Posted by: ajw34307
I couldn't give a flying toss that you don't care about the story, I do, it's my main attaction to Halo, it's what got me into the games in the first place. Believe it or not, when you're playing campaign, you're playing a story. -_-
You clearly don't know anything about Halo's story by saying it's not deep or thought provoking, go read the novels, they're written by some of the most famous sci-fi writers of the past few decades. Halo 2 had some especially subliminal themes to it, but people like you look past all that because all you care about is blowing stuff up.Wow, I'm slowly being tempted to join the anti-Halo/Halo is overrated camp, when ever I encounter blind Halo fanatics like yourself. The fact the cherish the lore and story behing the Halo series as some kind as a bible, shows that you need serious help. The storyline in these games were never THAT great, and the lore, while interesting, isn't fascinating or original in the slightest. They just repeat the same common sci-fi tropes we've all read before. The fact you take it so seriously, proves that you had too much free-time with the Halo universe.
In reality, when I play the campaign, I'm basically playing a f***ing video game with a storyline to go along with it. It admit that the Halo series have solid storytelling (Well, Halo: CE through ODST to be more specific), as far first-person shooters go. They're still not the very best in video games, hell, not even in the medium. Probably because the XBox wasn't my first console, the Halo series weren't the first first-person shooters I've played, nor was Halo: The Fall of Reach was the first sci-fi novel I've read.
I like the Halo novels. They're cliche, but action-packed and well-written enough to have kept me hooked. But are they Pulitzer or Hugo prize worthy? Absolutely not! Yes, I care sticking plasma grenades onto alien's crouch than the story, because that's the main attraction of the series. It's not the "grand" storytelling of the franchise, it's the gameplay. The reason why I play the Halo series, and many video games in general.
If I wanted to play games generally for their storytelling, and I'd rather play these games:
- Planescape Torment
- Mafia: The City Lost of Heaven
- System Shock 2
- BioShock
- Silent Hill 2
- Half-Life 2
- Marathon series (Created by Bungie of course)
- Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
- Deus Ex
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- The Last Express
- A Mind Forever Voyaging
- Star Control II
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Shenmue I & II
- Mass Effect series
- The Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen & Soul Reaver
- Fallout 2
- Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
- Red Dead Redemption
- Panzer Dragoon Saga
- Final Fantasy III or VI in Japan
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Grim Fandango
These games have truly great storytelling, that would make the Halo series pale in comparison. Yes, unlike many Halo fans, I've played many video games that aren't Halo.
EDIT: I will say the Halo series did have potential to have great storytelling (at least by the standards of the medium). Unfortunately, it was never tapped. Halo 2 seemed like it was heading to the right direction, but it immediately shot itself in the foot by offering a pointless cliff-hanger as an "ending".
[Edited on 02.15.2011 1:06 PM PST]