In Response To: Hawaiian Pig's Fantabulous Story Review *SP* (Hawaiian Pig)
Bookmarking this page now, thanks for the writeup :)
: .blockquote { font-style:italic; padding-left:20px; } Needlessly Long
: Musings on the Story
: Ok, brace for impact. I started writing this and it just kept going.
: Cody's point here on the story and cutting missions is valid, but I'd like
: to flesh it out a bit more. In fact, go read that. I agree with pretty
: much everything he says; although I agree with it, you're not gonna find
: that glowing praise for the Reach's gameplay here.
: Yes, like ODST, Reach has many missions where "nothing actually
: happens." In typical video game fashion, you spend a lot of time
: running around doing mostly arbitrary tasks that are explained in some
: contrived manner.
: I mean, did you really need to wander around the hub world piecing together
: the events for the past few hours when Dare simply hails you to get the
: party started? Or did you really need to turn on this comms array, or shut
: down that shield generator, when all you end up doing is delivering a
: package?
: In the grand scheme of things, not really, right?
: Well, not exactly.
: With ODST and Reach, Bungie has time and again expounded their aim to
: "bring the player closer to the ground." After the glorious
: galactic romp that is the Halo trilogy, it seems Bungie's writing staff
: decided to try their hand at a narrower scope.
: The idea was to jump feet first into hell… to get down and dirty and to see
: the war from the perspective of the thousands who fought and died. After
: all, not everyone is a stoic hero with his finger on the latchkey.
: But with a narrow scope comes great responsibility; whatever you narrow your
: focus on better be damned interesting.
: Event Horizon
: As Cody pointed out, the majority of levels in the Halo trilogy move the plot
: forward in some way.
: Whereas the original Halo advanced a series of large scale events that flowed
: together, Reach presented a series of smaller events that, in the end,
: seemed utterly disjointed or insignificant.
: If we condense both stories down to the bare essentials, this becomes readily
: apparent: Halo
: We come across mysterious ancient ring world. We crash land and our
: captain is captured. We rescue our captain and discover that the
: ringworld is a weapon We split up, our captain to search one area, and we
: search another… We find the controls to the weapon and find out our
: captain is in grave danger Holy crap there's an unforeseen menace down
: here… and hey, what happened to our captain… We make a new friend and he
: helps us kick start this weapon into overdriv—oh shit, doublecross! It was
: gonna kill us all We stymie our new foe and devise a new plan: We blow
: the damned thing up!
: As you can see, there's clear flow from the top down; the events before
: directly influence the events that come. Throw in the occasional twist,
: and you've got yourself an interesting series of events.
: Reach
: There's a downed comms array, we need to check what's up. Oh crap, it's
: down because the Covenant are on Reach A lot of military handwaving
: occurs to find out that: There's a big cruiser here, I guess we should
: take it out… We take it out, but holy crap here comes more! …well now
: I'm separated from my group, let me help some civilians, I guess *beep
: beep* The Doctor will see you now: she's got a mission for you: Deliver a
: package that can turn the tide of the war You deliver the package and die
: When it comes down to it, not a whole lot happens in any coherent manner.
: There's a big cruiser, you take it out, then you help some civilians, and,
: unrelated to all of that, you finally do something significant to Halo's
: overall story arc.
: But of course, that's not the point right? This game isn't supposed to
: advance or enrich the overall Halo story arc right?
: No, instead, we're supposed to enjoy this presentation of a planet's fall… a
: planet whose fall gives rise to our original hero's galactic space opera.
: We're supposed to feel engaged in the atmosphere and feel connected to the
: characters. We're supposed to feel as though turning on that AA gun was
: part of a greater concerted effort to keep the planet from falling… even
: if it was just some AA gun.
: So, Bungie narrowed the scope and decided to focus on developing this
: atmosphere.
: Honestly, why they couldn't do this in addition to telling a coherent and
: compelling story whose events logically follow one another is beyond me.
: It really was a bit of a cop-out to have Halsey suddenly page you toward
: the end for a secret mission. Isn't that really familiar?
: In spite of the largely insignificant story it tells, Reach is supposed to
: make me feel like I'm part of a band of SPARTAN-IIIs who are doing their
: best to stave off the annihilation of a world.
: I can dig that, I guess. It's not the buffet of glorious Halo intrigue that
: I'm used to, but it's colourful at least, right?
: The question is… does it even do this well?
: Honestly, I'd say it's hit and miss.
: Team Spirit
: I've made a bit of a realization about the Halo trilogy with the new
: perspective these two latest games provide: Without the grand scale and
: widely varying locales, without the constant flow of interesting events,
: without the room for wild speculation, mystery and intrigue, and without
: the feeling that the universe rests on my shoulders… the characters of
: Halo… well, they'd fall flat.
: Let's take the Arbiter for example. How do I know that the Arbiter is a proud
: Elite warrior? Why do I feel a sense of respect for him toward the end of
: the series? Why did I enjoy fighting alongside (or as) this beast who was
: once my enemy?
: Do I know he's a skilled warrior because someone told me they read his
: dossier that's riddled with black ink ? Is it because he spouts phrases
: you would expect of a proud warrior?
: Or is it because we see him fall from the highest ranks of the Covenant
: armada, get utterly betrayed by his former leader, and rise up and inspire
: his people to revolt?
: Take a guess.
: Few things say brother-in-arms like that moment where the Chief and
: Arbiter stand back-to-back in the Ark's control room. The strength of this
: scene is not simply a result of that badass pose they strike, but rather
: due to all the shit the two of you have gone through. From his defeat at
: Halo, through his fall from grace, through his realization that the great
: journey was a lie, to the ensuing revolution he begins, I got a firm sense
: that the Arbiter was more than just a gun at my side.
: Really. Here's the kicker: Character development is most often a direct
: result of the trials and tribulations that occur in light of the events of
: a story.
: You don't read a book for a description of a character; you read a book to
: see the character experience a set of events and change in light of them.
: That's what makes them interesting.
: So when your game has very few significant events, your characters are left
: to develop through small ancillary exchanges.
: That, or you outright just tell me what I should think about your
: characters.
: One of the moments that best demonstrate this is when Noble Team comes across
: some farmers in the first level. Emile gets short tempered and hostile in
: this exchange and Jorge immediately chimes in to diffuse the situation.
: Speaking their language, Jorge shows compassion, and we get a glimpse at
: the kind of person he is. To boot, there are some children cowering inside
: the house and the moment gives you a great sense that the planet is more
: than just a battleground; it's their home.
: This exchange does nothing for the plot, it doesn't advance anything
: significant, but it adds character. One could argue that the game is full
: of moments like this, but you'd be hard pressed to find many more.
: Jorge's development as a character is probably the best handled in the game.
: Unlike the others, the player isn't berated with overt comments that
: announce his qualities to you through a megaphone. We actually see Jorge
: emote on various occasions, be it interrogating a daughter of a dead man,
: talking to Halsey, floating above Reach in space, or sacrificing his life.
: Interestingly enough, the latter is a major event in the game. Funny how such
: events have the potential to develop character.
: In fact, there was a meaningful event that could have certainly provided our
: characters a chance to strongly emote that was unbearably mistreated:
: So there I was right? I'm on Reach, investigating a downed comms array.
: My commanding officer said that it was probably taken out by the local
: insurrectionists, when suddenly, I hear something up on the roof… What is
: that? Oh?
: There's a skirmisher outside the window.
: It's the covenant and they're on Reach.
: What does my team have to say about this?
: Jorge : Here we go.
: Really?!
: That was it?! Here's an opportunity to depict a full scale invasion of a
: planet by the Covenant, and how do you do it?
: The sound of scampering feet on the steel roof over my head?
: What is this, Left4Dead?
: And what's the reaction of our characters to Covenant invading our most
: heavily fortified military world?
: Jorge : It's the damned covenant. Emile : Cheer up big man, this whole
: valley became a free fire zone.
: Incredibly. Whack. Woefully missed opportunity.
: But I've digressed…
: It's through a character's actions, and meaningful interactions, that we
: find depth. Jorge gets this on a few occasions, but the other members of
: Noble…
: Should they be so lucky…
: In attempting to shoehorn some personality into these characters, not only
: do we end up with a rag tag team of cardboard cutouts instead of
: believable people, but we undermine the development of the atmosphere upon
: which Reach's story so precariously depends. This happens throughout the
: game, but I've decided to pick out a few gems that felt like someone was
: slowly pushing needles into my eyes, all the while telling me "Hey,
: I'm pushing needles into your eyes."
: Carter : Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just
: one thing. I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want
: me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone wolf
: stuff stays behind. Clear? Noble Six : Got it, sir. Jun : Welcome to
: Reach.
: This line basically reads like: Hey man, woah, woah, woah! I know you're
: badass, but can you dial back the awesome just a bit, we're trying to
: work together here.
: Oh, and in case you didn't know. You're playing Halo: Reach by Bungie
: Studios.
: Hell, this whole cutscene was better handled in the trailer; Jorge gives a
: subtle nod to Pegasi, and Jun says "You picked a hell of a day to
: join up." That would have been easier to stomach, but it still
: doesn't do away with the Mary Sue treatment of Noble Six.
: Now dialogue was never Halo's strong suit …
: But really…
: Kat : Question of my life. If the question is when will this station be
: back online, two weeks, earliest. This is plasma damage. All major uplink
: components are fried. Carter : Two minutes is too long. Kat :
: "Which is why I'm splicing into the main overland bundle to get you a
: direct line to Colonel Holland… You're in my light, Commander.
: Oh? Some technobabble? Did we mention Kat is real techy? How interesting
: that the major uplink components are fried… Hey, get out of her light and
: let the woman work dammit.
: This scene is about as excruciating as the one where Kat borrows Emile's
: knife to write nothing on the ground.
: Obviously, this doesn't advance the plot; instead, it's clear that it's meant
: solely to develop her character. But what's the development? All it tells
: us is that she's some boring sci-fi cliché: The Technology Specialist .
: Just about every member of Noble aside from Six and Jorge get this
: treatment.
: Because nothing really happens to them, we don't learn much about the main
: characters outside of moments like these. And it's moments like these that
: stuck out like a sore thumb.
: Honestly, most of Noble Team's dialogue is simply objective based. The most
: interesting dialogue in this game actually comes from various marines and
: officers who help build atmosphere (more on that later).
: I mean, what else do we really know about Kat? A pretty good test of
: character design is to try your best to describe the character. The more
: significant things you can say, the better.
: Rest assured, I've got a lot more to say about Cortana or the Arbiter than I
: have for every member of Noble Team.
: I have to think that a narrow scope doesn't necessarily mean an insignificant
: plot. Just because we're not dealing with things on a galactic scale
: doesn't necessarily mean your characters can't experience change. There's
: no interplay between a protagonist and antagonist, and there aren't any
: real emotional or psychological obstacles for our characters to overcome.
: The biggest problems our characters face are solely action based: there's
: an objective, and we have to complete it.
: Halsey : Are you a puppet or a SPARTAN?
: You said it, babe.
: What can you honestly say changed about each character from the beginning of
: the game to the end?
: Rated For Atmosphere
: I will say that, atmospherically, Reach does a stellar job of illustrating…
: well, the fall of Reach.
: The level designs and set pieces really make you feel as though you're
: fighting for survival on an embattled planet.
: When the UNSC Savannah offers her assistance despite having her "wings
: clipped," only to get shot down shortly thereafter, you really feel
: like things are barely holding together. There are plenty of small things
: that encourage this feeling.
: Next time you fight up the beach on Long Night of Solace, as you enter the
: base, stop and turn around. The battle continues outside. A Pelican drops
: off a ton of UNSC troops who are armed to the teeth, and if you hang out
: here, the Covenant waves don't seem to stop. You ultimately have to leave
: it, but like dummy battles you can see off in the distance on other
: levels, it's things like this that make you feel like you're part of a
: larger war.
: Of course, there's another missed opportunity here: At the beginning of Tip
: of the Spear, we get teased with that moment every Halo kiddie has dreamt
: about for as long as we can remember: One massive-as-fuck scale battle.
:
: holyshitomgicanteventellwhatsgoingon
: Now I'm sure that didn't pan out because of hardware constraints, but I don't
: think there was a single moment in the game where I fought alongside a
: friendly vehicle. You do this in Halo 2 in Mombasa and in Halo 3 on The
: Covenant, and goddamn, do those sections feel large in scale ( Two Scarabs
: , holy shit!).
: Nevertheless, as far as the majority of the game is concerned, you certainly
: feel like you're desperately fighting a losing battle.
: There are countless examples of this. Helping civilians on Exodus and New
: Alexandria certainly developed a feeling of hopelessness with respect to
: saving the planet; even if it was just something to do because you got
: separated from the rest of the team and ultimately the plot itself.
: A cohesive story aside, these missions stand out the most in terms of setting
: atmosphere and give you a great chance to see civilians of Reach. When
: your falcon flies over battles occurring down below, you not only realize
: that you're losing the battle, but that you can't really help… you can
: only delay the inevitable. If I were more emotionally engaged, I'd have
: felt moved.
: The thing is, Reach has a heck of a lot of these little things that build the
: atmosphere, but really lacks it where it counts. Only those us fans, those
: intimately familiar with the Halo universe, will be able to set aside the
: lack of compelling story and characters to really appreciate these small
: things.
: But at the end of the day, when the characters fall flat, and when the things
: you do involve running around between ultimately arbitrary objectives,
: it's hard to get emotionally invested.
: I mean, I don't think Reach is gonna be turning Roger Ebert's head.
: Atmospheric "asides," are great, but two full missions of them?
: Well then where's your story? That's like 20% of your game.
: Would it have been so difficult to ensure that everything maintained a
: logical flow? Some simple things could have made the events make more
: sense. Perhaps the big cruiser that we first came across was digging for
: the artifact that Halsey was researching. Suddenly the two events are
: meaningfully linked, and the game is that much more cohesive…
: The games of the trilogy did this with ease. Why is it that this game feels
: like "Halo: Random Crap That Happened on Reach?"
: Now, it's very likely that the books, or something in the legendary journals,
: will link together all of the events that occurred in the game. But as far
: as the actual game is concerned, it's not much more than a collection of
: events that occurred to some boring characters. At best, it's a tale of
: perseverance in a handful of soldiers. Maybe that would be compelling if
: those soldiers weren't bland and, thus, died unceremoniously ( 1 ).
: All I Need To Know Is, Did We Lose ‘Em
: On the whole, I was completely underwhelmed by Halo Reach's story. When I
: completed everything, I was ecstatic about all the cameos and subtle nods
: to existing Halo canon ( 2 ), but I couldn't name a single moment that
: stood out to me.
: I couldn't say "Remember when this happened? And how about this
: ."
: I was left kind of dumbstruck. And if not for the halo-heart-string pulling
: cameos, I don't think I would have had many nice things to say ( 3 ).
: The Halo trilogy is loaded with a lot of these iconic moments, and despite
: multiple play-throughs, I still can't pin a moment here that really stands
: out. What's worse, is that there's so much potential here.
: Alas, at the end of the day, when it comes to Reach's story, the question is:
: Am I gonna place this story alongside the Halo Trilogy or ODST on my
: proverbial bookshelf?
: I think we both know the answer to that.
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: c.style.display = 'block'; else c.style.display = 'none'; } Requiem for
: a Death
: Seriously, the only death that was at all significant was Jorge's. He
: sacrificed himself with the intent of saving the planet, only for it all
: to be in vain as an entire Covenant armada appears. No time to even mourn
: this guy; heartwrenching.
: A close second is Kat's death, which was actually refreshingly abrupt. It
: quickly reminds you that this is war; not even a main character is exempt
: from senseless death.
: But the rest? They just started dropping like flies for no real reason.
: Now I'm paraphrasing, but: Carter : Guys, oh crap a Scarab? You just booked
: it right past a whole bunch of these earlier, but one more? What the heck
: are you gonna do! Better sacrifice myself, and blow this one up.
: Or how about Emile having Elites dropped on him only just as you're about to
: leave? How convenient… Now you have to stay behind.
: It almost felt like they forgot that they had one more guy to kill off.
: Ok, maybe it's just those two. Lone Wolf was probably the best thing in the
: game.
: Click to return Man… Canon
: For those of us who have gobbled up every last tidbit of Halo lore (or read a
: heck of a lot of Halopedia), it's even worse that all this
: "stuff" that happened is ever-so-slightly incompatible with what
: we've developed over the years.
: Now I understand: Narcogen : Game canon overrides all else. It is a primary
: source. The game can't butcher the canon, by definition. If there are
: inaccuracies or errors, they lie with the novels-- assuming they can't
: otherwise be reconciled. [ 1 ]
: But I feel as though the complete disregard for some major plot points could
: have been easily avoided. The Pillar of Autumn could have very well been
: in orbit… you've already got the Sabre mechanics in place; couldn't we
: have flown the package up?
: Think the Maw run but vertically. Cool as fuck right?
: The one that bugs me the most though, is this idea that Cortana is, or is
: partly, forerunner.
: Seriously?
: I…
: This just completely changes the entire feel of the original Halo, and if
: she's got some pre-existing forerunner knowledge, why doesn't it come out
: in the game?
: As far as I knew, the only thing Cortana had known was the co-ordinates of
: Halo. But Halsey's reference to her in Reach makes it seem as though she's
: Forerunner through and through.
: Ridiculous.
: Or maybe I misinterpreted Halsey… still, the way it's worded…
: Click to return Gameplay
: I agree with everything Cody said. It's a blast.
: Click to return
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