OH YEAH? Well, Guilty Spark gave me... uh... hundreds of zombies, Johnson's corpse and I'm sure he would give me the middle finger if it had any!
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SPOILER ALERT: Halo 5 (Spoiler) Spoiler Thread of Spoilers Spoiler
- Thread starter Shadow_Lord
- Start date
Twilight Gap
Member
inb4 memory loss arc where Cortana forgets John
Poodlestrike
Banned
He's still out there, somewhere. Hijacked a Prowler.
Oooh, funny thought.
Halo 6: Chief and the Infinity are flying around the galaxy, desperately trying to resist Cortana's unstoppable onslaught. They get a mysterious message from a Prowler long thought missing, a beacon of hope, and they rendezvous. John boards the ship and... that fucking voice starts playing.
Guilty spark your new Cortona confirmed?
Somewhere 343 staff is having a good chuckle.
JumPeRJumPzZ
Banned
How can Halo 5 be better than H3? They still havent reached H3s Scarab Fights that were way more open, dynamic and epic. Story wise H3 even weaker than H2s is still IMO better than 5.
5s Story felt unfinished. It felt like they changed the Story drasticly early this year and had to find a finish line.
VGChampion
Member
Yeah, 5 is good but three and one are still above it for me. Two's a mixed bag but I probably have more fun with five at the moment even though I'd rather two be higher.
Monocle
Member
Greg Bear's books describe a "logic plague" that a Gravemind can use to corrupt artificial beings. So basically no form of life is safe.
The incredible array of options built into most of Halo 5's large battlegrounds, combined with the great environmental variety and excellent mechanics, might just push it over Halo 3 for me. Still a bit early to say. But the story is definitely better. 343 went all out with the lore. Foregrounding Dr. Halsey, doing something interesting with Cortana (to say the least), and retroactively redeeming Halo 4's messy trek into Forerunner history by turning the Mantle and the Domain into salient plot points that take the Halo universe to a really interesting place.
The Elite encampment alone is a gold mine for longtime fans like me who are into the fiction.
Just like Halo 2.
Traitorous AIs are the bane of my existence. The dude is out to fuck you every time.
Monocle
Member
Halo 5 is the middle entry in a trilogy. What the hell did people expect? A definitive conclusion? A sense of finality? Come on. It should be enough that Halo 5 revealed what happened to Cortana, explained the Guardians, resolved the fate of Blue Team, and set up a major conflict for the next game.
NullPointer
Member
An arc that is set up and completes, so that the game can be fully enjoyed standalone as a complete work, while also laying the groundwork for future conflict.
Along those lines I would've preferred the game to put more marketing and setup behind the last gasp of the Covenant, and the Arbiter's war therein. That's a major moment and universe change to have the last remaining splinter group in a pitched and decisive battle, but it amounts to not much more than a taxi service that gets Osiris to Genesis before blowing up generators for the anti-climactic finale.
We're supposed to care about Blue Team being trapped in a Didact sphere, but it just doesn't work. The entire ending arc doesn't work at all imo - neither for story or gameplay, outside of Cortana's motives and perspective, which also seemed to flip super quickly from benefactor to justifying genocide.
Beat. I dig that Cortana is the 'villain' but the execution was severely lacking.
Yeah...I think it's my least favorite Cortana design. I really liked 4, they should have at least kept her face the same.
This was kind of lame. Like, why not show an extra level wit more interaction between blue and cortana.
Yep, that's also a good look.I think they were trying to go for the look she sported in Forward Unto Dawn, but fucked it up. She now looks like a Cortana Cosplay.
Forward Unto Dawn for reference:
Halo 4 is, kind of, a self-contained story that has a beginning, middle and end. While it did explore some interesting character development, it did very little to move the larger universe it inhabits further; there were basically no high stakes being established. Even the material that just up for grabs, such as the return of Chief, Requiem and The Forerunners, was pushed to a side to emphasize the death of an AI. It was just a small scale story, told so-so and that was that. Doing that very small contained story for every game is uninteresting to say the least, because it means setting some even more convoluted storyline to justify another installment. And lets be honest, can it get even more convoluted?
Halo 5 goes in a different direction, it starts the ground running with events happening within the world. No long reminiscence of olden times, just straight to what the hell is going on. On top of that, we go to new places and meet new and old friends and/or adversaries. By the end of the ride we find out that AIs are trying to take over the universe? That is sci-fi as fuck and I want to see this through. What makes the whole ride feel off is that, it effectively says buy Halo 6. If they had set this up at the end of Halo 4, I dont think many people would be disappointed because theyre going somewhere at least. However now it feels bizarre to ask that of your audience.
superNESjoe
Member
It has less to do with Halo 5's story being a set up, and more to do with the horrible way it was paced and everything was just glossed over. There are some pretty interesting moments in Halo 5 that are just completely skipped over and have no emotion or build up at all.
Poodlestrike
Banned
I... you want to fix the writing, by taking out like 80% of the exposition and all of the fun banter.
Okay.
Triage is never pretty.
Oh, I agree. There are plenty of problems with Halo 5s structure and pacing, but its a much better effort compared to 4.
Halo 6 could have double the amount of cut scenes and I'd be okay with it, 5's are so well put together. Some plot points and dialogue need to be less minimalistic in their delivery, but that could be solved by having more time for them. I don't think anyone sat through a Halo 5 cutscene thinking 'jeez I hope this would hurry up already.' They're so damn good.
Astral Dog
Member
Cortana is Evil!?
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Some of these missions scream, "why did they even bother?". Running around with your gun armed just to talk to people? They take no more than 8 minutes or so to finish.
It's Halo meets Carman Sandiego. I'm not sure if I like Locke. He's kinda like a cop who shows up when a superhero is trying to do his job.
It's Halo meets Carman Sandiego. I'm not sure if I like Locke. He's kinda like a cop who shows up when a superhero is trying to do his job.
superNESjoe
Member
I disagree. There are grander *ideas* in 5, but since none of them end up amounting to anything special the whole thing just falls flat. At least in 4 you got a arc that was followed to a conclusion and some meaningful development between Chief, Cortana, and a cast of side characters. Lasky, Palmer, The Infinity, Requiem, damn near everything in the game was given some sort of context and development.
You knew what was going on, and you didn't think Chief and Cortana were developing as characters because the end of the plot suddenly said so, you thought that because of their dialogue and actions throughout the story. Halo 5 has none of that. A bunch of stuff just kind of happens, with a bunch of cool concepts just completely ruined by lack of development.
I like what Halo 6 is set up to become, but Jedi was able to be setup without Empire being the worst movie in the series. Halo 5's plot is not satisfying at all. Halo 4 was better just because it at least gave itself the time of day.
It felt like they wanted to give you some quiet movements but those should have come in normal levels, those just completely fuck up the pace of some pretty good levels.
Advance Warfare did this way better. CoD has always been known as a game with no breathing room and just nonstop acting which one was of the criticisms that was brought up a lot. With Advance Warfare they added some sections where you were just walking through environments without enemies bum rushing you all over the place. Halo 5 could have benefited from some areas like that.
superNESjoe
Member
I just hate that they have the audacity to call them "missions". Halo 5 does not have 15 missions.
But by having them as separate missions, you don't have to play them again if you're doing another run through. If they were part of the end of a level for example, surely if you didn't want to do them they'd be way more annoying that way?
I'm a fan of them myself, love me a bit of world building like that. And if you don't like them, you literally never have to do them more then once. I don't see the problem.
I'm a fan of them myself, love me a bit of world building like that. And if you don't like them, you literally never have to do them more then once. I don't see the problem.
They shouldn't have had anything like that period.
There's nothing fun or interesting about them, they're just filler.
superNESjoe
Member
I don't mind them, I mind that they are labeled as missions to make the game sound like it has more content than it actually does.
I like the idea of these parts, but like everything else in Halo 5 it's not fleshed out enough to mean anything or be interesting at all.
NullPointer
Member
Its world building and background, and I'm glad they want to go that direction - you're always the hero in these games, saving the world by gunning down hundreds of enemies, but you never actually see what it is that you're really saving. You just see ruins and battlefields, bodies and burning structures.
Reach gave us a few moments with civilians, and this one gives us more.
But they do need to flesh those areas out next time. Provide some gameplay besides listening to NPCs, walking, and clamber puzzles to find intel. As a palette cleanser they work, but only a little.
They were fun and interesting to me. It's nice to have some world building in a universe which people love. For those that are into it, you can spend a short while there learning things, and for those who don't, press down on the D pad twice and its over in like a minute. Not understanding the point of contention.
If they wanted us to visit a human town then they should have had integrated it into normal gameplay.
Town is being attacked, there's some NPC who you need to save because he has the info you need or something like that. Playing along side the NPC earlier was really cool and I liked that part a lot but then just ending the level, forcing you to talk to 3 NPCs in a tiny blocked off area felt completely off.
Those 3 levels felt like a different game and I think they ended up hurting the game more than helping.
I like all of those things as well but the way they worked those 3 levels into the game was a failure on their part. There are many different ways to world build besides having 3 levels where all you do it walk from point A, B and C and then click X.
I didn't much care for Halo 4's plot.
- Requiem as a place was not fully realized, it was more backdrop than actual living and breathing world. They also just threw it in the sun, so there is that;
- Chiefs reintroduction with the universe was met with everybody barely any acknowledgement;
- The Prometheans were just there, most of their back-story was put in terminals;
- The Spartan IVs lacked any presence and were uninteresting;
- Palmer was the least interesting character introduced within the universe. She was more obnoxious then adding something to the larger development;
- Lasky, while perfectly competent, was ok overall but he was just there;
- The Didact came, with most of his story locked in terminals, and left.
It was a mess.
victreeb3l
Member
I hope in Halo 6 we can have all 8 Spartans together + Arbiter in one mission. I thought thats where things were heading in this game. I'd love to hear some banter between all of them. That should be a lot of fun.
I love how things feel so hopeless at the end. The other Halo games, despite humanity fighting a losing war, ended with major victories and made you feel good but you just feel so fucked at the end of Halo 5. How long until Roland turns on humanity.
I love how things feel so hopeless at the end. The other Halo games, despite humanity fighting a losing war, ended with major victories and made you feel good but you just feel so fucked at the end of Halo 5. How long until Roland turns on humanity.
Most Halo 5 cutscenes end abruptly. They did a poor job on them imo.
I liked her too, although she was kind of a happy, youthful Cortana, so to speak.
I thought Osiris had some personality with Buck, Vale and Tanaka. Not much, but they still had more guff than Blue.
Blue team was a bit of a disappointment on that end.
victreeb3l
Member
I gotta agree with IGN (or whatever site it was) that said that the marketing for Halo 5 was sorta misleading. Thought there would be more Chief vs Locke stuff. Chief "going rogue" was also not that serious of a thing in the first place. Kind of disappointed that Halo 2:A opening cutscene didnt happen in the game either. Arbiter sounded a lot meaner towards Locke.
Was there any significance to Argent Moon? I got a few of the Intel that suggested the air wasnt suitable for breathing and everyone on board died because of it. I figured it would tie in to the storyline somehow.
Shes great. So adorable how mad she got when Cortana started to fuck with her installation.
Was there any significance to Argent Moon? I got a few of the Intel that suggested the air wasnt suitable for breathing and everyone on board died because of it. I figured it would tie in to the storyline somehow.
Shes great. So adorable how mad she got when Cortana started to fuck with her installation.
Double Donut
Member
You really don't find them interesting at all? Being able to just explore and listen in on Meridian/Sanghelios banter? Find some audio logs?
JumPeRJumPzZ
Banned
Yup the Halo 5 cutscenes felt really short and shallow.
No Life King
Member
I've been thinking and Buck should've been Osiris' leader. He's FAR more interesting and likable than Locke.
LordOfChaos
Member
quoting other thread
It would appear Cortana first used her space powers to fix herself, and then with her newfound processing power started working on fixing the Domain.
Halo 6's team should be MC, Arbiter Buck and Exuberant.
I couldn't find the post I made back when blue team was first announced but I said that it was thing that I was the most excited about seeing because since even before Halo 3 came out I was hoping they'd show up in that game.
If only I knew we were only going to see them for a total of 3 missions and in them they would barely ever say anything. lol
No Life King
Member
Awesome thanks....I'm guessing that will be fleshed out in the EU? Seems like a deus ex machina for Cortana.
At the end of 4 She was going rampant then fell into hyper space. Next we see her she got clothes and inherited the mantal? Wut?
Double Donut
Member
There's a very frustrating inconsistency with Nornfang in the campaign.
It is on the ground and usable in Blue Team's ship when Osiris finds it, so Linda left it behind, right?
During the cutscenes in the first Genesis level, this seems to be the case, as her sniper is a regular UNSC sniper rifle.
But in-game, she will always be equipped with Nornfang. I can almost look past this, I guess 343 didn't think to code her with a different weapon, whatever, but it doesn't end there!
In later cutscenes, such as when Osiris meets Blue Team on Genesis and when Cortana reveals herself, her sniper is Nornfang!
Really bothers me tbh, simple continuity like that should easily be kept in check by 343.
It is on the ground and usable in Blue Team's ship when Osiris finds it, so Linda left it behind, right?
During the cutscenes in the first Genesis level, this seems to be the case, as her sniper is a regular UNSC sniper rifle.
But in-game, she will always be equipped with Nornfang. I can almost look past this, I guess 343 didn't think to code her with a different weapon, whatever, but it doesn't end there!
In later cutscenes, such as when Osiris meets Blue Team on Genesis and when Cortana reveals herself, her sniper is Nornfang!
Really bothers me tbh, simple continuity like that should easily be kept in check by 343.
Just finished. I had watched the ending when it first came out but wanted to see it for myself.
It took a staggering amount of time for the story to reach any kind of major plot points. The whole hunt thing was lukewarm at best. No tension at all. I also can't believe how long it took to get to Cortana, then the game just abruptly ends afterward. Would've loved to see Chief coming to terms with the whole "my only friend is now my worst enemy" angle, or any sort of emotion from any character, really. Locke is too much of the stereotypical military dude and has no motivation. I still have no idea why Blue Team is there or where they came from or anything about them. I don't read the books.
All that said, I liked the last 5 minutes quite a bit. It would appear there's a serious threat now (though of course, all will be resolved by Halo 6 or 7). I'm curious how 343 writes the resolution.
It took a staggering amount of time for the story to reach any kind of major plot points. The whole hunt thing was lukewarm at best. No tension at all. I also can't believe how long it took to get to Cortana, then the game just abruptly ends afterward. Would've loved to see Chief coming to terms with the whole "my only friend is now my worst enemy" angle, or any sort of emotion from any character, really. Locke is too much of the stereotypical military dude and has no motivation. I still have no idea why Blue Team is there or where they came from or anything about them. I don't read the books.
All that said, I liked the last 5 minutes quite a bit. It would appear there's a serious threat now (though of course, all will be resolved by Halo 6 or 7). I'm curious how 343 writes the resolution.
Captain Zyrain
Member
Im with you, Also Cortanas face looks weird as fuck. It doesn't look right at all. But atleast they found an excuse to put clothes on her.Beat. I dig that Cortana is the 'villain' but the execution was severely lacking.
Yeah...I think it's my least favorite Cortana design. I really liked 4, they should have at least kept her face the same.
This was kind of lame. Like, why not show an extra level wit more interaction between blue and cortana.
Yep, that's also a good look.
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