Poll: The Halo Story

[Swarley]

What I always found odd is that people will rip on Halo for having a "bad story", then go praise TF2, a game with no story.

 

[Tim_Buoy]

let me start out by saying i like the story of halo i have read the books and played the games but i have to go with option 2 it has a good story but almost all the elements were borrowed or ripped from other material my favorite character sgt. johnson was prettey much a carbon copy of sgt. apon from aliens and some of the vehicles were from aliens ass well

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

It's spectacularly average.

Haha!

I've played every Halo, and the story told in the game is shit. It's just "save teh worldz". I don't hold it against it, I don't wanna be sat in a fucking base all day writing war poems or letters home, the story just serves to make the game interesting, and provide moments that are fun to play... like every other FPS. I don't expect a story, and I disregard what story Halo tells me, because it doesn't interest me. I'm not gonna read the books or whatever either because I don't care for that kinda shit.

It is, like you say, spectacularly average. I am sick however of generic stories being rated 9+, goes to show how much critics expect from video game stories.

 

[Tarakos]

It has potential and has a deep backstory (mainly told in comics and novels of all places), but they don't use it. The mute PCs don't help either. I can't identify with a shell after all. It could be better, definitely. The real question is: will 343 Studios decide to tell the story better once they have the reigns?

 

[Eipok Kruden]

I've always thought that Halo's story is decent. Now, it's not mass effect quality or anything like that, but if you pay attention to the game (not just playing through the missions, but actively paying attention to what the missions imply), the story is actually quite detailed and nuanced.

I think the problem that people have with Halo isn't the story, but rather the way the story is presented. If you're just playing through Halo for fun, you don't catch many of the story details, because much of the story is told indirectly. Because of this the story seems very shallow. On the other hand, if you explore the environment, find the clues that the dev team put in, and piece them all together, the story becomes quite interesting.

The general halo player only knows the very tip of the story, the very basics, and that's what most people judge Halo's story by, whereas the hardcore players have a much more thorough understanding of the plot, fleshed out by the Halo games, the books, and the developer commentary.

Halo might not be The Godfather of videogame series, but it definitely isn't The Spirit either. A lot of the story just depends on the player's inference of details, and most people don't hunt for the details they need to fully understand the plot.

This is what I always say. People who just play through the Halo games can't criticize its story because they never actually pay attention to it. The games' stories are enough to drive the campaign along for the average player, but that's not all there is. For people who are actually interested, there's a ton of stuff just below the surface and the expanded universe is tied into that. I simply don't understand why people expect for the stories to stand completely on their own as masterful adventures into the human psyche.

I mean there was SO much stuff, so many details, in ODST. I spent two hours exploring New Mombasa looking for all the little clues, the graffiti on the walls, audio files hidden away (and I don't mean the radio drama, I mean actual audio files that play in certain areas), etc... Much of the deeper story aspects are simply implied, not spelled out, and because of that, I think a lot of people don't even realize they're there.

it needs more back story and to not have a faceless space marine as the main charictor

John 117 is NOT just a "fearless space marine". If you think he is, you're just being ignorant.

It has one? *ba-dum-bum*

I played halo one through, generic and boring characters, samey places, space religious fundamentalists, honest they're not just zombies and the old maguffin of ancient, extinct hyper-advanced civilisation. I liked the master chief and I really just wanted to run and gun. It gave me that and I ignored the rest.

Halo 2; Played this through with a friend trading levels (Me, master chief; him, the arbiter). It had more of the same. Characters who i didn't care about, enemies were about the same, better weapons and some stuff that made no sense (basically why this whole genocide of the jackals was a great idea to the leaders). The not-zombies are actually the plant from little shop of horrors and still not interesting. The end was clearly just a clean break to allow halo 3. After that I no longer cared.

The story is dumb, there are plot holes a-plenty and it is just standard sci-fi jiggeries and whats-its.

The Flood honestly aren't space zombies. They're parasitic fungi based on an incredibly adaptable "super-cell" structure. Duh. I'd file them more under "Eldritch Abominations" than "Zombies".

Also, what plot holes are you talking about? I haven't found any, to be honest. I thought I had a while back, but then I found out the reasons for the plot points were just hidden.

I prefered the days when the only story you got was in the fucking manual
THOSE were the good days

Now to fully understand a game world you need to watch the movie, read all the books and watch the badly done cartoon series
Its all BS anyway

Right, Halo...Er, maybe if Chief wasnt just Superman in Power Armour with Batmans utility belt Id pay attention. Its got good backstory but I dont want to have to buy books on a game to get the rest of it as when I turn a game off, it means Im done.

The Chief isn't "Superman in Power Armour with Batmans Utility Belt". He's a biologically augmented supersoldier in an advanced suit of power armor developed using reverse-engineered Covenant technology and good ol' state-of-the-art homegrown tech. He doesn't even have anything you could call 'gadgets'. Hell, he doesn't even have a fucking belt, hehe. He's got storage compartments and magnetic plates.

 

[Shock and Awe]

It does not do a very good job of fleshing out a lot of it's story in game, but even in game stuff holds a lot of depth if you try to see into it and not just take it at face value. If your bring books into the story than you have a huge universe that really is amazing. The problem is most people do not try to look into metaphor when it comes to games like they would with a movie or a book. They are used to it being completely explained to them because that is how it has been done prior.

 

[Thedayrecker]

You pretty much summed up my post. Halo 1 = good story. 2 = What the hell it's over? 3 = Uhhhh.... Fuck it I give up.

 

[Keepitclean]

I kinda like the Halo story. I have read some of the books and watched the animé. The story isn't too deep in the games but it's a first person shooter, they are made to be action packed and light hearted (I know killing things doesn't really fit the bill of being light hearted but whatever).

If you kinda like Halo and you want to know more about the story there is a lot of material out there that fleshes out the Halo universe.

 

[Eipok Kruden]

I kinda like the Halo story. I have read some of the books and watched the animé. The story isn't too deep in the games but it's a first person shooter, they are made to be action packed and light hearted (I know killing things doesn't really fit the bill of being light hearted but whatever).

If you kinda like Halo and you want to know more about the story there is a lot of material out there that fleshes out the Halo universe.

Where did your name come from? It reminds me of the Super, but I don't know if that's where you actually got it from.

 

[-Samurai-]

Halos story was too boring for me to pay serious attention to.

"Hey guy in space power armor, go save shit by killing shit!"

I played through Halo and Halo 2(and found the entire experience to be mediocre at best.). Still was uninterested. I started Halo 3 but by that time, I felt like I was just replaying 1 and 2 again(in terms of "story" and gameplay). So I never finished it.

 

[MONSTERheart]

I think people are just unwilling to accept that a multi-million dollar franchise is actually good and not just a corporate money printing machine.

I'm going to delve a bit back into Bungie's past a bit with a little game they had called Marathon (and it's sequels). It was an old school tunnel shooter in the style of Doom. Gameplay wise, it was nothing spectacular. Most of its innovation came from two things: Tech improvements and making the plot integral to the game. From my understanding, the guys at Bungie were one of the very first studios to actually give a damn about plot. In Marathon, not only was the fact that it had a plot impressive, but the fact that it was a pretty damn good plot was.

So what does that say about Halo?

Well, for one thing it tells us that Bungie at the very least tried to make an engaging sci-fi epic. Did they succeed? That's where it gets a bit hazy for some. The games are, as some have said before me, not a great example of what the Halo universe is capable of. To really get at the heart of it, you need to do some serious fanboying and read the books, comics and what have ye.

In other words, you can't say a steak sucks because the first bite you took was slightly burnt.

 

[Terminate421]

Theres a ton of backstory, you just need to have interest like I do.

 

[Keepitclean]

I kinda like the Halo story. I have read some of the books and watched the animé. The story isn't too deep in the games but it's a first person shooter, they are made to be action packed and light hearted (I know killing things doesn't really fit the bill of being light hearted but whatever).

If you kinda like Halo and you want to know more about the story there is a lot of material out there that fleshes out the Halo universe.

Where did your name come from? It reminds me of the Super, but I don't know if that's where you actually got it from.

"Keep It Clean" was the slogan on the first Halo 3 ODST trailer, back when it was called Halo 3 Recon. I thought it was pretty cool so I used it as a forum name.

 

[Paulie92]

It wants to be Starcraft so hard: Parasitic destructive bestial race bent on destroying almost everything controlled by the Gravemind/Overmind, Humans race newest member of the galaxy trying to survive against aliens with superior numbers/tech and a proud noble race of religous fanatics and honour driven warriors quick to exile those who don't fall in line

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

The narrative in the games(the way the story is told) is pretty crappy, but once you get all the info (the books, anime etc.) and fully understand it, I find the story to be the best video game story out there.

 

[Eipok Kruden]

I kinda like the Halo story. I have read some of the books and watched the animé. The story isn't too deep in the games but it's a first person shooter, they are made to be action packed and light hearted (I know killing things doesn't really fit the bill of being light hearted but whatever).

If you kinda like Halo and you want to know more about the story there is a lot of material out there that fleshes out the Halo universe.

Where did your name come from? It reminds me of the Super, but I don't know if that's where you actually got it from.

"Keep It Clean" was the slogan on the first Halo 3 ODST trailer, back when it was called Halo 3 Recon. I thought it was pretty cool so I used it as a forum name.

You could've just said I was right I asked if you got the name from the Super. You did.

It wants to be Starcraft so hard: Parasitic destructive bestial race bent on destroying almost everything controlled by the Gravemind/Overmind, Humans race newest member of the galaxy trying to survive against aliens with superior numbers/tech and a proud noble race of religous fanatics and honour driven warriors quick to exile those who don't fall in line

You do know that Starcraft ripped the Zerg straight from Warhammer, right? Warhammer's Tyranid are basically the same thing when you get right down to it. The Flood, on the other hand, is only slightly similar in that it's a galaxy-spanning hive-minded parasitic species. And, to be fair, those have been around since the earliest science fiction. And smaller-scale planet-spanning versions of that have been around even before Sci-Fi involving space travel. It's a pretty classic trope in fantasy.

 

[TylerC]

I voted for the first answer, as I've read the books, but a lot of people won't bother with that because, "It's too nerdy."

But it certainly has more room for expansion. It always confused me that people dismissed it as a boring an generic story with uninteresting characters, if they had never played the game or they skipped the cut scenes.

It wants to be Starcraft so hard: Parasitic destructive bestial race bent on destroying almost everything controlled by the Gravemind/Overmind, Humans race newest member of the galaxy trying to survive against aliens with superior numbers/tech and a proud noble race of religous fanatics and honour driven warriors quick to exile those who don't fall in line

Have you heard of Warhammer 40k?

 

[Paulie92]

I voted for the first answer, as I've read the books, but a lot of people won't bother with that because, "It's too nerdy."

But it certainly has more room for expansion. It always confused me that people dismissed it as a boring an generic story with uninteresting characters, if they had never played the game or they skipped the cut scenes.

It wants to be Starcraft so hard: Parasitic destructive bestial race bent on destroying almost everything controlled by the Gravemind/Overmind, Humans race newest member of the galaxy trying to survive against aliens with superior numbers/tech and a proud noble race of religous fanatics and honour driven warriors quick to exile those who don't fall in line

Have you heard of Warhammer 40k?

heard of? Yes, know anything about? No. Though my point still stands it's generic and too similar to something older to be fantastic