My dream Halo campaign
In this post I’m going to explain what I believe are the elements of a great Halo campaign. Using examples from the previous halo games. I’ll look at character, plot, setting, and theme.
Following that, I will write about game mechanics that make a great Halo campaign.
Part 1: Story
Character:
•Main character relationship and character development like Halo 4. The relationship and dialogue between John and Cortana in Halo 4 was so well done. They were the best part of the story. The supporting characters, I felt, were rather flat. Which leads me into my next segment.
•Supporting cast of allies and villains as strong as Halo 2. Halo 2 had a huge cast of characters both ally and villain and I thought they were all given the appropriate amount of screen time and dialogue to develop and understand their part in the story.
plot
less is more. Halo has alway tried to go larger in scale, but I feel it can loose some of what makes it special by doing so. Halo 3 for example. It had epic scale, but a paper thin story. While Halo 4 was much more confined had but better narrative.
•Dual Narrative Like Halo 2. If Halo is to continue the dual narrative of Blue Team and Fire Team Osiris, I’d like to have a mission ratio like that of Halo 2, with Blue team getting the more missions than Osiris. Or maybe even a flip flop of the mission ratio of Halo 5, and give Osiris only 3 missions.
Also, I think what made Halo 2’s campaign so special is that you were playing as both John and Thel. Two very unique characters that came from different parts of the Halo universe. So you got to experience the alien nature of the Covenant first hand.
With Halo 5, both teams are Spartans, so aside from Blue being SII’s and Osiris being SIV’s there is not much difference. Hopefully both Spartan teams get the attention needed in the next game to make them feel more unique.
setting
The most successful Halo stories make great use of setting. Historically, the best missions have all been set on Forerunner installations. Halo’s 04, 05, and The Ark have the most memorable settings. Perhaps because we are so used to human settings, I found them to be bland and repetitive. Whereas Forerunner settings are so unfamiliar and alien. I think one thing Halo 5 did do well was setting. Genesis was really cool, and the Guardians entering Slipspace in the skybox made the mission feel very important and time sensitive, even though there was no timer. Plus, running down the side of a Guardian was epic.
Also, Reach. Bungie once said they treated the planet like a character itself, we got to see it pristine then go though its death throes as it was being glassed. Whether you liked Reach’s campaign or not, there were certain aspects, certain points that really stood out because of the setting.
The desolation, loneliness, and hopelessness of the post credit battle was underpinned by the destruction that surrounded you.
Theme
Each Halo has had a central theme that the plot works off of. I think Halo 4’s theme of Rampancy worked very well, each character having stakes in Cortana’s inevitable “death”. It also introduced the concept of The Mantle of Responsibility into the games.
Halo has never been one for deep thought provoking themes, but The Mantle of Responsibility first mentioned in-game by The Didact in Halo 4, then the Librarian in Spartan Ops, then Halo 5 by Cortana. Seems to be a running theme for this saga, and going forward I would hope it’s fleshed out more.
Part 2: Gameplay
Each Halo has introduced and/or reworked existing gameplay mechanics for better or worse. Halo 2 expand gameplay with dual wielding, boarding, and weapon swapping with allies. Since then features have been cut and added, Equipment and detachable turrets In Halo 3, Armor abilities in Reach and Halo 4, and finally Spartan Abilities and “Smart Scope” in Halo 5. For me, Halo 5’s gameplay is the most significant overhaul since Halo 2. I personally like Spartan Abilities, with them you finally feel like a Spartan.
So what is the next step in Halo’s ongoing gameplay evolution?
I think it’s safe to say Spartan Abilities are here to stay. And I’ve gotten used to Smart Scopes. Though 343’s willingness to add the traditional full screen scope method of aiming to a degree on Req weapons gives me some hope that we’ll continue to see a mix of Smart Scope and full screen zoom. But I digress, we need to get back on track.
Honestly, I don’t see many major gameplay innovations emerging in Halo 6, probably just refined and reworked Spartan Abilities.
As we’re strictly talking campaign here, I’d like to see more variation between Spartan II’s and IV’s.
The only difference between John and Locke gameplay wise was Osiris’ Artemis tracking system and blue team’s flashlights.
As for the revival mechanic, I’m indifferent. Seeing a team mate die after a failed attempt to reach them in time, only to see them spawn again kind of breaks Emersion. But if they did die for real, that would break the story. So as far as I am concerned, revival can stay.
squad commands: I don’t love them, but I don’t hate them either. Often times when I order my team around, they respond with “No can do, i’m a little busy here!” Etc. then when they do follow orders, like say, go over there, they run past all the enemies in the way and usually get downed. So the squad Order system needs a fix along with the friendly A.I.
The return of Active Cammo and over shield. Here is where I think the return of (at least some) Halo 3 style equipment would be welcome. Specifically AC and OS. Now, I’m not sure what would be best: battlefield one use pickups or even as slow charging Spartan abilities like the Arbiter’s Active Cammo in Halo 2.
Perhaps you pick them up at a certain point in the campaign and Dr. Halsey or a Huragok add them to your armor to use as slow charging Spartan Abilities.
Vehicles: Halo campaigns are at their best when they open up the battlefield and give you the option of using vehicles.
I feel the use of vehicles is an important part of the Halo sandbox. They are there most of the time as an option. You could go on foot, but when a vehicle shows up, use it. But aside from the occasional forced vehicle run, you don’t have to use them unless you want to. This of course exemplifies the sandbox style of halo’s combat.
A good well rounded vehicle section for me is when you can hop out of your current vehicle, hijack an enemy vehicle and keep on kicking -Yoink-.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading, I’d like to hear the community’s thoughts on what makes a great Halo campaign.
Take a look back at which missions were your favorites and why? Was it setting? Gameplay? A combination of elements?
Also, what worked for you and what didn’t?