Well I just finished the game and I made this thread so those of you who have also finished the game can discuss it with me. What do you guys think of the ending, I thought it was pretty good but am still not sure if it was as fulfilling as I would have liked it to be.
Yeah, finished it last night with Quo, Keezles, and Wonder on Legendary. Damn. That last level was FUN! Hilarious listening to 4 people racing over the falling tiles.
Not bad. Not sure what was extra with the Legendary ending vs the standard ending.
How was it on Legendary? Hard?
Very tough at times. I couldn't even imagine going it alone at some points. The four of us were getting our asses handed to us at times.Originally Posted by Justintiime
Holy. Crap.
First of all, Full Circle was a really nice touch, and the last level being a better, more enjoyable race against time but so incredibly similar to the ending to Halo 1 was amazing.
I haven't had so much fun in a game in a long time, and 4 player co-op on Legendary was one of the best times I've had. Especially taking on two Scarabs while trying to airlift and airdrop Crippler and Quo onto one while Keezy rocks the other ones legs with missiles. Amazing.
Storyline wise, I think this was head and shoulders above the others. As Keezy pointed out during the game, the Cortana/Dr. Halsey dialogue was really well done.
What I would have liked more of, story-wise, was some more of the "love story" between Cortana and Chief, because the last scene of the game, before he goes into the cryotube, was really touching, and I actually felt bad for her. The whole "I'll miss you" line was well done, but that last .5 seconds left me with some questions, like what the hell was that robot-esque planet that they were floating towards?
Now we need to go back through and get the skulls and the terminals, and take some different approaches.
It was very hard. I also just read that it does not scale up for co-op, so you will be facing the same amount of people whether there are 4 players or just one.
I liked the ending, but knew MC wasn't dead. If you have a hero die at the end heroically, the usually show it in its glory. There's never been a movie where the main character died and all it showed was a ship blowing up.
As Crippler said... wake the Chief up when you need a system seller. Does anyone know what the hell that Death Star looking thing was?
Hmmm, Onyx was described as a "forerunner-made sphere."
Maybe, if there is a next mission, we're going to finally meet Dr. Halsey and the rest.
Dude, the heck? I didn't see that at all. In fact, I'm totally confused on the ending. I see the ship leaving Installation 00 with the Arbiter and the Chief and then suddenly we're back on Earth and they're talking about the Arbiter "sticking with him to the end." Did the Chief die? What happened? And what was the deal with the Chief nearly falling out the ship? I mean Cortana can't close the bay doors?
Overall, however, I was very impressed. I'd put in a school context when I talk about the campaign: A solid B effort from a student who could have done so much more. Still, an incredible improvement from the last "D-" paper which was clumsily written and constructed. Still wishing for the magic and simplicity of the first game. This one still leans to heavily on the first game for my liking, but still does so in the best ways. (note, I'm rating this based purely against other Halo games and the Halo universe).
I felt that the game again suffered from story presentation. The cinematics are incredibly obfuscating. When did the Dawn fly to the replacement Halo ring, for example. I think the lack of establishing shots in the cinematics is what really hurts. You don't know what's going on at Installation 00 beyond just brief snippets without locational context. Halo 2 really suffered from this. It took me forever to realize that the second half of the game was on a Covenant planet that could warp through space.
I did have a lot of questions at the end. What happened to the rest of the Covenant, even on Installation 00. Sure, Truth is dead, but they still have a lot of the fleet there. Did they just give up? Did the Flood take them all out? And what about back in our galaxy? The flood must surely exist. And the rest of the Covenant, do they fall in line? I don't need closure on every storyline, but it feels like these story threads are just dropped. Just one line of dialogue would solve most of these issues. Have the shipmaster say "The flood have overwhelmed the rest of the Covenant armada." Done.
Level design was good for gameplay I thought, but a lot didn't make sense to me. Take the last level for example. What the heck is that plating that we're driving over? A lot things just seem conveniently placed for awesome gameplay, but make little sense in a story-context.
The gameplay, however, was darn near perfect mechanically. I still have issues with encounter design, though. Too often I'm being shot by enemies really far away (Jackals or worse Flood Pure Forms) and have nothing I can shoot back at them with. The brute chieftains being immune to grenade sticks and needles is incredibly cheap. And on the last level I can't even count the number of times a plate blew up 5 feet before I was going to drive over it, sending me plunging to my death with no chance for correction. I also had issue with the lack of guidance in the game. I got lost so many times because I didn't know where I was going. But these are niggling things to an other wise incredibly solid game.
Favorite mission: The Ark, starts out sniping, then vehicles. Or The Covenant, solid Covie killing action.
P.S. I don't apologize for long posts.
Last edited by Epyon MX; 09-26-2007 at 08:16 AM. Reason: clarification
Did you watch past the credits? Maybe that is the Legendary ending only?
The credits never rolled. It just said, "Thanks for playing, helping us with world domination, etc..." after the zoom in on the memorial with 117 scratched on. You press A and you're back on the main menu.
I'm wondering if I'll even be able to make it to the ending. How long did it take you guys to get to the end?
Holy shit Wonder. Maybe that is Onyx. Now I want that game.
This was the most I had fun gaming in a LONG time. Playing through in co-op was incredibly fun. When I was able to actually jump off that flying Marine thingy Wonder was piloting, land successfully on a scarab and take the 5 Brutes and it down was probably the most bad ass moment in gaming for me. Then hopping off and running like mad to escape the ensuing explosion. I felt like the Master Chief of the books. A gaming moment I will never forget. I hope I can capture some screens of that moment tonight.
That was very, very badass. I think the Scarabs were some of my favorite moments as well. The viewpoint and scale in the encounter with the very first one was excellent. It made you feel like you up against something incredibly huge that could squish you flat at any moment. (and actually, when Crippler took that one out it did squish me flat...)
Co-op is the way to play this game, and on legendary. The only part of the game I really didn't care for was Gravemind's anus-caverns with the butthole doors. That got old quick, trying to find your way through there while being relentlessly mauled by walking vaginas. (maybe you had to be there on these descriptions...).
All I know is, Wonder and Keezy can fly like mofo's. I got my arse handed to me within a minute in that flight mission, and took Crippler and I both to a watery grave... waiting to spawn in is a bitch!
Ep, you have to watch all the way through the credits, as soon as the "thanks" screen comes on, put down your controller, don't touch a thing.
You find out where Master Chief and Cortana are, and why they are there. Then, on Legendary, you see where they may be headed.
The Gravemind Covenant Ship was a little much, but that's only because of the lack of way points in Legendary. I didn't mind it, mostly because I enjoy Vagina Dentata.
I said "Holy shit, this is amazing" more times than I have in any campaign playing through co-op on Legendary. Everyone needs to do it.
See, I'm going to need a second playthrough or a co-op playthrough before I get the "holy crap" thing. Too often I was in a warthog harried by ghosts and banshees to look around and see the beautiful surroundings and real-time epic battles. Which I don't mind at all. I was saying "holy crap" to the gameplay, but it's going to be so much more awesome when I get a chance to look around.
Gotta go back. Gotta go back. Argh. I can't think today. Or rather, I can't think about anything non-Halo.
Those were the credits you have to let them play.
I played through by myself on normal and got the same ending. Also I am glad that the very last part is another warthog race against time, that was my favorite part about halo 1 and now they had even bigger jumps and it was a lot less linear. I agree with wonder there were a lot more holy s moments and I said what, and wow more times than I ever had before.
Here's the thing. So Master Chief goes into the Cryotube, Cortana says she'll miss the Chief, and then he's all "Wake me when you need me."
Then, we see the ship they're on, float dangerously close to a giant city/lit up planet. My thought is Onyx, but depending on where they are (I think they got through the portal, but only the Arbiter's half made it to Earth) maybe they're closer to an Elite home world. Now that would be hot.
Plus, it's the same music that's at the end of Halo 2 with Cortana & Gravemind.
This could be a setup for marathon, bungie has hinted and never denied that it was in the same universe just at different points in time.
Well, Bungie (post MS-buyout) officially has denied that the two universes are related. However, Alex Seropian, one of the founders of Bungie, said in an interview after he left Bungie that the Master Chief is the Security Guard who is the hero in the Marathon games.
Wow, Wikipedia already has its entries updated:Bungie also provides the following as part of its FAQ: "Q. Is Marathon the prequel to Halo?", "A. No, Marathon is a separate story, with wholly different characters, story and gameplay." In counterpoint, Alexander Seropian has indicated with reference to the Master Chief character: "I don't think you ever find that out, but it's the same character." Fans of both games continue to speculate on this theory.
Moreover, there is evidence of a subtle link between the Marathon and Halo storyline at the end of Halo 3. In a cinematic cut-scene that appears only after the game's closing credits are completed, Master Chief is seen stranded on a derelict ship in vastness of space. With his severely damaged vessel lacking any sort of propulsion system, Master Chief cryogenically freezes himself in an attempt to survive until help arrives. His parting words to the still-functioning Cortana are ""Wake me...When you need me."
Also, there is an additional cinematic which can only be unlocked by completing the game on the "Legendary" difficulty level. Following the aforementioned cut-scene, Master Chief's damaged ship is shown to drift very closely to a small but seemingly populated planet (the planet's surface twinkles with lights). The implication - at least to some - is that the planet in question is none other than the planet/spaceship Marathon, and that the protagonist of the Marathon series is simply an un-frozen Master Chief. This is a chronologically viable conclusion: Halo is said to end in the year 2553, meaning that the cinematic implies that Master Chief simply stayed frozen for 241 years.
Last edited by Epyon MX; 09-26-2007 at 11:23 AM.
I think it has to be possible.
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