- MegaMuffin16
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- Fabled Mythic Member
Don't worry, you're still your mom's favorite Bnet member.
I know only hardcore universe fans will read this, but I hope most of you at least skim.
It is clear that Bungie had always had a hard time giving the Brute a defining character throughout the series. They're the only Covenant enemy to change so drastically from a game-to-game basis. But why? Why did Bungie have such a hard time making the Brute constant?
The answer may lie in how they function. It's no secret that Halo 2 was rushed, and thus the Brutes were never given the full appreciation they were supposed to get. They were described as pack mentalists prone to berserker violence. But in reality, they were just bullet sponges. They didn't do much to avoid you and when they weren't standing there or running straight at you, they weren't doing anything. This was a huge contrast from Elites, which were cunning with their ability to flank and use the terrain to their advantage. The difference between Elites and Brutes is understandable though, after all they're different species and Bungie wanted to show that Brutes are not Elite clones.
Their behavior shows this. Instead of commanding the other Covenant species on the battlefield, they pretty much let them do whatever while the Brutes do their own thing. Okay, that's fine. It tell us that Brutes are very different from other Covenant and have a very proud sense of being. This defines them as characters.
But perhaps they were too different. Their look didn't seem to fit into the Covenant at all. Instead of wearing colorful and beautiful pieces of armor, they wore Kieser helmets and flags on their shoulders. Okay, so I suppose at that point we could assume the Brutes were holding onto their pre-Covenant roots right? After all, they don't use other Covenant weaponry, they don't use Covenant armor, perhaps the Brutes want to hold onto the old ways. Again, that's fine.
Enter Halo 3. The Brute armor changes - they actually get some armor. They've gone from wearing nothing to wearing almost Elite-ish colorful armor in a few months. This is complete contrast to what we knew about them in Halo 2: Instead of standing out this seems to suggest they're trying to blend in. But there's another inconsistency with this: The Spiker and the Chopper. Although the Brutes seem to be getting used to using Covenant armor, they've suddenly decided to keep using their own weaponry; Spiker, Brute Shot, Chopper, Prowler etc. Not only this but the Brutes start showing very dominant command over the other Covenant. Telling the Grunts to "Go look for him", or "Throw a grenade", or even simple commands like "Stay together". This is a huge turnaround from Halo 2, where they pretty much did their own thing. In this sense, did Bungie simply want to keep the gameplay similar enough to Elites? Halo 3 changes our perception of the Brute and what kind of character they are. They contradict each other.
Enter Halo 3: ODST. Perhaps Bungie has finally decide to define the Brute. They're keeping mostly with their behavior from Halo 3, so maybe this is the path they want to take. They're strong, they're intimidating, but at the same time they're smart and not bullet sponges. They command the field but do not care what happens to other Covenant. This seems to be right where Bungie wanted the Brutes, and I think this was the perfect place for them to be. So why change it?
Halo: Reach releases. Why oh why, after all that, do we have such a reversal of the Brute behavior? I understand this is a prequel, so I can understand why some would say they were behaving in more of a Halo 2 type way because this was before Halo 2. But that can't be right - An entire species just changes its mentality from hundreds or even thousands of years to a completely different aspect of accepting Covenant style in a few months? This just doesn't make sense. It would make more sense to have made the Brutes in an ODST fashion and discount Halo 2, realizing the game was rushed and that is why they are so different. But perhaps Bungie just thought they would be too much like Elites in that case. I don't know.
Why do you think Bungie had such a hard time with Brutes throughout the series?