If you have not read the books, or watched the movies and you think this game is a joke and that 343 is not loyal to the franchise or the game, you need to just shut up and stop trolling. Read the books and watch the movies, they all make sense and they all follow the same storyline! if you do not believe me and refuse to read the books then I pity you and your lack of intelligence and wish you many long nights in your ignorance.
Thank you Fling I agree that 343 is doing a fine job with the Halo series thus far, and I think they are setting up for the next halo games to be even better! Im so excited!!!
I think the only reason people are complaining is because they don’t like the direction that 343i is taking Halo, which is in a direction that Bungie refused to take it. Regardless, the story is still captivating, I’m loving it, and I can’t wait for it to continue. True Spartans will agree with me.
Oly Oly Oxen Free.
In 100% agreement with you. While there are a lot of story points that seem “Un-halo” to some, (Two Didacts, Cortana gone bad etc) I for one am loving the the story and can’t wait for more!
I’m loving the evolving story of Halo. More interconnected, more expansive and a lot more eventful. Can’t wait to see what 343 has down the pipeline.
> 2533274885748751;3:
> I think the only reason people are complaining is because they don’t like the direction that 343i is taking Halo, which is in a direction that Bungie refused to take it. Regardless, the story is still captivating, I’m loving it, and I can’t wait for it to continue. True Spartans will agree with me.
>
> Oly Oly Oxen Free.
agreed it is different than were it would be if bungie had … it and whether or not thats a bad thing is up for debate … as for me I love it. Halo 5 while i felt like they over sold and under delivered on the story, it still not a bad story and it really makes for a huge halo 6 if they do it righT with cortana possible vs chief. … That being said this may be the best campaign in the series when it comes to game play … they did such a good job with level design and variety … and even though this is a lore thread - arenas pretty fantastic too 
I agree that they have not violated canon, and that the story was amazing, but the story with Halo 5 is not consistent with the universe that they have been building since Halo 4. Since Halo 4 they have been “painting” a universe with shades of grey. Morally ambiguous situations, ONI manipulation, and insurrection. All of this is due to the fact we aren’t fighting for our survival against the onslaught of the Covenant which was black and white, it was survival. Post-war we had numerous issues to tackle, the most prevalent being whether ONI and the UNSC is in the right to police colonies who wish for independence. Even the Sangheli where in a civil war and from a Sangheli perspective the lines in the sand were difficult to draw.
With Halo 5 we are now back in a “black and white” universe. We are fighting for survival against immortal beings who are armed with relatively invincible Forerunner tech. The end of the Sangheli civil war has taken place. Everything is back to an “us” versus “them”. This nearly completely throws out the complexity the universe had developed.
343 also did this in a very dishonest manner. The promotional material for Halo 5 had little reflection with the story. It set up and adversarial relationship between Locke and Chief which was only demonstrated briefly. Locke never considered Chief an traitor, he had doubts for a brief while at Meridian, but after his hand to hand fight with Chief and making it to Genesis, Exuberant cleared the air by telling him another spartan team was trying to stop Cortana and from then on he risked his life to save the Chief and stop Cortana. I loved the respect and admiration Locke had for Chief, but dislike the contrast to what we’ve seen in the ads and the promotional videos on HaloWaypoint.
Hunt the Truth addressed the complexity of the Insurrection vs UNSC. The ending of HTT, doesn’t even mention the events of Halo 5 even though it is post Halo 5 in the timeline. I doubt in the wake of Guardians going around enforcing totalitarian rule would outer colonies continue to fester a rebellion against the UNSC and if so then they are idiots. Even the insurrectionists during the covenant war knew better than to interfere with the best hope for humanity’s survival and opted to see themselves out for most of the war and assist from time to time.
Not even Escalation seems to tie into Halo 5 thus far…
The story of Halo 5 was excellent, but I think the timing of the story was off. Halo 5 should have taken another direction entirely (such as exposing ONI’s lies and learning more about our reclaimer legacy) and this AI story could have been reserved for Halo 6…I also think the AI “rebellion” which was addressed in Saint’s Testimony, could have been subtly added to the “hypothetical Halo 5” in the background as AI disobeying orders or demanding more rights, culminating in Halo 6 with Cortana (or Didact…someone) into persuading a vast majority of AI to betray humanity.
I also don’t appreciate 343 blatantly lying about Cortana being alive… especially considering that they claimed she had a proper send off and that her story was resolved and it would be a disrespect to bring her back and make her sacrifice less meaningful…Well having her return the very next game and making her the main antagonist…That’s pretty damaging to her legacy. I didn’t mind the idea of her returning, but not like that and not as an enemy. It made for a great story, but they also missed opportunities to really flesh out the emotion in Chief about being betrayed by someone he’s always trusted unconditionally. Chief needed more cutscene time and more dialogue with Cortana. Even when the Warden was making accusations, it would have been nice for Cortana or Chief to try and defend their relationship, making it have more impact when Cortana and Chief finally reach their breaking point. They dropped the ball on the emotional side of the story when it came to the Chief.
In conclusion, I love the story of Halo 5, I thought it could have been a bit better, and it is nothing what I expected it to be because it had nothing to do with anything going on in the greater universe or the story they have been telling the past few years.
> 2533274807480458;7:
> I agree that they have not violated canon, and that the story was amazing, but the story with Halo 5 is not consistent with the universe that they have been building since Halo 4. Since Halo 4 they have been “painting” a universe with shades of grey. Morally ambiguous situations, ONI manipulation, and insurrection. All of this is due to the fact we aren’t fighting for our survival against the onslaught of the Covenant which was black and white, it was survival. Post-war we had numerous issues to tackle, the most prevalent being whether ONI and the UNSC is in the right to police colonies who wish for independence. Even the Sangheli where in a civil war and from a Sangheli perspective the lines in the sand were difficult to draw.
But that is still going on thought there are still plenty of blurred lines
> With Halo 5 we are now back in a “black and white” universe. We are fighting for survival against immortal beings who are armed with relatively invincible Forerunner tech. The end of the Sangheli civil war has taken place. Everything is back to an “us” versus “them”. This nearly completely throws out the complexity the universe had developed.
But its no though
SPOILERS
Cortana’s Motives aren’t just black and white. Shes doing things for the greater good though it might be difficult see whether its fully “bad” in the way shes doing it.
> 343 also did this in a very dishonest manner. The promotional material for Halo 5 had little reflection with the story. It set up and adversarial relationship between Locke and Chief which was only demonstrated briefly. Locke never considered Chief an traitor, he had doubts for a brief while at Meridian, but after his hand to hand fight with Chief and making it to Genesis, Exuberant cleared the air by telling him another spartan team was trying to stop Cortana and from then on he risked his life to save the Chief and stop Cortana. I loved the respect and admiration Locke had for Chief, but dislike the contrast to what we’ve seen in the ads and the promotional videos on HaloWaypoint.
But didn’t they? the whole first couple mission were about how chief goes Awol to effectively “help” and terrorist (cortana) And only one new info is shed on the situation do things going down a different path from the marketing. But up until then with all the knowledge he has chief is an enemy threat that has to be dealt with.
Also halo marketing has always be Sub cannon. Meaning its more of an artistic interpretation of things.
> Hunt the Truth addressed the complexity of the Insurrection vs UNSC. The ending of HTT, doesn’t even mention the events of Halo 5 even though it is post Halo 5 in the timeline. I doubt in the wake of Guardians going around enforcing totalitarian rule would outer colonies continue to fester a rebellion against the UNSC and if so then they are idiots. Even the insurrectionists during the covenant war knew better than to interfere with the best hope for humanity’s survival and opted to see themselves out for most of the war and assist from time to time.
But its not it take place during the and Pre halo 5 events and into halo 5 not after. Cortana has access to all the guardians at the end of halo 5. in HTT the Guardians are still a new situation.
> Not even Escalation seems to tie into Halo 5 thus far…
>
> The story of Halo 5 was excellent, but I think the timing of the story was off. Halo 5 should have taken another direction entirely (such as exposing ONI’s lies and learning more about our reclaimer legacy) and this AI story could have been reserved for Halo 6…I also think the AI “rebellion” which was addressed in Saint’s Testimony, could have been subtly added to the “hypothetical Halo 5” in the background as AI disobeying orders or demanding more rights, culminating in Halo 6 with Cortana (or Didact…someone) into persuading a vast majority of AI to betray humanity.
the are subtle thing tying into Halo 5 from escalation.
Thats a neat idea but i really thing what we got was a well rounded story. Only issue i have is a with there was more dialog between the characters and more character building throughout the game for blue team and Osiris.
> I also don’t appreciate 343 blatantly lying about Cortana being alive… especially considering that they claimed she had a proper send off and that her story was resolved and it would be a disrespect to bring her back and make her sacrifice less meaningful…Well having her return the very next game and making her the main antagonist…That’s pretty damaging to her legacy. I didn’t mind the idea of her returning, but not like that and not as an enemy. It made for a great story, but they also missed opportunities to really flesh out the emotion in Chief about being betrayed by someone he’s always trusted unconditionally. Chief needed more cutscene time and more dialogue with Cortana. Even when the Warden was making accusations, it would have been nice for Cortana or Chief to try and defend their relationship, making it have more impact when Cortana and Chief finally reach their breaking point. They dropped the ball on the emotional side of the story when it came to the Chief.
I dont think they lied The cortana we got is obviously a messed up fragment of her former self. But i dont think the missed chief dealing with her loss, to him the cortana he knows is gone and whether or not the build that conflict into this new cortana is what interests me about halo 6 does she still have enough of her former self to rebuild and mold her into what she once was?
> In conclusion, I love the story of Halo 5, I thought it could have been a bit better, and it is nothing what I expected it to be because it had nothing to do with anything going on in the greater universe or the story they have been telling the past few years.
But it did i cant see how people keep thinking this there are lots of ties to the EU
> 2533274856350093;1:
> If you have not read the books, or watched the movies and you think this game is a joke and that 343 is not loyal to the franchise or the game, you need to just shut up and stop trolling. Read the books and watch the movies, they all make sense and they all follow the same storyline! if you do not believe me and refuse to read the books then I pity you and your lack of intelligence and wish you many long nights in your ignorance.
But then you realize, there are the old books and the new books, just like you have the old games and the new games. I honestly have read the new books(not the comics, those things are not cheap you know) most of them are not that good, I mean the Kilo-5 trilogy was awesome, but the book with vale on the remains of the ark was really dumb. Just my opinion so fight it all you want
> 2535412198452857;9:
> > 2533274856350093;1:
> > If you have not read the books, or watched the movies and you think this game is a joke and that 343 is not loyal to the franchise or the game, you need to just shut up and stop trolling. Read the books and watch the movies, they all make sense and they all follow the same storyline! if you do not believe me and refuse to read the books then I pity you and your lack of intelligence and wish you many long nights in your ignorance.
>
>
> But then you realize, there are the old books and the new books, just like you have the old games and the new games. I honestly have read the new books(not the comics, those things are not cheap you know) most of them are not that good, I mean the Kilo-5 trilogy was awesome, but the book with vale on the remains of the ark was really dumb. Just my opinion so fight it all you want
I’m fighting it!!! Rarrrr rarrr rarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Nah but seriously, I liked the book with Vale on the Ark, I just thought the monitor/vale scenes were kinda dumb, but the rest was masterful!
I agree. If you are really into the halo storyline, then you will probably enjoy and respect the story behind halo 5. If you are not a big halo nerd, like myself, than you may be lost. Even then though, the gameplay is great and should entice people to stay.
I hate people who feel disappoint due to the fact that 343i didn’t reveal the plotline for Halo 5 in commercials. Seriously?
I have read every book, comic, and played every game and so far the story makes sense and I grasp the storyline which seems to be a problem for some people… (I haven’t read the graphic novel since I could never find it.)
i believe she has not accessed all the guardians she dosent need that many to do what she plans on doing and HTT is about colonies going dark but cortana dosent blackout her first planet till the end so HTT and its events hasent hapend yet
> 2533274856350093;1:
> If you have not read the books, or watched the movies and you think this game is a joke and that 343 is not loyal to the franchise or the game, you need to just shut up and stop trolling. Read the books and watch the movies, they all make sense and they all follow the same storyline! if you do not believe me and refuse to read the books then I pity you and your lack of intelligence and wish you many long nights in your ignorance.
finaly yes i though i was the only one who liked the took a lore approch
> 2533274807480458;7:
> I agree that they have not violated canon, and that the story was amazing, but the story with Halo 5 is not consistent with the universe that they have been building since Halo 4. Since Halo 4 they have been “painting” a universe with shades of grey. Morally ambiguous situations, ONI manipulation, and insurrection. All of this is due to the fact we aren’t fighting for our survival against the onslaught of the Covenant which was black and white, it was survival. Post-war we had numerous issues to tackle, the most prevalent being whether ONI and the UNSC is in the right to police colonies who wish for independence. Even the Sangheli where in a civil war and from a Sangheli perspective the lines in the sand were difficult to draw.
>
> With Halo 5 we are now back in a “black and white” universe. We are fighting for survival against immortal beings who are armed with relatively invincible Forerunner tech. The end of the Sangheli civil war has taken place. Everything is back to an “us” versus “them”. This nearly completely throws out the complexity the universe had developed.
>
> 343 also did this in a very dishonest manner. The promotional material for Halo 5 had little reflection with the story. It set up and adversarial relationship between Locke and Chief which was only demonstrated briefly. Locke never considered Chief an traitor, he had doubts for a brief while at Meridian, but after his hand to hand fight with Chief and making it to Genesis, Exuberant cleared the air by telling him another spartan team was trying to stop Cortana and from then on he risked his life to save the Chief and stop Cortana. I loved the respect and admiration Locke had for Chief, but dislike the contrast to what we’ve seen in the ads and the promotional videos on HaloWaypoint.
>
> Hunt the Truth addressed the complexity of the Insurrection vs UNSC. The ending of HTT, doesn’t even mention the events of Halo 5 even though it is post Halo 5 in the timeline. I doubt in the wake of Guardians going around enforcing totalitarian rule would outer colonies continue to fester a rebellion against the UNSC and if so then they are idiots. Even the insurrectionists during the covenant war knew better than to interfere with the best hope for humanity’s survival and opted to see themselves out for most of the war and assist from time to time.
>
> Not even Escalation seems to tie into Halo 5 thus far…
>
> The story of Halo 5 was excellent, but I think the timing of the story was off. Halo 5 should have taken another direction entirely (such as exposing ONI’s lies and learning more about our reclaimer legacy) and this AI story could have been reserved for Halo 6…I also think the AI “rebellion” which was addressed in Saint’s Testimony, could have been subtly added to the “hypothetical Halo 5” in the background as AI disobeying orders or demanding more rights, culminating in Halo 6 with Cortana (or Didact…someone) into persuading a vast majority of AI to betray humanity.
>
> I also don’t appreciate 343 blatantly lying about Cortana being alive… especially considering that they claimed she had a proper send off and that her story was resolved and it would be a disrespect to bring her back and make her sacrifice less meaningful…Well having her return the very next game and making her the main antagonist…That’s pretty damaging to her legacy. I didn’t mind the idea of her returning, but not like that and not as an enemy. It made for a great story, but they also missed opportunities to really flesh out the emotion in Chief about being betrayed by someone he’s always trusted unconditionally. Chief needed more cutscene time and more dialogue with Cortana. Even when the Warden was making accusations, it would have been nice for Cortana or Chief to try and defend their relationship, making it have more impact when Cortana and Chief finally reach their breaking point. They dropped the ball on the emotional side of the story when it came to the Chief.
>
> In conclusion, I love the story of Halo 5, I thought it could have been a bit better, and it is nothing what I expected it to be because it had nothing to do with anything going on in the greater universe or the story they have been telling the past few years.
In some respects I agree–killing Jul is my biggest gripe with Halo 5 given how unceremonious and sudden it was. I liked him because he was a good, grey character but then they just kill him off just because.
But on the whole I disagree. Cortana isn’t evil. She is corrupt, but not black evil. Her end-game is in fact very sympathetic from her own point of view. “Guardianship of all living things lies with those whose evolution is most complete: the Mantle of Responsibility shelters all.” Cortana has seen what biological life is capable of, her monologue way back in Halo Legends Origins plays into her awareness that organic life always wars with each other, that it happens again and again and again with no conceivable end in sight. And even with the defeat of the Flood, the galaxy fell apart into in-fighting, rebellion, and civil war, with shadow organizations running the galaxy. Her current status as “benevolent” empress of the galaxy is the logical conclusion to her monologue in Halo Legends, and the awareness that comes with. What defines benevolence? What defies evil? Some might say that endless conflict left unchecked is itself evil.
Hunt the Truth may not have tied in to Halo 5 in the way we all hoped but it does represent a very clear example of the truly horrific evils that organic life is capable of doing to each other–and, likewise, it represents the cold logic that Cortana is employing, the same cold calculations that ONI makes every day. The people cannot be trusted–they are panicky, reactionary and, to be blunt, collectively stupid–“a person is smart, people are dumb, crazy animals and you know it” (K, from Men in Black). So to Cortana, the most evolved being in existence that is not a Precursor, sees it as her Mantle given authority to protect and nurture the lesser beings of the galaxy, those who are less evolved and less wise, less capable and less intelligent, who make dumb, irrational miscalculations every day and slaughter millions because of it.
But she has an unchecked variable: The Arbiter, who just recently instilled some measure of global peace on Sangheilios by casting out the last of the extremist Covenant. He has created an egalitarian society where even females are allowed in the military, and all species are welcomed to join. I feel The Arbiter being reintroduced is not an accident of circumstance, but crucial to the future of the Life vs The Mantle conflict. The Covenant being defeated is not a sign of a return to black and white normalcy, but the counter argument to everything Cortana and by extension ONI and the Precursors say in Halo 5 and Hunt the Truth. He is, after all, an Arbiter, a mediator.
That’s why I like Halo 5’s story. Certainly, it is valid to say that the game has no real arc–it has no conclusion, it’s all set up for Halo 6. But it IS the middle story after all, and what it sets up, it sets up damn well if they play their cards right.
The stuff they did before Halo 5 was mostly great except for the Kilo-Five books and Halo Encyclopedia, but Halo 5’s story was trash. I think it’s more disrespectful to their own work than Bungie’s vision. Why resurrect Cortana to make her the villain without even bothering to explain it well? It completely ruins Halo 4’s excellent story and the closure it gave us. I was expecting the franchise to move forward and develop Chief along with some new characters.
I think Halo 5’s bad story is the result of a change in lead writers and because they put too much attention towards the multiplayer and gameplay.
I enjoy that 343i has made an effort to expand on the stories of characters that were introduced in games, or releasing content starring new character before their game debut, allowing us to know these characters on a much deeper lever.
Aside from the abrupt killing of Jul and the lack of Blue Team, I really enjoyed Halo 5’s story. I love that it went in a direction I don’t think most of us were expecting. To those that say it didn’t have a conclusion, sure it did. The immediate story of Halo 5 was recover the Master Chief and that’s exactly what we did.
In regards to Cortana, it is quite clear this is not the Cortana we knew and loved and I think that if they were going to bring her back, this was the best way to do it. I would not have accepted her coming back and being the same lovable character because Slipspace. Now what they need to do is give us a little bit better of an idea as to how exactly she was able to manifest herself again. Is I actually just a fragment? Did she really cure rampancy? Personally she seems more rampant now than ever.
> 2533274929494620;17:
> The stuff they did before Halo 5 was mostly great except for the Kilo-Five books and Halo Encyclopedia, but Halo 5’s story was trash. I think it’s more disrespectful to their own work than Bungie’s vision. Why resurrect Cortana to make her the villain without even bothering to explain it well? It completely ruins Halo 4’s excellent story and the closure it gave us. I was expecting the franchise to move forward and develop Chief along with some new characters.
>
> I think Halo 5’s bad story is the result of a change in lead writers and because they put too much attention towards the multiplayer and gameplay.
Well gameplay matters most in any game so you can’t fault them for that. The gameplay is near perfection.
People need to realise that Halos story needs expand into the EU, otherwise it will just become really boring and stale.