Watch: Halo 5's Opening Cinematic

[AstaresPanda]

Well that was certainly an impressive spectacle, if a bit hard to follow at times. I'm reminded of the lightsaber duels from the prequels; more flash, less substance than the "classics."

I know Spartans are capable of amazing feats in the lore, but this is bordering on Space Marine-level shenanigans. I feel Halo Wars captured the combat abilities of Spartans nicely without going overboard:

I won't knock on anyone who likes 343's stuff, but this isn't going to get me invested in the series again. I already "Finished the Fight," thank you very much.

Halo fans may remember that the otherwise lackluster Halo: ODST [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/halo%203%20odst?os=%20halo%203%20odst]

Oh you did NOT just go there. I'll have you know ODST is one of my all-time favorite Halo games. I must inform you that this unwarranted attack on its good name can only be settled in a one-on-one energy sword duel.[footnote]An admittedly hollow threat, seeing as how I cancelled my Xbox Live subcription over three years ago.[/footnote] At least the game didn't bring the pacing to a screeching halt constantly with non-interactive light shows and shaky-cam dialogue (I'm looking at you, Halo 3).

Wait, when did Buck become a Spartan? I thought they were like Space Marines; if they didn't get you in your early teens, you ain't becoming one!

That is only true for the Spartan 2 and 3 program. Spartan 4's can be anyone and everyone.

Sooo...is every soldier in the UNSC a Spartan then? Are regular Marines a thing of the past? If not, why? Are the suits too expensive to mass produce or something?

Pardon my ignorance, I stopped following the series after Reach.

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I thought the same, they came off as such op haxor, speed running and seem to hoover over the snow and the fact that they had aim bot on one shotting everything and then outrun a fucking crashing space ship. At least 40k space marines while crazy op themselves are at least grounded in some kinda REAL. And then the XBOX ONE only at the end, i was thinking of picking this up after all this microsoft talk about PC and XBOX and then.....they do this. Still not played Halo2,3,4 ODST etc.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I occasionally wonder how ODST would be remembered if Microsoft hadn't decided to double the price with a few months to go.

A 5 hour campaign and some maps that were already out wasn't great for $60. That 5 hour campaign was one of the better in Halo's history (certainly the best written). For $30 it would have been pretty good value and there was no need to add a bunch of extraneous crap and pretend it was relevant. But then Microsoft had to make their moneyz.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I occasionally wonder how ODST would be remembered if Microsoft hadn't decided to double the price with a few months to go.

A 5 hour campaign and some maps that were already out wasn't great for $60. That 5 hour campaign was one of the better in Halo's history (certainly the best written). For $30 it would have been pretty good value and there was no need to add a bunch of extraneous crap and pretend it was relevant. But then Microsoft had to make their moneyz.

You're probably right about that. I thought ODST was fantastic, but that may be partly due to the fact that I waited a year and bought it for $25. Definitely got my money's worth with that purchase.

 

[MrJoyless]

That was really cool! Until they jumped out of the ship and floated to the ground calmly talking to each other, and then floated down the hill blowing through bad guys like they were nothing. Kinda reminds me of the scene from The new ninja turtles movie were they go down the snowy hill for ever.

When you make them able to do everything super easy, there is no tension and its just boring.

The spartan 2 and 3 program members made things like that cut scene happen frequently in the books. Hell in Halo 1 you, a single spartan 2, literally dismantle the whole invasion command structure with little assistance outside of transportation. In the books the original Spartans were amazing without 1000kg of sci fi armor on, put a super soldier in one of those and you literally have a thinking breathing wrecking ball that shoots bullets. Unbelievable feats are what the Spartans are about, free falling from orbit and not dying, moving silently while wearing a literal ton of armor, it's kind of the point...

I find the comparison to WH40k marines a bit weak, I'd more compare them to a fully decked out force commander (artificer armor, shielding etc.) than a rank and file Tactical Marine. Remember, the first spartan 2 program only produced 33 completed candidates that puts them on the same-ish level as grey knights in terms of tactical numbers (vs the actual population i know GN are as rare to SM numbers as marines are to humans). Meaning while insane in their abilities there just are not enough to be used outside of tactical shock missions, the same missions that greatly amplify their shock value.

 

[voltair27]

It looks great, but the fact remains that this is NOTHING like the game's actual gameplay. Why even bother with this stuff if all it's going to do is make us annoyed that we can't pull off even a tenth of the insane things they did?

While Halo 4 had some great gameplay, its plot was awful and things have just been going downhill from there. They really should have ended the series at Reach.

Also, Reach should have been about Blue Team. I really couldn't get behind Noble Team.

 

[Webb Myers]

Since when does "drop in behind enemy lines" mean "drop right into the middle of a firefight"? They can't even bother to throw in a line about "looks like our LZ has been overrun"?

I have to assume the aliens they're shooting are the "bad covenant" from Spartan Ops and not the "good covenant" from Halo 3, but that is a whole lot of hardware for what used to be a small, rebellious faction. There were also some random Promethian deaths in there but it was unclear if they were fighting with or against the covenant.

Even if this is meant to establish tone, "move forward really, really fast while shooting" has almost never been a good idea in actual Halo gameplay. Other than establish that Spartans are bad-asses, I'm not sure what the point of this cinematic is.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Well I thought it looked nice and I'm excited for the game. If the backward compatible thing works out well, I'll certainly be buying a Xbox One for this game.

My only question is what were the Covenant troops shooting at? All I saw were the four Spartans fighting, but it was clear that the Covenant troops were fighting someone else first. So...were where they?

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Wait, when did Buck become a Spartan? I thought they were like Space Marines; if they didn't get you in your early teens, you ain't becoming one!

That is only true for the Spartan 2 and 3 program. Spartan 4's can be anyone and everyone.

Sooo...is every soldier in the UNSC a Spartan then? Are regular Marines a thing of the past? If not, why? Are the suits too expensive to mass produce or something?

Pardon my ignorance, I stopped following the series after Reach.

No problem, I don't blame you for stopping. Basically every soldier of the UNSC is a Spartan 4. While that is not actually true any soldier that is actually worth something and that will be written about is a new Spartan 4. Think of it like the Mandalorians from Star Wars in the post-movie books. Every one is a special armoured super solider. One thing that doesn't make any sense in the books is that after Halo 3 when the war ended humanity got rich. Like crazy super stupid rich. Spartan suits and genetic manipulation are massed produced to an absurd level. Basically Humanity some how came out a a war that they nearly lost to become the most powerful race in the galaxy. The Spartan flagship (that hold all the Spartans 4's) is called the Infinity and it is 5,694 metres long. Somehow humans when from struggling to survive to ruling the galaxy in an untouchable super ship. Yeah, the lore is really stupid.

 

[voltair27]

Wait, when did Buck become a Spartan? I thought they were like Space Marines; if they didn't get you in your early teens, you ain't becoming one!

That is only true for the Spartan 2 and 3 program. Spartan 4's can be anyone and everyone.

Sooo...is every soldier in the UNSC a Spartan then? Are regular Marines a thing of the past? If not, why? Are the suits too expensive to mass produce or something?

Pardon my ignorance, I stopped following the series after Reach.

No problem, I don't blame you for stopping. Basically every soldier of the UNSC is a Spartan 4. While that is not actually true any soldier that is actually worth something and that will be written about is a new Spartan 4. Think of it like the Mandalorians from Star Wars in the post-movie books. Every one is a special armoured super solider. One thing that doesn't make any sense in the books is that after Halo 3 when the war ended humanity got rich. Like crazy super stupid rich. Spartan suits and genetic manipulation are massed produced to an absurd level. Basically Humanity some how came out a a war that they nearly lost to become the most powerful race in the galaxy. The Spartan flagship (that hold all the Spartans 4's) is called the Infinity and it is 5,694 metres long. Somehow humans when from struggling to survive to ruling the galaxy in an untouchable super ship. Yeah, the lore is really stupid.

Anybody else think that the Infinity is a REALLY dumb name?

 

[Evonisia]

The action scene: That was just as awful as the SPARTAN v Covenant showdown cutscene from Halo Wars.

As for the first half: I preferred it on every level when it was these cutscenes.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Solkard]

Spartan 4 armor looks like it must be a LOT lighter. Add that to the built-in thrusters, and it looks like most of their effectiveness comes more from having a crazy amount of mobility, rather than being walking tanks, like previous Spartan series soldiers.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

Hmmmm. Well. That certainly was an occurrence. Yeah, no. This kinda typifies why the post-Reach Halos really turned me off the series. So much of what made the Halo series so compelling for me was how grounded everything felt, which gave the games a nice amount of subtlety to offset a lot of the bombast. Since 4, the series has just kicked all subtlety to the curb in favour of hyperactive, over-blown shit like this. It's quite disappointing considering how interesting the series could have become, especially post-3. I would have loved to see games focusing on the Covenant or the state of things after the events of Halo 3 handled with the same philosophy as the Bungie games (even Reach, to an extent).

It's funny you should call ODST lackluster when it was easily one of the best in the series and was what I wanted to see more of.

 

[FogHornG36]

The spartan 2 and 3 program members made things like that cut scene happen frequently in the books. Hell in Halo 1 you, a single spartan 2, literally dismantle the whole invasion command structure with little assistance outside of transportation. In the books the original Spartans were amazing without 1000kg of sci fi armor on, put a super soldier in one of those and you literally have a thinking breathing wrecking ball that shoots bullets. Unbelievable feats are what the Spartans are about, free falling from orbit and not dying, moving silently while wearing a literal ton of armor, it's kind of the point...

I find the comparison to WH40k marines a bit weak, I'd more compare them to a fully decked out force commander (artificer armor, shielding etc.) than a rank and file Tactical Marine. Remember, the first spartan 2 program only produced 33 completed candidates that puts them on the same-ish level as grey knights in terms of tactical numbers (vs the actual population i know GN are as rare to SM numbers as marines are to humans). Meaning while insane in their abilities there just are not enough to be used outside of tactical shock missions, the same missions that greatly amplify their shock value.

I only read the first book, and i remember things like his shield breaking, struggling to fight elites, and an emphasis on how dangerous the covenant weapons were.

 

[Saulkar]

I hope there are some Sangheili allies in the game. Those are up there with Turians as some of my favourite aliens.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Why are Elites such pushovers now? Majors are supposed to stand toe to toe against a Spartan aren't they? This is making what used to be a tough, smart enemy come across as pathetic.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Why are Elites such pushovers now? Majors are supposed to stand toe to toe against a Spartan aren't they? This is making what used to be a tough, smart enemy come across as pathetic.

This is the saddest part for me. In the first 3 halos the elites were really something to be afraid of, especially on legendary. That is why in halo 2 when you played as one it really was just like a spartan.

This trailer doesn't feel like halo at all. Its too smooth, humanity is just too strong, the first halo was that the Spartans were the only ones who could go toe to toe with any significant land force and that was actually true in the gameplay.

This feels like an anime with a ridiculously over-powered main character.

I was rooting for you 343 but it looks like you don't know what you are doing and that saddens me.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Why are the Covenant absolute enemies again? And why are they allied with the Forerunners? I missed something there.

Since when does "drop in behind enemy lines" mean "drop right into the middle of a firefight"? They can't even bother to throw in a line about "looks like our LZ has been overrun"?

There should be a term to describe that. "Videogame Stealth" or something, meaning

An apparent stealth mission that is briefed as requiring absolute secrecy and caution, but consists of instantly blowing all cover and alerting everything in the vicinity to your presence by arriving in the most noisy and bombastic way possible.

"The Spartan School of Stealth" perhaps?

 

[Evonisia]

Why are Elites such pushovers now? Majors are supposed to stand toe to toe against a Spartan aren't they? This is making what used to be a tough, smart enemy come across as pathetic.

Sadly, Elites being pushovers has been a thing since every game after Halo 3.

Spoiler: Halo Wars: This cutscene actually angers me every time I see it. It's just despicable the way it puts a dunce cap on the Elites.

Halo 3: ODST only featured Elites as corpses, because apparently the Brutes slaughtered all of them left behind on Earth (what?)

Halo: Reach just reduced them to snarling monsters who are incapable of doing anything until one of the team has to die for drama's sake.

Halo 4 had them go back to worshipping the Forerunners directly, cos they hadn't just fought an entire war based on not putting your faith in to your superiors or anything less than a decade ago

Why are the Covenant absolute enemies again? And why are they allied with the Forerunners? I missed something there.

A section of the Seperatists went off and made their own separate group after the war. They aren't the Covenant, but that's just what the UNSC calls them because that way it's easier to market the game. They allied with the Didact in Halo 4 because he's a Forerunner I guess.