Alien Weapons

With the evolution from Halo 1 to Halo 2 there were numerous changes in the arsenal of the marine forces. From the view of actually being in the storyline it must be assumed that the marines were unhappy with their current roster of weapons and therefore went through a thorough re-design of the majority of their stock. From the view of a gamer it must be assumed that Bungie was unhappy with the behavior of the guns in Halo 1.

It has been noted in the past that Bungie intended on having the H1 Assault Rifle be the weapon of choice due to its size and physical presence. However the designed roles of the AR and Pistol switched when the effectiveness of the pistol was soon recognized. This is a scenario change that personally raises no inherent problems. Would I have preferred the weapon which dealt the damage of the pistol look more like a powerful rifle? The truth is yes, I would have, however my masterchief character is not so vain that the size of his gun leads to metaphorical similarities, if you catch my drift.

Bungie solved this phallic imbalance in H2 by designing the dominant weapon to be a large powerful looking battle rifle, and the less useful backup weapon a small sub-machine gun. From an aesthetic standpoint these two guns look amazing and fill their proverbial roles very effectively. The most notable problem I find with the Halo 2 arsenal however is the alien weaponry.

The overbearing strength and necessity of alien weapons in Halo 2 is quite apparent from the beginning of the Halo 2 ad-campaign. As the implementation of the sword was revealed to the general public it soon became obvious that the sword was a weapon you would want to keep in your back pocket. I felt the sword was used beautifully in the campaign game: a limited number of hits based on an ammunition stock. However the implementation of the sword within the multiplayer mode (my main concern) was done without limitation. Very early on the sword became a focal point for all combatants.

The main problem with the sword is the general behavior and effectiveness of such a weapon. Most notably the sword offers infinite reward with little to no consequence. The sword can serve a similar function as the rocket in H1. With the flick of the trigger it creates what typically results in an instant kill over your opponent. However the two weapons have very different repercussions on the user. To earn the guaranteed kill of a close range rocket blast a player might have to sustain some damage, or even kill themselves if their opponent is able to successfully pin themselves against the rocket user. However with the sword there is typically no penalty necesary to reap the benefits of the sword. The sword kills opponents without consequence allowing a player to slash through their opponents left and right if used properly. The only real detraction which may result from sword use is falling off the edge of the map. However this is more of a game glitch then it is a penalty. It can also be noted that there is a slight pause between sword strikes which could be viewed as a penalty, however typically a player will change to their primary weapon before striking again.

Following the 1.1 Xbox Live update weapons balance was changed with the melee damage (which needed it) being strengthened. However following this update the strength of two alien weapons became even stronger. The use of the plasma pistol in conjunction with the battle rifle was already known to be of extremely powerful use, however now the use of the plasma pistol had even more applications. The plasma pistol became perfect for long range as well as close range fighting. A player would simply have to release their plasma blast on their opponent and melee them to assure an easy kill. If there opponent was to maintain distance to avoid a melee they could simply use their battle rifle backup to earn a kill.

The second major change of the 1.1 update was the increased strength of the plasma grenades. The "fuse" on the grenades was shortened and their strength was increased incredibly. It can be understood that a shortening of the fuse would make the grenades much more useful and a more integrated part of the game. However I do not understand the purpose of strengthening the grenades to their current level. To understand the major difference the strengths of all grenades must be considered:

• Halo 1 fragmentation grenades - Depleted shield and destroyed all except 3 yellow bars of health.


• Halo 1 plasma grenades - Same effect as frags, unless they were stuck to opponent.


• Halo 2 fragmentation grenades - destroys entire shield creating headshot vulnerability.


• Halo 2 plasma grenades - Kills opponent at feet, also kills when stuck to opponent.

There appears to be no necessary difference between the plasma grenades of H1 & H2. Why do the plasma nades kill? What extraneous factor allows them to kill without sticking their opponent? The major diffence between the two grenades is the fact that the plasma grenades allow for a kill on their own, with a built in deterent in that they take longer to explode if the stick is unssuccesful. Perhaps I am missing a storyline plot which should be explored. Are the grenades stronger at killing because they were designed by aliens, and therefore the aliens would be more effective at killing their wartime opponent? Well this could be true, however the plasma grenades kill spartans and elites with the safe proficiency.

The previous ideas on the strengths of the alien weapons are in no way trying to insinuate that gameplay involving alien weapons is somehow inferior or less fun than human weapons. It is simply to point out an inherent and often unexplainable difference between the Halo 1 and Halo 2 weapon behavior.