The Failing of the 4,5,6 and the Genuis of ODST

Community General Discussion
1

I don’t know if should even qualify as a spoiler considering the game came out in 2007, but here we go…Halo 3 concluded with the Master Chief saving humanity from extinction and helped bring an to a war that had characterized the entire first trilogy. Technically that’s a spoiler I guess. I mean you could infer that by…never mind…

The problem with this new trilogy is its’ apparent desire to once again raise the stakes in a similar fashion. Once again, the entire universe (or whatever) is under threat and the mysterious foreunners have something to do with it. Look, we don’t need another hyperbolic struggle to snatch humanity from the jaws of extinction at the hands of space Dracula (or whatever that guys name was in Halo 4) or crazy hologram women or bionicles or whatever. See, Halo 3’s conclusion already did something similar which can’t be topped… only repeated. So here we are, saving the universe again from a dark and mysterious ancient cosmic threat again assuming the role Master Chief all. over. again. I wonder if Mass Effect will do the same thing and just replace the reapers with mechanized death beavers or something…

Anyway, the genius of ODST came from the developers choice to tell a smaller, more intimate story within the human covenant war. It contained it’s own distinct tone and mood and still managed to be interesting despite not containing Master Chief, imagine that. Not a Spartan to be found, in fact. ODST didn’t bother attempting to match the high stakes scenarios found in CE,2,3. ODST also didn’t place relevant story information into terminals or simply not include it altogether (in the hopes that players have enough time to do our homework apparently). Instead, it told its story well and relied entirely on the game to do it. That’s pretty impressive (or should just be the norm I’ll let you decide). The human covenant war and the dealings with the flood should remain the high point of the series. We don’t a second mount Everest built next to the first. Plenty of stories could be told from within the time line of the original trilogy.
I guess you could attempt to make the same argument for Reach, but that game didn’t really do it for me. It took a campaign that should have felt like the opening to Saving Private Ryan (the beach part not the old man doddering around in cemetery part) and turned it into something that felt a little by-the-numbers. Sigh.

2

Halo 6 hasn’t come out yet.

Nostradamus, is that you?

3

Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.

No thanks.

4

4 was not a failure.
5 is not a failure.
6 is not out yet.
Gr8 b8 m8.
Bye.

5

> 2533274798515673;3:
> Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
>
> No thanks.

Three paragraphs…

6

> 2533274864426652;5:
> > 2533274798515673;3:
> > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> >
> > No thanks.
>
>
> Three paragraphs…

That’s one paragraph bro.

7

> 2533274864426652;5:
> > 2533274798515673;3:
> > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> >
> > No thanks.
>
>
> Three paragraphs…

Both of the guys are right, it’s one paragraph.

8

> 2533274913215529;4:
> 4 was not a failure.
> 5 is not a failure.
> 6 is not out yet.
> Gr8 b8 m8.
> Bye.

Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged

9

> 2533274830166194;8:
> > 2533274913215529;4:
> > 4 was not a failure.
> > 5 is not a failure.
> > 6 is not out yet.
> > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > Bye.
>
>
> Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged

And who exactly said that the population of 5 is low? I’ve heard otherwise.
Even if their pop was low, that doesn’t change the fact that 4 had an amazing story and 5 has the best multiplayer so far.

So no, they’re not failures. They would be if they sucked in every way and if nobody bought them…But that’s not the case, is it?

10

> 2533274913215529;9:
> > 2533274830166194;8:
> > > 2533274913215529;4:
> > > 4 was not a failure.
> > > 5 is not a failure.
> > > 6 is not out yet.
> > > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > > Bye.
> >
> >
> > Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged
>
>
> And who exactly said that the population of 5 is low? I’ve heard otherwise.
> Even if their pop was low, that doesn’t change the fact that 4 had an amazing story and 5 has the best multiplayer so far.
>
> So no, they’re not failures. They would be if they sucked in every way and if nobody bought them…But that’s not the case, is it?

Sales doesn’t speak quality, a steady player base that continues to play the game does, while agree with you on everything else, sales and popularity do not speak quality.

EA sports games and COD are not good games.

11

> 2533274924183412;10:
> > 2533274913215529;9:
> > > 2533274830166194;8:
> > > > 2533274913215529;4:
> > > > 4 was not a failure.
> > > > 5 is not a failure.
> > > > 6 is not out yet.
> > > > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > > > Bye.
> > >
> > >
> > > Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged
> >
> >
> > And who exactly said that the population of 5 is low? I’ve heard otherwise.
> > Even if their pop was low, that doesn’t change the fact that 4 had an amazing story and 5 has the best multiplayer so far.
> >
> > So no, they’re not failures. They would be if they sucked in every way and if nobody bought them…But that’s not the case, is it?
>
>
> Sales doesn’t speak quality, a steady player base that continues to play the game does, while agree with you on everything else, sales and popularity do not speak quality.
>
> EA sports games and COD are not good games.

True.
The point is, the games are not failures like the guy tried to say.

12

> 2533274913215529;11:
> > 2533274924183412;10:
> > > 2533274913215529;9:
> > > > 2533274830166194;8:
> > > > > 2533274913215529;4:
> > > > > 4 was not a failure.
> > > > > 5 is not a failure.
> > > > > 6 is not out yet.
> > > > > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > > > > Bye.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged
> > >
> > >
> > > And who exactly said that the population of 5 is low? I’ve heard otherwise.
> > > Even if their pop was low, that doesn’t change the fact that 4 had an amazing story and 5 has the best multiplayer so far.
> > >
> > > So no, they’re not failures. They would be if they sucked in every way and if nobody bought them…But that’s not the case, is it?
> >
> >
> > Sales doesn’t speak quality, a steady player base that continues to play the game does, while agree with you on everything else, sales and popularity do not speak quality.
> >
> > EA sports games and COD are not good games.
>
>
> True.
> The point is, the games are not failures like the guy tried to say.

You’re absolutely right, they are commercial successes, but score average critically.

13

> 2533274913215529;7:
> > 2533274864426652;5:
> > > 2533274798515673;3:
> > > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> > >
> > > No thanks.
> >
> >
> > Three paragraphs…
>
>
> Both of the guys are right, it’s one paragraph.

Hit show spoiler. Two more paragraphs…sigh

14

Can’t believe he got me with this click-bait

15

> 2533274864426652;13:
> > 2533274913215529;7:
> > > 2533274864426652;5:
> > > > 2533274798515673;3:
> > > > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> > > >
> > > > No thanks.
> > >
> > >
> > > Three paragraphs…
> >
> >
> > Both of the guys are right, it’s one paragraph.
>
>
> Hit show spoiler. Two more paragraphs…sigh

You do realize what the spoiler tool is for right?

Spoilers.

16

> 2533274924183412;15:
> > 2533274864426652;13:
> > > 2533274913215529;7:
> > > > 2533274864426652;5:
> > > > > 2533274798515673;3:
> > > > > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> > > > >
> > > > > No thanks.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Three paragraphs…
> > >
> > >
> > > Both of the guys are right, it’s one paragraph.
> >
> >
> > Hit show spoiler. Two more paragraphs…sigh
>
>
> You do realize what the spoiler tool is for right?
>
>
> Spoilers.

You do realize what a spoiler technically is right? I guess not.

17

> 2533274830166194;8:
> > 2533274913215529;4:
> > 4 was not a failure.
> > 5 is not a failure.
> > 6 is not out yet.
> > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > Bye.
>
>
> Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged

This is factually incorrect. Halo is second to black ops for highest population among shooters, 9 months after launch. In fact, the population is GROWING which denies most gaming trends. That is amazing. It has more players than Reach. Overwatch. Division. Siege.

18

> 2533274864426652;1:
>
> I don’t know if should even qualify as a spoiler considering the game came out in 2007, but here we go…Halo 3 concluded with the Master Chief saving humanity from extinction and helped bring an to a war that had characterized the entire first trilogy. Technically that’s a spoiler I guess. I mean you could infer that by…never mind…
>
> The problem with this new trilogy is its’ apparent desire to once again raise the stakes in a similar fashion. Once again, the entire universe (or whatever) is under threat and the mysterious foreunners have something to do with it. Look, we don’t need another hyperbolic struggle to snatch humanity from the jaws of extinction at the hands of space Dracula (or whatever that guys name was in Halo 4) or crazy hologram women or bionicles or whatever. See, Halo 3’s conclusion already did something similar which can’t be topped… only repeated. So here we are, saving the universe again from a dark and mysterious ancient cosmic threat again assuming the role Master Chief all. over. again. I wonder if Mass Effect will do the same thing and just replace the reapers with mechanized death beavers or something…
>
>
>
> Anyway, the genius of ODST came from the developers choice to tell a smaller, more intimate story within the human covenant war. It contained it’s own distinct tone and mood and still managed to be interesting despite not containing Master Chief, imagine that. Not a Spartan to be found, in fact. ODST didn’t bother attempting to match the high stakes scenarios found in CE,2,3. ODST also didn’t place relevant story information into terminals or simply not include it altogether (in the hopes that players have enough time to do our homework apparently). Instead, it told its story well and relied entirely on the game to do it. That’s pretty impressive (or should just be the norm I’ll let you decide). The human covenant war and the dealings with the flood should remain the high point of the series. We don’t a second mount Everest built next to the first. Plenty of stories could be told from within the time line of the original trilogy.
> I guess you could attempt to make the same argument for Reach, but that game didn’t really do it for me. It took a campaign that should have felt like the opening to Saving Private Ryan (the beach part not the old man doddering around in cemetery part) and turned it into something that felt a little by-the-numbers. Sigh.

First, i dont think this is click bait, but it is incorrect to say 4, 5, and especially 6 (???) failed. If by “succeed” you mean the most played game ever, than it failed. But by the standards all games are held to, they were wildly successful.

2nd. Just insert a blank line between your paragraphs, makes it easier to read.

3rd. You make a great point, one that I generally agree with.

I like the lore direction for the series, but it will be very hard to recreate the same tension/suspense of the original trilogy. It can happen, but only with excellent writers. I loved that in the series near all humanity died, and they barely won. But it’s hard to re do that when… almost all of humanity has already died.

I think they should look at doing more spin off titles, but they cannot rely on them. If none of them actually advanced the lore, I feel that the franchise would atrophy slowly over the years and we wouldn’t even notice that the franchise had died…

I am bracing myself to get slammed on this forum, but here goes: I think 343 needs to kind of go for the Call of Duty business model. I think 343 should hire more people, and put a game out every year, but KEEP READING.

There still should be the same, high quality game like the main entries ( CE, 2, 3, 4, 5) (and COD doesn’t maintain quality lol) every 3 or 4 years. These are THE Halo games. The ones with top notch pvp, the ones people actually stream, etc.
But in the tweener years between main installments there should be side games. Like one year could be a game based on Mona Lisa, more ODST esque games.

This way we can have more halo, have a proving grounds for writers developers before they advance to THE games.

Face it, the 3 year gap between games is the hardest thing for the franchise.

19

> 2533274924183412;15:
> > 2533274864426652;13:
> > > 2533274913215529;7:
> > > > 2533274864426652;5:
> > > > > 2533274798515673;3:
> > > > > Wall of text. No paragraphs. Clickbait title.
> > > > >
> > > > > No thanks.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Three paragraphs…
> > >
> > >
> > > Both of the guys are right, it’s one paragraph.
> >
> >
> > Hit show spoiler. Two more paragraphs…sigh
>
>
> You do realize what the spoiler tool is for right?
>
>
> Spoilers.

Yes, but it’s a main point of your post, sorry if I sounded like a -Yoink- but there’s no need for a spoiler tag for H3 in 2016, everyone that has played it has played and the people that haven’t probably don’t care anyway.

20

> 2533274830166194;8:
> > 2533274913215529;4:
> > 4 was not a failure.
> > 5 is not a failure.
> > 6 is not out yet.
> > Gr8 b8 m8.
> > Bye.
>
>
> Based on population numbers for 4 and 5 they were failures and yes obviously 6 isn’t out yet so it can’t be judged

I honestly don’t see why either were a failure. I thought both were fun to play. I liked the halo 4 story, and halo 5 multiplayer is pretty good imo