Warning: The following post contains my raw, biased opinion. So any claim of it just being my opinion is duly noted.
So 343 Industries, I want to have a little discussion about Spartan Ops. The way I see it, you had the making of something truly great for the Halo experience that blended story and multiplayer. The promise of new bits of story coming out weekly in beautiful CGI cutscenes that broadened the Halo universe along with 5 missions to flesh out the experience. Novel concept.
It is a shame you did not do enough for it.
Missions: I would have to say that the missions were the weakest part of the whole experience. At the most basic level, they were simply “Kill X amount of enemies” in isolated, boxed in areas. Maybe a terminal to press to spice things up was added here or there. These didn’t feel like actual missions nor did I actually feel as though I were accomplishing anything. Crimson just went there, killed some enemies, overheard Palmer and company’s “hilarious” banter, and went home.
The constant reusing of the same environments got old really quick. It was bad enough to get environments lifted from the campaign and multiplayer maps, but what original areas we got, such as The Cauldron, overstayed their welcome and simply got thrown in the mix. A lack of frequent, interesting locales that didn’t repeat and uninspired objectives just made for a sour experience. By the time Spartan Ops got into gear, I found myself just playing it for experience points and commendations and less so because I was excited that a new episode was released.
To get into some examples, let me share some experiences I found interesting for two reasons: one good and one bad.
Episode 6 was by far the best episode of the series. We start in a brand-new location and have an interesting objective: Fight and escape from Covenant captivity. The added challenge of not having our loadouts was even better, we had to adapt on the fly. The rest of the missions take place on new locations, well mostly given that All The Secrets was a location from the Campaign and Shut Down is on Vortex. The ending was cool too as we got to see the mysterious Harvester teased in the Season 1.5 trailer and while it didn’t do much, it was nice to explore it a bit.
On the other end of the spectrum, Episode 7 was the worst. It starts out promising, Crimson in the middle of an operation in a new location, Apex. The missions on the Infinity itself, however, were such wasted potential. All it ended up being was running around a small portion of the ship. And I swear, if I hear Miller saying we have to go back to that damn server room again…I’m going to snap. The Infinity is over 3 miles long and yet we only saw a small portion of it. Didn’t it have a park built in it, Atrium park I believe? That would’ve been a cool environment with nature all around us and space above. How about S-Deck? That huge room where all of the Spartans get their armor assembled and do some training would’ve been interesting.
New locations should’ve been implemented more. The Covenant remnant had 6 months of time on Requiem, yet it never seemed like they really owned it. Heck, the UNSC arrived and they start plopping down bases. What does the Covenant do? Set down some boxes? Look out UNSC, you’ve got competition. Could’ve brought back the Covenant citadels from Halo Wars, maybe a camp of Elites in those odd tents shown in First Strike when they were on Reach. How about another Truth and Reconciliation-style level through a Covenant ship?
In short, these missions had no substance.
Story: When Spartan Ops first started out, I was liking what I saw. Episode 1 introduces us to Fireteam Majestic, we hear about Covenant refugees living on Earth and it delivers a solid opening. Episode 2 delves more into the mysterious artifact found by Crimson in Episode 1. When Episode 3 arrived, I was a bit weary. With Halsey involved, I was thinking less, “Oh cool, it’s Dr. Halsey!” and more, “Oh -Yoink- what are they going to do with Dr. Halsey?” Still, I soldiered on and Episodes 4-5 gave us Halsey using her brainpower to solve the problems on the Infinity. I also didn’t mind her deciding enough was enough and trying to find the answers herself in Episode 6.
Episodes 7-10 are where I really lost it. Seeing Admiral Osman from the Kilo-5 trilogy should’ve been a red flag and then the whole assassination order of Halsey just didn’t -Yoink- right. Having Palmer, who already wasn’t winning any favors in my book, spout “Orders are orders” all the while forgetting a certain order she chose to ignore, here. I won’t say the idea of Jul 'Mdama and Dr. Halsey forming something of alliance doesn’t intrigue me though, I would like to see how that plays out. But overall, the conclusion of Spartan Ops was just underwhelming. Sending Requiem into the nearby star?
Okay, real talk time, 343 Industries. I assume you have a great team of writers with years of experience in various media. To be blunt, you guys should’ve been able to end Requiem’s importance to the story in a better way than that of a 19 year-old fanboy who wrote a Halo 4 script in his spare time for fun. You know, as I did here. I mean, if it had some real significance, ie it being a failsafe in case of possible Flood infestation, I wouldn’t mind it. However, to know it was just because nothing better could be thought up was saddening.
Subsequent Seasons: Here is perhaps something I think you guys totally dropped the ball on. I know that bs angel, and someone in one of the Bulletins, has said that the stories of the events and the characters of Spartan Ops will continue. Halo: Escalation looks to be such a continuation, in it the Infinity and its crew help defend a meeting between the Arbiter and a major Brute Chieftain against rogue Covenant forces. That’s fine, but Spartan Ops didn’t need to end.
With Requiem’s end, a whole galaxy could’ve been used as a template to tell new stories in new locations. Such content could have been precious lifeblood to keep players coming back instead of botched implementations of Skulls. Perhaps Spartan Ops could’ve gone down the Spartan Assault route with “historical” missions based on past operations. Plenty of mysteries out in the galaxy too. We still have yet to hear about our friend Guilty Spark in possession of the UNSC Rubicon and its human crew. Maybe exploring a new Halo ring and witnessing a small-scale outbreak could work?
No new ideas certainly isn’t an excuse.
Conclusion: Well, I’m running out of characters here, so there is not much more I can say. However, I think I have said all I want to say anyway. I give 343 Industries props for doing something new, but like a lot of things that had potential, it was squandered. I hope Spartan Ops and modes like it get looked over and allowed to shine in the future. It is a shame to waste it. You have the talent, 343i. Think it over.
