Where Halo's Campaign went wrong for me

Community General Discussion
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The first time i ever played Halo i was in 6th grade. I remember getting stuck on the first level, trying to figure out how to crouch, to get through the doorway and running out of time because i needed to go to school. I remember the thrill of meeting Hunters for the first time and all the hours playing the campaign with friends and making them bribe me with candy, to get me to play 343 Guilty spark and the Library with them. Listen, I know i cant speak for everyone but to me and i know many more fans out there Halo became, well, more than Halo. And more than just some first person shooter. It became a story of a hero, the Master Chief. Back then it was just a fun game to play, but as Halo 2 and 3 came out, you kind of got the feeling of who you were actually playing. He wasn’t just some Spartan. No he couldn’t fly, but it felt more like playing superman rather then just some enhanced human. You were a One man army and nothing could get in your way.

Let me get to the point. Halo 5 doesn’t feel like, well, what i envision the sequel to halo 4 being. Yes i know John is in it, yes i know the halo universe is bigger than one man, yes i know Cortana is still alive. and yes i know a lot of you would argue hes more like Batman or Iron man. But my point is the feeling you get from all the other game campaigns is not there. How fun is a Superman game with 8 heroes just like Superman. And for all of you that argue the Avengers let me remind you Captain America is not the Hulk. Don’t get me wrong the idea was great. i like the story and i feel like out of all the games this is the most well rounded one out of all of them. And i will admit, if it were the first halo game i would have ever played, it would be my favorite, besides maybe halo 2. But the urgency you get from the other games isn’t there. Call me stupid if you want, but in the back of my mind, for the entire campaign, even if i didn’t know i was thinking it at the time was "Well if i don’t stop them there’s 3 more standing next to me… " That feeling of playing someone special,… well its gone. The characters are cool. I like that blue team finally made it into the games story, the hunting master chief was a great idea and cool advertisement, and Cortana becoming some form of corrupt is actually kind of cool which actually shocked me. But at the end of the day you have a superhero that saved the human race, multiple times, virtually by himself, looking like an average Joe in a fight against another spartan. I don’t know why, but i cant get that out of my head. I realize that maybe they didn’t really want Master Chief to become more than a Spartan, or at least not much more. But it happend. I used to feel like, John had to do what he did, because he was the only one that could do it and now they have me doubting the hero i grew into knowing.

Look for some reason it had alluded me of why i haven’t played it, really since beating the campaign. All the other Halo’s i played over and over again “and i cant stress the word OVER enough” but i literally have no ambition to go put my hands on that controller to beat this game again. For me Halo became John being Superman. Not John being me or you on steroids… They needed a hero, so he became one. Now they want a bunch of them and he gets lost in the crowd. I spent most of the game waiting to play Master Chief and then it was over…

And to any of you 343 Employees reading this. “if you even do read these”. I know this part may sound nerdy but Goku is a hero without Dragon Ball Z, but Dragon Ball Z would be nothing without Goku. Don’t loose your Star in the midst of a Galaxy and if you want to kill him off to diversify your game like you have i would rather you send him out with a bang that only he could pull off, than needing a bunch of help and making him feel like a normal spartan…

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I have to disagree with you. The game isn’t full of different versions of superman. There is only 1 John Spartan and no one will come close. He was the best of the Spartan 2’s and I’ve always viewed the Spartan 2’s as the most lethal of the spartans. The 4’s are good but to me are watered down. There is something about being abducted at age 6 and being trained to be a killer that makes you better at it. I also think every character brings something unique to the table. There is a reason why Buck is a huge fan favorite. (Although I feel like Tanaka is worthless)

With that said, the story in Halo 5 is lacking, just not for the reasons you listed. I feel like the campaign was just missing those moments of epic where you as a player are in total shock. I immediately think back to Halo 2 when the chief goes into space for the first time with that bomb to put it back on the covenants ship. This was before they ever implemented any kind of thruster or anything like that in any game so to us, there was a chance that Master Chief could just end up floating in space until he died. It was a moment of huge risk with a huge reward if successful. Halo 5 really lacked these moments.

Also it wouldn’t hurt to bring back a mission where you have to drive the warthog like a pro to escape something that is blowing up. (i.e. Halo 1, the ring is blowing up and you have to get off. The only exit is a long drive away from your current position)

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I get what your saying but your telling me that fight with chief “i know he won” should have been that close? And all the epic fight scenes with Locke and not of chief didn’t water it down for you? Trained at the age of 6 to kill, Locke doesn’t have near that type of training and i don’t know why they haven’t really used this, but in halo 4 when the Librarian Advances Chiefs DNA, so he could stop the Didact, shouldn’t he be… i don’t know, better, or more advanced. Chief wasn’t always better at everything, he wasn’t the strongest, fastest, or smartest. He just always found a way to win, against any odds, and with a hint of Luck. The librarian picked him specifically and if i remember correctly from the books John was one of the only candidates to be a 100% match genetically, for the program. That’s why Halsey went and met with him personally.

Everyone gets there own opinion and i like Buck as well. I think what I’m trying to get at is Halo 5 guardians should have been two different games. Halo Guardians and Halo 5. One where you play as Locke and his team so you actually get to learn each individual character and get attached, then try to follow the guardians and hunt down the master chief, and one meant for Chief and blue team. All I’m saying is Halo 5 guardians didn’t feel like the correct squeal. i bought the game expecting to play master chief, i mean why wouldn’t you, and you spent 3/4 of the game as Locke and you don’t feel like John gets kind of washed up in the midst of things?

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First off, the Librarians augmentations to John have not had very long to implement themselves. And yes, the fight with Locke should have been that close. The Spartan II’s were the result of desperate measures, terrifying and illegal operations. The IV’s were refined, improved and upgraded. The II’s were honestly walking tanks (but incredibly fast), the IV’s are even faster and are effectively replacing ODST’s in the sheer assaults they can pull off. Also, Halsey picked john because she felt he was right for the job, the way you stated it made it seem like she knew the librarians plans. As for a Star in the midst of a galaxy? There’s billions of star’s in each galaxy. Chief is a hero, true, but he isn’t the only hero and Halo V was him realizing even the best of Spartans needs some backup. There are so many people in the Halo lore that were important to the survival of our race. Without Halsey, there would be no Chief. Without Arbiter, we most likely would have been wiped out by the covenant. Without Keyes, our ships would have continuously been destroyed in space. Noble 6, did what no one else could, just like Jorge, he (or she) stayed behind. Without the didact? Our Chief would never have Ascended (maybe) and our people wouldn’t have learned more about the flood.