Halo Infinite

[TheRejectionist]

Honestly didn't know about that...I would say that I only started considering PC gaming and emulators seriously in the last two years and half, around the same time I noticed I was a hoarder and wasting my few coins on physical and/or import editions of videogames or related objects.

Now I am all for it, as soon as I finish uni AND power up my PC.

 

[Jormungandr]

Look, for all we know, her replacement will help us find the true cortana. Not the corrupt one.
Plus we have a new female enemy for John to kill.

I like the new Elite guy.
I want Thel though so jump in out of no where because Arbiter vs Assassin would be awesome

It makes me wonder if they're going to pull a switcheroo in some fashion.

The Weapon? It could actually be Cortana playing the Chief because she genuinely doesn't understand why John is against her. The Weapon asking what "[she] do so wrong?" caught my attention. Plus, plain ol' arrogance might just be her not thinking he's a threat, despite, ya know, his track record, and she's LARPing like they did in the "old days"/Halo 1--3 and 4.

Alternatively, Villain-Cortana may be a rampant fragment that was pseudo-fixed on Genesis, and The Weapon may be what's left of the original, non-batshit Cortana.

...Oh dear, Chief is going to have a yandere ex after him while he's with who us essentially her younger self/sister. I can see Cortana feeling a bit bitter about that.

"Replaced me already, John? I did say they'd pair you with another AI. But she's not me, is she?"

 

[Zachowon]

It makes me wonder if they're going to pull a switcheroo in some fashion.

The Weapon? It could actually be Cortana playing the Chief because she genuinely doesn't understand why John is against her. The Weapon asking what "[she] do so wrong?" caught my attention. Plus, plain ol' arrogance might just be her not thinking he's a threat, despite, ya know, his track record, and she's LARPing like they did in the "old days"/Halo 1--3 and 4.

Alternatively, Villain-Cortana may be a rampant fragment that was pseudo-fixed on Genesis, and The Weapon may be what's left of the original, non-batshit Cortana.

...Oh dear, Chief is going to have a yandere ex after him while he's with who us essentially her younger self/sister. I can see Cortana feeling a bit bitter about that.

"Replaced me already, John? I did say they'd pair you with another AI. But she's not me, is she?"

Yandere Cortana.
I would actually like that

"Whose that? Why does she sound like me.... No. I am not jealous. I am just curious..." as she grows angry

 

[Jormungandr]

Yandere Cortana.
I would actually like that

"Whose that? Why does she sound like me.... No. I am not jealous. I am just curious..." as she grows angry

There were already shades of it in 4 (her rampancy moments where half of her wanted him to die with her but the other, saner half was like "lolno") and especially in 5 towards the Chief and, to a lesser extent, the other Spartan II's (Kelly, Linda, Fred).

She was confident that "the last person I need protection from is him"; she tried to safely lock him and his family away in a cryptum when it became apparent he didn't share her views, so that he and the rest of them could experience the "utopia" she was currently trying to build in the future with her; her heart-wrenching cry of his name when Exuberant Witness stopped her from taking the Chief with her when she was legging it.

 

[Zachowon]

There were already shades of it in 4 (her rampancy moments where half of her wanted him to die with her but the other, saner half was like "lolno") and especially in 5 towards the Chief and, to a lesser extent, the other Spartan II's (Kelly, Linda, Fred).

She was confident that "the last person I need protection from is him"; she tried to safely lock him and his family away in a cryptum when it became apparent he didn't share her views, so that he and the rest of them could experience the "utopia" she was currently trying to build in the future with her; her heart-wrenching cry of his name when Exuberant Witness stopped her from taking the Chief with her when she was legging it.

I never thought Yandere Cortana would be this good

 

[TheRejectionist]

So anyone can give me a spoiler TLDR of why apparently the previous 2 games are somewhat hated?

 

[ParadiseLost]

So anyone can give me a spoiler TLDR of why apparently the previous 2 games are somewhat hated?

Halo 4 is much less hated than Halo 5.

 

[Zachowon]

A lot of COD BR streamerss are saying Halo Infinite wont last past the first 3 weeks because it has no BR mode.
It is funny because they are going off os what people like to watch, and they like to watch BR over standard multiplayer.

Act man made a video calling them out on it

 

[Jormungandr]

Halo 4 is much less hated than Halo 5.

Halo 4 has shades of the prior three games, even if it does push the overall storyline and universe into a shit, cliched direction.

Halo 5 is just... trash. Seriously, it's more like Halo fanfiction from a thirteen year old.

 

[Laskar]

So anyone can give me a spoiler TLDR of why apparently the previous 2 games are somewhat hated?

Spoiler: Halo 4

More of a love-it-or-hate-it situation. It really catered to the section of the lore community that wanted greater crossover between the games and the Halo EU, and also those who thought that the Master Chief was a shallow character in the first three games. EU integration and excellent character writing came together in Cortana, who had one of the best character sendoffs I've seen in a game.

However, the art direction was revamped. Halo had a really distinctive style in the past, but everything from the main character to the enemies was drastically changed, and only a token effort was made at reconciling the old with the new. As you can imagine, this went over poorly.

Then the main villain was a pretty shallow character with an inaccessible and poorly executed backstory. The lore fans liked him, but more as a promise of things to come than a truly compelling antagonist.

Spoiler: Halo 5

Halo 4 wrote a check that Halo 5 not only couldn't cash, but didn't even try to make good on.

1. The Didact was defeated in Halo 4, but it was a Disney Villain Death. Interviews with the writers and developers flat out stated that the Didact was going to be the main antagonist of the Reclaimer trilogy, but instead he got put on ice in a side comic.
2. Speaking of dead characters, the secondary antagonist of Halo 4 was ganked in a cutscene to make a new character look like a badass. This is a very small detail, but Jul 'Mdama was probably the only charismatic villain that 343i created, and they just threw him away.
3. Speaking of a new character, the advertisement for Halo 5 promised a cat-and-mouse game between a rogue Master Chief and a Spartan sent to hunt him down. Why the Master Chief went rogue was a big damn mystery... that was revealed in the third level or so. And speaking of levels, the new character got most of them. 343i tried to do what Halo 2 did with the Arbiter, but the execution felt like the Master Chief was getting sidelined for a hip new character that nobody cares about.
4. Remember Cortana's touching death? She's back from the dead, and now she's evil. Yeah. And she's also leading a robot uprising that completely trashes the UNSC and makes her hands-down the most powerful figure in the galaxy, which put the Halo universe in a narrative bottle that EU writers have had great difficulty in writing around.

Those are just the highlights. Basically, Halo 5 is a case study in how to torch your franchise beyond recovery.

Halo 4 has shades of the prior three games, even if it does push the overall storyline and universe into a shit, cliched direction.

Halo 5 is just... trash. Seriously, it's more like Halo fanfiction from a thirteen year old.

Most of the writing seems to have been done by a writer that 343i hired out of Marvel's back bench.

 

[Jormungandr]

Spoiler: Halo 4

More of a love-it-or-hate-it situation. It really catered to the section of the lore community that wanted greater crossover between the games and the Halo EU, and also those who thought that the Master Chief was a shallow character in the first three games. EU integration and excellent character writing came together in Cortana, who had one of the best character sendoffs I've seen in a game.

However, the art direction was revamped. Halo had a really distinctive style in the past, but everything from the main character to the enemies was drastically changed, and only a token effort was made at reconciling the old with the new. As you can imagine, this went over poorly.

Then the main villain was a pretty shallow character with an inaccessible and poorly executed backstory. The lore fans liked him, but more as a promise of things to come than a truly compelling antagonist.

Spoiler: Halo 5

Halo 4 wrote a check that Halo 5 not only couldn't cash, but didn't even try to make good on.

1. The Didact was defeated in Halo 4, but it was a Disney Villain Death. Interviews with the writers and developers flat out stated that the Didact was going to be the main antagonist of the Reclaimer trilogy, but instead he got put on ice in a side comic.
2. Speaking of dead characters, the secondary antagonist of Halo 4 was ganked in a cutscene to make a new character look like a badass. This is a very small detail, but Jul 'Mdama was probably the only charismatic villain that 343i created, and they just threw him away.
3. Speaking of a new character, the advertisement for Halo 5 promised a cat-and-mouse game between a rogue Master Chief and a Spartan sent to hunt him down. Why the Master Chief went rogue was a big damn mystery... that was revealed in the third level or so. And speaking of levels, the new character got most of them. 343i tried to do what Halo 2 did with the Arbiter, but the execution felt like the Master Chief was getting sidelined for a hip new character that nobody cares about.
4. Remember Cortana's touching death? She's back from the dead, and now she's evil. Yeah

Those are just the highlights. Basically, Halo 5 is a case study in how to torch your franchise beyond recovery.

Most of the writing seems to have been done by a writer that 343i hired out of Marvel's back bench.

People loved Cortana. As they played through the original three games, they got to know her as a character and, amusingly enough since she's an AI, a person.

Some of the best elements of Halo 4 were Cortana's degradation, her development, and her relationship with John-117. Her dying at the end to save him, and to have that one thing she's always wanted to do in a bittersweet moment -- touch him physically? Amazing.

Even if Halo 4 was overall a shit game, these were executed masterfully.

And then she's back as a cartoon villain caricature, with yandere tendencies towards John-117 (and to a lesser extent the rest of the Spartan II's), in the next game. What the fuck?

Infinite better be the best fucking thing in a decade, or 343i have screwed the pooch beyond repair/hope.

 

[ParadiseLost]

I think it says a lot that, officially, there are no plans to ever port Halo 5 to PC like every other Halo game.

I think that says something about how its viewed.

 

[Zachowon]

Bea! WAKE UP! New Halo lore dropped

 

[Aaron Fox]

The thing with 4 and beyond is that, well, it's a more personal story instead of the previous trilogy's more war story esque story. If that makes sense. Hell, the one scene with Captain Political Appointment (and the reason that the Infinity was in a shoddy situation in the first place) had the entire bridge crew go 'yeah no' in what amounts to a silent mutiny (please note that Captain Political Appointment was later stripped of his rank because he tried to arrest John). The reason Palmer joked about John's height? Well, what would you do when a living legend that has been hyped up to hell and back is standing right in front of you? I wouldn't be surprised that most of us would take a light-hearted jab at John to ease the tension.

Halo 5 is, essentially, one part consequences, one part John being unable to function as well psychologically without Cortana, and one part 'Tsundre Cortana'.

 

[TheRejectionist]

Honestly yandere (or whatever is the term, I rarely watch anime) Cortana sounds awesome. BUT beyond the clips of her going mental on Youtube I don't have an idea how it was developed the concept.

 

[Laskar]

The reason Palmer joked about John's height? Well, what would you do when a living legend that has been hyped up to hell and back is standing right in front of you? I wouldn't be surprised that most of us would take a light-hearted jab at John to ease the tension.

I'd say that the problem with that line is 100% in the execution of Palmer's character. The alpha build of Halo 4 had a different introduction to Palmer, and it works so much better. She jet-packs into the forest with a squad of Spartan IVs to fight the Prometheans, loses her helmet in the battle, and is generally shown to be a competent soldier. The "I thought you'd be taller" line was delivered by a nameless Marine in a completely different encounter, but it would work coming from that Palmer.

Instead, the Palmer we get is a Palmer who lost her helmet and hid behind a blast door. She should at least have been standing outside that door, surrounded by spent munitions and dead Marines. In that scenario, the proper response to "I thought you'd be taller" is "Bitch, where's your helmet?"

Even then, this poor first impression could have been overcome, but the Palmer we saw in Spartan Ops was in no way an effective commander or a likeable character. Frankly, she's what happens when a superhero writer is asked to dabble in military sci-fi.

The thing with 4 and beyond is that, well, it's a more personal story instead of the previous trilogy's more war story esque story. If that makes sense.

Yeah, it makes sense, and it was clearly what 343i was going for, but the story at large suffered because of it. While the focus was on the Master Chief and Cortana, the rest of the universe rotted away. It kinda took until Halo Wars 2 before 343i realized "Wait. We need a Covenant faction that isn't just a recycled Covenant."

A hero is only as good as his villain.

Halo 5 is, essentially, one part consequences, one part John being unable to function as well psychologically without Cortana, and one part 'Tsundre Cortana'.

Ultimately, Cortana didn't need to come back, and her return completely undermined the character-driven story that 343i was going for. Death and sacrifice are the pinnacles of what you can achieve with a character, and a return from that death undermines the whole thing, especially when a contrivance like the Domain is used.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Yeah, a lot of it is execution, but then again, Halo always had some problems in the writing department and had been rewriting its own canon on and off for years now...

Although, given the last stage and what happened during that last stage (Cortana basically cloning herself via the numerous personalities) of 4...

Honestly yandere (or whatever is the term, I rarely watch anime) Cortana sounds awesome. BUT beyond the clips of her going mental on Youtube I don't have an idea how it was developed the concept.

The problem is that tsundere is a very foreign concept for us Americans, as the term (and tropes) are Japanese. Ocassionally you'll get someone that understands it but it's very hard to pull off.

 

[Captain X]

I have to admit, I'm rather appalled by the backstory of the Spartan project and its reason for being. For anyone who doesn't know, apparently they kidnapped children to perform their experiments on to create these super-soldiers, replacing them with clones who quickly grew ill and died, and all with the end goal of keeping colonies from gaining independence. Kind of makes it hard for me to cheer for anyone in the UNSC.

 

[ParadiseLost]

I have to admit, I'm rather appalled by the backstory of the Spartan project and its reason for being. For anyone who doesn't know, apparently they kidnapped children to perform their experiments on to create these super-soldiers, replacing them with clones who quickly grew ill and died, and all with the end goal of keeping colonies from gaining independence. Kind of makes it hard for me to cheer for anyone in the UNSC.

Except for Master Chief.

 

[Aaron Fox]

I have to admit, I'm rather appalled by the backstory of the Spartan project and its reason for being. For anyone who doesn't know, apparently they kidnapped children to perform their experiments on to create these super-soldiers, replacing them with clones who quickly grew ill and died, and all with the end goal of keeping colonies from gaining independence. Kind of makes it hard for me to cheer for anyone in the UNSC.

However, it was one of the few things that the UNSC could do to prevent a situation similar to Battletech's first two Succession Wars. They ran the numbers and it kept going to that sort of situation... and it is especially bad since the UEG kept screwing up.