Is the Halo Story going downhill? Halo 3 was great and even Reach had a good concept to it but it felt as though Halo 4 was out of place and too much was added into making a new idea around the Halo Universe.
I don’t know about anybody else, but Halo 3 and Reach were the absolute worst pieces of Halo media regarding story. They were very weak, and although fun to play did not add much. Halo 4 was probably one of the best games story wise.
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> I don’t know about anybody else, but Halo 3 and Reach were the absolute worst pieces of Halo media regarding story. They were very weak, and although fun to play did not add much. Halo 4 was probably one of the best games story wise.
This. Halo 3 had plot holes and the plot forgot about itself halfwaythrough. Don’t even get me started on reach. Halo 4 was great the relationship between John and cortana was done perfectly and so was her death. John was also a human being in halo 4 and not an emotionless cyborg.
Halo 3 and Reach were very shallow stories, easily accessible to a gamer picking up on the go. I didn’t feel any real connection to them the way I did to Halo 4, which I read the EU material for going into. It’s set the stage for a much more brilliant, complex, and engaging story.
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> Halo 3 and Reach were very shallow stories, easily accessible to a gamer picking up on the go. I didn’t feel any real connection to them the way I did to Halo 4, which I read the EU material for going into. It’s set the stage for a much more brilliant, complex, and engaging story.
I agree. I felt bungies games bar 2 and ODST was just kill things and some story. Bungie to me never saw the full vision for the lore and just saw halo as another military scifi shooter.
Halo 3 has some very good story and character moments. However, there are also some dull characters in there. Storywise, I say Halo 3 is the weakest of the original trilogy. Halo: Reach is the weakest when it comes to characters (not counting Halo Wars). They were just very boring, with some standout moments here and there by Jorge. Halo 4 is my favorite Halo game in terms of story and character. The characters are all fleshed out and given good amounts of development. Master Chief and Cortana were so well done in Halo 4, and Steve & Jen did fantastic jobs. I’m very excited to see where they take the story now, especially after Hunt the Truth episode 9…
^ I’d say even with Halowars, it’s got the weakest character development. The crew of the Spirit of Fire was very well fleshed out for only appearing in one RTS game.
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> Is the Halo Story going downhill? Halo 3 was great and even Reach had a good concept to it but it felt as though Halo 4 was out of place and too much was added into making a new idea around the Halo Universe.
I am certain you are not into the Books. Halo 3’s story was filled with plot holes that took 7 years to be resolved by 343i. Reach was terrible. Though both games were incredibly fun to play they suffered from terrible characters, especially Reach. In addition, Halo 2 had the best story in the entire trilogy because of the Arbiter and the Covenant Hierarchs. Master Chief barely had 20 lines of dialogue. Noble six barely had 3 lines in the entirety of Reach and Noble team except for Jorge were empty vessels. Halo 4 requires you to read at least 6 books to understand the plot because 343i has stopped catering to people who are not interested in the story. The Didact was also foreshadowed in the Halo 3 terminals back in 2007 when Bungie mentioned him there extensively. Bungie never tried to incorporate EU into the story peaking their story with Halo 2. Halo 3 suffered because all of the Arbiter’s campaign was cut due to fans whining and it was until Halo2A and its terminals came out that people appreciated his story.
Nah, Halo 4 had a great story and character development. They built on chief and cortana so well, and also introduced us too new characters such as Thorne, Lasky and the Ur-Didact. Halo 3 is just such a bumpy ride story wise. So many plot holes, like wtf was Cortana’s soloution to stop the flood, how did the gravemind learn the location of the ark. How did the flood get onto installation 04B?
And Reach, JFC! Don’t even get me started on that, the amount of plotholes 343 had to fill! The reason I prefer 343 over bungie is because 343 are leagues ahead in story telling. Just look at destiny, absolutely -Yoink- game with no plot whatsoever! But of course, the multiplayer bros loose their -Yoink- over 343 saying they can’t make a Halo game. Idiots.
Halo 3 and Reach had the most well-written dialogue out of the whole series. Scenes like the exchange between Carter and Halsey or Rtas and Hood where each line reveals something about that character. Their personalities really came out. And don’t even try to bring up Noble Team as an example against this. Who would have thought that Spartans would be emotionless people? What a concept!
Anyone who wants to bring up plotholes in Halo 3 can’t ignore all of those in Halo 4. Like how Chief woke up in the wrong cryotube, in a new suit of armor, in a completely different ship; one with air and the firepower to take out a Cruiser somehow. Or how he detonates a nuke point blank but is totally fine afterwards. Well, I haven’t played the game recently enough to remember more, but compared to Halo 4, Halo 3’s plotholes were pretty tame
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> Nah, Halo 4 had a great story and character development. They built on chief and cortana so well, and also introduced us too new characters such as Thorne, Lasky and the Ur-Didact. Halo 3 is just such a bumpy ride story wise. So many plot holes, like wtf was Cortana’s soloution to stop the flood, how did the gravemind learn the location of the ark. How did the flood get onto installation 04B?
>
> And Reach, JFC! Don’t even get me started on that, the amount of plotholes 343 had to fill! The reason I prefer 343 over bungie is because 343 are leagues ahead in story telling. Just look at destiny, absolutely -Yoink- game with no plot whatsoever! But of course, the multiplayer bros loose their -Yoink- over 343 saying they can’t make a Halo game. Idiots.
This /\
> 2535452049956121;1:
> Is the Halo Story going downhill? Halo 3 was great and even Reach had a good concept to it but it felt as though Halo 4 was out of place and too much was added into making a new idea around the Halo Universe.
Heck.No.
Not in any way. Halo has ALWAYS had an incredible setting and storyline. I think the stories are becoming deeper and more complex. I LOVE that. I applaud 343s writing team with their specatular job on the lore thus far.
Halo 3 story was the worst of all them. I liked reach story of survival with no hope but hated that it tore the book apart. Loved the story of Halo 4.
> 2533274886246836;10:
> Halo 3 and Reach had the most well-written dialogue out of the whole series. Scenes like the exchange between Carter and Halsey or Rtas and Hood where each line reveals something about that character. Their personalities really came out. And don’t even try to bring up Noble Team as an example against this. Who would have thought that Spartans would be emotionless people? What a concept!
>
> Anyone who wants to bring up plotholes in Halo 3 can’t ignore all of those in Halo 4. Like how Chief woke up in the wrong cryotube, in a new suit of armor, in a completely different ship; one with air and the firepower to take out a Cruiser somehow. Or how he detonates a nuke point blank but is totally fine afterwards. Well, I haven’t played the game recently enough to remember more, but compared to Halo 4, Halo 3’s plotholes were pretty tame
There is a difference betwen a plot hole and an artistic difference.
Chief in the wrong cryotube is probably an oversight.
But his armor is largely aesthetic, even though 343i has explained that Cortana upgraded it with nanomachines in the time Chief was out. The Dawn, again, isn’t a new ship. It was just redesigned to allow for a more full first level. Cortana controlled the power and gravity and environmental systems to keep them relatively active. You can see that by hitting the buttons on the Dawn, it gives you a status report.
Cortana was inside the ship, inside the bridge. She teleported/shielded Chief from the blast at the very instant he detonated it. She used everything she had.
Even if all of those are plot holes, they really have no impact on the plot.
Whereas Halo 3 forgets its plot halfway through, has its characters do a 180 in their character, sacrifice story for dama, such as High Charity somehow arriving at the Ark, and more. Halo 3’s are much bigger.
I suspect that the reason Halo 3 and Reach were so “thin” story wise is that Bungie wanted to develop Destiny. One of the comms panels in ODST has the Destiny logo (or something very similar) with the tag "Destiny awaits’ beneath it.
This suggests to me, at least, that for Halo 3 and Reach Bungle were effectively going through the contractual motions - they didn’t really want to do those games.
This aside from the fact that 343i are streets ahead of Bungie with such “little” details as character development and EU inclusion. As well as going to great length to fill plot holes left behind by Bungie.
For me Halo 4 has the best story and shows that 343i have built a solid foundation for the Reclaimer Saga. Although I really do like Reach…
Halo 4 was actually my favorite from a story-telling/plot aspect.
> 2533274886341460;15:
> I suspect that the reason Halo 3 and Reach were so “thin” story wise is that Bungie wanted to develop Destiny.
And look how well all those years of developing made destiny’s story. Sarcasm
I agree with the majority of comments here, Halo 4 was absolutely superb in terms of story telling and characters; I personally think it’s the best of the games so far
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> > 2533274886246836;10:
> > Halo 3 and Reach had the most well-written dialogue out of the whole series. Scenes like the exchange between Carter and Halsey or Rtas and Hood where each line reveals something about that character. Their personalities really came out. And don’t even try to bring up Noble Team as an example against this. Who would have thought that Spartans would be emotionless people? What a concept!
> >
> > Anyone who wants to bring up plotholes in Halo 3 can’t ignore all of those in Halo 4. Like how Chief woke up in the wrong cryotube, in a new suit of armor, in a completely different ship; one with air and the firepower to take out a Cruiser somehow. Or how he detonates a nuke point blank but is totally fine afterwards. Well, I haven’t played the game recently enough to remember more, but compared to Halo 4, Halo 3’s plotholes were pretty tame
>
>
> There is a difference betwen a plot hole and an artistic difference.
>
> Chief in the wrong cryotube is probably an oversight.
> But his armor is largely aesthetic, even though 343i has explained that Cortana upgraded it with nanomachines in the time Chief was out. The Dawn, again, isn’t a new ship. It was just redesigned to allow for a more full first level. Cortana controlled the power and gravity and environmental systems to keep them relatively active. You can see that by hitting the buttons on the Dawn, it gives you a status report.
> Cortana was inside the ship, inside the bridge. She teleported/shielded Chief from the blast at the very instant he detonated it. She used everything she had.
>
> Even if all of those are plot holes, they really have no impact on the plot.
> Whereas Halo 3 forgets its plot halfway through, has its characters do a 180 in their character, sacrifice story for dama, such as High Charity somehow arriving at the Ark, and more. Halo 3’s are much bigger.
High Charity slipspaced its way to the Ark. No big deal. And how did it forget about its plot? If you’re talking about Cortana’s solution, I don’t see that as a plot hole, just something open-ended, since it doesn’t contradict anything
What? Halo 4 offers an amazing character-driven story with many deep themes. That’s something Halo has been need since forever. On the other hand, I’d say Halo 3 and Halo: Reach are among the worst Halo games.
Halo 3 had a far too simplistic storyline and it excluded a lot of major elements of Halo 2’s campaign to cater towards casuals. The Arbiter’s role and impact of the Great schism was minimized. Also, no new major characters were introduced to the game; neither UNSC or Covenant. In a lot of ways that makes it feel like just the ending towards Halo 2’s story instead of its own chapter in the Halo universe. And returning characters changed entirely. For example, Truth became a religious zealot instead of the psychopathic manipulator he was portrayed in Halo 2. And don’t get me started on the plot holes, the awkward and confusing moments, the insulting deaths of major characters and some of the terribly written dialogue.
The best parts about Halo 3 were the Chief and Cortana’s relationship, the story told in the Terminals and revelations made about the Ark. But we practically learned nothing in the game itself about the Forerunners, Flood or Covenant itself in the game. It felt as though it was just a conclusion to the human-Covenant war instead of game intended to move the universe forward as Halo 2 and Halo: CE did.
Halo: Reach is just as bad in a lot of ways. It eliminated major characters and replaced them with a squad of of stereotypes, with the exception of the the introduction of Catherine Halsey and Return of Captain Keyes. Overall Halo: Reach just felt like a boring sci-fi military campaign. The story didn’t feel congruent with Halo: The Fall of Reach. Bungie didn’t care for the EU and just thought they could write through major elements without trying to make them compatible. If 343I had made Reach, they would have attempted to make it a game that’s made more enjoyable through reading Halo: TFOR, not confusing.
That was the problem with Bungie. While they’re good at crafting universes, they’re not good at telling stories or in creating believable characters. But the events portrayed in Halo: CE, Halo 2 and Halo 3: ODST were enjoyable because I think Bungie actually had some ambition for these games. It waned as we went further into the games because Bungie wanted to be done with the franchise and develop Destiny. Bungie didn’t realize the significance of the EU and they lost enthusiasm for the series. It resulted in mediocre stories such as Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.
I’m quite glad that 343 are maintaining the franchise since they want to integrate it together and developing it into something potentially greater.