PRE-LAUNCH
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I think that 343 Industries spent too much time in the marketing department advertising for the game, as well as churning out some supplemental books and a live-action mini-series when they should have been putting in the hours making the actual game itself. - Hunt the Truth was interesting from the start, but it didn’t add anything to the overall story; especially since it was supposed to connect to the game in some way, but in the end, it didn’t. Therefore, I feel like it is not a legitimate part of the HALO canon and should be retconned effective immediately. - Considering how the actual game turned out, I believe that 343 Industries very much intentionally misled us with the commercials and advertising just so that they could brainwash people into buying their 2nd HALO game.OFFICIAL GAME
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I think that we can all agree that HALO 5: GUARDIANS is the 2nd-gen equivalent of HALO 2; what with the new mechanics and multiplayer suite combined to create a solid gameplay experience, and the campaign being tailor-made exclusively for the story fans only. - Seeing as how this is Part 2 of the Reclaimer Saga, this is still John-117’s [AKA The Master Chief] story. We are just experiencing it through both his perspective as well as the outside perspective of some other fellow. - When playing as John and SPARTAN-II Blue Team, we are experiencing an extremely important part of the story. - Despite what the Doubters/Nay-Sayers say, it is damn good to see John together with Blue Team again after so long; especially since we finally get to see them come to life in the game. - Just to clarify, HALO 5: GUARDIANS takes place 8 months after the events of HALO: Infinity-Spartan Ops and roughly more than 1 year after the events of HALO 4. - In the brief prologue that obviously oozes with foreshadowing, when Halsey said “They’ll order you to kill us both.”, who did she mean by ‘us both’? - When I see SPARTAN-IV Fireteam Osiris making their (slightly over-the-top) descent into Kamchatka, I can’t help but [think/feel] like they aren’t just your run-of-the-mill, average-joe bunch of Spartan-Whores. As Catherine Halsey herself put it,
> “Perhaps some of you [SPARTAN-IVs] are closer [to the true SPARTANS {IIs and IIIs}] than others.”
- Although I am disappointed that Buck became a SPARTAN-IV when he should have retired, it is good to know that he hasn’t changed a bit (personality-wise).
> “I figure if God can hear how scared I am, so can everyone else.” chuckle Same old Buck…
[Also, could someone please remind me why he didn’t want to lead another team?] - I am more than surprised that Dr. Halsey just up and made up with the UNSC, after all the bull$#!+ that they put her through since 2552. It just doesn’t seem to make much sense to me. Then again, considering the new galactic threat that is rising… - When the Master Chief experiences the vision of Cortana aboard the Argent Moon, do you think that was part of the gift that he received from the Librarian’s durance in HALO 4? - What did Locke mean when he replied to Buck…?
> “You’re not the only one here because of him.”
- I found the brief scuffle between John and Locke a tiny bit on the intense side, even though in the back of my mind, I know that John will win in the end. He always wins. - When the Warden Eternal said,
> “She [Cortana] knows your forgotten name. Who you were before you were 117.”
I always thought that was a well-known fact; that Cortana (and especially Halsey) knew John’s real name. - Artificial Intelligences claiming the Mantle of Responsibility for all living things in the galaxy. It kind of makes sense, in my opinion. I mean, humanity is still too primitive, violent and stupid to inherit the Mantle. But then again, didn’t the [Librarian believe/Precursors declare] that humanity was to bear the Mantle? Also, could someone please remind me where in other Halo canon, if any, it is mentioned that the Mantle is also a forced peace upon the galaxy? - It was cool to visit the Elite homeworld of Sanghelios, and especially good to see the Arbiter again after so long (of course, I couldn’t help but side with him when he and Locke met face-to-face). - In “Alliance”, if you explore for a little bit, Vale and Buck make some comments regarding Blue Team, Cortana, and Halsey that riled me more than a little bit. - What did the Arbiter mean when he told Locke…?
> “Victory and honor do not grow from timid seeds, Spartan Locke. Your harvest shall be grand.”
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I admit, I found 031 Exuberant Witness to be a hell of a lot more helpful and friendly than 343 Guilty Spark. (Of course, my heart will always side with Spark [the Bungie-era Guilty Spark]) - When the Warden Eternal was spouting mini-speeches throughout “The Breaking”, I feel like he was foreshadowing Halo 6, by way of what he was saying about what was to come. - When Cortana entered the Domain, she came back different, and not in a good way. In other words, she has been corrupted by the Domain. - When I realized that Cortana had become the villain, watching her turn her back on the Master Chief (AKA John); well, that just damn near destroyed me emotionally. I swear, that was a hundred-to-a thousand times more worse than when she died in HALO 4. - As Fireteam Osiris went about rescuing Blue Team, I couldn’t help but agree with what Cortana was saying as she (lightly) taunted them (except the part about Halsey). - When Cortana was delivering her omnipotent-like speech to the entire galaxy, I couldn’t help but feel like she was quoting both the Flood Gravemind and Ur-Didact as she spoke. - When Locke destroyed the relay and it looked like all was lost, I couldn’t help but feel that it was actually the Master Chief’s innate luck that saved himself and Blue Team. - The only good thing that ever came out of this whole mess is the fact that Catherine Halsey and John-117 were finally reunited after 6 long years.THE FUTURE
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AIs, AKA the Created, enforcing imperial peace upon all life across the galaxy, with Cortana leading them, as well as her controlling not just the Forerunner Guardians, but also what is left of the Halo Array. I wonder, did the Librarian plan for any of this? - Despite the current state of the HALO universe, there is only one man who can set all this right; only one man alone who has the power to save us all: John-117, the Master Chief. He alone can save the universe, no one else. That is the cold rational truth, right there. - I am afraid that, ultimately, the Master Chief will have no choice but to fight against Cortana, with Blue Team and Halsey by his side. Let’s face it, the truth is, John has known Halsey, Kelly, Fred and Linda way, way longer than Cortana. - Although my opinion on SPARTAN-IVs still stands, I cannot help but feel some grudging respect for Fireteam Osiris, based on what they have done. Because of that, I can’t help but recall a quote from another video game:
> “A famous explorer once said that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are.”
- In regards to Cortana becoming a new villain for HALO, I suppose it is true what a wise man once said:
> “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
- In regards to the direction that the second generation of HALO is going, I would have to say that The Reclaimer Saga is John-117’s story, but the premise has changed slightly, yet still the same: The Master Chief coming to terms with his own humanity, as well as him going up against the legacy of the Forerunners.