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[Chemical Rampancy]

Concerning the bolded: I don't mind this idea really. I mean one man's traitor is another's hero. I do hope they keep MC above the fray though. (This is to say I hope they don’t drag Him and his character through the mud just to make him more human)

I think humanising the Master Chief in general has been a terrible mistake, I much preferred Eric Nylund's Spartan's whom were super intelligent and physically powerful forces of nature. The human elements in the Halo series should come from its supporting cast of actual human beings as it always has. By focusing the human elements entirely on Master Chief they've actually neglected everything else and ironically the series overall is much less of a human story than it ever was.

 

[Glass]

MC going rogue is only going to make him more of a bad ass. Locke's going to be tasked with taking him down but will slowly figure out what's really going on, and who the real traitors are. Or something like that.

If everyone is out to get him, you're going to root for him even harder. MC is going to come out of this even more of a legend.

 

[Chemical Rampancy]

MC going rogue is only going to make him more of a bad ass. Locke's going to be tasked with taking him down but will slowly figure out what's really going on, and who the real traitors are. Or something like that.

If everyone is out to get him, you're going to root for him even harder. MC is going to come out of this even more of a legend.

Aren't you concerned with how predictable the story seems already? Many here seem to have a good idea of how Halo 5 will play out, potentially menaing the story will be incredibly boring.

 

[Akai__]

Aren't you concerned with how predictable the story seems already? Many here seem to have a good idea of how Halo 5 will play out, potentially menaing the story will be incredibly boring.

"From The Beginning, You Know The End."

Nah, I don't think so. Even if we are right, we still don't know 90% of the story. We don't know where Chief is actually going, we don't know what role the Arbiter plays and we don't know the true motives of Locke, ONI and/or the UNSC.

I'm more interested in Halo 5's gameplay, than the story this time, though. Halo 4 did underperform in terms of gameplay, in my opinion.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Aren't you concerned with how predictable the story seems already? Many here seem to have a good idea of how Halo 5 will play out, potentially menaing the story will be incredibly boring.

This may be the Master Chief's personal story development, but there are more pieces to the puzzle. What's going on with the newly resurrected Forerunners and Prometheans? What's going on with the Covenant? What's going on with the Flood? What's going on with the Precursors? There are many more elements to the story of the Reclaimer trilogy.

 

[Chemical Rampancy]

This may be the Master Chief's personal story development, but there are more pieces to the puzzle. What's going on with the newly resurrected Forerunners and Prometheans? What's going on with the Covenant? What's going on with the Flood? What's going on with the Precursors? There are many more elements to the story of the Reclaimer trilogy.

Do you think all of these elements will be investigated? I was concerned that under 343i we wouldn't see the Flood again.

 

[Compsiox]

If you take a look at all the pictures we have of Halo 5 from 343 you will see a triangle in the bottom right corner. This signifies the importance of ONI and the huge part it will play in Halo 5. Within the triangle are the letters YJHG. These letters stand for Yiander Japlin Hanger Grid. The YJHG can be found within various Halo novels and it is known as the main ONI headquarters that controls all of it's air trafficking grid. This leads me to believe that various parts of Halo 5's campaign and possibly even multiplayer will take place at ONI's universal headquarters responsible for air trafficking control. This setting will also ultimately reveal Locke's origin and why he is of importance in the Halo universe.

 

[Glass]

Aren't you concerned with how predictable the story seems already? Many here seem to have a good idea of how Halo 5 will play out, potentially menaing the story will be incredibly boring.

Naw I mean, so much of this is speculation, but you could also say the same about Halo 3 or something. We knew we'd be fighting on Earth, we'd be going after the final Prophet, it would be the end of the war with the whole 'Finish the Fight' etc.
But then you had great unknown moments like leaving our own galaxy to discover the Ark. 5 is bound to have stuff like that. Plus there's the whole 'how does playing as Locke play into hunting down Chief' thing. Is the campaign going to feel like a game of cat and mouse? Lots of potential there.

 

[Doffen]

Xbox Wire:

Episodes will be released each week via Tumblr and syndicated across multiple podcast platforms for 12 weeks, leading up to E3 in June 2015.

12 weeks? shit.

 

[link1201]

Xbox Wire:


12 weeks? shit.

I hope they get longer, a story in 2:30 minute increments will get a bit old.

 

[samurai1226]

I think humanising the Master Chief in general has been a terrible mistake, I much preferred Eric Nylund's Spartan's whom were super intelligent and physically powerful forces of nature. The human elements in the Halo series should come from its supporting cast of actual human beings as it always has. By focusing the human elements entirely on Master Chief they've actually neglected everything else and ironically the series overall is much less of a human story than it ever was.

Master Chief was the most boring character of the Halo series. He's just running from A to B because Cortana/343GS/Keyes/etc are telling him to do.
In H4 he finally is choosing sides, doing the thing he think is right and not what Del Rio wants. This cutscene was one of the most epic moments in the Halo series. Like the one in planet of the apes where Caesar finally speaks, just unbelievable John just did that. He still isnt an emotional whiny Episode 2 Anakin, just because his indoctrinated opinion is in question through the end of Halo 4.

 

[Poker Face]

IGN says we're getting a story trailer on the 29th

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/halo-5-guardians-getting-story-revealing-trailer-this-week

 

[Final Verdict]

Oh yeah I know, but I still consider it to be negative, non-sensical storytelling.

I mean, I'll have to see obviously, but given the narrative disaster that was Halo 4 I'm not holding out much hope. Are you?

Narrative disaster?? Whaaa?

If you don't like the more mature tone I understand, but I think that a lot of us that grew up with Halo have been wanting a darker more complex plot that's not as cut and dry as MC being an flat character that you play to save the universe over and over again until all the halos are destroyed, and the covanent/alien bad guys are exterminated.

 

[Regret Upon Approval]

IGN says we're getting a story trailer on the 29th

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/halo-5-guardians-getting-story-revealing-trailer-this-week

HYPE
Ready to do this again next week.

 

[Poodlestrike]

IGN says we're getting a story trailer on the 29th

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/halo-5-guardians-getting-story-revealing-trailer-this-week

And so it begins again.

We need a hype rollercoaster.

 

[m23]

Oh man we have to go through another week of this.....it's gonna be tough. Is that poster going to take another day off work?

 

[charsace]

John was always going to end up doing what he believed was right. The universe future is essentially in the hands of the Spartan 2's, not just John's because there are others out there doing shit.

 

[Madness]

I don't like the turn of potentially killing other humans in Halo. I don't know, everything I thought the universe would be like Post-Halo 3 hasn't come true for me. I don't really like where the series is or where it's headed.

 

[RAIDEN1]

All this build up only makes the wait for this game to come out all the more longer and frustrating!

 

[dancrane212]

IGN says we're getting a story trailer on the 29th

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/halo-5-guardians-getting-story-revealing-trailer-this-week

Better start prepping the blackout bunker!

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

I don't like the turn of potentially killing other humans in Halo. I don't know, everything I thought the universe would be like Post-Halo 3 hasn't come true for me. I don't really like where the series is or where it's headed.

I highly doubt 343i takes it to that extreme. The Chief that we know is a calculating, methodical soldier but he does have a significant amount of humanity left in him. Having him kill soldiers would be antithetical to who he is.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

Xbox Wire:


12 weeks? shit.

Welp, I know what I'm going to be doing for the next 3 months

Lets hear more about these "Deep space anomalies." Is that the Precursor/Flood or the self-exiled Forerunners ... or both?!

 

[Poodlestrike]

I highly doubt 343i takes it to that extreme. The Chief that we know is a calculating, methodical soldier but he does have a significant amount of humanity left in him. Having him kill soldiers would be antithetical to who he is.

He's already killed soldiers; he beat at least one ODST to death when he was 13.

 

[Glass]

I don't like the turn of potentially killing other humans in Halo. .

I can't see them doing this, I mean having us as genetically engineered super soldiers gunning down humans half our size wearing measly body armour or just clothing. Would kind of take away from the whole hero thing. It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

He's already killed soldiers; he beat at least one ODST to death when he was 13.

Yeah, when he was 13 (and was also being antagonized by said soldier if I recall). Dude is in his 40s now and knows what's up.

 

[JoJo UK]

And so it begins again.

We need a hype rollercoaster.

No, we need a hype Orbital Elevator!

 

[wesleyshark]

I think humanising the Master Chief in general has been a terrible mistake, I much preferred Eric Nylund's Spartan's whom were super intelligent and physically powerful forces of nature. The human elements in the Halo series should come from its supporting cast of actual human beings as it always has. By focusing the human elements entirely on Master Chief they've actually neglected everything else and ironically the series overall is much less of a human story than it ever was.

No.

No, we need a hype Orbital Elevator!

Remember the last time we had an Orbital Elevator? Didn't end too well....

 

[BuggeryBugz]

Oh man we have to go through another week of this.....it's gonna be tough. Is that poster going to take another day off work?

Haha!

 

[Septic360]

This may be the Master Chief's personal story development, but there are more pieces to the puzzle. What's going on with the newly resurrected Forerunners and Prometheans? What's going on with the Covenant? What's going on with the Flood? What's going on with the Precursors? There are many more elements to the story of the Reclaimer trilogy.

Yeah aren't there TWO Didacts? Greg Bear's last book seemed to hint that they are alive, in another Ark iirc.

So will the Forerunners as a race rise again? That would be pretty darn crazy.

The Covenant? What are they doing? The Arbiter etc are obviously going to be involved here.

Precursors? Will we see them?

What about the artifacts that human can activate? Have humans formally attained 'The Mantle'? Star Roads homie!

So much potential here. Lets just hope 343 try and take some risks and go beyond the clichéd premise of Chief going rogue etc.

 

[wesleyshark]

Yeah aren't there TWO Didacts? Greg Bear's last book seemed to hint that they are alive

There's a trident here:

Spoiler

- UrDidact (original)

- IsoDidact (formerly Bornstellar. He, Chant-to-Green (the subsequent Librarian) and the remaining Forerunners departed the Galaxy before the Halos were fired. No one has seen or heard from them since.)

- John-117 (the audio epilogue to the Forerunner Trilogy, among other clues, points to the genesong of IsoDidact that was imprinted on Riser has been passed down to MC)

in another Ark iirc.

Spoiler

There are two known Arks... the Greater Ark (which was destroyed), and the Lesser Ark (which was heavily damaged at the close of Halo 3. Whether or not it is still habitable/explorable is TBA, and dare I assume, part of Halo 5's plot perhaps.)

 

[Madness]

I highly doubt 343i takes it to that extreme. The Chief that we know is a calculating, methodical soldier but he does have a significant amount of humanity left in him. Having him kill soldiers would be antithetical to who he is.

It's not necessarily about having Chief do it as opposed to where they're taking the story with ONI/UNSC, Halsey and the rebels/insurrectionists. It's only natural where this is all leading to, ie. Cerberus in Mass Effect 3.

I can't see them doing this, I mean having us as genetically engineered super soldiers gunning down humans half our size wearing measly body armour or just clothing. Would kind of take away from the whole hero thing. It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel.

They've basically created a shitload of Spartans as well. Who's to say there won't be a level where Chief has to fight through an ONI station taking out Marines like Grunts and Spartan-IV's much like Elites? If you're following their storylines in Spartan Ops, the novels, it's inevitable there is going to be some ONI/UNSC/Halsey/rebel/insurrectionist fighting no?

 

[wesleyshark]

It's not necessarily about having Chief do it as opposed to where they're taking the story with ONI/UNSC, Halsey and the rebels/insurrectionists. It's only natural where this is all leading to, ie. Cerberus in Mass Effect 3.



They've basically created a shitload of Spartans as well. Who's to say there won't be a level where Chief has to fight through an ONI station taking out Marines like Grunts and Spartan-IV's much like Elites? If you're following their storylines in Spartan Ops, the novels, it's inevitable there is going to be some ONI/UNSC/Halsey/rebel/insurrectionist fighting no?

*shakes magic eight ball*

Spoiler

[Signs point to "Yes"]

 

[Caffeine]

e3 is in 12 weeks.

 

[naeS]

He's already killed soldiers; he beat at least one ODST to death when he was 13.

That ODST was a punk and deserved it.

 

[Jellycrackers]

He's already killed soldiers; he beat at least one ODST to death when he was 13.

If I remember correctly they were picking on him and he was just trying to defend himself, but he didn't fully understand/control his own strength yet.

I still have a hard time thinking we'll suddenly be killing humans. I know the signs are pointing toward human/human conflict, but I think they'll find a way around direct gameplay combat.

 

[Mix]

I'm totally saving this, gonna use it for big shit that happens in the series

 

[User 73706]

Narrative disaster?? Whaaa?

If you don't like the more mature tone I understand, but I think that a lot of us that grew up with Halo have been wanting a darker more complex plot that's not as cut and dry as MC being an flat character that you play to save the universe over and over again until all the halos are destroyed, and the covanent/alien bad guys are exterminated.

Nope.

 

[wesleyshark]

Narrative disaster?? Whaaa?

If you don't like the more mature tone I understand, but I think that a lot of us that grew up with Halo have been wanting a darker more complex plot that's not as cut and dry as MC being an flat character that you play to save the universe over and over again until all the halos are destroyed, and the covanent/alien bad guys are exterminated.

Halo 4 is a rich, homemade key lime pie compared to Halo 3, which was more akin to a frozen insta-pie from Aldi's. I like both, but Halo 4 is just so damn tasty, and once you've tasted the glory, you just want more!

 

[EagleEyes]

They need to give us ODST in the next 12 weeks so we can bear the wait till E3.

 

[wesleyshark]

They need to give us ODST in the next 12 weeks so we can bear the wait till E3.

Stinkles pls

Spoiler

but only if it's ready

 

[JoJo UK]

Remember the last time we had an Orbital Elevator? Didn't end too well....

Man you have a point... ahh I would jump on it anyway!

 

[EroticSushi]

IGN says we're getting a story trailer on the 29th

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/23/halo-5-guardians-getting-story-revealing-trailer-this-week

Guessing it's this live set photo we saw a while back.

 

[wesleyshark]

Guessing it's this live set photo we saw a while back.

But when do we get a story trailer on the gentleman in the back-right? We must dig deeper, Gaf.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Halo 4 is a rich, homemade key lime pie compared to Halo 3, which was more akin to a frozen insta-pie from Aldi's. I like both, but Halo 4 is just so damn tasty, and once you've tasted the glory, you just want more!

Halo 4's narrative was all over the place, and featured characters that were not (or very quickly) introduced. It confused those who did not read external fiction. Who is the Didact besides bad guy #1? Who is this Librarian?

5 needs to step back a bit and pull back in the Halo 1-3 storytelling along-side any new narrative additions. So far it seems like they are doing that (bringing back Arbiter, making the plot more straight-forward).

I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[singhr1]

Halo 4's narrative was all over the place, and featured characters that were not (or very quickly) introduced. It confused those who did not read external fiction. Who is the Didact besides bad guy #1? Who is this Librarian?

5 needs to step back a bit and pull back in the Halo 1-3 storytelling along-side any new narrative additions. So far it seems like they are doing that (bringing back Arbiter, making the plot more straight-forward).

I'm cautiously optimistic.

I haven't read much of any of the novels and I thought Halo 4's terminals did a pretty good job giving back story to the characters. I'd rather not have to need terminals to truly understand why the Didact hates humans, the relationship between the Librarian and the Didact, etc. but playing through the campaign gave me a basic understanding of what was going on.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

I haven't read much of any of the novels and I thought Halo 4's terminals did a pretty good job giving back story to the characters. I'd rather not have to need terminals to truly understand why the Didact hates humans, the relationship between the Librarian and the Didact, etc. but playing through the campaign gave me a basic understanding of what was going on.

There's your issue, to get the story that made the main plot make sense, you needed to find hidden terminals.

I had knowledge of who they were because I read Cryptum, but multiple friends of mine had to ask me repeatedly who the Didact was, why he was important, and who the Librarian was. Also to them the main story was basically help get the Infinity un-stuck from the Forerunner planet, then stop the Didact from leaving because he was some sort of bad guy who wanted to turn humans into robots.

It has to be a mix of the more basic storytelling Halo 1-3 did, and the extreme Halo 4 went to. Halo 5 seems to be on a good path so far.

 

[Apollo Cree]

If I remember correctly they were picking on him and he was just trying to defend himself, but he didn't fully understand/control his own strength yet.

That's the way I remember it too. It was right after his augmentations.

 

[jem0208]

Narrative disaster?? Whaaa?

If you don't like the more mature tone I understand, but I think that a lot of us that grew up with Halo have been wanting a darker more complex plot that's not as cut and dry as MC being an flat character that you play to save the universe over and over again until all the halos are destroyed, and the covanent/alien bad guys are exterminated.

I agree. I'm going to be honest, Bungie's Master Chief is a boring-ass character. He's super generic and what they had him doing in the original trilogy was really rather dull. It was just the same old "save the galaxy" thing 3 times in a row. What they had going with the Flood and the Covenant was really interesting however, especially in H2. However the MC was just a vessel to to satisfy the players' hero fantasies and carry you through the more interesting story arcs of the flood and the Arbiter. He had no depth beyond being a bad-ass space marine.

If that's all you want from the Halo storylines then don't play Halo 5. I'm really glad they're moving away from the stereotypical hero soldier that the MC was in Bungie's games.

 

[wesleyshark]

There's your issue, to get the story that made the main plot make sense, you needed to find hidden terminals.

I had knowledge of who they were because I read Cryptum, but multiple friends of mine had to ask me repeatedly who the Didact was, why he was important, and who the Librarian was. Also to them the main story was basically help get the Infinity un-stuck from the Forerunner planet, then stop the Didact from leaving because he was some sort of bad guy who wanted to turn humans into robots.

It has to be a mix of the more basic storytelling Halo 1-3 did, and the extreme Halo 4 went to. Halo 5 seems to be on a good path so far.

I will say in agreement that the value of Halo 4s story is certainly a relative affair, as it depends on the extent of extended fiction that the player is familiar with and/or has dove deeply into. If you're a stranger to Halo mediums outside the game, I can definitely see why the campaign wasn't as widely received. On the other hand, for lore buffs, Halo 4s story was a masterpiece in culminating all of the extended fiction into a focal point of contention for the Master Chief.

That all being said, if they go a more a middle route in giving a straightforward story but sprinkled with lots of little things for lore buffs to find, it would be a win-win. A good mix of the standard and hard-core would be great. It wouldn't alienate either side of the fence of gamer.

 

[daedalius]

Halo 4's narrative was all over the place, and featured characters that were not (or very quickly) introduced. It confused those who did not read external fiction. Who is the Didact besides bad guy #1? Who is this Librarian?

5 needs to step back a bit and pull back in the Halo 1-3 storytelling along-side any new narrative additions. So far it seems like they are doing that (bringing back Arbiter, making the plot more straight-forward).

I'm cautiously optimistic.

You really had to watch the terminals in 4, and it was really unfortunate they were hosted externally. Also, as they were so important to the overall story, they should have been easier to find; perhaps even integrated with the path through the campaign!

Are they on the disc in MCC? I haven't played enough 4 campaign apparently.

Halo 2 and Halo 4(with the previous caveat) are definitely the best for storytelling.