Halo 2 Brutes Vs. Halo Reach Brutes

[My Name Is Brandon]

I was thinking the other day, whilst killing some brutes in New Alexandria, that they don't fight like they did in Halo 2. In H2, when you killed one of the brutes, one or two others would frenzy and came at you. In Reach, it's more, just, fill them with Lead till they fall. If you ever saw any of the Halo 3 special features discs, Bungie artists said they wanted to change that, and they did. So, why cahnge that in Reach? I know they, the brutes, are still under the Elites then, but still, Brutes in Reach are a little boring to fight. Unless you get close to them.

What do you guys, ahem, Ladies not-with-standing, think?



'What's the matter Arbitor, affraid of my little Hammer?'

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I love the Halo 2 Brutes because of how they differ from the later ones. In Halo 3 and ODST they were just poor man's substitutes for Elites. The Halo 2 Brutes were vicious bastards who had a unique play style that emphasized bullfight tactics. I haven't played Reach yet, so I can't comment, but the Halo 2 Brutes are my favorite because of how different they are.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Wait, there were Brutes in reach? What? I wasn't aware of this.

Also, is the paradox associating Reach with the rest of the series feasible? Somehow, Marines and the Covenant were able to get their hands on technology that wasn't available until 2 and 3.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Reach was set between 2 and 3 yeah?

No wait, it was set BEFORE Halo 1.

I'm so confused now. Brutes should have made an appearance in 1...or not appear in Reach at all. Or maybe I'm missing something, having only played the games. Someone clue me in.

Retcon. Brutes have apparently been around since the start of the Human-Covenant War from the book Contact Harvest. If 343 Studio's first game is going to be an HD remake of Combat Evolved, then I expect Brutes will make an appearance.

 

[onewheeled]

Wait, there were Brutes in reach? What?

Yeah, I remember them being all over the place in the mission Exodus.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

Okay, it's, Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 3.

Brutes, before Halo 2, were sent into cities, to do the dirty work, kill civilians, etc. That's why they are in Reach, to go into the cities, to kill people.

Hopefully, if they do an HD version of Halo 1, Brutes will be in it.


Brutes and Elites never really get along. H2 and H3 explain it.

 

[SinorKirby]

Reach was set between 2 and 3 yeah?

No wait, it was set BEFORE Halo 1.

I'm so confused now. Brutes should have made an appearance in 1...or not appear in Reach at all. Or maybe I'm missing something, having only played the games. Someone clue me in.

Retcon. Brutes have apparently been around since the start of the Human-Covenant War from the book Contact Harvest. If 343 Studio's first game is going to be an HD remake of Combat Evolved, then I expect Brutes will make an appearance.

Oh dear god, what untold horrors will await us. Why would they do an HD remake of Combat Evolved? What would be accomplished from that! I mean, I know it's kinda hard to go forward and make a Halo 4, but they're just going to ruin all the good memories I have about how awesome Halo was! Not to mention Custom Edition is hands down the best Halo game to date, and I sure as hell don't want to see that tarnished either.

 

[ultrachicken]

Reach was set between 2 and 3 yeah?

No wait, it was set BEFORE Halo 1.

I'm so confused now. Brutes should have made an appearance in 1...or not appear in Reach at all. Or maybe I'm missing something, having only played the games. Someone clue me in.

Retcon. Brutes have apparently been around since the start of the Human-Covenant War from the book Contact Harvest. If 343 Studio's first game is going to be an HD remake of Combat Evolved, then I expect Brutes will make an appearance.

Actually, the ring that Halo: CE took place on is holy ground. The Brutes were not considered worthy of power armor before the great schism (when the Elites broke off from the Covenant), let alone to walk the holy grounds of a sacred ring.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

Sorry, I left Halo 3 out of the whole start of the comparision of H2 and Reach.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

Yes, Exactly!!

 

[Hyperactiveman]

Agreed... H3/ODST/Reach brutes sucked.

Most if not all the time the dev guys at Bungie were just talking out of their arse in those H3 Vidocs about their games anyway.

As much as they left Brutes later than they wanted in the series...(second game out of seven total doesn't sound that late) I don't know why they wanted to have them act... less like brutes and more like elites... With team work commands, no bezerking and less roars... like wtf mate?

It sucked because that's what gave the brutes their unique identity and I didn't hate any part of their personality... I mean as an enemy of them I hated their guts and wanted them dead but that's the idea of the game... To despise the dudes you're up against.

It's just like what they said about people using dual wield too much in Halo 2... Excuse me but I hardly ever saw it... In fact people just BR whored every other player who decided to roll with a different weapon to which they could because the BR was just too OP...

... I mean how many people do you see dual wielding in H3 & REACH now?... Me neither.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

Actually, the ring that Halo: CE took place on is holy ground. The Brutes were not considered worthy of power armor before the great schism (when the Elites broke off from the Covenant), let alone to walk the holy grounds of a sacred ring.


Yeah, that.

 

[My Name Is Brandon]

Thank you, Teiraa

 

[Flailing Escapist]

The brutes in 2 were more frightening than 3 or Reach, I think, because there were less of them.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

I confess: I didn't like brutes in 2, as I didn't feel their role was completely fleshed-out and their AI wasn't quite up to snuff. In 2, they felt like Bungie said "we like the close-quarters feel of Hunter fights but don't want to throw them out every level, so let's make a new enemy that fights at close quarters and are disposable," and went from there. Compared to the already fleshed-out roles and AI of other covies, they just didn't feel up to par and really just felt tacked-on at the last minute.

They were improved in 3, but not quite there yet. They had the "pack" AI, focused fire, but were utter pushovers compared to 2. Either way, they weren't up to par as the elites' "replacement", especially in the context that you were either fighting covenant or the flood, who were "in-your-face" combatants anyway.

Reach had a nice combination of the two: the improved AI of brutes in 3, and the toughness and immediacy of 2. It also was a real boon that they weren't overused or meant to replace the elites; that alone allowed Bungie a lot of freedom to flesh out their role and use them in appropriate places, namely where (from a pacing sense) flood would have been in earlier games.

So, all in all, at least in my opinion the brutes were better in Reach.

 

[Scabadus]

I always found the beserking brutes in Halo 2 a little easy to fight. My normal loadout against them was a brute plasma rifle (remember them?) and a carbine, as soon as a brute beserked I could just backpedle like crazy until it started to run directly at me. Two carbine shots later it was dead, never got the advantage of its huge health when I could just pop it in the head as it charged.

Halo: Reach actually felt like you were fighting huge, tough aliens who - while not the greatest minds out there - were smarter than they look. When fighting Brutes in Reach it's easy to assume they're all stupid until you realise you've just been flanked.

Edit: Interesting story about the Brutes not being allowed on the holy ring in Halo 1, I though the 'official' reason was that the covenant force was a small strike team chasing down the Pillar of Autumn and didn't have all the species avalible to a full fleet (this also explains why we never see drones or engineres in the... Truth and Reconciliation? Is that the right one?).

 

[Neverhoodian]

As others have pointed out, Brutes have actually been part of the Covenant for a long time. In fact, Brutes were one of the first Covenant species humanity encountered during the Battle of Harvest in 2525. As for why they weren't in the first game, I like to think that it was an Elite controlled strike fleet that followed the Pillar of Autumn to Halo, and religious and martial pride dictated that the Elites would get the glory for discovering the sacred ring.

I prefer Reach's incarnation of Brutes the most. In Halo 2 they were little more than bullet sponges that had little, if any tactics involved. If I wanted mindless enemies charging into close combat, I'd play the Flood levels.

While Halo 3 and ODST's Brutes were smarter, it felt too similar to fighting Elites (particularly with the armor you had to shoot off first).

Reach seems to strike a nice balance between tactics and brute force (no pun intended). Brutes will take cover and try to flank you, but if they sense an opening (or if their leader's been killed) they're not afraid to charge you.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

I love the Halo 2 Brutes because of how they differ from the later ones. In Halo 3 and ODST they were just poor man's substitutes for Elites. The Halo 2 Brutes were vicious bastards who had a unique play style that emphasized bullfight tactics. I haven't played Reach yet, so I can't comment, but the Halo 2 Brutes are my favorite because of how different they are.

halo 2 brutes? i just thought they were annoying bullet sponges meant to waste my time and pad the game to no end.

just plain annoying.

i've always loved the grunts though. funny little buggers.