As if to confirm the sentiments of the Halo community, Chris Butcher of Bungie Studios has agreed with the negative comments that have been left in Halo 2‘s wake, saying that there were many mistakes made during development, and that he wants to avoid repeating those mistakes by following up with a vastly superior game in the upcoming Halo 3. Halo fans have often discussed the merits and downsides of Bungie’s second title in the ever-popular FPS series. Many would agree that the game–while enjoyable due to retaining the original game’s experience of fighting off the Covenant–was lacking overall.
Butcher said of Halo 2, "We 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. Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right. It’s astounding to me. I [expletive] cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it. And that’s why I know Halo 3 is going to be so much better."
The time management problems that Butcher mentions in the development of Halo 2 are a common issue in the game industry. Many times, developers simply run out of time to accomplish everything they set out to do. Oftentimes, great ideas and level designs–which were etched out in the beginning of the project–are scrapped because of deadline restraints.
In the case of Halo 3, Bungie seems certain it will not have this scenario repeat itself for two reasons; it wants to reestablish Halo as the premier shooter for the Xbox 360 (in light of the astounding success of Gears of War), and regain the trust and confidence of the Halo community. If Bungie can accomplish both of these goals, Halo 3 may be the game that hoists Bungie back into its former seat as developer of the best console FPS around.
