people into an incredibly well-designed environment, and you have the most successful console game of all time.
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