Halo 5's Story Did Not Disappoint

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Yes, Blue Team only has 3 missions in the game.

But those three missions are arguably the biggest and best missions in the game.

Having just beaten the campaign, I’ve got to say that Blue Team’s missions are definitely the most story-heavy, and given what that story actually is, it actually makes perfect sense that they’re not on-screen 24/7. I’m actually coming away from this campaign almost perfectly satisfied with how they were used in this game. Quality over quantity, and all that.

Also, that fight between Locke and Chief was -Yoinking!- INCREDIBLE!!! I’ve been freaking out for WEEKS at the thought that Locke would actually beat the Master Chief, but no, John’s just like “-Yoink- you, Locke” and practically shoves that armor restraint straight back down his throat! LITERALLY!!! As far as I’m concerned, that fight by itself has cemented and confirmed John’s place as the indisputable hero of this franchise.I also have to say, Locke and Osiris really did grow on me as the campaign progressed. Locke’s interactions with Sloan really sold me with his character. He’s calm, patient, and yet surprisingly diplomatic. He does actually offer a legitimately human counterpoint to the Master Chief. And of course, Buck is Buck. :slight_smile: The rest of Osiris doesn’t leave quite as much an impression, but I still wound up liking them well enough.

Also, BIG shout-out to Roland. Good lookin’ out, man. You keep being awesome. I suspect he’ll have a pretty significant role in Halo 6.

In fact, the ONLY thing I don’t think I like about Halo 5’s story is…

Cortana being the villain. I just… I get it from a lore perspective, and it WAS kind of hinted at in Saint’s Testimony, but the game is basically asking you to kill the Master Chief’s best and closest friend. That just doesn’t sit well with me. Cortana has been my second favorite character in this series, behind only the Master Chief, and I just don’t like the idea of her becoming an irredeemable villain. I hope I’m wrong, and I hope there’s redemption for her at the end of the Reclaimer Saga. If there is, then I can accept this change in her.Other than that though, my only real gripe with Halo 5’s campaign is that it feels way too big for one person. So many of the levels were clearly designed with 4-player co-op in mind, and I imagine that will make 4 player co-op something truly special when I finally get to it, but for solo play, it actually hurts the flow of the gameplay somewhat.

All in all, I’d give the campaign of Halo 5: Guardians an 8.75 / 10. The story delivers on basically every front, but the cavernous nature of some of the levels makes navigating and fighting through them a little bit of a chore sometimes.

2

I agree with you on that

3

Glad to know someone does. :slight_smile:

4

It certainly has left the impression on me that Halo 4, 5, and 6’s story was planned almost entirely before Halo 4 was finished. Now the question is how are they going to defeat this unstoppable threat.

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> 2533274839169051;4:
> It certainly has left the impression on me that Halo 4, 5, and 6’s story was planned almost entirely before Halo 4 was finished. Now the question is how are they going to defeat this unstoppable threat.

I’ve had that impression since Halo 4 and quite frankly, it makes me incredibly happy to see that born out. The thing that pissed me off to no end with the Bungie’s Halos was the feeling that they were basically making it up as they went along, and even though we got some great stories out of that, it always felt like they could have been much better if they’d been properly tied together. Particularly Halo 2 and Halo 3.

6

I definitely enjoyed the story quite a bit as well, I’ll have to go through it a few more times before I can be completely critical of what I did and did not like, but I enjoyed it regardless.

7

to be disappointed would imply I had any expectations, I did not going in have any.

They still managed to make it worse than i thought it would be

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> 2533274845736258;6:
> I definitely enjoyed the story quite a bit as well, I’ll have to go through it a few more times before I can be completely critical of what I did and did not like, but I enjoyed it regardless.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to give it another couple of playthroughs, just because there was so much to take in. But even now, I’ve come away quite satisfied with it. :slight_smile:

> 2533274875243772;7:
> to be disappointed would imply I had any expectations, I did not going in have any.
>
> They still managed to make it worse than i thought it would be

Damn man, I’m sorry it played out like that for you. :frowning:

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Really? The whole thing is just setup for Halo 6 to be a generic AI vs humanity/peace…at a cost story.

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> 2533274835788533;9:
> Really? The whole thing is just setup for Halo 6 to be a generic AI vs humanity/peace…at a cost story.

Oh yeah, because Humanity vs. Unstoppable Alien Army wasn’t already a common-as-hell trope in science fiction. :stuck_out_tongue:

For me, the real meat and appeal of stories comes not from their generic, overarching conflict, but from the conflict between the characters and their relationships. And given the relationships at play in Halo 5, I think there’s more than enough room for the story to still take some surprising and powerful turns.

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Ikr. This is easily my favorite Halo game of all time. I would’ve liked a little more Chief than what we got but it was still tolerable and very good. We also got to fight in Sanghelios alongside the Arbiter and his forces, how can this game not be awesome? I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and the ending left me satisfied but at the same time it also left me wanting more which is a good thing. Halo 5: 117/10

It’s going to be a painful wait for Halo 6 though…

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I thought it was a good story also, I just finished the campaign tonight and was surprised because I was prepared not to like it.

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> 2533274835788533;9:
> Really? The whole thing is just setup for Halo 6 to be a generic AI vs humanity/peace…at a cost story.

It didn’t seem that generic. It actually surprised me when they suggested that AI’s would want to reclaim the Mantle of Responsibility which used to be just a Forerunners vs Human thing. But for the people who don’t know about the Mantle, they wouldn’t know the weight of that event.

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> 2533274872578239;13:
> > 2533274835788533;9:
> > Really? The whole thing is just setup for Halo 6 to be a generic AI vs humanity/peace…at a cost story.
>
>
> It didn’t seem that generic. It actually surprised me when they suggested that AI’s would want to reclaim the Mantle of Responsibility which used to be just a Forerunners vs Human thing. But for the people who don’t know about the Mantle, they wouldn’t know the weight of that event.

No kidding. I actually just read Halo: Cryptum yesterday for the first time, cover to cover. And yeah, the idea of AI’s hijacking the Mantle of Responsibility is a pretty massive shake-up, considering how mindlessly subservient Forerunner AIs were compared to ours.

So Cortana going all Mendicant Bias on us is a pretty big -Yoinking!- deal. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I don’t know about the Cortana situation. I think had she been replaced by a digitized Didact the story would be way better.

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> 2533274812652989;15:
> I don’t know about the Cortana situation. I think had she been replaced by a digitized Didact the story would be way better.

I probably would have preferred that as well, but even so, the Mendicant Bias kind of vibes I was getting from the ending are something special in their own right. The fact that it’s Cortana in that position just makes it hit even harder.

I’ll probably warm up to it more as the days and weeks go on, and the shock wears off a bit.

On a different note…

What did you all think of that Locke v Chief fight? :slight_smile:

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> 2533274985547444;16:
> > 2533274812652989;15:
> > I don’t know about the Cortana situation. I think had she been replaced by a digitized Didact the story would be way better.
>
>
> I probably would have preferred that as well, but even so, the Mendicant Bias kind of vibes I was getting from the ending are something special in their own right. The fact that it’s Cortana in that position just makes it hit even harder.
>
> I’ll probably warm up to it more as the days and weeks go on, and the shock wears off a bit.
>
> On a different note…
> What did you all think of that Locke v Chief fight? :slight_smile:

Eh, I see the Mendicant Bias comparison, but I have to wonder if it really is an intentional callback or just 343 not being able to come up with better ideas. The Locke vs Chef fight was pretty underwhelming.

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I also don’t like the “generic” argument as well. Most Storys which we get nowdays are more or less the same like back than. This Human vs AI is’n worse than any other Human vs Alien thing. Or what about Witcher, another Fantasy RPG? Or Last of Us, another Post-Apocalypse?! It’s not what idea/concept its based on, but how its worked out and the Details its given into. And Halo 5 do like other great Story Games of the last years, everything right. For me it’s on par with such Games like Witcher, Last of Us and Co, and they had amazing’ Storys… and also even of not, its still the best Halo-Story so far. And no i also didn’t read the Books and i understand everything very well. I find you only had to played the previous Games, and i think in that case its not up to blame 343i for that…

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> 2533274812652989;17:
> > 2533274985547444;16:
> > > 2533274812652989;15:
> > > I don’t know about the Cortana situation. I think had she been replaced by a digitized Didact the story would be way better.
> >
> >
> > I probably would have preferred that as well, but even so, the Mendicant Bias kind of vibes I was getting from the ending are something special in their own right. The fact that it’s Cortana in that position just makes it hit even harder.
> >
> > I’ll probably warm up to it more as the days and weeks go on, and the shock wears off a bit.
> >
> > On a different note…
> > What did you all think of that Locke v Chief fight? :slight_smile:
>
>
> Eh, I see the Mendicant Bias comparison, but I have to wonder if it really is an intentional callback or just 343 not being able to come up with better ideas. The Locke vs Chef fight was pretty underwhelming.

Given the fact that 343 included the oly oly oxen free signal in the second Blue Team mission, I would be stunned if the Mendicant Bias thing wasn’t an intentional callback.

Underwhelming? Really? Huh. To each their own, I guess. I was absolutely floored by that fight, especially by how it wound up ending. Sure, I’ve seen much better fight choreography in movies, but I can’t remember the last time I played a video game with that kind of hand-to-hand action.

Okay, that’s not true. There was Resident Evil 5, but those fights were so John Woo over-the-top that I almost don’t count them. For me, this fight felt real, physical, and like there was a chance that those two were really going to do some serious damage to the other.

And that part where Locke says Cortana is their concern now, and Chief responds with that really harsh, aggressive “Like hell she is.”? Oh man, I got wicked goosebumps.

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> 2533274812652989;17:
> > 2533274985547444;16:
> > > 2533274812652989;15:
> > > I don’t know about the Cortana situation. I think had she been replaced by a digitized Didact the story would be way better.
> >
> >
> > I probably would have preferred that as well, but even so, the Mendicant Bias kind of vibes I was getting from the ending are something special in their own right. The fact that it’s Cortana in that position just makes it hit even harder.
> >
> > I’ll probably warm up to it more as the days and weeks go on, and the shock wears off a bit.
> >
> > On a different note…
> > What did you all think of that Locke v Chief fight? :slight_smile:
>
>
> Eh, I see the Mendicant Bias comparison, but I have to wonder if it really is an intentional callback or just 343 not being able to come up with better ideas. The Locke vs Chef fight was pretty underwhelming.

What do you want? To shoot them ? The Fight was epic and showed the HUGE Difference between Locke and Chief. Locke have a lots of Potential, and i think no other Spartan could’ve done what Locke has done. I mean he cracked his helmet, but if Chief goes serious even Locke didn’t stand a chance…