Halo 2
My issues with Halo 2 started long before those credits rolled. And in hindsight, I actually think the “Sir, finishing this fight” line is rather fitting. Poetic, even. But II did not feel that way in 2004 as I watched this game just decide to end after what felt like a painfully short, truncated version of a game I fell in love with Combat Evolved.
Perhaps that is why I’ll never forget Halo 2’s ending: it was an abrupt and unsatisfying way to end what is basically an abrupt and unsatisfying campaign. Dual-wielding diluted the weapon sandbox, maps were so small and missions reduced to “stand here and shoot through hordes of enemies” in a way that Combat Evolved was clearly not. English-speaking aliens sucked the mystery out of the room. And Breaking Benjamin? Really? When I got to that infamous cliffhanger ending, all I was left with were complicated feelings and a hope that it’d be better in the next game.
And I had to wait for a new console generation for it! — Claire Jackson
