Back when it was nothing but the original trilogy, it was obvious that a person new to the Halo universe would start off playing Halo CE, then move on to H2, then H3.
However, now that there’s a ton of sequels and prequels, and novels and media outside of the games themselves, not to mention Halo Wars or ODST, and the fan-made content. The Halo universe is FILLED with information, and starting someone off by playing Halo CE seems like it might not be the best starting point anymore.
I have somebody that’s excited to learn about and play Halo, but I’m trying to figure out what the very first glimpse into the universe should be for them.
Does anybody have any ideas?
I know that the Silent Cartographer would be a great level to introduce them to the mechanics of the game. Especially with the sense of mystery and scale that it brings. It’s also a great map for 2 player.
I also know that there’s very interesting lore videos like the Mona Lisa, or The Return, or even the animated movies: Halo Legends, or The Fall of Reach. These sound like great starting points as well.
Where should I start them off? I want it to be perfect.
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> What gives a brief description?
smasher555 was saying that the book Halo: Mythos gives the best description of the Halo lore and should be a good starting point. I haven’t read Mythos so I don’t really know much about it.
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> I haven’t read it either. I kinda want to introduce it in a way that allows for me to also be involved. A book is a bit isolated.
If you want to focus on media that aren’t isolated experiences, then books are out. For games, I would still recommend going with CE first. You could make an argument for Reach first since it is a prequel, but tbh CE is a better starting point since it focuses on a single character and a simple story line to kick off the whole series.
Aside from getting your friend excited about Halo (good luck btw), I highly recommend reading Mythos. It’s a very well put together and straight forward sequence of events that tie together the Halo Universe into a simple and straight forward story.
I’d say where it all started with CE. Yeah there’s Reach which story wise took place before CE but there’s a large gameplay curve between that and CE. Just play the games in the order they came out.
Even with all the content that’s out there, CE is a rock solid starting point as some others have mentioned. Everything is straightforward and, since there is not a lot of outside material at this point, the only burning question you might have is how did Chief become a Spartan. To which I say, read The Fall of Reach alongside your CE playthrough if you desire. Once you get through the “foundation” game, you’ll have a thorough understanding of the basis of the universe and can then move on to other books or Halo 2.
MCC (so CE) is probably best. You can play straight through Halos 1-4, maybe with ODST somewhere in the middle. Reach also works, it’s what I started with.