Mass Effect Story line very similar to Halo?

Community Halo Universe
1

First off i’m not saying Mass effect is a “Halo rip-off” but the similarities are a little to similar for comfort.

Obviously some of these similarities are typical of the Sci-Fi genre and some are just typical game traits, but the fact they have so much in common is whats slightly worrying.

Main character is named John
Main character is space navy.
Main character is hand selected for special military program. Didn’t have much of a choice.
Main character underwent several risky body enhancement procedures.
Minutes after being awoken, the main character has to fight his way off a ship or space-station.
Main character is aided by a female AI.
Humanity colonizes of other planets.
The colony considered “safe” is attacked.
Universe is misinformed about ancient alien technology.
Its secret endangers all civilization.
The last time the galaxy was in danger, highly advanced aliens sacrificed themselves to divert it.
They were not the first.
Main character must stop the reoccurring galactic threat.
Religious zealots stand in his way.
Led by a prophet who knows more than he lets on. Believes he will be saved anyway.
Threat uses organic life as resources.
Corrupted Artificial Intelligence.
Main character must make a vehicular escape in the first game’s finale.
Main character is presumed dead after ship is destroyed.
Enemies you fought in the first game have become allies after discovering the truth.
Strong enemy type goes berserk when encountered up close.
New bug race joins the enemy in the second game.
Enemies deploy transparent portable shields.
Medigel exists. Dispersed by first aid kiosks.

  1. Gravemind vs. Sovereign.
    Both are sentient minds capable of manipulating people and technology to further their goals

Both are capable of mass extinctions

Both are extragalactic

Both have unknown origins

Both are the main enemies of the games they star in

Both have vast amounts of minions and slaves

Okay, now onto…

Forerunner vs. Prothean

Both were highly advanced beings with empires covering their home galaxies and beyond

Both were wiped out by a cause unknown to most people (note how the civilian pop. does not believe that Reapers killed the Protheans, and humanity didn’t know about the extinction of the Forerunner until H2, and by then they really didn’t have a way of transporting the news)

Both had a Tier 1 technology tier rating (the highest being zero, which both Precursors in both games reached)

Both are worshipped in some way (the hanar in Mass Effect, the Covenant in Halo)

Sangheili vs. Turian

Both have very similar caste structures and systems of honor, etc. etc.

Both are the race with the most military strength in their empires

Both were one of the founding species of their empires

Hate humans (pre Halo 3, but I’m sure war will break out again once each side has rebuilt and such and such)

What do ya think?

2

First off i’m not saying Mass effect is a “Halo rip-off” but the similarities are a little to similar for comfort.

Obviously some of these similarities are typical of the Sci-Fi genre and some are just typical game traits, but the fact they have so much in common is whats slightly worrying.

Main character is named John
Main character is space navy.
Main character is hand selected for special military program. Didn’t have much of a choice.
Main character underwent several risky body enhancement procedures.
Minutes after being awoken, the main character has to fight his way off a ship or space-station.
Main character is aided by a female AI.
Humanity colonizes of other planets.
The colony considered “safe” is attacked.
Universe is misinformed about ancient alien technology.
Its secret endangers all civilization.
The last time the galaxy was in danger, highly advanced aliens sacrificed themselves to divert it.
They were not the first.
Main character must stop the reoccurring galactic threat.
Religious zealots stand in his way.
Led by a prophet who knows more than he lets on. Believes he will be saved anyway.
Threat uses organic life as resources.
Corrupted Artificial Intelligence.
Main character must make a vehicular escape in the first game’s finale.
Main character is presumed dead after ship is destroyed.
Enemies you fought in the first game have become allies after discovering the truth.
Strong enemy type goes berserk when encountered up close.
New bug race joins the enemy in the second game.
Enemies deploy transparent portable shields.
Medigel exists. Dispersed by first aid kiosks.

  1. Gravemind vs. Sovereign.
    Both are sentient minds capable of manipulating people and technology to further their goals

Both are capable of mass extinctions

Both are extragalactic

Both have unknown origins

Both are the main enemies of the games they star in

Both have vast amounts of minions and slaves

Okay, now onto…

Forerunner vs. Prothean

Both were highly advanced beings with empires covering their home galaxies and beyond

Both were wiped out by a cause unknown to most people (note how the civilian pop. does not believe that Reapers killed the Protheans, and humanity didn’t know about the extinction of the Forerunner until H2, and by then they really didn’t have a way of transporting the news)

Both had a Tier 1 technology tier rating (the highest being zero, which both Precursors in both games reached)

Both are worshipped in some way (the hanar in Mass Effect, the Covenant in Halo)

Sangheili vs. Turian

Both have very similar caste structures and systems of honor, etc. etc.

Both are the race with the most military strength in their empires

Both were one of the founding species of their empires

Hate humans (pre Halo 3, but I’m sure war will break out again once each side has rebuilt and such and such)

What do ya think?

3

Yeah, but a lot is sifi tends to borrow form one universe to the next. I think a lot of the aforementioned and other titles have elements of STAR WARS, Stargate, star trek, etc. Still, for the most part it’s all enjoyable.

4

> First off i’m not saying Mass effect is a “Halo rip-off” but the similarities are a little to similar for comfort.
>
> Obviously some of these similarities are typical of the Sci-Fi genre and some are just typical game traits, but the fact they have so much in common is whats slightly worrying.
>
> 1. Main character is named John
> 2. Main character is space navy.
> 3. Main character is hand selected for special military program. Didn’t have much of a choice.
> 4. Main character underwent several risky body enhancement procedures.
> 5. Minutes after being awoken, the main character has to fight his way off a ship or space-station.
> 6. Main character is aided by a female AI.
> 7. Humanity colonizes of other planets.
> 8. The colony considered “safe” is attacked.
> 9. Universe is misinformed about ancient alien technology.
> 10. Its secret endangers all civilization.
> 11. The last time the galaxy was in danger, highly advanced aliens sacrificed themselves to divert it.
> 12. They were not the first.
> 13. Main character must stop the reoccurring galactic threat.
> 14. Religious zealots stand in his way.
> 15. Led by a prophet who knows more than he lets on. Believes he will be saved anyway.
> 16. Threat uses organic life as resources.
> 17. Corrupted Artificial Intelligence.
> 18. Main character must make a vehicular escape in the first game’s finale.
> 19. Main character is presumed dead after ship is destroyed.
> 20. Enemies you fought in the first game have become allies after discovering the truth.
> 21. Strong enemy type goes berserk when encountered up close.
> 22. New bug race joins the enemy in the second game.
> 23. Enemies deploy transparent portable shields.
> 24. Medigel exists. Dispersed by first aid kiosks.
>
> 1. Gravemind vs. Sovereign.
> Both are sentient minds capable of manipulating people and technology to further their goals
>
> Both are capable of mass extinctions
>
> Both are extragalactic
>
> Both have unknown origins
>
> Both are the main enemies of the games they star in
>
> Both have vast amounts of minions and slaves
>
> Okay, now onto…
>
> Forerunner vs. Prothean
>
> Both were highly advanced beings with empires covering their home galaxies and beyond
>
> Both were wiped out by a cause unknown to most people (note how the civilian pop. does not believe that Reapers killed the Protheans, and humanity didn’t know about the extinction of the Forerunner until H2, and by then they really didn’t have a way of transporting the news)
>
> Both had a Tier 1 technology tier rating (the highest being zero, which both Precursors in both games reached)
>
> Both are worshipped in some way (the hanar in Mass Effect, the Covenant in Halo)
>
> Sangheili vs. Turian
>
> Both have very similar caste structures and systems of honor, etc. etc.
>
> Both are the race with the most military strength in their empires
>
> Both were one of the founding species of their empires
>
> Hate humans (pre Halo 3, but I’m sure war will break out again once each side has rebuilt and such and such)
>
> What do ya think?

Here we go…

  1. The main character’s name is Shepard. the first name only starts off as John because of the popular saying “John Doe” when someone’s real name is unknown. Same with Jane Doe and why Femshep’s default name is Jane.

  2. I reckon this was just to parralel with the American navy seals.

  3. Candidates for the N7 program and “N School” certainly do have a choice.

  4. After he DIED. He was reconstructed from what little of his body was left.

  5. Probably just to introduce the main character. It was a cerberus station. I’m sure plenty of films/ games have done this.

  6. That is plugged into the ship. Once again, plenty of games/ films do this.

  7. Plenty of other games/ films do this + it’s the logical explanation for space travel.

  8. See the above two answers. Cod has guns too, does that mean Mass effect is copying it?

  9. Not really misinformed in the same way as Halo. It’s just kept secret by the Asari governments and Geth.

  10. Context is completely different.

  11. The protheans didn’t sacrifice themselves. They were wiped out. the scientist’s that disabled the citadel relay just ended up dying as they were the last of their kind.

  12. The cycle went on for millions of years. They were probably the billionth race.

  13. Kind of a plot point for many games/ films.

  14. Nope. The geth (Which aren’t really religious, they’re machines with a simple math error) oppose everyone.

  15. No idea who you’re talking about here? The illusive man? He’s hardly a prophet. He’s just the shady leader of a terrorist organisation.

  16. I’ll give you this one, the puppet things are kind of similiar.

  17. A plot point used by many games/ films.

  18. Cod has a vehicular escape sequence. Does that mean they’re the same?

  19. That’s because his ship was destroyed and he went missing for 2 years…

  20. No they haven’t. The enemies fought in the first two games were the heretic Geth. the real Geth were peaceful and didn’t become enemies until they were forced to by the Quarians in the Rannoch story arc.

  21. Really?

  22. That’s the prothean’s that have been huskified -.- It clearly states this.

  23. Won’t even bother.

  24. I’ll give you this one.

Numbered for your reading ease.

The point I’m trying to get at is that a lot of these things are archetypal sci-fi plot lines/ events. Not to mention the context behind each game is completely different to the point where you can’t really compare the two stories.

I’d also just like to state that the Elites would just absolutely destroy the Turians. A battle between all the covenant races and all the mass effect races would be interesting though.

5

Wait, wasn’t the Racknie (I don’t know how to spell the name of ME’s bug people) in the first game?

6

And most of that list is stuff Halo ripped off liberally from Predator and Aliens.

7

Yup, there is some overlap.

Although I do think most of it is pretty standard sci-fi tropes that are expected to be used often in sci fi epics.

If you look at the overall storylines of the two series you only come down to a few important similarities if you ask me:

1: Flood vs Reapers.
Both are the “end state” of life (or so they like to think so themselves). Both are things that are made by some “all knowing” civilization. Both claim joining them is the ultimate state of life. Both are mixtures between organics and technology (a Gravemind for instance really is a biological AI, and are able to absorb flesh and machine).
Both come from out of known space. Both come back to test the then living civilizations.

2: Protheans vs Forerunners.
Both are ancient. Both are gone. Both are regarded as gods. Both turn out to be something entirely else.
Also (most likely coincidental): both happen to have 1 important warrior stored in a crypt, who happens to be awoken many millenia later.

3: Unite the Galaxy.
Now, this scenario is speculative…but if the Ancient Evil isn’t the Didact (which I believe), that means there will be something meaner and nastier coming. Ergo: Prometheans/Flood (definately count on the latter). The books have set up for some uneasy things that shake all alliances…and why do that? Logically that would be done to get tension and suspense from the need of bringing them back together to win a war.
Sounds familiar?

4: Mankind is the galaxy’s last hope.
ME has Shepard uniting and saving the Galaxy, securing mankinds role as the leading faction.
Halo has mankind fighting the war for truth and against the Prophets to stop everybody from dying.

Now, most of that will be coincidental.
And definately all of that is pretty conventional sci fi stuff. But yes: they do feel alike on some very basic themes.

8

A lot of stuff in Halo and Mas Effect also “rip off” (I think are inspired) by other films and games. Some of this stuff is also from Doom and Quake.

> Wait, wasn’t the Racknie (I don’t know how to spell the name of ME’s bug people) in the first game?

They were called Rachni, and yes they were in the first game

9

Are you really surprised when dealing with sci-fi?

Halo even borrows elements from both firefly and its movie serenity.

Voice actors from that show voice characters in Halo 3 and Halo 3 ODST.

Nathan Fillon voiced Buck (kinda obvious considering the character’s model in ODST) and Gunnery Sgt. Reynolds in Halo 3

10

I agree with most of your points except

“The last time the galaxy was in danger, highly advanced aliens sacrificed themselves to divert it.”

The protheans did not technically fight the reapers. but were just kind of wiped out.

anyways yea both games are vary similar in plots but both seem very different. you hardly notice any similarities.

11

There are so many series’ that “borrow” from one another and even other medias.

What’s kind of bothering me is the “diversity” of the Prometheans so far. There’s only 3 classes, Knights, Watchers and Crawlers. The Watchers are “part of” the Knights and while they say defeating them is diverse, it’s still a standard pattern of killing the watchers first. Hopefully the “Heroic difference” they mentioned is actually a difference and not just altering certain aspects.
On the class-diversity, it just seems like each class is the same inside and the “shell” or armor is what’s different each time. I just find that lacking compared to the wide variety of Covenant - Prophets, Brutes, Hunters, Elites, Grunts, Jackals, Buggers, etc. One thing I’ll give the Forerunners that they haven’t showcased for H4 yet are the Engineers. They are for arguments sake, Forerunner.
Finally, what bugs me about the Prometheans is their seemingly easy ripoff aesthetic of the Independance Day aliens/exoskeleton just with more versatility and savagery. There were many similiarities that brushed aside the whole “original” concept.
Not that that takes away from their badass looking personas. I just don’t see it as completely “brand new”. Rarely anything is but I’ll take what I can get. Certain elements that are announced do catch my attention but so far, nothing has caught my attention like a runaway train as Dead Space 3, Assassin’s Creed 3 and the nostalgia of Doom 3 BFG Edition releasing in Oct.

I just really hope the MP aspect isn’t going to be butchered into the frankenstien Reach has become. I haven’t touched it in over a month or so.

12

When I play any Halo or Mass effect game, I tend to believe that they both are somewhat in the same universe and that there are two main awesome badass characters who are doing stuff to protect the galaxy…it -Yoink!- my imagination and makes both the gaming series much more replayable…
By replacing a few weak points like Halo’s Unsc guns firing normal bullets and Mass effect’s humans being completely newbies , with the guns in Halo being similarly powered up as Mass effects and Humanity in Mass effect being truely a little advanced in spacefaring,ship-building and colonizing more planets …These two games become so much more enjoyable…
See the games are like novels , you can build your imagination and interprations of the events that transpired in either games rather than mindlessly keep playing multiplayer (I’m not saying, don’t play MP)

For example : I’d like to think that the Forerunners were so badass that when the Reapers invaded the galaxy sometime ago , the Forerunners completely pWned them by not relaying on mass effect tech and the citadel, then the remaining Reapers harped a plot and somewhat helped create the flood , who inturn owned the forerunners until the forerunners sacrificed their whole race to kill a new enemy bla blah blah…

13

Quite honestly, the Halo storyline isn’t that original in itself. Interstellar war goes back to the days of the pulps. However, with its range of literature, comics etc, there has developed a rich depth and history, and even if a lot of the concepts of Halo can be found elsewhere and previously, but is done better than most.

Sci-fi’s perception of our future in space is that of a Navy ala USS Enterprise and the rest of the Trek universe. Thats a hard one to work around. And example’s of nearly everything on the list can be found somewhere in some form or fashion.

I’m not bashing on the list, nor your critique as I love Halo and no one else has done it better in my opinion, for one simple fact, projectile weapons. Sci-fi has always argued that even the near future would involved lasers, but science dictates that this is one of the more difficult technologies to figure out. Ive seen other post asking why 400 years from now even the covenant are using projectile and plasma weapons (plasma, according to technologist being more difficult but a more likely candidate for tech advancement). For this, Halo added an element of believable human progression that I could really appreciate.

Take it to the covies.

14

Most series that fit into the space opera subgenre of science fiction usually share common plot elements like the similarities you listed between Halo and Mass Effect; it’s not about sheer originality, it’s about who can use those plot elements best.

15

halo and half life.
both have the main character in armor facing a new threat.
both have hunters.
both have massive walking aliens which have powerful guns.
both have a spin-off with different characters and is not directly connected to the main plot.
both have a collection of aliens overpowering humanity, with one race leading all.
both have a parasite that attach themselves to the host and control them and attack other people.
both have the main character wake up at the start.
both have a short train ride at the 2nd game.
both have a important character get killed at the end.
both have a 3rd force that both attack and help the player.
both are awesome.

16

I agree that it is a rip off mostly but they have there differences its just I saw a trailer and a person explaining the Mass Effect 2 and it was very similar so I got suspicious of it and wanted more explaining.

17

> 2533274846933414;1:
> First off i’m not saying Mass effect is a “Halo rip-off” but the similarities are a little to similar for comfort.
>
> Obviously some of these similarities are typical of the Sci-Fi genre and some are just typical game traits, but the fact they have so much in common is whats slightly worrying.
>
> Main character is named John
> Main character is space navy.
> Main character is hand selected for special military program. Didn’t have much of a choice.
> Main character underwent several risky body enhancement procedures.
> Minutes after being awoken, the main character has to fight his way off a ship or space-station.
> Main character is aided by a female AI.
> Humanity colonizes of other planets.
> The colony considered “safe” is attacked.
> Universe is misinformed about ancient alien technology.
> Its secret endangers all civilization.
> The last time the galaxy was in danger, highly advanced aliens sacrificed themselves to divert it.
> They were not the first.
> Main character must stop the reoccurring galactic threat.
> Religious zealots stand in his way.
> Led by a prophet who knows more than he lets on. Believes he will be saved anyway.
> Threat uses organic life as resources.
> Corrupted Artificial Intelligence.
> Main character must make a vehicular escape in the first game’s finale.
> Main character is presumed dead after ship is destroyed.
> Enemies you fought in the first game have become allies after discovering the truth.
> Strong enemy type goes berserk when encountered up close.
> New bug race joins the enemy in the second game.
> Enemies deploy transparent portable shields.
> Medigel exists. Dispersed by first aid kiosks.
>
> 1. Gravemind vs. Sovereign.
> Both are sentient minds capable of manipulating people and technology to further their goals
>
> Both are capable of mass extinctions
>
> Both are extragalactic
>
> Both have unknown origins
>
> Both are the main enemies of the games they star in
>
> Both have vast amounts of minions and slaves
>
> Okay, now onto…
>
> Forerunner vs. Prothean
>
> Both were highly advanced beings with empires covering their home galaxies and beyond
>
> Both were wiped out by a cause unknown to most people (note how the civilian pop. does not believe that Reapers killed the Protheans, and humanity didn’t know about the extinction of the Forerunner until H2, and by then they really didn’t have a way of transporting the news)
>
> Both had a Tier 1 technology tier rating (the highest being zero, which both Precursors in both games reached)
>
> Both are worshipped in some way (the hanar in Mass Effect, the Covenant in Halo)
>
> Sangheili vs. Turian
>
> Both have very similar caste structures and systems of honor, etc. etc.
>
> Both are the race with the most military strength in their empires
>
> Both were one of the founding species of their empires
>
> Hate humans (pre Halo 3, but I’m sure war will break out again once each side has rebuilt and such and such)
>
> What do ya think?

Mass Effect is nothing like Halo, I’ll just say that to start.

The difference between the games is incredibly vast in both gameplay and story. Now you could list off the similarities and call it a day but that’s lazy and it doesnt prove anything.

I highly reccomend you watch story cutscenes of Mass Effect and all the important choices of the games. Unlike Halo, Mass Effect is a universe that feels lived in.

18

Guys this thread is almost 9 years old.