I'll be honest, I've never cared much for the mainline Halo stories. Master Chief is a pretty boring protagonist that the developers can never seem to decide is either just the player insert or a character in their own right. And the plot themselves are often to scattershot to make sense lacking much emotional weight, hell that's why the Arbiter is the best part of Halo 2. But hot damn did Halo: Reach fix all those issues for me. Now I played Reach before ODST and so didn't realize that Bungie had basically already started crafting more interesting character stories, but Reach is ODST perfected in terms of pure story and character.
Now, Reach came out before Rogue One. However, it shares similar elements, including a similar ending. But as many people know, I think Rogue One is pretty awful. On the other hand, Reach is magnificent with how it tells its war story. I don't want to get into a back and forth between the two, but for me RO was just tonally wrong for Star Wars and its cast lacked any character. They were all just boring stiffs that you couldn't really delineate from each other.
I know others have expressed the same for Reach's cast, but I feel Bungie did a great job making each member of Noble Team feel unique. George, the only Spartan II and an absolute unit of a man is somehow the softie of the group who actually gives a shit about the plight of regular people, colonist or UNSC citizen be damned. Kat is the sassy brains of the group whose constantly letting her curiosity meddle in areas she shouldn't. Carter is the papa leader that tries to keep everyone together. Jun is the silent, methodical sniper. And Emile is the loveable asshole with trust issues, but secretly loves his team.
Of course, what makes the whole narrative great is how it makes the Planet Reach feel like its own character and you a witness to its fall. The game really makes you feel like you're fighting this unwinnable battle where every victory is immediately counteracted by an even bigger loss. Best line that sums up the game: "I know we're losing. I just want to know if we've lost."
While every character doesn't get a ton of dialogue, I felt each interaction was stuffed with character detail that made me feel for each member of Noble Team. By the end, I always get a little teary-eyed for these mad bastards. đŸ˜
So, anyone else feel this way? If not, what do you consider the best campaign story? And we are talking STORY/NARRATIVE here not what has the best campaign in terms of gameplay.
Now, Reach came out before Rogue One. However, it shares similar elements, including a similar ending. But as many people know, I think Rogue One is pretty awful. On the other hand, Reach is magnificent with how it tells its war story. I don't want to get into a back and forth between the two, but for me RO was just tonally wrong for Star Wars and its cast lacked any character. They were all just boring stiffs that you couldn't really delineate from each other.
I know others have expressed the same for Reach's cast, but I feel Bungie did a great job making each member of Noble Team feel unique. George, the only Spartan II and an absolute unit of a man is somehow the softie of the group who actually gives a shit about the plight of regular people, colonist or UNSC citizen be damned. Kat is the sassy brains of the group whose constantly letting her curiosity meddle in areas she shouldn't. Carter is the papa leader that tries to keep everyone together. Jun is the silent, methodical sniper. And Emile is the loveable asshole with trust issues, but secretly loves his team.
Of course, what makes the whole narrative great is how it makes the Planet Reach feel like its own character and you a witness to its fall. The game really makes you feel like you're fighting this unwinnable battle where every victory is immediately counteracted by an even bigger loss. Best line that sums up the game: "I know we're losing. I just want to know if we've lost."
While every character doesn't get a ton of dialogue, I felt each interaction was stuffed with character detail that made me feel for each member of Noble Team. By the end, I always get a little teary-eyed for these mad bastards. đŸ˜
So, anyone else feel this way? If not, what do you consider the best campaign story? And we are talking STORY/NARRATIVE here not what has the best campaign in terms of gameplay.