9 Tiny Issues That Ruined The Reputations Of Great Video Games

3. Ending Halo 2 On A Cliffhanger

Halo 2 ending
Bungie

Ooh boy, talk about your general populace-aggravating endings. Halo 2's cliffhanger finale seemed to pee off everybody who played it, though it wasn't necessarily because we all felt shortchanged.

Rather, it was because Halo 2's campaign was phenomenal. Many of us just didn't want it to end, with the final cutscene of Master Chief discussing "finishing this fight" feeling like a ramp-up to one big set-piece... only to cut to credits instead.

Personally I already felt like I'd had my fill, and didn't see the franchise ending any time soon. A third instalment was guaranteed even during Halo 2's development, but interestingly, Bungie themselves eventually admitted to having to cut things short.

Coming clean on the official Bungie website, writer Frank O'Connor said the team "miscalculated".

"We screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it."

Thankfully, Halo 2 was still a fantastic game and a phenomenal online multiplayer experience, it's just a shame that many can't talk about it without also tagging on, "Yeah... that ending, though."

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.