Top 7 things 343 did right in Halo 5

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I’d like to give some praise to 343 for some of the things that I do like about Halo 5 (even though amongst this list there are many flaws). Here’s my list:

TOP 7 THINGS 343 DID RIGHT

#1 Cortana’s appearance

I didn’t particularly like Cortana’s appearance in Halo 4, I can’t put my finger on it really. This time in Halo 5 she looks fantastic. She looks COOL! That new outfit that she’s wearing is icing on the cake.

Extra opinion: Really she was supposed to be terminated from the franchise in Halo 4 and I didn’t mind, and now that shes returned I don’t really mind that she has returned as the antagonist but I have serious concerns regarding her radical approach to the franchise. In my heart I seriously hope that Cortana is being controlled by someone like the most ancient and darkest warlord of all time (Either the Didact or Primordial) who would be Chief’s final and ultimate foe to date! Wouldn’t that be awesome? I also hope Cortana dies saving John one last time in Halo 6. Or Cortana could at least turn against her new master to save Chief so he can save the universe. As Chief saves the unverse from the Untold Devine Ancient, he dies and successfully defeats the villian. That would be kinda epic!

#2 Sanghelios and Arbiter

At the end of Halo 3, Arbiter and Shipmaster were last seen talking about their homeworld Sanghelios, hoping that it was safe from the Human-Covenent war. In Halo 4 we had no clue what the Arbiter was up to. After about 8 years the question of what happened to the Arbiter has finally been answered in Halo 5: Guardians. Arbiter has been fighting a civil war on his homeworld ever since Halo 3 and being part of it was fantastic (Just wish it had more meaning to the actual story of Halo 5).

#3 Meridian (Glassed)

343’s story with the Prometheans so far has been nowhere near as tragic for the human race like the war with the Covenent. After 27 years of galactic war, we see a planet glassed by the Covenent called Meridian. Was this place destroyed by the hands of the Arbiter? It’s very chilling to see the aftermath of such a horryfying war and introducing Meridian was an excellent way to show that the original trilogy still counts as a very important part of the Halo universe.

#4 Master Chief keeping his promise

Although it is painfully unexplained why Master Chief went looking for Cortana and went AWOL, the reasons are actually found in the other games. He made multiple promises regarding Cortana in Halo 3 and Halo 4 and has done his absolute best at trying to keep his promises even when it means risking his life. (which involves saving Cortana since Halo 2 and protecting Cortana since Sgt Johnson died), (Currently Chief values humanity over Cortana’s current values). Click HERE to find out more.

#5 Warden Eternal

Many players would argue that Warden Eternal is extremely annoying to fight. If you think about it though, he is actually a very interesting character. When you played Halo 1, 2, 3, etc, you were always awe-inspired by the mysteries and architecture of the Forerunners. After all this time we finally get to see and interact with one of the characters who served amongst their amazing galactic empire. Thanks to Warden, we can expect or imagine that the Forerunner empire had many more variable characters -Warden Eternal ( who possesses a million bodies and one mind) is just one such character. The only other Forerunner who was interesting was the Didact in Halo 4.

(I exclude the Librarian because in my opinion she did not serve a meaningful purpose in Halo 4 and I did not feel compelled to like her in the game, especially also because she was ugly and was more of a dream of Chief’s than an actual meet up face to face. I was inspired by Guilty Spark mentioning her in Combat Evolved however)

#6 Forge

Everyone can agree that Forge is fantastic. Out of all the things 343 have done for Halo 5, Forge mode is flawless (excluding multiple crashes). Just when we think that it couldn’t get any better 343 always manages to impress with each update and foliage, weather control, and more is just the tip of the iceberg! Thank you 343 Industries!

#7 Warzone

Have you ever played Halo 3 and imagined what it would be like to have a game where all the weapons of the Halo universe could be used to battle in a single map? I’ve never played Call of Duty (except World at War) so I’m not concerned about the loadouts in Halo 4, it’s just a different feature that’s never been used in the franchise. But this time instead of loadouts, 343 went with their imagination and created Warzone. The ultimate gametype where all the weapons you could ever dream of are bundled up and thrown about at each other. A few adjustments are certainly needed but the concept is finally here.

More articles by K27R:

Why 343 killed Jul M’dama

Why Dr Halsey is so important in Halo 5

Why Master Chief wanted to find Cortana in Halo 5

343’s obsession with Infinity / Bad Changes #2 - UNSC Infinity

How Warden Eternal could’ve been more awesome

How the Halo franchise might fade away

Cortana, Precursors, and the Domain

How Halo 5 can learn from Watchdogs Campaign DLC

2

I agree, but I think they could’ve made meridian more volcanic and less gray and brown.

3

#1 - I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I am with Cortana’s return. I was actually shocked and a little hurt when Cortana"died" in Halo 4, and that’s what made it a great experience.

The franchise finally hit a serious emotional chord by killing the character that had always been there to help Chief through the toughest times.

Chief was also supposed to have to “come to terms with his loss” but in Halo 5, we see no transformation, no proper character development carried on from Halo 4.
All we got was Chief acting sad for one cutscene then actually believing that she is ok (because he bumped his head and saw a vision).

Next second, Blue Team just take his word for it after witnessing him suffer physical trauma and just agree to help him track her down. Seriously?
Then we have when Locke finally confronts Chief in a civil manner, Chief just casually confirms: “Yeah, she’s evil now lol”.

Halo 5’s plot felt like an insult to me honestly, a complete reversal of the cleverly constructed dichotomy between Chief and Cortana and their unlikely sense of kinship.

I honestly can’t fault the rest of your opinions, hell, they are only opinions anyway but I had to mention how I feel about Cortana in Halo 5, it’s just that bad to me.

4

> 2533274810001991;3:
> #1 - I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I am with Cortana’s return. I was actually shocked and a little hurt when Cortana"died" in Halo 4, and that’s what made it a great experience.
>
> The franchise finally hit a serious emotional chord by killing the character that had always been there to help Chief through the toughest times.
>
> Chief was also supposed to have to “come to terms with his loss” but in Halo 5, we see no transformation, no proper character development carried on from Halo 4.
> All we got was Chief acting sad for one cutscene then actually believing that she is ok (because he bumped his head and saw a vision).
>
> Next second, Blue Team just take his word for it after witnessing him suffer physical trauma and just agree to help him track her down. Seriously?
> Then we have when Locke finally confronts Chief in a civil manner, Chief just casually confirms: “Yeah, she’s evil now lol”.
>
> Halo 5’s plot felt like an insult to me honestly, a complete reversal of the cleverly constructed dichotomy between Chief and Cortana and their unlikely sense of kinship.
>
> I honestly can’t fault the rest of your opinions, hell, they are only opinions anyway but I had to mention how I feel about Cortana in Halo 5, it’s just that bad to me.

I’m pretty sure we all feel frustrated from the return of Cortana, especially because she turns evil without any legitimate explanation, making Halo 4’s ending worthless (even though I actually wasn’t emotionally moved it still made sense she died.) And yeah terrible character development throughout the whole story and that’s not criticism I take lightly.

As I said I just hope she’s being controlled.

5

> 2535414369351666;4:
> > 2533274810001991;3:
> > #1 - I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I am with Cortana’s return. I was actually shocked and a little hurt when Cortana"died" in Halo 4, and that’s what made it a great experience.
> >
> > The franchise finally hit a serious emotional chord by killing the character that had always been there to help Chief through the toughest times.
> >
> > Chief was also supposed to have to “come to terms with his loss” but in Halo 5, we see no transformation, no proper character development carried on from Halo 4.
> > All we got was Chief acting sad for one cutscene then actually believing that she is ok (because he bumped his head and saw a vision).
> >
> > Next second, Blue Team just take his word for it after witnessing him suffer physical trauma and just agree to help him track her down. Seriously?
> > Then we have when Locke finally confronts Chief in a civil manner, Chief just casually confirms: “Yeah, she’s evil now lol”.
> >
> > Halo 5’s plot felt like an insult to me honestly, a complete reversal of the cleverly constructed dichotomy between Chief and Cortana and their unlikely sense of kinship.
> >
> > I honestly can’t fault the rest of your opinions, hell, they are only opinions anyway but I had to mention how I feel about Cortana in Halo 5, it’s just that bad to me.
>
>
> I’m pretty sure we all feel frustrated from the return of Cortana, especially because she turns evil without any legitimate explanation, making Halo 4’s ending worthless (even though I actually wasn’t emotionally moved it still made sense she died.) And yeah terrible character development throughout the whole story and that’s not criticism I take lightly.
>
> As I said I just hope she’s being controlled.

I think 343 put themselves in a bad situation by killing off cortana in halo 4 for serious drama but then realized chief and cortana are the only marketable characters in the franchise for those who are not massive halo fans.

6

> 2535414369351666;1:
> I’d like to give some praise to 343 for some of the things that I do like about Halo 5 (even though amongst this list there are many flaws). Here’s my list:
>
> TOP 10 THINGS 343 DID RIGHT
>
> #1 Cortana’s appearance
>
> I didn’t particularly like Cortana’s appearance in Halo 4, I can’t put my finger on it really. This time in Halo 5 she looks fantastic. She looks COOL! That new outfit that she’s wearing is icing on the cake.
>
> Extra opinion: Really she was supposed to be terminated from the franchise in Halo 4 and I didn’t mind, and now that shes returned I don’t really mind that she has returned as the antagonist but I have serious concerns regarding her radical approach to the franchise. In my heart I seriously hope that Cortana is being controlled by someone like the most ancient and darkest warlord of all time (Either the Didact or Primordial) who would be Chief’s final and ultimate foe to date! Wouldn’t that be awesome? I also hope Cortana dies saving John one last time in Halo 6. Or Cortana could at least turn against her new master to save Chief so he can save the universe. As Chief saves the unverse from the Untold Devine Ancient, he dies and successfully defeats the villian. That would be kinda epic!
>
> #2 Sanghelios and Arbiter
>
> At the end of Halo 3, Arbiter and Shipmaster were last seen talking about their homeworld Sanghelios, hoping that it was safe from the Human-Covenent war. In Halo 4 we had no clue what the Arbiter was up to. After about 8 years the question of what happened to the Arbiter has finally been answered in Halo 5: Guardians. Arbiter has been fighting a civil war on his homeworld ever since Halo 3 and being part of it was fantastic (Just wish it had more meaning to the actual story of Halo 5).
>
> #3 Meridian (Glassed)
>
> 343’s story with the Prometheans so far has been nowhere near as tragic for the human race like the war with the Covenent. After 27 years of galactic war, we see a planet glassed by the Covenent called Meridian. Was this place destroyed by the hands of the Arbiter? It’s very chilling to see the aftermath of such a horryfying war and introducing Meridian was an excellent way to show that the original trilogy still counts as a very important part of the Halo universe.
>
> #4 Master Chief keeping his promise
>
> Although it is painfully unexplained why Master Chief went looking for Cortana and went AWOL, the reasons are actually found in the other games. He made multiple promises regarding Cortana in Halo 3 and Halo 4 and has done his absolute best at trying to keep his promises even when it means risking his life. (which involves saving Cortana since Halo 2 and protecting Cortana since Sgt Johnson died), (Currently Chief values humanity over Cortana’s current values). Click HERE to find out more.
>
> #5 Warden Eternal
>
> Many players would argue that Warden Eternal is extremely annoying to fight. If you think about it though, he is actually a very interesting character. When you played Halo 1, 2, 3, etc, you were always awe-inspired by the mysteries and architecture of the Forerunners. After all this time we finally get to see and interact with one of the characters who served amongst their amazing galactic empire. Thanks to Warden, we can expect or imagine that the Forerunner empire had many more variable characters -Warden Eternal ( who possesses a million bodies and one mind) is just one such character. The only other Forerunner who was interesting was the Didact in Halo 4.
>
> (I exclude the Librarian because in my opinion she did not serve a meaningful purpose in Halo 4 and I did not feel compelled to like her in the game. I was inspired by Guilty Spark mentioning her in Combat Evolved however)
>
> #6 Forge
>
> Everyone can agree that Forge is fantastic. Out of all the things 343 have done for Halo 5, Forge mode is flawless (excluding multiple crashes). Just when we think that it couldn’t get any better 343 always manages to impress with each update and foliage, weather control, and more is just the tip of the iceberg! Thank you 343 Industries!
>
> #7 Warzone
>
> Have you ever played Halo 3 and imagined what it would be like to have a game where all the weapons of the Halo universe could be used to battle in a single map? I’ve never played Call of Duty (except World at War) so I’m not concerned about the loadouts in Halo 4, it’s just a different feature that’s never been used in the franchise. But this time instead of loadouts, 343 went with their imagination and created Warzone. The ultimate gametype where all the weapons you could ever dream of are bundled up and thrown about at each other. A few adjustments are certainly needed but the concept is finally here.
>
> More articles by K27R:
>
> Why 343 killed Jul M’dama
>
> Why Dr Halsey is so important in Halo 5
>
> Why Master Chief wanted to find Cortana in Halo 5
>
> 343’s obsession with Infinity / Bad Changes #2 - UNSC Infinity
>
> How Warden Eternal could’ve been more awesome
>
> How the Halo franchise might fade away
>
> Cortana, Precursors, and the Domain
>
> How Halo 5 can learn from Watchdogs Campaign DLC

Also gameplay, weapon balance, and the ability to switch seats in a Warthog without getting out.

7

> 2535442520802476;5:
> > 2535414369351666;4:
> > > 2533274810001991;3:
> > > #1 - I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I am with Cortana’s return. I was actually shocked and a little hurt when Cortana"died" in Halo 4, and that’s what made it a great experience.
> > >
> > > The franchise finally hit a serious emotional chord by killing the character that had always been there to help Chief through the toughest times.
> > >
> > > Chief was also supposed to have to “come to terms with his loss” but in Halo 5, we see no transformation, no proper character development carried on from Halo 4.
> > > All we got was Chief acting sad for one cutscene then actually believing that she is ok (because he bumped his head and saw a vision).
> > >
> > > Next second, Blue Team just take his word for it after witnessing him suffer physical trauma and just agree to help him track her down. Seriously?
> > > Then we have when Locke finally confronts Chief in a civil manner, Chief just casually confirms: “Yeah, she’s evil now lol”.
> > >
> > > Halo 5’s plot felt like an insult to me honestly, a complete reversal of the cleverly constructed dichotomy between Chief and Cortana and their unlikely sense of kinship.
> > >
> > > I honestly can’t fault the rest of your opinions, hell, they are only opinions anyway but I had to mention how I feel about Cortana in Halo 5, it’s just that bad to me.
> >
> >
> > I’m pretty sure we all feel frustrated from the return of Cortana, especially because she turns evil without any legitimate explanation, making Halo 4’s ending worthless (even though I actually wasn’t emotionally moved it still made sense she died.) And yeah terrible character development throughout the whole story and that’s not criticism I take lightly.
> >
> > As I said I just hope she’s being controlled.
>
>
> I think 343 put themselves in a bad situation by killing off cortana in halo 4 for serious drama but then realized chief and cortana are the only marketable characters in the franchise for those who are not massive halo fans.

Does that mean if Spider-man or Batman or Indiana Jones dies in their own trilogy, that they have to come back to life just to keep the story continuing? I never even heard of this so called “drama” from Cortana’s death until recently. The death of a character you love is actually what makes a story great, and a great story will live on for generations. Marketable my -Yoink- to Microsoft.

Edit: Actually, her resurrection cheesed me off way more than her death ever did. I never even bought the game for anything related to Cortana, and when I saw that first cutscenes of her in mission 2 Argent Moon, I wa thinking to myself “wow… Just wow” (sarcasm)

So all her help in the original trilogy was all for nothing. But that’s okay because hopefully someone is just controlling her and her original involvment in the first games would still be meaningful.

8

> 2533274810001991;3:
> #1 - I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I am with Cortana’s return. I was actually shocked and a little hurt when Cortana"died" in Halo 4, and that’s what made it a great experience.
>
> The franchise finally hit a serious emotional chord by killing the character that had always been there to help Chief through the toughest times.
>
> Chief was also supposed to have to “come to terms with his loss” but in Halo 5, we see no transformation, no proper character development carried on from Halo 4.
> All we got was Chief acting sad for one cutscene then actually believing that she is ok (because he bumped his head and saw a vision).
>
> Next second, Blue Team just take his word for it after witnessing him suffer physical trauma and just agree to help him track her down. Seriously?
> Then we have when Locke finally confronts Chief in a civil manner, Chief just casually confirms: “Yeah, she’s evil now lol”.
>
> Halo 5’s plot felt like an insult to me honestly, a complete reversal of the cleverly constructed dichotomy between Chief and Cortana and their unlikely sense of kinship.
>
> I honestly can’t fault the rest of your opinions, hell, they are only opinions anyway but I had to mention how I feel about Cortana in Halo 5, it’s just that bad to me.

I think it is more of a fragment of her. She had multiple personalities while in rampancy. Some were fine, others hated being imprisoned and Halsey.

9

Warden Eternal is my favorite character, but his appearance in the game was disappointing. He was very interesting and looked badass on e3 demo…

10

> 2533274954911187;8:
> > 2533274810001991;3:
> > …
>
>
> I think it is more of a fragment of her. She had multiple personalities while in rampancy. Some were fine, others hated being imprisoned and Halsey.

I have thought about that myself, though I personally like the idea of her being brought back to be used as a pawn by something else…

Along that train of thought, I am super mad that they “killed” off the Didact. Best character ever… Well, was.

I don’t know, I just hope they don’t do a 180 and make her a protagonist again after Chief foils her plans. That would be next level cheesy.

I honestly feel like the way that they handled Cortana made her feel like a character in a cheap, daytime soap opera. It’s Days of our Lives tier bad.

The worst part is that I don’t see how they can salvage the story without it looking like a retcon. I used to have faith, but Halo 5’s writing shot that in the brain-stem.

11

Its amazing that 343 kept the part of chief keeping his promise to Sergeant Johnson. (Reference to halo 3 sergeant johnson’s last words to chief telling him to never let cortana go. )

12

Nothing released about Cortana thus far implies she is being controlled by an outside force. A fragment of hers finds the Domain, tricks the Warden and sneaks into it, assumes direct control, forbids suffering composed beings from entering it, and talks about doing great things.

By mass-murdering millions of innocent people by raising the Guardians.

How that honors her legacy as 343 said they wished to do with Halo 5 is beyond me.

13

agree, altough figthing the warden was to repetitive

14

> 2533274954911187;6:
> > 2535414369351666;1:
> > I’d like to give some praise to 343 for some of the things that I do like about Halo 5 (even though amongst this list there are many flaws). Here’s my list:
> >
> > TOP 10 THINGS 343 DID RIGHT
> >
> > #1 Cortana’s appearance
> >
> > I didn’t particularly like Cortana’s appearance in Halo 4, I can’t put my finger on it really. This time in Halo 5 she looks fantastic. She looks COOL! That new outfit that she’s wearing is icing on the cake.
> >
> > Extra opinion: Really she was supposed to be terminated from the franchise in Halo 4 and I didn’t mind, and now that shes returned I don’t really mind that she has returned as the antagonist but I have serious concerns regarding her radical approach to the franchise. In my heart I seriously hope that Cortana is being controlled by someone like the most ancient and darkest warlord of all time (Either the Didact or Primordial) who would be Chief’s final and ultimate foe to date! Wouldn’t that be awesome? I also hope Cortana dies saving John one last time in Halo 6. Or Cortana could at least turn against her new master to save Chief so he can save the universe. As Chief saves the unverse from the Untold Devine Ancient, he dies and successfully defeats the villian. That would be kinda epic!
> >
> > #2 Sanghelios and Arbiter
> >
> > At the end of Halo 3, Arbiter and Shipmaster were last seen talking about their homeworld Sanghelios, hoping that it was safe from the Human-Covenent war. In Halo 4 we had no clue what the Arbiter was up to. After about 8 years the question of what happened to the Arbiter has finally been answered in Halo 5: Guardians. Arbiter has been fighting a civil war on his homeworld ever since Halo 3 and being part of it was fantastic (Just wish it had more meaning to the actual story of Halo 5).
> >
> > #3 Meridian (Glassed)
> >
> > 343’s story with the Prometheans so far has been nowhere near as tragic for the human race like the war with the Covenent. After 27 years of galactic war, we see a planet glassed by the Covenent called Meridian. Was this place destroyed by the hands of the Arbiter? It’s very chilling to see the aftermath of such a horryfying war and introducing Meridian was an excellent way to show that the original trilogy still counts as a very important part of the Halo universe.
> >
> > #4 Master Chief keeping his promise
> >
> > Although it is painfully unexplained why Master Chief went looking for Cortana and went AWOL, the reasons are actually found in the other games. He made multiple promises regarding Cortana in Halo 3 and Halo 4 and has done his absolute best at trying to keep his promises even when it means risking his life. (which involves saving Cortana since Halo 2 and protecting Cortana since Sgt Johnson died), (Currently Chief values humanity over Cortana’s current values). Click HERE to find out more.
> >
> > #5 Warden Eternal
> >
> > Many players would argue that Warden Eternal is extremely annoying to fight. If you think about it though, he is actually a very interesting character. When you played Halo 1, 2, 3, etc, you were always awe-inspired by the mysteries and architecture of the Forerunners. After all this time we finally get to see and interact with one of the characters who served amongst their amazing galactic empire. Thanks to Warden, we can expect or imagine that the Forerunner empire had many more variable characters -Warden Eternal ( who possesses a million bodies and one mind) is just one such character. The only other Forerunner who was interesting was the Didact in Halo 4.
> >
> > (I exclude the Librarian because in my opinion she did not serve a meaningful purpose in Halo 4 and I did not feel compelled to like her in the game. I was inspired by Guilty Spark mentioning her in Combat Evolved however)
> >
> > #6 Forge
> >
> > Everyone can agree that Forge is fantastic. Out of all the things 343 have done for Halo 5, Forge mode is flawless (excluding multiple crashes). Just when we think that it couldn’t get any better 343 always manages to impress with each update and foliage, weather control, and more is just the tip of the iceberg! Thank you 343 Industries!
> >
> > #7 Warzone
> >
> > Have you ever played Halo 3 and imagined what it would be like to have a game where all the weapons of the Halo universe could be used to battle in a single map? I’ve never played Call of Duty (except World at War) so I’m not concerned about the loadouts in Halo 4, it’s just a different feature that’s never been used in the franchise. But this time instead of loadouts, 343 went with their imagination and created Warzone. The ultimate gametype where all the weapons you could ever dream of are bundled up and thrown about at each other. A few adjustments are certainly needed but the concept is finally here.
> >
> > More articles by K27R:
> >
> > Why 343 killed Jul M’dama
> >
> > Why Dr Halsey is so important in Halo 5
> >
> > Why Master Chief wanted to find Cortana in Halo 5
> >
> > 343’s obsession with Infinity / Bad Changes #2 - UNSC Infinity
> >
> > How Warden Eternal could’ve been more awesome
> >
> > How the Halo franchise might fade away
> >
> > Cortana, Precursors, and the Domain
> >
> > How Halo 5 can learn from Watchdogs Campaign DLC
>
>
> Also gameplay, weapon balance, and the ability to switch seats in a Warthog without getting out.

Gameplay and balance is completely subjective and I think there bad so I’d say its either a negative or can’t count as a positive.

EDIT: just realized this is an old post, sorry for bumping it.

15

> 2535456165221911;9:
> Warden Eternal is my favorite character, but his appearance in the game was disappointing. He was very interesting and looked badass on e3 demo…

Yeah I love Warden. He’s a really good character - I don’t understand why so many people hate him.