Thought this could use a revival, especially in light of Reach and “canon in question.”
“The Halo Feel - As described by Spartan R41 (Jack 0f Hearts)” (09.13.2009)
As promised. Be advised; I’m immensely tired, and frazzled from work. If clarification is needed, I’ll be more than happy to provide it. However, I do NOT want this erupting into a flame war, understood? Good then. First it must be realized that the following essay is purely opinion, and any facts will be stated as thus. The rest is to be taken as opinions, with no factual argument to them.
Halo. The word brings to mind many things. The Master Chief. Banshees, Warthogs, and Pelicans. The Spartan II’s and Humanity’s fight against the Covenant. These and more are aspects of the Halo Universe that I think of when I hear the word Halo.
But what is the “Halo Feel?” Is it strictly the way the FPS games felt, or is it something more? Given what we currently have, I’m inclined to lean towards the later. We have 3 FPS games, with a 4th and 5th coming soon. We have an RTS game, as well as several board games. There’s comics, novels, music and art. Action figures, t-shirts, hats and bags. Almost every piece of merchandise that can be though of; Halo exists in that for of medium.
For me, it takes all of these to define the Halo feel. Though the novels cannot, and do not, have the same feel as the FPS game, it’s never a question for me if it’s truly a “Halo Novel.” I could say, “It’s a Halo Novel, but it’s not Halo…” (Especially for The Cole Protocol) but I don’t. Because, as horrible as I thought it was, The Cole Protocol was a Halo Novel.
In the same way, I feel that Halo Wars is a Halo Game. A full fledged, honest-to-god Halo Game. For me, if it’s a “Halo-wannabe,” then everything Halo is as well.
In my mind, Halo is this generation’s Star Wars. They both started as something small, with no real “goal” per se, and they both turned into huge pop culture icons, recognizable in the slightest of medias. Everyone knows what a lightsaber looks and sounds like, and most everyone knows what a Spartan-II looks like.
So, now what is the Halo Feel? For me, it’s a very basic list:
• Correct portrayal of the Covenant and their religious hierarchy.
• Correct portrayal of the UNSC and the UNSCDF ranks.
• Following (within possible explanation) of the Halo canon (the existing storyline.)
• The portrayal of Humanity’s struggle for survival against the Covenant.
Now, for me, Halo Wars fulfilled all of those. The Covenant was shown as a Religion oriented hierarchy, with the Prophets leading without question. The Elites were shown correctly – much unlike the “Last Sunrise over New Mombasa” in the Halo Graphic Novel. As units, the Covenant was portrayed justly, at least within reason of an RTS game. Yes, in the FPS games Needlers are unable to take down aircraft, but that’s where I draw the “It’s a Game” line. That hardly breaks the feel of Halo for me.
Now, another reoccurring issue is the presence of a Prophet on the battlefield. Putting aside the fact that this only appears in Multiplayer, let us explore this possibility.
In the past of the Covenant, the San ‘Shyuum and the Sangheili were engaged in a brutal war. The Sangheili fought with their skill, and the San ‘Shyuum fought with technology; wining only through threat of orbital bombardment. So it’s known that the San ‘Shyuum fight.
Now, in Halo Wars (and even Halo 2), we see Prophets fighting. However, they’re not out there swinging around a sword, or even going at it with a Plasma Pistol (which Regret does carry.) They’re fighting with either their Gravity Thrones and/or harvested Forerunner technology. Their combat involvement, while a stretch, is within the Prophet’s history and fighting “style.”
Now, while in Halo 2 Regret didn’t charge out and fight you, he also didn’t flee to a safe location. When his Honor Guard failed to stop the Spartan II, he even said “Incompetents! I’ll kill it myself!” before engaging the Spartan in combat.
For me, the only “requirement” for a game to “feel like a Halo game,” is for it to give the feeling of a Halo game. The Plasma Pistols don’t suddenly fire projectiles, the Banshees still sound like Banshees, and the Spartans (of whichever class) are beast soldiers that inspire on the battlefield.
It has to be understood that while Bungie (343 Industries) are the creating minds behind Halo, there will be more and more people wanting to create their own Halo story. Robot has already done this, and has thus far been met with both praise and damnation. If we blind ourselves to outside interpretations of the Halo Universe, then it will never grow into it’s full potential.