The Hype: Bungie sold their Halo follow-up as the ultimate combination of MMORPG and first-person shooter, with players able to navigate a massive, sprawling universe while teaming up with fellow players for Halo-esque gunplay. What Happened?: The core combat mechanics are great and the game sure looks nice, but almost everything else about it is completely underwhelming. There's not so much a universe here as a small collection of planets, the missions are enormously repetitive, Peter Dinklage sounds half-asleep throughout most of his voice-overs, playing with random players isn't at all simple, and leveling up becomes a major chore once you hit level 20. The game enjoyed strong reviews and the biggest new video game launch of all time, but Bungie continued to disappoint players with a series of wildly over-priced DLCs adding tiny morsels of content to the undercooked story. Though new updates are planning to fix many of the most vocal complaints (the leveling system will be streamlined and Dinklage is being replaced with Nolan North), it's going to be too little, too late for many players, who beasted through the core content a few days after release and have probably since sold the game. Yes, the Crucible deathmatch mode is ferociously addictive, but the core adventure experience fell so far short of expectations, and for Bungie to continue to exploit their fanbase with over-priced content is shameful.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
