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[BRocknRolla]

Well, that's one perspective on the problem with the story...

I personally thought the bigger issue was that it has very bland antagonists, an uninteresting world, and no particular direction. There are moments that are interesting, but it mostly just felt like a bunch of combat encounters strung together with barely a narrative thread at times. And for the love of all that is holy, please stop referencing things that happened in comics, novels, and whatever other transmedia strategy you've got going.

 

[Albino_Yeti]

My biggest gripe with the campaign wasn't necessarily that you didn't play as Chief and Blue Team as much as Osiris, it was the, frankly, false advertising with all that 'Hunt the Truth' stuff they were promoting.

 

[Takashi]

I mean.... Halo 5 isn't great story-wise, but it is far better than the atrocity of Halo 4. A Cortana bubble to save Chief? A one off bad guy in the Didact? Who is the Librarian again?

Don't forget the space jesus shit

The real shocker for me is learning folks actually like 4's story more than 5

 

[statham]

So you have this whole universe but only want to focus on the one character that has been front and center for how long?

they didn't quite say that.

 

[styl3s]

Maybe don't replace Master Chief with a brand new squad in a numbered title. Osiris should have had their own game like ODST or in a side story DLC like Spartan Ops if you wanted fans to come accustomed to them.

When I see Halo "number" I expect to play as Chief and have the story be driven by him. Mainline Halo isn't the time to force in a new lead overshadowing Chief. At least Arbiter in H2 let you see a side of the story Chief would never experience. Osiris added absolutely nothing to the table Blue Team couldn't have done.

Although i agree we should explore more non-numbered Halo games to introduce new characters and locations/stories i also disagree with numbered halo's having to focus on Chief. I don't want to be playing as Chief in 6 years when i buy Halo 8 i want to move the fuck on from Chief/Cortana because jesus christ when does it end? Is Cortana going to be evil, good, evil, good for the next 10 years? Is Chief going to overcome the odds and die but not really die but maybe turn bad but not really for the next 10 years? Are we going to fight the covenant for the next 10 years? Do we just reboot Halo and start numbering them again?

Kill off Chief/Cortana let's tell some new stories and bring in some new characters in the mainline numbered series

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Master Chief is gonna die in 6.

Mark it.

 

[NeOak]

Is was a small part of what i hated about halo 5

- What about the repetitive warden fights
- What about the laughably short campaign
- What about the complete marketing lie, there was no huge chief versus osiris conflict, with the exception of 1 punch there was hardly any tension


Those are just the start of what was wrong with halo 5 single player

You forgot Spartan Bros, but that wreck started in 4.

II's are the pinnacle of military training and discipline. III's are a cheaper but effective version

IV's are the local college fraternity with daily parties.

 

[AusRoachman]

I don't know what people's actual problems with the Halo 5 campaign is, but my issue was that neither the Locke or Chief story were particularly engaging. I couldn't really care any less when switching between them. I felt like the Halo 4 story wasn't very engaging either.

I hope they just get a solid story out. Doesn't matter if it's Chief or a new one.

I agree, i would not have minded playing entirely as blue team (like an odst side story), and do the whole hunting down the chief plot all the marketing pointed towards.

Make chief look truely guilty for some event and then slowly uncovering a huge coverup, eventually realising chief is a hero and your working for the wrong side.

Would have been much more compelling then evil cortana

 

[EmCeeGramr]

They loved Blue Team, they liked Osiris,

one kid seems to LOVE the Speedo Man... what more do they want?

 

[SolicitorPirate]

Have you played the first three Hall games? He is far from being a generic space marine. Dude is a badass.

Only multiplayer. And my post is in good faith. I've no interest in single player FPS, but I'm genuinely curious as to why MC is treated like a gaming cultural icon

 

[ReitStuff]

That's where I disagree. They handled Cortana like a girlfriend, it all felt very creepy. 5 backed away from that a bit.

Lol yeah that's true. What was her quote? "C'mon Chief, take a girl for one more ride?" That was pretty weird. She's a damn AI! lol

 

[RedAssedApe]

i wish stinkles had made this thread and quoted himself lol

 

[13ruce]

I think Halo is a pretty cool guy. Eh kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.

His sister Metroid is on another level tho she kicks the asses of these creepy so called flying brain parasite enemies.

 

[Trago]

My biggest gripe with the campaign wasn't necessarily that you didn't play as Chief and Blue Team as much as Osiris, it was the, frankly, false advertising with all that 'Hunt the Truth' stuff they were promoting.

That and the new conflict that they set up that was actually in the game didn't get me personally invested.

I'm all for new characters. I wanted to like Locke and crew, but it just wasn't there for me.

Nothing very memorable. I liked that Buck was around.

 

[AlexFlame116]

That's where I disagree. They handled Cortana like a girlfriend, it all felt very creepy. 5 backed away from that a bit.

Wait what? I felt the opposite! It seemed to me like she went from a "possible" love interest to a crazy A.I. who is obsessed with Master Chief and won't let anyone take him away from her. Especially near the ending when she cries out

Spoiler

"JOHN!"

.

 

[Cranster]

Seeing 343i say stuff like this, it just seems unreal.

How in the world can they act like this is surprising when the exactly same thing happened ELEVEN years ago with Halo 2??

The. Exact. Same. Thing.

To quote Will Ferrell: "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

Oh well... Let's see what the future holds.

Edit: Just want to add this: I fully expect 343i to kill off Blue Squad in the next game. It will be the icing on the cake on all this mess.

People eventually warmed up to The Arbiter so you can't really blame 343i for trying to test the waters a bit. Granted they should have had atleast two more Blue Team missions in the game.

 

[Hawk269]

A mainly driven Halo 6 with Chief as the main character is very welcomed by me.

 

[TheXbox]

We definitely marketed in a way that we hoped was going to bring surprise, but for some fans and certainly fans of Master Chief, it was a huge disappointment because they wanted more Chief.

This should not be their big takeaway. People were receptive to Locke during the early promo, they wanted a new perspective. Everyone has embraced the Arbiter, Buck, etc.

The issue is that the new characters sucked. This is less an admission of failure than it is 343 shrugging off any legitimate criticism of Halo 5's poor writing. "They just didn't get us. All they want is more Master Chief." Nah.

 

[BlackJet]

So being a non Halo fan, could someone please explain Master Chief's appeal to me? He's always struck me as just another generic space marine

He's the cool kid at school we all wished we could be.

On the topic of story, they need to focus on creating stronger side characters. Hopefully they can pull an Arbiter with Locke, but they'll need to do more to expand his story. I need a reason to care about him.

 

[Johndoey]

Like I didn't love it but the end of Halo 4 worked as an (Should I even spoiler this?) end for

Spoiler

Cortana, we a proper "meeting" between her and Chief (and all the angst filled fanfics to go with it)

. Then 5 comes around and shits on that pretty good moment. Besides that maybe don't intro your new lead characters by having them in direct opposition to fan favorite characters, then be shocked when some folk are lukewarm.

 

[NeOak]

I mean.... Halo 5 isn't great story-wise, but it is far better than the atrocity of Halo 4. A Cortana bubble to save Chief? A one off bad guy in the Didact? Who is the Librarian again?

Didact, who was killed unceremoniously in a comic.

Same with Spartan Black.

I swear, it seems 343i just kills old chars to get rid of whatever is left of Bungie's stuff, invent new ones and see what sticks.

 

[Ion Guru]

People eventually warmed up to The Arbiter so you can't really blame 343i for trying to test the waters a bit. Granted they should have had atleast two more Blue Team missions in the game.

Yea, I'm guilty of not liking the Arbiter missions when the game first released, but I came to love the story later on (particularly the covenant lore). Ending still sucked making people wait til Halo 3 to get a meaningful conclusion.

 

[Nightengale]

It's not Chief.

It's Cortana.

 

[Psychoward]

Well 4's storytelling was awful too so they're 0 for 2.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

As I've said before on here, the Legendary ending to Halo 5 gave me hope for Halo 6. This only further solidified that hope.

Star Wars Episode VII that shit Frank

 

[NeOak]

So, can we get Joe Staten to do H6's story? Pretty please?

 

[Welfare]

Although i agree we should explore more non-numbered Halo games to introduce new characters and locations/stories i also disagree with numbered halo's having to focus on Chief. I don't want to be playing as Chief in 6 years when i buy Halo 8 i want to move the fuck on from Chief/Cortana because jesus christ when does it end? Is Cortana going to be evil, good, evil, good for the next 10 years? Is Chief going to overcome the odds and die but not really die but maybe turn bad but not really for the next 10 years? Are we going to fight the covenant for the next 10 years? Do we just reboot Halo and start numbering them again?

Kill off Chief/Cortana let's tell some new stories and bring in some new characters in the mainline numbered series

This is just me but I always thought that when the Chief's story ends, the numbered titles should end. Basically opens up the series to the Call of Duty approach of Halo "subtitle" as the new game story wise that doesn't need to continue the story after Halo 10 or whatever. Also would allow them to experiment more with gameplay as not everything would need to take place in the "modern" Halo story. If a particular story gets a lot of fans and good feedback 343 can turn that into a series, like how Black Ops got multiple sequels.

Gives them an out to get rid of the numbers in the title which I believe was something that was brought up before.

 

[Wedzi]

Wasn't the only issue but it's a start

 

[Vyse The Legend]

Well, 343 is 0 for 2 in this trilogy. Third time's the charm?

Also, they should've already learned this lesson with Halo 2. Yes, that was Bungie, but the backlash to the Arbiter was well documented. People only want to play as the Chief. That's it. It's not quantum physics.

 

[ViciousDS]

I'm still wondering how you make an ending worse than Halo 2.....honestly, at least MC sounded badass and was fucking ready for shit in that ending.

5's story was overall just straight garbage

 

[RdN]

People eventually warmed up to The Arbiter so you can't really blame 343i for trying to test the waters a bit. Granted they should have had atleast two more Blue Team missions in the game.

After Halo 3, where he took a companion to role, yes.

But back then, and with him as a playable character for more than half of the game (including the final mission) Halo 2 was SLAMMED with criticism about the exact same thing that they talk about in the article.

That was eleven years before Halo 5's launch.

343i is full of former Bungie employees, Frank included.

I just find it completely unbelievable that this comes as a surprise to them.

 

[Double Donut]

If this means that they're going back to Chief-only campaigns then I'm massively disappointed.

Multiple-perspective campaigns are bae.

 

[cackhyena]

Focusing less on MC wasn't the issue by a long shot.

 

[rokkerkory]

Fuck yes?

Can I get H6 just with ALL MC? Have the other players as your squad or whatever but I wanna be MC 100% of the damn time.

H4 was a better SP game to me for this reason. If you want to star the other guys make something like Reach.

 

[ReitStuff]

Yea, I'm guilty of not liking the Arbiter missions when the game first released, but I came to love the story later on (particularly the covenant lore). Ending still sucked making people wait til Halo 3 to get a meaningful conclusion.

Yeah, I played all these games for the first time recently and after 2 I remember thinking, "boy, people must have been really pissed at this ending when it first came out." Not a big a deal today when you can go straight to 3.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Man the Halo 6 campaign is going to be a mess isn't it?

It's meant to be the resolution to this trilogy and idek what it's meant to resolve

I can't wait for 6 just so this trilogy comes to an end and 343 can move on

 

[Trago]

This should not be their big takeaway. People were receptive to Locke during the early promo, they wanted a new perspective. Everyone has embraced the Arbiter, Buck, etc.

The issue is that the new characters sucked. This is less an admission of failure than it is 343 shrugging off any legitimate criticism of Halo 5's poor writing. "They just didn't get us. All they want is more Master Chief." Nah.

ODST got it right because the game gave off the sense of everyone being in a unit. Osiris? Not really as much. Buck did deliver some funny one-liners, and Vale being able to speak Sangheili wasn't explored enough. Locke was just the leader. It all didn't seem to mesh very well.

 

[psychotron]

I'd like to see Chief reunited with a non fucked up Cortana, then focus on a new villain with lots of covenant.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Hopefully they can retain their lead writers for more than one game going forward. Coming off Halo 4 a MC focus(playing as him) is the most obvious narrative direction possible and the fact that got lost makes me scratch my head. This is coming from somebody who actually liked the campaign in H5.

 

[jviggy43]

So they're going to fix the MCC? Awesome

 

[RdN]

It's meant to be the resolution to this trilogy and idek what it's meant to resolve

I can't wait for 6 just so this trilogy comes to an end and 343 can move on

Unless 343i changed its mind again, it's no longer a trilogy. Instead, it is a "saga" which will spam multiple titles and with no set ending.

 

[7DollarHagane]

"In halo 6 we have more cavernous combat arenas with haphazardly placed waist high cover and one tiny exit for Master Chief than ever before."

Fuck halo 5 in particular. Also this is missing the point. All the characters in halo 5 were terrible.

They are quick to ignore halo odst being loved despite chief not being in it. And the arbiter being a fan favorite character, despite the first sequel featuring him in half or more of the levels as the player character.

Halo can be serious, in a broad, general way. But halo 5 takes itself too seriously and has no sense of humor or fun.

 

[Green Ninja]

Halo 5 is a good game, not flawless but it's a good game.

It's the worst of the mainline Halo games though

 

[JDHarbs]

It's meant to be the resolution to this trilogy and idek what it's meant to resolve

I can't wait for 6 just so this trilogy comes to an end and 343 can move on

Didn't they say it was changed from a trilogy to "The Reclaimer Saga"?

If so then we're just getting started.

 

[Betty]

I can't wait for 6 just so this trilogy comes to an end and 343 can move on

Basically how most people feel, sad state of affairs.

 

[Zeta Oni]

As I've said before on here, the Legendary ending to Halo 5 gave me hope for Halo 6. This only further solidified that hope.

Star Wars Episode VII that shit Frank

Quoted for truth.

Hoping they take the gameplay improvements they have made since 5 and bring it back to those Halo: CE beginnings story-wise as well as level design wise, 4 and 5 had some interesting ideas but at best you felt like you were fighting in a large arena rather than a living breathing "world" like CE.

in short, take Halo back to its roots.

 

[Jonneh3003]

They clearly had a vision for this trilogy so I'm honestly dissapointed that they're backing away from it story wise. They said they acknowledged mistakes with Halo 4 too but I'd rather they just find out what works best internally before releasing these mistakes. Each Halo game is a classic, not something you keep iterating on until you get it right.

Halo 5 was fine as an overall game, I just want something that lives up to the original trilogy which is probably asking too much.

 

[7DollarHagane]

There is no mystery or suspense or speculation to be had about this universe or series anymore.

The only reason the games continue to be made is because they make money.

If we are really being honest with ourselves a modern halo should just be a multiplayer game and maybe co-operative modes. Campaigns are wasteful and unnecessary.

 

[Fezan]

Don't make Master cheif space jesus
Don't try to make cortana a girlfriend.
Don't try to revolve every thing around her
I don't mind expanded universe but try to make game story stand alone.

Also blue team was not the problem people lived odst and reach. Make character interesting without shiting or other older heroes.

 

[Ion Guru]

It's the worst of the mainline Halo games though

Not sure how you can say that when Halo 4 exists. The multiplayer and single player are both just dreadful.