I’m tired of Halo dragging its protagonist out for more adventures at the expense of his emotional depth.
For a guy that averages only a few words per game, the Halo series has somehow managed to make the Master Chief a surprisingly sympathetic character. Maybe it’s because I read the books when I was a teenager, so I’m painfully aware of how John 117 was kidnapped as a child and forced into military slavery where he was tortured and transformed into a human superweapon, but I feel for the guy—especially in Halo’s original trilogy.
His entire life has been spent saving humanity’s -Yoink- from insurrectionists, aliens, scarier aliens, and ancient aliens (that are still pretty scary). And if the story of Halo 5 and Infinite is as connected as it looks to be, now Master Chief has to save the galaxy from his AI partner-slash-girlfriend, Cortana. There’s tragic irony in the reality that Master Chief’s closest ally is now his enemy. But now that this story has been stretched over six games, it’s getting harder to care. That’s why I’m hoping that Microsoft and 343 Industries do the right thing and kill the Master Chief in Halo Infinite.
The emotional crux of Halo has always been John 117’s relationship to Cortana and how they’ve survived so much horror and trauma together. When Cortana is stranded aboard High Charity, an enormous Covenant space station in Halo 3, there’s an entire mission where Master Chief risks everything to retrieve her even though it seems hopeless. Hell, the entire series is basically defined by Master Chief’s selfless sacrifice to humanity, and I’m growing increasingly tired of seeing him dragged out for one last rodeo. Leave the Chief alone, you monsters.
Halo 3 was the perfect end to Master Chief’s arc (and it seemed like the series was finally ready to move beyond him with Halo: Reach), but it wasn’t long before 343 Industries busted him out of cryosleep so he could save the galaxy again. What came next were two of the most underwhelming Halo games that spoiled so much of the established lore in an attempt to unearth a new bad guy to fight. The Didact couldn’t possibly live up to the iconic horror of the Flood or the religious zealotry of the Covenant.
The stories of Halo 4 and 5 weren’t all bad, though. I enjoyed exploring the idea of AI rampancy and watching Cortana start to corrupt after seven years of service. Knowing that she couldn’t live longer than seven years was a tragic revelation akin to someone finding out they have a terminal illness. This ends up being the major plot point of Halo 5, wherein Master Chief goes rogue to save his girlfriend yet again. Unable to cope with the idea of losing her, Master Chief refuses to hand her over to the military and breaks his code of honor.
But Cortana clearly can’t be saved. Though she hasn’t gone completely crazy (yet), in Halo 5 her sole mission is to use powerful alien tech to basically become the sheriff of the galaxy. She wants to control everything, which is a little disconcerting to the humans that created her. The game ends before Cortana can enact her plans (or Master Chief can stop them) so this becomes the question that looms over Halo Infinite: What will happen to Cortana?
It’s a question I care about. But at the same time, I feel like this resolution has been dragged out far too long. This entire narrative arc could have been told in just a single game, but we’re nine years into this story and I wouldn’t be surprised if 343 Industries wants to keep this story going forever. It’s right there in the name.
If that’s the case, I’m out. I’ll pretend everything after Halo 3 never existed and that Master Chief and Cortana are still floating in space aboard the wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn.
I get that Master Chief is an icon like Crash Bandicoot or Mario and that Microsoft is probably reluctant to ditch the face of their biggest franchise (sorry Blinx), but that’s antithetical to telling an emotional story with proper closure. Stories need an end, and when characters are continually thrown into new adventures without any emotional growth they start to feel cartoonish and one dimensional, like a certain Italian plumber or a bug-eyed marsupial.
That’s why I’m going to play Halo Infinite hoping that Master Chief doesn’t make it to the end. His entire life is defined by cleaning up messes for humanity—a child forcefully turned into a war hero who embraced that destiny because he realized he was the only one who could do the job. There would be something profound in him making the ultimate sacrifice not out of a sense of duty, but out of love for the person who has endured every hardship alongside him.
Of course, killing Master Chief isn’t the only plausible conclusion to this story, but anything less would feel insincere, I think. It’s hard to imagine Old Man John living out his final days on a farmstead somewhere with Cortana by his side. And if he does survive the conclusion of Halo Infinite, I’m worried that 343 Industries will one day cave to the temptation to drag him back out for more adventures and whatever emotional connection I have left to Master Chief will be traded for an opportunity to sell more games.
After how much the base wined about halo 5 not having enough chief, and how hard 343 has pushed chief since, there’s very little chance they’re going to kill him off.
The fan base would hate it more if he lived through infinite and showed up in other games. This arc wraps up his story. He is facing (you are facing) your partner that you’ve fought with since installation 04, and your fighting the banished who are the superior covenant. And possibly the flood too. Give gravemind a piece of your mind
> 2533274964189700;2:
> After how much the base wined about halo 5 not having enough chief, and how hard 343 has pushed chief since, there’s very little chance they’re going to kill him off.
I am part of that group that felt betrayed when I played more Fire team Osiris than Blue Team. I was like who cares about Locke.
I want more chief and tho I partially agree what more can he keep saving and doing? I do enjoy some years between them so we don’t tire out the story too quickly.
I did also enjoy Halo 3s ending to drift off forever in space as MIA
> 2533274806155678;4:
> > 2533274964189700;2:
> > After how much the base wined about halo 5 not having enough chief, and how hard 343 has pushed chief since, there’s very little chance they’re going to kill him off.
>
> I am part of that group that felt betrayed when I played more Fire team Osiris than Blue Team. I was like who cares about Locke.
> I want more chief and tho I partially agree what more can he keep saving and doing? I do enjoy some years between them so we don’t tire out the story too quickly.
>
> I did also enjoy Halo 3s ending to drift off forever in space as MIA
While I actually don’t agree with Chief needing to have so much focus, I do agree halo 5 gave you no reason to care about locke and company.
Locke might have more levels but he’s ultimately just a character dragged into chief’s story. Nothing is personal to him or his team, its just them jumping through hoops to chase chief.
Unlike say, the Arbiter, who had a very personal plot about his demotion and rise as a leader for his people.
> 2533274964189700;5:
> > 2533274806155678;4:
> > > 2533274964189700;2:
> > > After how much the base wined about halo 5 not having enough chief, and how hard 343 has pushed chief since, there’s very little chance they’re going to kill him off.
> >
> > I am part of that group that felt betrayed when I played more Fire team Osiris than Blue Team. I was like who cares about Locke.
> > I want more chief and tho I partially agree what more can he keep saving and doing? I do enjoy some years between them so we don’t tire out the story too quickly.
> >
> > I did also enjoy Halo 3s ending to drift off forever in space as MIA
>
> While I actually don’t agree with Chief needing to have so much focus, I do agree halo 5 gave you no reason to care about locke and company.
>
> Locke might have more levels but he’s ultimately just a character dragged into chief’s story. Nothing is personal to him or his team, its just them jumping through hoops to chase chief.
>
> Unlike say, the Arbiter, who had a very personal plot about his demotion and rise as a leader for his people.
Big yes! They should have taken note from Halo 2 I would very much have liked more a tale of The Arbiter and maybe tieing it into Locke and we Carry from there.
Even watching the Halo Nightfall beforehand I still was like Okay so this is the hunter team going into get my favorite character -Yoink- haha
It would be nice to use Blue team and split them like you do missions as Fred and George then jump to Linda and John
Honestly, keeping Chief around will lead to seriously bad storytelling worse than Halo 3 and 5 combined, so yes, please, IT IS TIME FOR HIM TO GO. Otherwise, Halo will only become even more stale and repetitive than it already is. Does the fanbase NOT realize that?! Besides, his voice actor won’t be around much longer anyway, and it’s way past time for the torch to be passed on to someone like Fred-104 or Jerome-092 or even our own multiplayer Spartan! (but please NOT Linda-058)
> 2535451917289816;1:
> I’m tired of Halo dragging its protagonist out for more adventures at the expense of his emotional depth.
> For a guy that averages only a few words per game, the Halo series has somehow managed to make the Master Chief a surprisingly sympathetic character. Maybe it’s because I read the books when I was a teenager, so I’m painfully aware of how John 117 was kidnapped as a child and forced into military slavery where he was tortured and transformed into a human superweapon, but I feel for the guy—especially in Halo’s original trilogy.
> His entire life has been spent saving humanity’s -Yoink- from insurrectionists, aliens, scarier aliens, and ancient aliens (that are still pretty scary). And if the story of Halo 5 and Infinite is as connected as it looks to be, now Master Chief has to save the galaxy from his AI partner-slash-girlfriend, Cortana. There’s tragic irony in the reality that Master Chief’s closest ally is now his enemy. But now that this story has been stretched over six games, it’s getting harder to care. That’s why I’m hoping that Microsoft and 343 Industries do the right thing and kill the Master Chief in Halo Infinite.
> The emotional crux of Halo has always been John 117’s relationship to Cortana and how they’ve survived so much horror and trauma together. When Cortana is stranded aboard High Charity, an enormous Covenant space station in Halo 3, there’s an entire mission where Master Chief risks everything to retrieve her even though it seems hopeless. Hell, the entire series is basically defined by Master Chief’s selfless sacrifice to humanity, and I’m growing increasingly tired of seeing him dragged out for one last rodeo. Leave the Chief alone, you monsters.
> Halo 3 was the perfect end to Master Chief’s arc (and it seemed like the series was finally ready to move beyond him with Halo: Reach), but it wasn’t long before 343 Industries busted him out of cryosleep so he could save the galaxy again. What came next were two of the most underwhelming Halo games that spoiled so much of the established lore in an attempt to unearth a new bad guy to fight. The Didact couldn’t possibly live up to the iconic horror of the Flood or the religious zealotry of the Covenant.
> The stories of Halo 4 and 5 weren’t all bad, though. I enjoyed exploring the idea of AI rampancy and watching Cortana start to corrupt after seven years of service. Knowing that she couldn’t live longer than seven years was a tragic revelation akin to someone finding out they have a terminal illness. This ends up being the major plot point of Halo 5, wherein Master Chief goes rogue to save his girlfriend yet again. Unable to cope with the idea of losing her, Master Chief refuses to hand her over to the military and breaks his code of honor.
> But Cortana clearly can’t be saved. Though she hasn’t gone completely crazy (yet), in Halo 5 her sole mission is to use powerful alien tech to basically become the sheriff of the galaxy. She wants to control everything, which is a little disconcerting to the humans that created her. The game ends before Cortana can enact her plans (or Master Chief can stop them) so this becomes the question that looms over Halo Infinite: What will happen to Cortana?
> It’s a question I care about. But at the same time, I feel like this resolution has been dragged out far too long. This entire narrative arc could have been told in just a single game, but we’re nine years into this story and I wouldn’t be surprised if 343 Industries wants to keep this story going forever. It’s right there in the name.
> If that’s the case, I’m out. I’ll pretend everything after Halo 3 never existed and that Master Chief and Cortana are still floating in space aboard the wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn.
> I get that Master Chief is an icon like Crash Bandicoot or Mario and that Microsoft is probably reluctant to ditch the face of their biggest franchise (sorry Blinx), but that’s antithetical to telling an emotional story with proper closure. Stories need an end, and when characters are continually thrown into new adventures without any emotional growth they start to feel cartoonish and one dimensional, like a certain Italian plumber or a bug-eyed marsupial.
> That’s why I’m going to play Halo Infinite hoping that Master Chief doesn’t make it to the end. His entire life is defined by cleaning up messes for humanity—a child forcefully turned into a war hero who embraced that destiny because he realized he was the only one who could do the job. There would be something profound in him making the ultimate sacrifice not out of a sense of duty, but out of love for the person who has endured every hardship alongside him.
> Of course, killing Master Chief isn’t the only plausible conclusion to this story, but anything less would feel insincere, I think. It’s hard to imagine Old Man John living out his final days on a farmstead somewhere with Cortana by his side. And if he does survive the conclusion of Halo Infinite, I’m worried that 343 Industries will one day cave to the temptation to drag him back out for more adventures and whatever emotional connection I have left to Master Chief will be traded for an opportunity to sell more games.
>
> Sourced from pc gamer.com
Halo 4 shoudl have been about arby. Change my mind
The Halo games and Chief is a package deal.
Plus he’s a great character that they’ve only just started diving deeper into in the actual games. Don’t throw the opportunities away now.
Only reason to kill him off is Steves age, they’re just gonna have to make Steve immortal, easiest for everyone.
> 2535451917289816;1:
> I’m tired of Halo dragging its protagonist out for more adventures at the expense of his emotional depth.
> For a guy that averages only a few words per game, the Halo series has somehow managed to make the Master Chief a surprisingly sympathetic character. Maybe it’s because I read the books when I was a teenager, so I’m painfully aware of how John 117 was kidnapped as a child and forced into military slavery where he was tortured and transformed into a human superweapon, but I feel for the guy—especially in Halo’s original trilogy.
> His entire life has been spent saving humanity’s -Yoink- from insurrectionists, aliens, scarier aliens, and ancient aliens (that are still pretty scary). And if the story of Halo 5 and Infinite is as connected as it looks to be, now Master Chief has to save the galaxy from his AI partner-slash-girlfriend, Cortana. There’s tragic irony in the reality that Master Chief’s closest ally is now his enemy. But now that this story has been stretched over six games, it’s getting harder to care. That’s why I’m hoping that Microsoft and 343 Industries do the right thing and kill the Master Chief in Halo Infinite.
> The emotional crux of Halo has always been John 117’s relationship to Cortana and how they’ve survived so much horror and trauma together. When Cortana is stranded aboard High Charity, an enormous Covenant space station in Halo 3, there’s an entire mission where Master Chief risks everything to retrieve her even though it seems hopeless. Hell, the entire series is basically defined by Master Chief’s selfless sacrifice to humanity, and I’m growing increasingly tired of seeing him dragged out for one last rodeo. Leave the Chief alone, you monsters.
> Halo 3 was the perfect end to Master Chief’s arc (and it seemed like the series was finally ready to move beyond him with Halo: Reach), but it wasn’t long before 343 Industries busted him out of cryosleep so he could save the galaxy again. What came next were two of the most underwhelming Halo games that spoiled so much of the established lore in an attempt to unearth a new bad guy to fight. The Didact couldn’t possibly live up to the iconic horror of the Flood or the religious zealotry of the Covenant.
> The stories of Halo 4 and 5 weren’t all bad, though. I enjoyed exploring the idea of AI rampancy and watching Cortana start to corrupt after seven years of service. Knowing that she couldn’t live longer than seven years was a tragic revelation akin to someone finding out they have a terminal illness. This ends up being the major plot point of Halo 5, wherein Master Chief goes rogue to save his girlfriend yet again. Unable to cope with the idea of losing her, Master Chief refuses to hand her over to the military and breaks his code of honor.
> But Cortana clearly can’t be saved. Though she hasn’t gone completely crazy (yet), in Halo 5 her sole mission is to use powerful alien tech to basically become the sheriff of the galaxy. She wants to control everything, which is a little disconcerting to the humans that created her. The game ends before Cortana can enact her plans (or Master Chief can stop them) so this becomes the question that looms over Halo Infinite: What will happen to Cortana?
> It’s a question I care about. But at the same time, I feel like this resolution has been dragged out far too long. This entire narrative arc could have been told in just a single game, but we’re nine years into this story and I wouldn’t be surprised if 343 Industries wants to keep this story going forever. It’s right there in the name.
> If that’s the case, I’m out. I’ll pretend everything after Halo 3 never existed and that Master Chief and Cortana are still floating in space aboard the wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn.
> I get that Master Chief is an icon like Crash Bandicoot or Mario and that Microsoft is probably reluctant to ditch the face of their biggest franchise (sorry Blinx), but that’s antithetical to telling an emotional story with proper closure. Stories need an end, and when characters are continually thrown into new adventures without any emotional growth they start to feel cartoonish and one dimensional, like a certain Italian plumber or a bug-eyed marsupial.
> That’s why I’m going to play Halo Infinite hoping that Master Chief doesn’t make it to the end. His entire life is defined by cleaning up messes for humanity—a child forcefully turned into a war hero who embraced that destiny because he realized he was the only one who could do the job. There would be something profound in him making the ultimate sacrifice not out of a sense of duty, but out of love for the person who has endured every hardship alongside him.
> Of course, killing Master Chief isn’t the only plausible conclusion to this story, but anything less would feel insincere, I think. It’s hard to imagine Old Man John living out his final days on a farmstead somewhere with Cortana by his side. And if he does survive the conclusion of Halo Infinite, I’m worried that 343 Industries will one day cave to the temptation to drag him back out for more adventures and whatever emotional connection I have left to Master Chief will be traded for an opportunity to sell more games.
>
> Sourced from pc gamer.com
I think that Bungie would have killed Chief. The campaign is just another knock off combat evolved. Chief is already almost 60. He needs to retire or die.
Honestly it seems that Halo 5 fanbase is a bunch of young kids that just think he is super cool. He needs to be gone. We needs a game with playable Sangheili like teh Arbiter
> 2533274809226598;15:
> Everything 343i has done thus far has lead me to believe that the torch of the Halo franchise shall be passed over to Jerome and Isabel.
> 2535432765560174;16:
> > 2533274809226598;15:
> > Everything 343i has done thus far has lead me to believe that the torch of the Halo franchise shall be passed over to Jerome and Isabel.
>
> Yet more spartans
I don’t see a problem with that, to be honest. Yes, he’s another Spartan, but they all have different personalities and having a new one step into the spotlight would be refreshing especially one that has been well received such as Jerome. We can have Halo games that have other protagonists but when it comes to the main games, a Spartan will always undoubtedly be the main character.
> 2533274809226598;17:
> > 2535432765560174;16:
> > > 2533274809226598;15:
> > > Everything 343i has done thus far has lead me to believe that the torch of the Halo franchise shall be passed over to Jerome and Isabel.
> >
> > Yet more spartans
>
> I don’t see a problem with that, to be honest. Yes, he’s another Spartan, but they all have different personalities and having a new one step into the spotlight would be refreshing especially one that has been well received such as Jerome. We can have Halo games that have other protagonists but when it comes to the main games, a Spartan will always undoubtedly be the main character.
The problem is they are everywhere. They aren’t unique any more, they aren’t cool. They are just unnatural supersdiersthat are everywhere now.
i am sick of them.
343 ruined humainty, they ruined the aliens, they ruined the forerunners. The ruined a lot of things, especially the spartans. The spartans were cool when there were like 10 of them. Now, spartans are EVERWHERE and they are OP as HECK and i hate it so much. Soartans are now the most unique halo thing and it is so generic and boring. Supersolidiers aren’t cool when everyone is a supersoldier. And i have always prefered sangheili iver spartans because aliens are awesome and i am a human…. I don’t want to play as one too, i want diversity. The sangheili are also all natural and just as physically capable (no plot armor though, another thing i hate about spartans). I could rant a lot longer about this but i have no time.
> 2535432765560174;18:
> > 2533274809226598;17:
> > > 2535432765560174;16:
> > > > 2533274809226598;15:
> > > > Everything 343i has done thus far has lead me to believe that the torch of the Halo franchise shall be passed over to Jerome and Isabel.
> > >
> > > Yet more spartans
> >
> > I don’t see a problem with that, to be honest. Yes, he’s another Spartan, but they all have different personalities and having a new one step into the spotlight would be refreshing especially one that has been well received such as Jerome. We can have Halo games that have other protagonists but when it comes to the main games, a Spartan will always undoubtedly be the main character.
>
> The problem is they are everywhere. They aren’t unique any more, they aren’t cool. They are just unnatural supersdiersthat are everywhere now.
> i am sick of them.
>
> 343 ruined humainty, they ruined the aliens, they ruined the forerunners. The ruined a lot of things, especially the spartans. The spartans were cool when there were like 10 of them. Now, spartans are EVERWHERE and they are OP as HECK and i hate it so much. Soartans are now the most unique halo thing and it is so generic and boring. Supersolidiers aren’t cool when everyone is a supersoldier. And i have always prefered sangheili iver spartans because aliens are awesome and i am a human…. I don’t want to play as one too, i want diversity. The sangheili are also all natural and just as physically capable (no plot armor though, another thing i hate about spartans). I could rant a lot longer about this but i have no time.
Different Spartans is more fresh. But turning Jerome into the “new” Master chief would be odd. I want a game were we can fight insurrectionists
> 2535413107551836;19:
> > 2535432765560174;18:
> > > 2533274809226598;17:
> > > > 2535432765560174;16:
> > > > > 2533274809226598;15:
> > > > > Everything 343i has done thus far has lead me to believe that the torch of the Halo franchise shall be passed over to Jerome and Isabel.
> > > >
> > > > Yet more spartans
> > >
> > > I don’t see a problem with that, to be honest. Yes, he’s another Spartan, but they all have different personalities and having a new one step into the spotlight would be refreshing especially one that has been well received such as Jerome. We can have Halo games that have other protagonists but when it comes to the main games, a Spartan will always undoubtedly be the main character.
> >
> > The problem is they are everywhere. They aren’t unique any more, they aren’t cool. They are just unnatural supersdiersthat are everywhere now.
> > i am sick of them.
> >
> > 343 ruined humainty, they ruined the aliens, they ruined the forerunners. The ruined a lot of things, especially the spartans. The spartans were cool when there were like 10 of them. Now, spartans are EVERWHERE and they are OP as HECK and i hate it so much. Soartans are now the most unique halo thing and it is so generic and boring. Supersolidiers aren’t cool when everyone is a supersoldier. And i have always prefered sangheili iver spartans because aliens are awesome and i am a human…. I don’t want to play as one too, i want diversity. The sangheili are also all natural and just as physically capable (no plot armor though, another thing i hate about spartans). I could rant a lot longer about this but i have no time.
>
> Different Spartans is more fresh. But turning Jerome into the “new” Master chief would be odd. I want a game were we can fight insurrectionists
No, we need to STOP with spartans for awhile
there are too much and they are overused, WAY too overused. We need to stop just doing spartan things, we NEED VARIETY