CORRECTION FOR THIS VIDEO The sixth member of Noble Team featured in the "Deliver Hope" live action trailer was in fact NOT the same Noble 6 you play as in the game, it was actually Thom-293, the previous sixth member of Noble Team who died, leaving the player character Noble 6 to fill the gap at the start of Halo: Reach. Thank you for reading this comment correcting my error fr fr 😤
No joke…seeing these “commercials” because they were on tv more than UA-cam then.. seeing this over again makes me wanna cry, nastalgia, the friends I had then. The stress free time it always was…damn.
You can still do all of that. Master Chief Collection is still online and still active. If you want to revisit old school Halo multiplayer, then buy MCC and do it. I still play Halo multiplayer 3-4 nights per week.
Recently went on a massive binge of those commercials and videos an promotional videos. The deliver hope from reach made me straight up cry. So many memories man, such a surreal time -
Halo: Reach is honestly Bungie’s greatest work in my opinion. The story is incredibly tragic and exciting, it was smart to make the character you play a blank slate to really make you feel like this hero who may not have been celebrated but remembered. There have been many takes on the Fall of Reach but Halo: Reach is going to be my favorite.
It is my favourite Halo in terms of the tone and art style. It has issues with the story itself, as it is a bit simple, but the storytelling and visuals are my favourite.
I'm still proud that I had the opportunity and will to save every bit of money I had as a kid to pre-order ODST and the Legendary edition of Reach. These were the best times for me
33:30 I love that Bungie even added the small silhouette of In Amber Clad entering slip space next to the Super Carrier. It's such an attention to detail.
@@typhlosion4223 Halo 4 almost sucked but it was saved at the last minute as this video highlights. Since Halo 4, the franchise has sucked, yeah, but the game itself can't be blamed for what came after. Halo 4 I thought was actually pretty good.
@@Peak_Aussieman Halo 4 was my first real experience with fully playing a Halo game funny enough. I think that while it wasn’t as bad as most make it out to be, it definitely had a lot of potential to be far better than what we got. It was the beginning of the end as has been said before. I really wish they simply tried being more consistent with their games because they tried to distance 5 from 4 then Infinite/6 from 5 and it just makes it all feel too disjointed. Also the way they handled 5 with requiring you to look into things outside the games to fully understand what was going on was such a horrible idea.
I genuinely love Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. The Paramount TV series somehow failed to do everything that H4FUD did but paramount had 10x its budget and still didn't deliver. There are some things that are still enjoyable at times but honestly we should've gotten a lore accurate REACH TV show that would potentially lead into the trilogy if received well.
I really liked it aswell! It was great. When you first saw the master chief. Sadly I didnt really like his voice, but he was kinda young back then ofc. And I also liked the part where the spartans take of their helmet, except the master chief.
Hmm, another 3hr video essay on Halo.. Sign me up, Sir!! Honestly, I'm one of the few Bungie playing Halo player who rather enjoyed Halo 4. I was so hyped watching the trailers (they were even shown in cinemas), then one evening, I got a txt from my dad: "dropped of something for you through the letterbox." I went downstairs, saw it was Halo 4, and Immediately began playing, 2hrs before my night shift of work... I completed the game lunchtime next day lol Sure, many of the missions were very linear compared to previous Halo's and the Prometheans were their own problem, but, story and character-wise, it was great!! I liked Lasky and still do, Palmer had her quirks though she peed of Every Halo fan by being cheeky to Chief. Cortana, let's be honest, we ALL cried at that ending. The skybox is amazing, the ost is dope af. Not traditional Halo, but enough to add mystery, as Requiem was. All 343 had to do was to stick to their guns persay, and keep Cortana gone, have the Didact working behind the scenes or return in an ominous way next game, and follow the "Reclaimer" saga they themselves kept going on and on about. But the backlash from a section of loud fans on Halo 4 caused them to backtrack in Halo 5, which only made things worse.
I actually think Infinite finally hit the nail on the head, but it's clear that higher-ups were doing their best to screw over 343i's efforts, not to mention some bizarre bugs and glitches including a nasty PVE bug, and the same Skill Based Matchmaking that rekt Call of Duty rekking that game as well. It's a damn solid game and a step in the right direction after the dark age of the Reclaimer Saga... But even then I freely admit I have a soft spot for Halo 4. It's not as good as Bungie's efforts, but in a bubble, it's still a damn fine shooter and a solid attempt at a Halo title with a killer plot. If 343i just stood the course, maybe things would be better? I don't know, man.
Halo 4 is a good game, but not a good halo game. The best elements just aren't executed properly, also the codification of the multi-player was befuddling to say the least, further dividing the fan base. Why play halo 4, that's clearly trying to be cod, when I could play bo2?
I agree with this whole comment. 4 gameplay wise was a proper progression of 3 and the reason 5 and Infinite suck is because the fans complaints. They don't realize they asked 343 to make 5 the way it is. I got on to Halo 4 late. Like I bout it and Halo 5 at the same time late. I played a few matches of 5 and deleted the game. Put in 4 and had a blast.
ODST ia one of the coolest and innovative entries into the series. I didn't appreciate the hub world direction and firefight mode back in the day, but in hindsight, they made this one of the of the most unique and replayable Halo games, to this day. Starting with Halo 4 and 343, the series has taken one hell of a dive in terms of quality and relevance. I replayed 4 and 5 with my son, as part of our "Summer of Halo", and they were difficult to get through -- especially 5. Infinite has been a mixed bag of great and awful... but the exclusion of couch co-op and multiplayer killed it for me.
Eh, I actually went all-in on Infinite earlier this year (and loving the shit out of it), but the Reclaimer Saga was more than worthy of being treated as a dark age for the series and being swept under the rug. 5 especially did a good number on the franchise's popularity despite excellent multiplayer which laid the foundation for Infinite's in terms of gameplay and map design. And don't even get me started on Halo: The Series and the loud, inconsiderate, annoying minority of fantrolls I call "Biased Bungie Boys" who emerged in the wake of the Reclaimer Saga's self-immolation. Just don't.
Halsey was never really vilified til Karen Travis’s Kilo 5 trilogy. Throughout the other novels it’s clearly illustrated how she genuinely battles with the complex moral decisions behind the Spartan II program and that she isn’t a fan of it, she has regret, she suffers from what she puts the children through, and she sees herself as a monster for going along with it all. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and the Covenants appearance made for an easier justification across the board. I will vehemently defend Halsey to my dying breath
Me too. Not even Halo 4 vilified her, TBH, and that's because the writing there was in touch with the older titles... Well, barring a few touches like making The Chief speak during gameplay, of course.
@@22lagoonYeah, but the children she abducted, especially John, eventually saved all of humanity and the universe from the flood and the covenant. So while what she did was horrible, the ends justified the means, even if those means were monstrous.
@@StableDruid130 had nothing to do with the Covenant so the point is moot. She stole children to stop human terrorists. It just so happened that the Covenant showed up. As the Polygon video said a MORAL deus Ex Machina
The way you described reachs loadouts sounded more like 4s system, I don’t remember it being like that on reach. There was a selection of loadouts but they weren’t customisable, just one pre-made loadout available per ability available typically
You could say that the narrative of Halo 4 had two ''villains'': the physical being the Didact and the looming one that constantly hangs over the game is Cortana's rampancy.
So I’ve been busy the last few weeks so not had time to catch up on this video or episode 3, sorting that now! So like I said in my previous video I’m not the biggest halo fan and the only one on the video I played was ODST but despite that I still watched the entire video once again purely just because of the way u present these videos! So so entertaining. I appreciate you replying to my previous comment on the last video regarding doing a mass effect documentary. You should okay it, it’s so so good! And maybe a gears of war documentary? Especially with the announcement earlier of a new game coming - may do well with the algorithm
Halo 3 and ODST were among the first halo games I've ever played. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed them quite a bit. When I played Halo 4, I didn't know what to expect but by the end, I damn near cried when Cortana sacrificed herself to save the chief. I didn't think that would happen and yet it did...I felt the chief's pain. As for next time.....yeah, what comes next is.... divisive, uncertain, some good and bad moves. To see a bigger picture of all this will most certainly be interesting to me.
I love Infinite, but yeah. Its management was ridiculous up until 2023, and the game before it? I can't help but think 343i were in the right by killing "Cortana" (aka. the derailed version of the character who served as 5's villain) off screen and treating 5 and the Reclaimer Saga in general as a dropped plotline and embarrassing dark age. Honestly, I can understand if people don't like the current era between the Reclaimer Saga and the wretched TV show, because it's a bit of a mess... But that doesn't mean certain people (The Biased Bungie Boys) have been reasonable about their distaste.
Halo Reach really was just a game about an alien invasion. It's really scary when you really break it down to the horror of the whole situation. Everyone pretty much thought that if Reach falls, the human race is done. After the midpoint of Reach. Everyone kinda knows in the back of their heads that the human race is done. This is it man. Now we go down fighting. No one knew that destiny blessed the human race with one lucky man finding one unlucky ring.
1:35:00 You could in fact not customize your loadouts. Loadouts were premade for each game mode and most had you start with the exact same weapons, only changing the armour abilities. The one major departure from that was the invasion game mode, where you could in fact spawn with quite a few different weapons as the game continued into different phases. The controversial part at the time were the armour abilities and how they were balanced.
This video made me plug in the series X after a year and now I’m going through all the games again and it’s a blast. Forgot how much I loved halo, infinite kinda killed it for me a bit so I’m excited to hear what you have to say about it if you end you end up doing a part 3
I really hope you end up doing a Reach episode. I never rode the halo train though I was in that age when it was insanely popular. Then I started playing reach and had to have put in hundreds of hours. The campaign and multiplayer both just struck a chord with me. I know a lot of people hated it, but to this day it’s my favorite game I’ve ever played.
"Bungie didn't want to be a Halo machine, making Halo until the heat death of the universe. They wanted to be a Destiny machine, making Destiny until the heat death of the universe."
Any chance for a Prince of Persia retrospective? Especially with the resurgence of the two new games and remake? I’d love to hear you talk about the whole franchise
Of this time period, the best for me is easily Reach. 3: ODST is an excellent standalone expansion that adds to the plot of the main game whilst taking things in a different Noir-flavoured direction, but Reach's emotional highs, intense combat, and strong multiplayer make it my preferred. The Abilities add a lot to the sandbox IMO and "Long Night of Solace" and "Exodus" are some of the best levels in Shooter history. Halo 4... It goes without saying that ever since we met The Weapon and she anticlimactically declared that "Cortana is offline", the Reclaimer Saga has basically been thrown out and is now treated as the dark age for the series, with the lingering stench of 5's campaign and Halo: The Series (aka. the TRUE end of the Reclaimer Saga, at least in spirit and tone) having done a number on the series' popularity and 343i doing everything in their power to ignore it and move on. However, I'm of the opinion that 4, despite warning signs of what's to come later in that era (notably a weapon sandbox built around lethality over function), is actually pretty solid in a bubble, mainly due to some good levels, multiplayer modes, weapons and a strong storyline with Downes and Taylor delivering some of their best work in the voice acting department. But it is and will always be the most polarising game in the main series, and for good reason: One side likes it, the other hates it, Biased Bungie Boys (who are just as guilty as the Reclaimer Saga for causing Halo's popularity to wane) REALLY hate it, and when these three factions get together... Bad stuff happens. EDIT: Hang on. I've been watching this video, and you forgot something. You forgot to make mention of the majestic glory of the April Fools' classic that is HALO BOLLYWOOD!!!!! ua-cam.com/video/_4DHllroiqM/v-deo.html
You'd be surprised but I was there when reach dropped and a lot of players started leaving around that time. They won't tell you that but it's obvious when you realize 4 out sold it. I remember I was the only one in my friend group that stuck with Reach. I even got 4 and 5 at the same time and couldn't enjoy 5. That's what the game totally changed. 4 felt like they added the right things tho some of it comes from CoD. The maps were bigger so vehicles were used a lot more which means you need a run and load outs to keep vehicles from being over powered.
1:41:06 The Forerunner saga absolutely contradicts what was already established, both Halo 3 and Contact Harvest outright state that the Forerunner are human. Mendicant Bias explains it to the prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret when they first discover Harvest and they realise that if it got out that there were still living Forerunner it would collapse the Covenant and more importantly the Prophets would lose power. The prophets; knowing this declare that humanity's existence is heresy and must be wiped from the face of the galaxy. In Halo 3 343 Guilty Spark literally says "You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner! But this ring is mine." You can't get much more clear cut than that. There's nothing wrong with deciding to change the lore, but saying it doesn't contradict what came before is flat out wrong.
IIRC, even some folks at Bungie back then were split on the idea. I think Marty O'Donnell was a Forerunners Were Human truther, whereas other folks weren't. Frank O'Connor was definitely on the latter side and used the H3 terminals to establish that Forerunners and humans were separate species, despite what the narrative of the games themselves implied.
@@GhostRydr1172 From everything I've seen and read O'Connor was pretty much the only person who didn't follow the Forerunner are human idea at Bungie. Jason Jones who was story lead in the first two games certainly subscribed to humans being Forerunner given the H2 storyboards as well as all of Guilty Spark's dialogue in CE. Joseph Staten, the other story lead wrote Contact Harvest which has Mendicant Bias outright state that humans are Forerunner as well as his and O'Donnell writing H3. The only things that seem to align with Humanity not being Forerunner are things written by O'Connor and the other thing all his writing seems to have in common is that it's consistently non-sensical and breaks previously established lore. It certainly never came across to me like there were two factions duking it out over what the Human Forerunner relationship was at Bungie. And even if there was all the people who were in charge of the game's stories clearly intended for them to be the same species.
@@tristanlee8495 can't say I'm surprised. I've never been a fan of the new post Bungie lore or 343's vision. And Frankie O'Connor deserves being dumped on forever for that and so many other sins that have driven the franchise to the ground.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the data pads from Halo Reach. Those data pads pretty much imply that ONI is run by AI constructs that been around for a long time guiding humanity. Kind of like the initial concept of the Patriots from MGS2 before the MGS4 retcon. I find that as a fascinating bit of Bungie lore in the Halo universe that most people don't really know about. The AI was guiding humanity before the human covenant war and during. It's implied that Auntie Dot, the AI that helps Noble team is part of this AI assembly as a minority member. And that they guided Dr Halsey into making Cortana.
Rampancy was actually a key thing they originally worked up for the Marathon games, it was a major part of the story with regards to why Durandal was quite the way he was.
The crazy thing about the boltshot in Halo 4, while the primary fire was definitely weak, its alternate fire, the charged burst shot, is more powerful than even the shotgun. While it had to be charged, it didn't take all that long and could be held till you saw an enemy. It could kill in one shot, and it had a longer range than the shotgun. And of course, being a sidearm, it was something you could have in your starting load-out. You basically have a pocket shotgun. I know I slept on it most of my playtime, but for a sidearm it's actually a sleeper of a powerhouse.
Just a small note. There is actually a legendary ending. It's 3 extra seconds where you see Master Chief loaded up in the Pillar of Autumn along with all the warthogs and pelicans.
I love how in depth you go into these videos. Would you consider covering the Age of Empires franchise? Another cult favourite with an active professional scene.
Microsoft didn't request a Halo Game made with the engine to Halo 3, Microsoft's wishes were to make 2 more games because Bungie tried to Breach Contract and leave prematurely. Bungie was already making a campaign DLC and decided to make it a "full game" as a loop hole in the contract and treat ODST as a test bed for ideas in Reach. One of the reasons ODST didn't have you play as a Spartan, didn't include PVP and didn't include matchmaking was because that was something Microsoft wanted but didn't specify, and Microsoft at the time of ODST releasing was actually really upset by this because what they were expecting was Halo 3 "2" and the same goes for Reach, who h ditched the concept of MLG style competitive gaming, the straw that broke the camel's back leading to Bungie's attempt to leave Microsoft in 2005.
Hopefully, we’ll get another game series like Bungie’s halo. Yakuza/Like a Dragon is pretty much that but still, we all miss the good ol’ days of halo. (Halo reach SWAT was my stomping ground. I always was top of the leaderboard)
Rampancy was introduced in the Marathon series as the malady that affected that ship's AIs. In particular, Durandal: the main narrative driver/antagonist of that series.
I can't agree with you more on Halo 4. I believe if they adapted that story into a film it would be a massive success. That core story was so great and definitely got a tear out of me at the end.
When you think about how Reach and ODST differ besides the fact on one side you are in a squad of super soldiers and another you're in an elite covert ops special task force, one story every one but one dies and in the other everyone but one makes it out relatively unscathed. There's a somewhat beautiful rhythm to those differing stories in my opinion.
I’ve always thought chief must absolutely REEK after he comes out of that armour. My workout clothes stink after a single day, I don’t run nearly as much as Big Green
Regarding Reach's multiplayer, while there were loadouts, you could not customize them. The only thing you unlock through playing are armor customization pieces. The more COD-style loadouts don't appear until 4.
It’s bizarre seeing a time where there was more then one Halo project going on at once from where we are now with 7 years of wasted time and only one mediocre unfinished Halo game to show for it
Had Halo 4 been a launch title for the xbox 720 I don't doubt it'd be better remembered today. Because Halo 4 in and of itself is far better then it has any right to be as the ending of the series. Not the start of something different.
2:05:37 He would then direct Deadpool and create Love, Death & Robots. One employee of his at Blur Studio, Jeff Fowler would then direct the Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
On the subject of the price of ODST being "full priced". When this came out I bought it from Toyrus, and in doing so I was given a Rookie action figure AND a $20 gift card effectively bringing the price down to $30 or $40 depending on how you look at it. Not taking these discounts and incentives into account, I still felt after playing the game that the price was worth it, and feel like a lot of the pushback on the price issue was only there because of information regarding the issues between Bungie and MS and people being upset about it only because of this knowledge and has they not been made aware most likely would not have said a thing about it. ODST was better than most games that were released at a full price point anyhow and you could point to any number of games that released at the time that were around the same time investment for the same cost making the idea that you were getting less for the price just silly on its face and nobody was crying about those other games and how much they cost.
I can already imagine the classic halo fans screeching and screaming on thare sites with anger once I hared you say "Halo 4 has the best story of all the franchise". If you know? you know.
Just a minor disparity on the human/forerunner war. The flood only showed up later from the forerunner perspective. In reality humanity at the time had been fighting the flood for hundreds of years before coming into contact with the forerunner. The flood is actually the entire reason they began butting heads in the first place, humanity was fleeing the flood trying to survive what was for them Armageddon.
The idea of taking over an established property and 'wanting to make it your own' has always bugged me. I only ever see it from Western creatives, though, where as change overs like this for Japanese properties often seem more focused on understanding what it is they've taken on and realizing they have a responsibility to it and to those who already love it.
ahhhh, the lesser of the bungie collection... the good of the two halo wars, the notepad game people mainly got for the multiplayer disc, and the game that was quickly dull and had so many problems
Bro this depresses me. Especially because there was so much hope with the early positive reviews of halo 4. I don’t think near as badly of 343 as most fans do because I love halo so much but damn they could’ve done so much better.
In the Deliver Hope trailer, I don’t believe that’s the Noble 6 you play as. That’s the Noble 6 that you are replacing in the game. If you look closely Kat also still has her arm in that trailer and I’m pretty sure that’s what’s injured in the trailer, so that’s how she lost it. But ultimately, idk
Halo 4 has a nostalgic spot for me, but I was always bothered by some gameplay changes, and while the narrative left a good place to jump off from, they backtracked for Halo 5. Including returning the Arbiter in the most, i dont know, lame way ever. I had this idea of rewriting Halo 4 in a way that introduces the Didact while making some changes to the forerunners. I feel the Halo 2 style of different threads followed by different characters would work. Explaining the Splinter faction of the Covenant with their new designs as you play as Jul Mdama and secure a forerunner luminary. This mission would lead into the Involvement of the Arbiter (Thel Vadamee) and his side of the story would be hunting down Mdama. Chief would of course end up on Requiem and his story would be the emotional story plot with cortana and her rampancy. He would initially appear in his Halo 3 mjolnir armor which gets damaged in his confrontation with the Didact leading to his armor being replaced onboard the infinity when he meets up with them. I would have a level based on the forerunner city concept from Halo 3. Where Arbiter would get to see firsthand that Humans are the Forerunners. Reaffirming his belief in his fight back against the Splinter Covenant faction. Leading to him directly aiding humanity at earth when the Didact attacks. Cortana would still sacrifice herself and save chief. However, I'd like to have the Chief and Arbiter team up to defeat the Didact. I don't know. It's like the roughest kind of outline I was hoping to come up with something more in line with the ideas and concepts of the original trilogy. Havent even began to think about Halo 5 yet. Just have to focus on refining the ideas for a theoretical Halo 4 story rework.
CORRECTION FOR THIS VIDEO
The sixth member of Noble Team featured in the "Deliver Hope" live action trailer was in fact NOT the same Noble 6 you play as in the game, it was actually Thom-293, the previous sixth member of Noble Team who died, leaving the player character Noble 6 to fill the gap at the start of Halo: Reach.
Thank you for reading this comment correcting my error fr fr 😤
Great work on these! I'm excited to see what you've come out with next
Not to be that guy, but it’s actually Thom-A293 not Thorn.
No joke…seeing these “commercials” because they were on tv more than UA-cam then.. seeing this over again makes me wanna cry, nastalgia, the friends I had then. The stress free time it always was…damn.
real talk, there was something special about watching TV with the bro and having a halo or COD commercial come on
You can still do all of that. Master Chief Collection is still online and still active. If you want to revisit old school Halo multiplayer, then buy MCC and do it. I still play Halo multiplayer 3-4 nights per week.
@@ZyrusSmith it’s just not the same bro…343 has something with it just just feels empty compared to bungies work.
Recently went on a massive binge of those commercials and videos an promotional videos. The deliver hope from reach made me straight up cry. So many memories man, such a surreal time -
Agreed OP…AGREED
“I’m impressed!” “Oh yeah? Well I’m playing on easy!” Made me spit out my Master Chief Mountain Dew :/
start slurping it up buddy don’t waste that shit
Halo: Reach is honestly Bungie’s greatest work in my opinion. The story is incredibly tragic and exciting, it was smart to make the character you play a blank slate to really make you feel like this hero who may not have been celebrated but remembered. There have been many takes on the Fall of Reach but Halo: Reach is going to be my favorite.
It is my favourite Halo in terms of the tone and art style. It has issues with the story itself, as it is a bit simple, but the storytelling and visuals are my favourite.
I'm still proud that I had the opportunity and will to save every bit of money I had as a kid to pre-order ODST and the Legendary edition of Reach. These were the best times for me
yea ong i remember saving for reach and 3 at the time tho i was late im glad i still got em both
33:30 I love that Bungie even added the small silhouette of In Amber Clad entering slip space next to the Super Carrier. It's such an attention to detail.
When I think about how far Halo fell, it makes me weep...
Started with 4. 343 have no idea how halo is written.
@@typhlosion4223 Halo 4 almost sucked but it was saved at the last minute as this video highlights. Since Halo 4, the franchise has sucked, yeah, but the game itself can't be blamed for what came after. Halo 4 I thought was actually pretty good.
@@Peak_Aussieman Halo 4 was my first real experience with fully playing a Halo game funny enough. I think that while it wasn’t as bad as most make it out to be, it definitely had a lot of potential to be far better than what we got. It was the beginning of the end as has been said before. I really wish they simply tried being more consistent with their games because they tried to distance 5 from 4 then Infinite/6 from 5 and it just makes it all feel too disjointed. Also the way they handled 5 with requiring you to look into things outside the games to fully understand what was going on was such a horrible idea.
I genuinely love Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. The Paramount TV series somehow failed to do everything that H4FUD did but paramount had 10x its budget and still didn't deliver. There are some things that are still enjoyable at times but honestly we should've gotten a lore accurate REACH TV show that would potentially lead into the trilogy if received well.
I really liked it aswell! It was great. When you first saw the master chief. Sadly I didnt really like his voice, but he was kinda young back then ofc. And I also liked the part where the spartans take of their helmet, except the master chief.
Hmm, another 3hr video essay on Halo.. Sign me up, Sir!!
Honestly, I'm one of the few Bungie playing Halo player who rather enjoyed Halo 4.
I was so hyped watching the trailers (they were even shown in cinemas), then one evening, I got a txt from my dad: "dropped of something for you through the letterbox."
I went downstairs, saw it was Halo 4, and Immediately began playing, 2hrs before my night shift of work... I completed the game lunchtime next day lol
Sure, many of the missions were very linear compared to previous Halo's and the Prometheans were their own problem, but, story and character-wise, it was great!!
I liked Lasky and still do, Palmer had her quirks though she peed of Every Halo fan by being cheeky to Chief.
Cortana, let's be honest, we ALL cried at that ending.
The skybox is amazing, the ost is dope af. Not traditional Halo, but enough to add mystery, as Requiem was.
All 343 had to do was to stick to their guns persay, and keep Cortana gone, have the Didact working behind the scenes or return in an ominous way next game, and follow the "Reclaimer" saga they themselves kept going on and on about.
But the backlash from a section of loud fans on Halo 4 caused them to backtrack in Halo 5, which only made things worse.
Halo 4 was shockingly good, far better then it had any right to be. But Halo sucked ever since
I actually think Infinite finally hit the nail on the head, but it's clear that higher-ups were doing their best to screw over 343i's efforts, not to mention some bizarre bugs and glitches including a nasty PVE bug, and the same Skill Based Matchmaking that rekt Call of Duty rekking that game as well. It's a damn solid game and a step in the right direction after the dark age of the Reclaimer Saga...
But even then I freely admit I have a soft spot for Halo 4. It's not as good as Bungie's efforts, but in a bubble, it's still a damn fine shooter and a solid attempt at a Halo title with a killer plot. If 343i just stood the course, maybe things would be better? I don't know, man.
Well said!
Halo 4 is a good game, but not a good halo game. The best elements just aren't executed properly, also the codification of the multi-player was befuddling to say the least, further dividing the fan base. Why play halo 4, that's clearly trying to be cod, when I could play bo2?
I agree with this whole comment. 4 gameplay wise was a proper progression of 3 and the reason 5 and Infinite suck is because the fans complaints. They don't realize they asked 343 to make 5 the way it is.
I got on to Halo 4 late. Like I bout it and Halo 5 at the same time late. I played a few matches of 5 and deleted the game. Put in 4 and had a blast.
ODST ia one of the coolest and innovative entries into the series. I didn't appreciate the hub world direction and firefight mode back in the day, but in hindsight, they made this one of the of the most unique and replayable Halo games, to this day.
Starting with Halo 4 and 343, the series has taken one hell of a dive in terms of quality and relevance. I replayed 4 and 5 with my son, as part of our "Summer of Halo", and they were difficult to get through -- especially 5. Infinite has been a mixed bag of great and awful... but the exclusion of couch co-op and multiplayer killed it for me.
Eh, I actually went all-in on Infinite earlier this year (and loving the shit out of it), but the Reclaimer Saga was more than worthy of being treated as a dark age for the series and being swept under the rug. 5 especially did a good number on the franchise's popularity despite excellent multiplayer which laid the foundation for Infinite's in terms of gameplay and map design.
And don't even get me started on Halo: The Series and the loud, inconsiderate, annoying minority of fantrolls I call "Biased Bungie Boys" who emerged in the wake of the Reclaimer Saga's self-immolation. Just don't.
Halsey was never really vilified til Karen Travis’s Kilo 5 trilogy. Throughout the other novels it’s clearly illustrated how she genuinely battles with the complex moral decisions behind the Spartan II program and that she isn’t a fan of it, she has regret, she suffers from what she puts the children through, and she sees herself as a monster for going along with it all. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and the Covenants appearance made for an easier justification across the board. I will vehemently defend Halsey to my dying breath
Child abductor
Me too. Not even Halo 4 vilified her, TBH, and that's because the writing there was in touch with the older titles... Well, barring a few touches like making The Chief speak during gameplay, of course.
lol no kidnapping children to turn them into super soldiers to fight human rebels is bad all the way around
@@22lagoonYeah, but the children she abducted, especially John, eventually saved all of humanity and the universe from the flood and the covenant. So while what she did was horrible, the ends justified the means, even if those means were monstrous.
@@StableDruid130 had nothing to do with the Covenant so the point is moot. She stole children to stop human terrorists. It just so happened that the Covenant showed up. As the Polygon video said a MORAL deus Ex Machina
The way you described reachs loadouts sounded more like 4s system, I don’t remember it being like that on reach. There was a selection of loadouts but they weren’t customisable, just one pre-made loadout available per ability available typically
When making custom modes you could modify the loadouts
The legendary ending for reach had you seeing the cryo tube that held the masterchief before the pillar of autumn took off.
No, that you had to hold the thumb stick over to see
Hell yeah, new Prime Theater video
channel just posts bangers
@@fr8964always bangers 💯
You could say that the narrative of Halo 4 had two ''villains'': the physical being the Didact and the looming one that constantly hangs over the game is Cortana's rampancy.
Awesome now I'm going to be very happy when I go to work and have over two hours of a video to listen to at work. LETS GOOOOOOOOOO
So I’ve been busy the last few weeks so not had time to catch up on this video or episode 3, sorting that now! So like I said in my previous video I’m not the biggest halo fan and the only one on the video I played was ODST but despite that I still watched the entire video once again purely just because of the way u present these videos! So so entertaining.
I appreciate you replying to my previous comment on the last video regarding doing a mass effect documentary. You should okay it, it’s so so good! And maybe a gears of war documentary? Especially with the announcement earlier of a new game coming - may do well with the algorithm
i absolutely loved the Kilo-Five books, they were so good
I cried so hard at the end of Halo 4.
Halo 3 and ODST were among the first halo games I've ever played. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed them quite a bit. When I played Halo 4, I didn't know what to expect but by the end, I damn near cried when Cortana sacrificed herself to save the chief. I didn't think that would happen and yet it did...I felt the chief's pain.
As for next time.....yeah, what comes next is.... divisive, uncertain, some good and bad moves. To see a bigger picture of all this will most certainly be interesting to me.
I love Infinite, but yeah. Its management was ridiculous up until 2023, and the game before it? I can't help but think 343i were in the right by killing "Cortana" (aka. the derailed version of the character who served as 5's villain) off screen and treating 5 and the Reclaimer Saga in general as a dropped plotline and embarrassing dark age.
Honestly, I can understand if people don't like the current era between the Reclaimer Saga and the wretched TV show, because it's a bit of a mess... But that doesn't mean certain people (The Biased Bungie Boys) have been reasonable about their distaste.
26:55 didn’t even play in full and I’m covered in goosebumps, truly an amazing game and marketing campaign
Excellent retrospective! You did a good job of taking an impartial stance regarding each of the games.
Excited to see part three!
Halo Reach really was just a game about an alien invasion. It's really scary when you really break it down to the horror of the whole situation. Everyone pretty much thought that if Reach falls, the human race is done. After the midpoint of Reach. Everyone kinda knows in the back of their heads that the human race is done. This is it man. Now we go down fighting. No one knew that destiny blessed the human race with one lucky man finding one unlucky ring.
1:35:00 You could in fact not customize your loadouts. Loadouts were premade for each game mode and most had you start with the exact same weapons, only changing the armour abilities. The one major departure from that was the invasion game mode, where you could in fact spawn with quite a few different weapons as the game continued into different phases. The controversial part at the time were the armour abilities and how they were balanced.
This video made me plug in the series X after a year and now I’m going through all the games again and it’s a blast. Forgot how much I loved halo, infinite kinda killed it for me a bit so I’m excited to hear what you have to say about it if you end you end up doing a part 3
I really hope you end up doing a Reach episode. I never rode the halo train though I was in that age when it was insanely popular. Then I started playing reach and had to have put in hundreds of hours. The campaign and multiplayer both just struck a chord with me. I know a lot of people hated it, but to this day it’s my favorite game I’ve ever played.
Reach is like that her fanbases’ favorite entry what are you talking about
"Bungie didn't want to be a Halo machine, making Halo until the heat death of the universe. They wanted to be a Destiny machine, making Destiny until the heat death of the universe."
Whenever someone brings up Jorges death in Halo Reach, I cry every time because he was my favorite 😢😢😢😢
Any chance for a Prince of Persia retrospective? Especially with the resurgence of the two new games and remake? I’d love to hear you talk about the whole franchise
Of this time period, the best for me is easily Reach. 3: ODST is an excellent standalone expansion that adds to the plot of the main game whilst taking things in a different Noir-flavoured direction, but Reach's emotional highs, intense combat, and strong multiplayer make it my preferred. The Abilities add a lot to the sandbox IMO and "Long Night of Solace" and "Exodus" are some of the best levels in Shooter history.
Halo 4...
It goes without saying that ever since we met The Weapon and she anticlimactically declared that "Cortana is offline", the Reclaimer Saga has basically been thrown out and is now treated as the dark age for the series, with the lingering stench of 5's campaign and Halo: The Series (aka. the TRUE end of the Reclaimer Saga, at least in spirit and tone) having done a number on the series' popularity and 343i doing everything in their power to ignore it and move on. However, I'm of the opinion that 4, despite warning signs of what's to come later in that era (notably a weapon sandbox built around lethality over function), is actually pretty solid in a bubble, mainly due to some good levels, multiplayer modes, weapons and a strong storyline with Downes and Taylor delivering some of their best work in the voice acting department.
But it is and will always be the most polarising game in the main series, and for good reason: One side likes it, the other hates it, Biased Bungie Boys (who are just as guilty as the Reclaimer Saga for causing Halo's popularity to wane) REALLY hate it, and when these three factions get together... Bad stuff happens.
EDIT: Hang on. I've been watching this video, and you forgot something. You forgot to make mention of the majestic glory of the April Fools' classic that is HALO BOLLYWOOD!!!!! ua-cam.com/video/_4DHllroiqM/v-deo.html
You'd be surprised but I was there when reach dropped and a lot of players started leaving around that time. They won't tell you that but it's obvious when you realize 4 out sold it. I remember I was the only one in my friend group that stuck with Reach. I even got 4 and 5 at the same time and couldn't enjoy 5. That's what the game totally changed. 4 felt like they added the right things tho some of it comes from CoD. The maps were bigger so vehicles were used a lot more which means you need a run and load outs to keep vehicles from being over powered.
Hey I know it would be extremly much work but I'd love a complete Game of thrones and/or a pirates of the caribean retrospective
1:41:06 The Forerunner saga absolutely contradicts what was already established, both Halo 3 and Contact Harvest outright state that the Forerunner are human. Mendicant Bias explains it to the prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret when they first discover Harvest and they realise that if it got out that there were still living Forerunner it would collapse the Covenant and more importantly the Prophets would lose power. The prophets; knowing this declare that humanity's existence is heresy and must be wiped from the face of the galaxy. In Halo 3 343 Guilty Spark literally says "You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner! But this ring is mine." You can't get much more clear cut than that. There's nothing wrong with deciding to change the lore, but saying it doesn't contradict what came before is flat out wrong.
IIRC, even some folks at Bungie back then were split on the idea. I think Marty O'Donnell was a Forerunners Were Human truther, whereas other folks weren't. Frank O'Connor was definitely on the latter side and used the H3 terminals to establish that Forerunners and humans were separate species, despite what the narrative of the games themselves implied.
@@GhostRydr1172 From everything I've seen and read O'Connor was pretty much the only person who didn't follow the Forerunner are human idea at Bungie. Jason Jones who was story lead in the first two games certainly subscribed to humans being Forerunner given the H2 storyboards as well as all of Guilty Spark's dialogue in CE. Joseph Staten, the other story lead wrote Contact Harvest which has Mendicant Bias outright state that humans are Forerunner as well as his and O'Donnell writing H3. The only things that seem to align with Humanity not being Forerunner are things written by O'Connor and the other thing all his writing seems to have in common is that it's consistently non-sensical and breaks previously established lore. It certainly never came across to me like there were two factions duking it out over what the Human Forerunner relationship was at Bungie. And even if there was all the people who were in charge of the game's stories clearly intended for them to be the same species.
@@tristanlee8495 can't say I'm surprised. I've never been a fan of the new post Bungie lore or 343's vision. And Frankie O'Connor deserves being dumped on forever for that and so many other sins that have driven the franchise to the ground.
This just covered so much. Love the video as always, Dude
Yow sometimes, you gotta feel Cortana man, she goes through that existential crisis bro. GREAT VID MAN!!! Watched it til the end! 😢
I'm surprised you didn't mention the data pads from Halo Reach. Those data pads pretty much imply that ONI is run by AI constructs that been around for a long time guiding humanity. Kind of like the initial concept of the Patriots from MGS2 before the MGS4 retcon. I find that as a fascinating bit of Bungie lore in the Halo universe that most people don't really know about.
The AI was guiding humanity before the human covenant war and during. It's implied that Auntie Dot, the AI that helps Noble team is part of this AI assembly as a minority member. And that they guided Dr Halsey into making Cortana.
WHAT???
WHAT THE FUCK??????
UA-cam thought it would be funny to show me part 1, then part 3. I had to look for this one.
Thank God!! I have waited, well 2 weeks for this..
Rampancy was actually a key thing they originally worked up for the Marathon games, it was a major part of the story with regards to why Durandal was quite the way he was.
The crazy thing about the boltshot in Halo 4, while the primary fire was definitely weak, its alternate fire, the charged burst shot, is more powerful than even the shotgun. While it had to be charged, it didn't take all that long and could be held till you saw an enemy. It could kill in one shot, and it had a longer range than the shotgun. And of course, being a sidearm, it was something you could have in your starting load-out. You basically have a pocket shotgun. I know I slept on it most of my playtime, but for a sidearm it's actually a sleeper of a powerhouse.
I was watching your other videos when this dropped, great day !
GTA or Call of Duty would be cool. Great vid as always man. Y'all have a great Memorial Day weekend🤘🤘🤘
2:35:09 Early into the first game Captain Exposition himself lore dumps directly to Chief after being rescued though.
This deserves much more views!
"Even Jeff Keely got involved with one of the most soul sulking interviews he's ever done... yeah... love that guy."
Just a small note. There is actually a legendary ending. It's 3 extra seconds where you see Master Chief loaded up in the Pillar of Autumn along with all the warthogs and pelicans.
I thought Halo 4 was the first game to introduce custom multiplayer loadouts. Halo Reach had a variety of game mode specific load outs to choose from.
Halo Legends is another great addition with a lot of anime heavy hitters made shorts for it in 2010
EXCELLENT work on these!
PART 2 BABYYY
I love how in depth you go into these videos. Would you consider covering the Age of Empires franchise? Another cult favourite with an active professional scene.
Bro's speakin draMATIC fr. Love it 💗
Microsoft didn't request a Halo Game made with the engine to Halo 3, Microsoft's wishes were to make 2 more games because Bungie tried to Breach Contract and leave prematurely.
Bungie was already making a campaign DLC and decided to make it a "full game" as a loop hole in the contract and treat ODST as a test bed for ideas in Reach.
One of the reasons ODST didn't have you play as a Spartan, didn't include PVP and didn't include matchmaking was because that was something Microsoft wanted but didn't specify, and Microsoft at the time of ODST releasing was actually really upset by this because what they were expecting was Halo 3 "2" and the same goes for Reach, who h ditched the concept of MLG style competitive gaming, the straw that broke the camel's back leading to Bungie's attempt to leave Microsoft in 2005.
Hopefully, we’ll get another game series like Bungie’s halo. Yakuza/Like a Dragon is pretty much that but still, we all miss the good ol’ days of halo. (Halo reach SWAT was my stomping ground. I always was top of the leaderboard)
the goat returns
Rampancy was introduced in the Marathon series as the malady that affected that ship's AIs. In particular, Durandal: the main narrative driver/antagonist of that series.
I can't agree with you more on Halo 4. I believe if they adapted that story into a film it would be a massive success. That core story was so great and definitely got a tear out of me at the end.
When you think about how Reach and ODST differ besides the fact on one side you are in a squad of super soldiers and another you're in an elite covert ops special task force, one story every one but one dies and in the other everyone but one makes it out relatively unscathed. There's a somewhat beautiful rhythm to those differing stories in my opinion.
Prime theater vid? Yes please.
Yo like the video, get this man in the algorithm. he deserves it
I’ve always thought chief must absolutely REEK after he comes out of that armour.
My workout clothes stink after a single day, I don’t run nearly as much as Big Green
Regarding Reach's multiplayer, while there were loadouts, you could not customize them. The only thing you unlock through playing are armor customization pieces. The more COD-style loadouts don't appear until 4.
I think by the time ODST and Reach came out, I was pretty much done with Halo. COD 4 and MW2 were my jam at that time. Took the glory from Halo.
Great video!
After the greatness of the trilogy there’s some good here but this is where the fall begins
It’s bizarre seeing a time where there was more then one Halo project going on at once from where we are now with 7 years of wasted time and only one mediocre unfinished Halo game to show for it
Had Halo 4 been a launch title for the xbox 720 I don't doubt it'd be better remembered today. Because Halo 4 in and of itself is far better then it has any right to be as the ending of the series. Not the start of something different.
Finally its out🔥🔥🔥
When preorders were for those devs that always have your what you wanted and needed
2:05:37 He would then direct Deadpool and create Love, Death & Robots. One employee of his at Blur Studio, Jeff Fowler would then direct the Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
As a long time fan halo 4 is in the top 3 for me and one of my favorite multiplayers and had the best career rank
cool to see a retrospective of halo from a perspective less....fanboy...ish of the franchise
56:58 He would then direct the 2018 Watership Down miniseries.
This was lit, fallout or elder scrolls next would be epic
Growing up on halo 2 then 3 I still prefer halo 4. The music and story, The love story, Amazing time
I miss the era of Bungie made halo games. I miss the company Bungie was and the IP cultural icon halo was. I miss how things used to be ☹️
Another banger. Could I be detecting a COD retrospective when we finish Halo?
2:17:27 For me 117 sounds too much like something out of the CoD main menu.
The other great journey begins now...
2:42:41 I mean you’re not wrong 🤣🤣
So good
On the subject of the price of ODST being "full priced". When this came out I bought it from Toyrus, and in doing so I was given a Rookie action figure AND a $20 gift card effectively bringing the price down to $30 or $40 depending on how you look at it. Not taking these discounts and incentives into account, I still felt after playing the game that the price was worth it, and feel like a lot of the pushback on the price issue was only there because of information regarding the issues between Bungie and MS and people being upset about it only because of this knowledge and has they not been made aware most likely would not have said a thing about it. ODST was better than most games that were released at a full price point anyhow and you could point to any number of games that released at the time that were around the same time investment for the same cost making the idea that you were getting less for the price just silly on its face and nobody was crying about those other games and how much they cost.
I can already imagine the classic halo fans screeching and screaming on thare sites with anger once I hared you say "Halo 4 has the best story of all the franchise". If you know? you know.
Just a minor disparity on the human/forerunner war. The flood only showed up later from the forerunner perspective. In reality humanity at the time had been fighting the flood for hundreds of years before coming into contact with the forerunner. The flood is actually the entire reason they began butting heads in the first place, humanity was fleeing the flood trying to survive what was for them Armageddon.
Quick question, after Transformers One and Season Two of Earthspark come out, think you going to do part 5 on your TF Retrospective series?
Maybe. 🤔
No guarantees on exact timing, but transformers part 5 might happen one day
The idea of taking over an established property and 'wanting to make it your own' has always bugged me. I only ever see it from Western creatives, though, where as change overs like this for Japanese properties often seem more focused on understanding what it is they've taken on and realizing they have a responsibility to it and to those who already love it.
ahhhh, the lesser of the bungie collection... the good of the two halo wars, the notepad game people mainly got for the multiplayer disc, and the game that was quickly dull and had so many problems
Also Reach didn't have custom loadouts. Just regular ones that had the same weapons and just different abilities
Bro this depresses me. Especially because there was so much hope with the early positive reviews of halo 4. I don’t think near as badly of 343 as most fans do because I love halo so much but damn they could’ve done so much better.
In the Deliver Hope trailer, I don’t believe that’s the Noble 6 you play as. That’s the Noble 6 that you are replacing in the game. If you look closely Kat also still has her arm in that trailer and I’m pretty sure that’s what’s injured in the trailer, so that’s how she lost it. But ultimately, idk
Never played halo. Watched the First one whole , so i might aswell With this one
Halo 4 has a nostalgic spot for me, but I was always bothered by some gameplay changes, and while the narrative left a good place to jump off from, they backtracked for Halo 5.
Including returning the Arbiter in the most, i dont know, lame way ever. I had this idea of rewriting Halo 4 in a way that introduces the Didact while making some changes to the forerunners. I feel the Halo 2 style of different threads followed by different characters would work.
Explaining the Splinter faction of the Covenant with their new designs as you play as Jul Mdama and secure a forerunner luminary. This mission would lead into the Involvement of the Arbiter (Thel Vadamee) and his side of the story would be hunting down Mdama.
Chief would of course end up on Requiem and his story would be the emotional story plot with cortana and her rampancy. He would initially appear in his Halo 3 mjolnir armor which gets damaged in his confrontation with the Didact leading to his armor being replaced onboard the infinity when he meets up with them.
I would have a level based on the forerunner city concept from Halo 3. Where Arbiter would get to see firsthand that Humans are the Forerunners. Reaffirming his belief in his fight back against the Splinter Covenant faction. Leading to him directly aiding humanity at earth when the Didact attacks.
Cortana would still sacrifice herself and save chief. However, I'd like to have the Chief and Arbiter team up to defeat the Didact.
I don't know. It's like the roughest kind of outline
I was hoping to come up with something more in line with the ideas and concepts of the original trilogy.
Havent even began to think about Halo 5 yet. Just have to focus on refining the ideas for a theoretical Halo 4 story rework.
Only 1 thing could've made reach better was removing armor lock and active Camo from multiplayer. (At least as an armor ability with camo)
Lets go baby
Great video Prime, but why no mention of Halo Legends? I know its a huge video, but I was a little disappointed to not see Legends in your video.
2:16:10 Dude, that is a BAD THING.
Damn, tricia helfer is also Dare. I didnt realize that until now. I know shes also ED-I in mass effect
I need this nerd crack. Thank you.
Horses are a conspiracy.
You gotta do a complete retrospective of Breaking Bad!
Lost interest with halo once bungie moved on.
I wish I did