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Subject: How do you feel about Master Chief?
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I never really thought of him as a character in himself, the way the games put you there, they try to make -you- become Master Chief, but it's not an RPG, so you can't really control anything.

  • 03.24.2012 12:40 AM PDT

An icon, more than just a character. He is Halo, not matter how many spin-offs try to say otherwise.

  • 03.24.2012 12:42 AM PDT

A strong, dedicated, ominous, and compassionate character. This is magnified when he's around his family of fellow Spartans.

After reading the books I appreciate the character so much more.

He is the face of Halo, but there are other characters just as good; if not better.

  • 03.24.2012 7:09 AM PDT

Abosulety right

  • 03.26.2012 3:46 AM PDT

Viva La Revolution!
Social Infection ftw

His character in the books(specifically, Erin Nylund's books) is far superior to his game character.

In the books we see a supersoldier, badass, but not faceless, not emotionless. We can see that he wasn't the best spartan in terms of leadership, speed, stamina, physical strength, etc, but he had it where it counted. He wasn't just 'Master Chief' in the books. He was John. A human being.

  • 03.26.2012 5:11 AM PDT


Posted by: DiegoM0927
His character in the books(specifically, Erin Nylund's books) is far superior to his game character.


Well in a nutshell this is what I'm hoping Halo 4 will address.

The new 343 ViDoc specifically says they want to address the character completely from the game, not books, etc.

I want to see the character opened up. A more human side than just the super-cyborg we see him as in the original 3 games.

  • 03.26.2012 5:20 AM PDT

He'll always be one of my favorite characters but he was very 1 dimensional and hard to connect with.

  • 03.26.2012 6:44 AM PDT
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I liked him in CE but in H2 and H3, there's less of an empathetic feel as Chief turns from a regular badass into a hero type badass.

Also, I can't stand most of the box arts since they're just Chief in poses, with the exception of CE. CE's showed the story, not just Master Chief.

I would have preferred this for H2's box art since Chief isn't the only important character this time.

As for H3, there's plenty to choose from.

I'm hoping H4's box art will be handled well and the current one replaced. And I'm hoping Chief is less of a hero and more of a human being.

[Edited on 03.26.2012 8:38 AM PDT]

  • 03.26.2012 8:35 AM PDT

Hi everyone :D

The best character of all time :D

  • 03.26.2012 8:58 AM PDT
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The man is superhuman. I love him.

  • 03.26.2012 10:30 AM PDT
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It's funny, because I bet the same people that say Chief is one-dimensional would argue that the members of NOBLE Team are actually deep characters.

BOTH Master Chief and the members of NOBLE are fairly well done characters, you just have to do more than look at the surface.

With MC, you have to notice the subtle and slight humor he has been including from the very first mission in Halo:CE. As the games progress he seems to be taking on more and more of a burden of Humanity and loss, is also forming a unique bond with Cortana (Love, but in a Brother-Sister type of form), and forms a deep cross-species comraderie with Thel. With the books we see the pressure and trauma of losing his entire "family." By the time we get to the short story "Palace Hotel" Chief has taken on the full burden. It has come to the point where he occasionally doesn't even think he is human, and has to stop to tell himself that he still is. He's not a static or one-dimensional character, but rather a dynamic and multi-dimentional one that was developed through subtle ways.

  • 03.28.2012 5:27 PM PDT

Purely from the gaming perspective, he's an absolute bad-ass. He goes in, does his duty effectively, and leaves when it is completed.

I gather that he is a very complex person from what I read and hear and definitely want some more developed, but developed well, in Halo 4. I'm intrigued.

  • 03.29.2012 9:08 AM PDT

He's a badass, but that's about all he is. Moreover, in terms of underdeveloped characters, I prefer Six to Chief. Granted that I only just started reading the books with the Fall of Reach, I do have a general idea of each one's content.

Anyway, I like Halo more for the mystical elements of its story than it's characters, which defies my approach to most other fiction.

  • 03.29.2012 9:12 AM PDT
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Thread: "Your way of stopping an asteroid the size of Texas from hitting Earth."

Posted by: AvengerTam1010
launch texas at the asteroid

I have to disagree with the majority opinion here, I like Chief as a character. He might not be deep, no, but you'd have to be a fool to think depth = good character. John has a tale quite unlike any other, he's an atypical saviour of humanity in that he is completely selfless and his armour IS, for our sake, his face; it builds up an aura around him of legend.

So yes, for what it's worth, I do like John as a character.

  • 03.29.2012 10:37 AM PDT


Posted by: Mega Fox
I have to disagree with the majority opinion here, I like Chief as a character. He might not be deep, no, but you'd have to be a fool to think depth = good character. John has a tale quite unlike any other, he's an atypical saviour of humanity in that he is completely selfless and his armour IS, for our sake, his face; it builds up an aura around him of legend.

So yes, for what it's worth, I do like John as a character.


I guess I'm a fool.

We can appreciate him for his demeanor, but a *good* character's foundation is his/her complexity. Just ask any critic. If you disagree then all I can say is that you have low standards.

[Edited on 03.29.2012 2:29 PM PDT]

  • 03.29.2012 2:28 PM PDT

Formerly darkbrute (no I was not perma-banned.)

Posted by: Bradllez
Members here dont get banned.

They just go missing in action.

I never really found it an issue in the games. In the books they gave a bit more depth. But apparently 343i is going to give the John some actual character.

  • 03.29.2012 6:52 PM PDT
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Posted by: RememberSix

Posted by: Mega Fox
I have to disagree with the majority opinion here, I like Chief as a character. He might not be deep, no, but you'd have to be a fool to think depth = good character. John has a tale quite unlike any other, he's an atypical saviour of humanity in that he is completely selfless and his armour IS, for our sake, his face; it builds up an aura around him of legend.

So yes, for what it's worth, I do like John as a character.


I guess I'm a fool.

We can appreciate him for his demeanor, but a *good* character's foundation is his/her complexity. Just ask any critic. If you disagree then all I can say is that you have low standards.


Because the opinion of a critic is absolute fact. Critics take opinion and make them appear to be fact. Like food critics. Sure, they say a food can taste bad, but does that mean that people don't enjoy the taste? What they decide as "good" is no more valid than what the average Joe thinks is "good".

Just because critics say that good characters are complex characters doesn't mean they really are. Master Chief's in-game character is brilliant for the exact opposite of complexity. It is his simplicity that makes him a good character.

Bottom line is that what critics say is no more valuable than an opinion, and is certainly not fact.

  • 03.30.2012 4:36 PM PDT
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I liked the Chief from the books not the games.

  • 03.30.2012 6:23 PM PDT

"Find where the liar hides, so that I may place my boot between his gums!" - Rtas 'Vadum

I don't like him. He has no notable qualities beyond the generic super soldier archetype, other than an off putting tendency to follow orders like a mindless drone in not just his actions but his very way of thinking; he exhibits no beliefs and philosophy of his own, rather he just represents the belief and intent of whatever commanding officer is giving him orders. He is basically just a proxy for other people. The whole thing where he constantly just shoves his emotions off to the side and then forgets about them is typical and predictable. Oh, and the whole thing in Palace Hotel about him classifying himself as something other than Human, with a condescending tone implying supremacy, makes him not only non-notable to me, but a bit unlikable. He is small minded.

  • 03.30.2012 6:43 PM PDT
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im TXI HUNTER


Posted by: superiorarsenal
It's funny, because I bet the same people that say Chief is one-dimensional would argue that the members of NOBLE Team are actually deep characters.

BOTH Master Chief and the members of NOBLE are fairly well done characters, you just have to do more than look at the surface.

With MC, you have to notice the subtle and slight humor he has been including from the very first mission in Halo:CE. As the games progress he seems to be taking on more and more of a burden of Humanity and loss, is also forming a unique bond with Cortana (Love, but in a Brother-Sister type of form), and forms a deep cross-species comraderie with Thel. With the books we see the pressure and trauma of losing his entire "family." By the time we get to the short story "Palace Hotel" Chief has taken on the full burden. It has come to the point where he occasionally doesn't even think he is human, and has to stop to tell himself that he still is. He's not a static or one-dimensional character, but rather a dynamic and multi-dimentional one that was developed through subtle ways.

oh
my
god this is amazing
ot:i completely agree with this and maybe he misses his fellow spartans?

  • 03.31.2012 2:06 AM PDT

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