To start off, I’ve read most of the lore books, especially the original 3- Fall of Reach, The Flood and First Strike. I like how in Halo 5 we actually get to see the remaining blue team in Action, as well as other new elements in the story to spice things up. But I noticed when my friends and I play the Campaign, they have no idea who blue team is, why they’re there or that there was even other Spartan IIs that survived. My squad was constantly asking about the lore to try to piece the story together, and it seems like the Fall of Reach series didn’t even really answer their questions. As a Halo geek I was pleased, but I could see this being an issue with casual Halo fans. Did you think 343 should have tried to ease into the back story more, or do you think this choice was best?
and for the record I love this game, nice work 343 
I’ll preface this with I’ve spoiled myself but have not actually watched the whole campaign so I can still experience most of it fresh.
That said, yeah, I think they should have had the blue team reunion in the game. Putting it in escalation was kind of silly, and they could have just skipped the composing the didact arc. The characters needed a proper introduction to avoid H4’s problems of seemingly contradicting the ‘lore’ if you hadn’t read the books.
That said, from my mere jumping around in a 1 hour recap, I felt like it explained the mantle, domain, AI’s, reasonable enough for people.
I thought the setup was fine but I always want to know more.
> 2533274850308193;1:
> To start off, I’ve read most of the lore books, especially the original 3- Fall of Reach, The Flood and First Strike. I like how in Halo 5 we actually get to see the remaining blue team in Action, as well as other new elements in the story to spice things up. But I noticed when my friends and I play the Campaign, they have no idea who blue team is, why they’re there or that there was even other Spartan IIs that survived. My squad was constantly asking about the lore to try to piece the story together, and it seems like the Fall of Reach series didn’t even really answer their questions. As a Halo geek I was pleased, but I could see this being an issue with casual Halo fans. Did you think 343 should have tried to ease into the back story more, or do you think this choice was best?
>
> and for the record I love this game, nice work 343
Note: I haven’t played the game my router died the day I picked up the game
As for whether they should ease people into the lore? I have two responses to that (logical) Yes I think they should but they should keep going down this route of utilising the lore because unless they use it; its a waste of time (irrational) no they should just throw it at us so I can use all that information that has been in my brain for years and confuse the -Yoink- out of people!
I’m actually fine with it. They have worked very hard at building a universe with depth. I would say it’s definitely in the Top 3 compared to other franchises. They should take advantage of the story telling and the universe they have created. It makes it better for fans of the franchise.
> 2533274850308193;1:
> To start off, I’ve read most of the lore books, especially the original 3- Fall of Reach, The Flood and First Strike. I like how in Halo 5 we actually get to see the remaining blue team in Action, as well as other new elements in the story to spice things up. But I noticed when my friends and I play the Campaign, they have no idea who blue team is, why they’re there or that there was even other Spartan IIs that survived. My squad was constantly asking about the lore to try to piece the story together, and it seems like the Fall of Reach series didn’t even really answer their questions. As a Halo geek I was pleased, but I could see this being an issue with casual Halo fans. Did you think 343 should have tried to ease into the back story more, or do you think this choice was best?
>
> and for the record I love this game, nice work 343
I like the lore-intemsive story, it’s a nice fit for a Halo game.
I like having the lore so much a part of the story, I think drawing from the huge universe they’ve created is great. However, if somebody hasn’t really gotten into anything outside the games it can be confusing. I would have liked to see something in the game; terminals, recordings, data entries, or whatever. Give people without that outside exposure more info. There’s some in-game stuff you can find, but it seems a bit lacking to me.
Personally I think it’s awesome that Halo’s campaign is more for the actual fans and not for everybody it shows service to those who are interested in the lore and not just the shooting it’s a service to the ‘true’ fans of the universe.
on the other hand it does create a wedge to the franchise garnering new fans by not keeping them in the loop and to be honest it wouldn’t be hard to give a synopsis via the Halo channel through either one longish episode or say 5 shorter episodes filling in the gaps of Halo:so far. Even the videos only deal with after H4 and the time between H5’s start.
way I see it is 5 short (15-20 min) vids would be an amazing way to fill in the gaps for new players first episode could focus on the Spartan 2’s and their creation. Ep.2 the covie war and maybe even its collapse. Ep3 the forerunners and Halo rings. Ep.4 the Didact and H4’s events etc. (Wouldn’t have be exactly like this it’s just one way they could lay it out.)
ya if halo channel or say a free dlc movie type thing that can catch people up on some of the most important lore
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I thought it was great that they included references to the lore. Loved that they had the reference to the “Oly Oly Oxen Free” in the game with Fred commenting that “it’s been years since they heard that.”
For those gamers that are unfamiliar with the lore, they could have done something to bring them up to speed, like including a short intro video in the menu system or something that is optional for them to watch, or even a digital comic like what Mass Effect 2 had to bring people up to speed.
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Lore is a great thing and Halo’s universe is pretty solid in that component. The contradictory nature of things makes it more real, in my opinion, because people’s perception of events and motives will be different. Plus it shows how people/cultures/etc. try to write history for their benefit.
That said, Locke’s lack of history or character is annoying. Maybe it’s the actor not conveying enough, but his lack of response to others makes him quite bland. You’ve got Nathan Fillon as Buck feeding him some great lines and then there’s no response. Nightfall wasn’t enough to create an interesting backstory to Locke. All it showed was that he’s capable of doing the job.
Granted we never had much backstory in Halo: CE for Master Chief, but there was an inherent sense of awe that other characters had towards the Chief. Plus Cortana and the Chief played off one another well. I always felt like he was cracking a crooked smile when he said lines line, “No thanks to your driving, yes.” - In response to Cortana’s question about him sleeping well. Those little responses really gave him life, a sense of surety in himself and Cortana.
> 2535457133489448;12:
> Lore is a great thing and Halo’s universe is pretty solid in that component. The contradictory nature of things makes it more real, in my opinion, because people’s perception of events and motives will be different. Plus it shows how people/cultures/etc. try to write history for their benefit.
>
> That said, Locke’s lack of history or character is annoying. Maybe it’s the actor not conveying enough, but his lack of response to others makes him quite bland. You’ve got Nathan Fillon as Buck feeding him some great lines and then there’s no response. Nightfall wasn’t enough to create an interesting backstory to Locke. All it showed was that he’s capable of doing the job.
>
> Granted we never had much backstory in Halo: CE for Master Chief, but there was an inherent sense of awe that other characters had towards the Chief. Plus Cortana and the Chief played off one another well. I always felt like he was cracking a crooked smile when he said lines line, “No thanks to your driving, yes.” - In response to Cortana’s question about him sleeping well. Those little responses really gave him life, a sense of surety in himself and Cortana.
I don’t know about Locke being bland. It came across to me like he could of responded with more if he wanted to, but he’s a professional. Like when Buck was saying everyone will hate them once they go after John and Locke acknowledges this by saying “your not the only one here because of him” kind of remark.
Locke respects and is in awe of John, but he has been given a mission and nothing will stop him carrying it out.
Thats what I got from his character anyway.
People who aren’t invested enough into the story to at least look up their confusions online and deal with it don’t deserve explanations. If people don’t know who Blue Team is at this point through actually reading the books or looking up Master Chief on a damn Wikipedia page then so be it.
The story shouldn’t be held back by a bunch of casual story people who don’t bother to get invested.
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> People who aren’t invested enough into the story to at least look up their confusions online and deal with it don’t deserve explanations. If people don’t know who Blue Team is at this point through actually reading the books or looking up Master Chief on a damn Wikipedia page then so be it.
>
> The story shouldn’t be held back by a bunch of casual story people who don’t bother to get invested.
That’s a poor excuse.
Little nods here and there that are inconsequential to the plot like the Oly Oly Oxen Free signal are neat as are other nods mentioned long ago in other media. As steps are taking going forward, more and more lore integration should be a thing. But integrated on-going conflicts that’ve only been depicted in the books is rough work as evident in the exposition for Halo 4 and even now in Halo 5.
It’s problematic when entire events become completely reliant on supplementary material to tell a coherent story that continues from the previous game. Dropping into the thick of the first level (you go from the end of Spartan Ops with Halsey swearing revenge on the UNSC to her needing extraction with a warning message for them in Halo 5’s opening) or in the midst of the on-going Sangheili Civil war make for great backdrops, but given their prominence and how much set up went into them, the latter in particular, just makes for bad abrupt story telling that’s going to turn off long time game-only players (which is the vast majority) or new comers.
> 2533274964189700;2:
> I’ll preface this with I’ve spoiled myself but have not actually watched the whole campaign so I can still experience most of it fresh.
>
> That said, yeah, I think they should have had the blue team reunion in the game. Putting it in escalation was kind of silly, and they could have just skipped the composing the didact arc. The characters needed a proper introduction to avoid H4’s problems of seemingly contradicting the ‘lore’ if you hadn’t read the books.
>
> That said, from my mere jumping around in a 1 hour recap, I felt like it explained the mantle, domain, AI’s, reasonable enough for people.
Haven’t tried the game yet, but is there any kind of explanation of what’s been going on between H4 and H5 or are we relying on H4’s SpartanOps?
Halo has a growing and deepening lore. It is the challenge of the developer to utilize it properly. Not just in terms of references and easter eggs but to shape the direction of stories and the motivations of characters/factions.
Does Halo 5 utilize lore to give it’s characters depth and justification? Yes.
Does it convey this lore sufficiently to the casual entrant? I haven’t finished the campaign yet but from the forums here and online in general, No.
I absolutely love deep sci fi universes with expansive plots and complex interactions. It is this sort of stage that allows the rise or fall of characters and their allegiances to mean something.
Halo should always include deeper lore. It is up to the devs and the associated marketing to convey the necessary cliff notes to the casual populace so that this lore not only makes sense, but matters.
not at all.
for those that are interested in the lore aspect of the game there is PLENTY of it here in this game. not to mention, as you did, all of the books out there currently. but if the casual gamer is not looking for an in depth story, then this is the next gen shooter for them.
to each their own.