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This topic has moved here: Subject: Halo 4 ending Opinons (Spoilers!)
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Subject: Halo 4 ending Opinons (Spoilers!)

Haters are going to hate.
Praisers are going to praise.

The Bungie Forums are what keeps my mind sharp and my fingers active, between writing my own movie scripts, drawing, and studying industrial design. At the moment I'm working on miniatures for a short movie that I'll hopefully be able to film once I've saved up for a camera... That's me, with the mug, trying to have a conversation with Konoko.

Posted by: Grunt Warchief
So this whole boo hoo about Cortana going nuts was NOT represented in the game properly at all.
Nothing remotely close to her being tortured by the Gravemind.
"This is UNSC A.I. Serial Number CTN0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins."
The worst is the fact that the WHOLE Didact story is told through the terminals that you have to search around for. 343 basically doesn't really know how to balance out how much was needed to be told in the game story and just simply cut everything in half..It has come to the point where the games and the books primery purpose is to build lore what can factor into a universe. They don't even interweve!
People shouldn't be going around searching to find out what actually happened after playing the game, people should be going around searching for additional info because the story in the game was so awesome you just want more.A game should be a game, not a collection of various media.

[Edited on 11.18.2012 2:24 PM PST]

  • 11.18.2012 2:20 PM PDT

There were moments when Cortana spouted stuff randomly during the Campaign - on one occasion quite viciously - and there is more than one occasion where her rampancy compromised the mission. Mostly, though, it was about her dealing with her fate, and becoming more distressed by it. 343 handled it brilliantly, and it's the most moved I've ever felt in a Halo game.

Posted by: flamedude
The Broadsword level was a shameless starfox/death star trench run ripoff that ended with the easiest objective whereas with the Sabre I fought alongside other Sabres and a Frigate against a variety of Covenant.

The Sabre section is not fun, though. Sure, first time was cool 'cause it was a space battle, but it was brief and all you did was fly in circles attacking enemies that provided no challenge. There's no fun in repeating that, whereas the Broadsword is a cool run that has you avoiding shifting walls and turret fire. The music makes it all pretty thrilling, too.

[Edited on 11.18.2012 2:43 PM PST]

  • 11.18.2012 2:34 PM PDT
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Do not waste your tears, I was not born to watch the world grow dim. Life is not measured in years, but by the deeds of men.

Posted by: goldhawk
We should know better, because we are better.


Posted by: the real Janaka
Xd00999, looks like it ended up being similar to what you hoped it wouldn't... :P

Posted by: Xd00999
I just hope it doesn't end in a quick time event. Pressing X repeatedly to win is not fun. An arena style fight (think Tartarus) would be a good end.

Quick time events are lame in general. If is going to take no effort to defeat the great evil in gameplay, they should just scrap it and replace it with a nice cutscene.

I agree with you too, ninjakenzen.

  • 11.18.2012 3:10 PM PDT


Posted by: NAStheMagiking
There were moments when Cortana spouted stuff randomly during the Campaign - on one occasion quite viciously - and there is more than one occasion where her rampancy compromised the mission. Mostly, though, it was about her dealing with her fate, and becoming more distressed by it. 343 handled it brilliantly, and it's the most moved I've ever felt in a Halo game.



More than one occasion her rampancy compromised the mission?
Ok name 3 times the mission was compromised because of her rampancy.

  • 11.18.2012 3:23 PM PDT

On Waypoint I'm rocketFox;
http://halo.xbox.com/forums/members/rocketfox/default.aspx

Old GTs; RebelRobot, Flamedude

Posted by: NAStheMagiking
There were moments when Cortana spouted stuff randomly during the Campaign - on one occasion quite viciously - and there is more than one occasion where her rampancy compromised the mission. Mostly, though, it was about her dealing with her fate, and becoming more distressed by it. 343 handled it brilliantly, and it's the most moved I've ever felt in a Halo game.

Posted by: flamedude
The Broadsword level was a shameless starfox/death star trench run ripoff that ended with the easiest objective whereas with the Sabre I fought alongside other Sabres and a Frigate against a variety of Covenant.

The Sabre section is not fun, though. Sure, first time was cool 'cause it was a space battle, but it was brief and all you did was fly in circles attacking enemies that provided no challenge. There's no fun in repeating that, whereas the Broadsword is a cool run that has you avoiding shifting walls and turret fire. The music makes it all pretty thrilling, too.


Not fun for you maybe..... but I enjoyed it. For starters you're actually out in space. The Broadsword run was just too boring for me..... too enclosed, too linear, no variety in enemies, and with completely non-sensical glowing things and moving walls. The end bit where you reach the Death Star core..... whoops I mean the central bit was over in about 10 seconds once you realise that turrets can't hit you and that the targets are easily hit. So not only boring but anti-climactic as well.

I found no joy in the Broadsword section. Not even sure why you have missiles as there was nothing moving that required a lock-on.

For me there is just no replay value in H4. I can replay H1 and H3 all day long and never get bored, but with H4 I've completed it on Heroic and Legendary and there was nothing there to go back to, no Final Run, no The Ark, no AotCR or Silent Cartographer.

  • 11.18.2012 3:41 PM PDT


Posted by: NAStheMagiking
The Sabre section is not fun, though. Sure, first time was cool 'cause it was a space battle, but it was brief and all you did was fly in circles attacking enemies that provided no challenge.


I like the Sabre section. On Legendary I found myself having to use the destroyed ships as cover from Seraphs, which added a bit more dynamic into it.

I preferred the Broadsword, though. Starfox has always been one of my favourite franchises so seeing an homage (even if unintentional) in Halo was great, and it was done well with the music, a fragile Earth looming over, broadcasts from FLEETCOM and urgency in dialogue that made it seem like you had to do this or everything was lost.

It was pretty easy, but it's a gimmick like the Sabre. It's not really supposed to be challenging. Problem with the Sabre is that the lack of challenge out-stayed its welcome, and after defending Anchor 9 and its helmsman (who from the sound of his cracking voice, seemed to be engaged in a fierce battle with oncoming puberty rather than the Covenant) I got fed up with it.

Still the best level in Reach though, shame it all went downhill from there.

Anyway, yeah.

  • 11.18.2012 3:57 PM PDT

Once More Unto the Breach

First off, I would NOT want to be in the room when his armor was taken off considering he has had the same suit on since October 2552 and now it's June or July 2557. But really, I thought that Lasky's talk with Chief at the end was great. Very tough.

  • 11.18.2012 4:00 PM PDT

I write poetry, I write short-stories, I listen to hip-hop (80s&90s), Reggae, Classic Rock n Roll, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Blues, and the 60s, 70s.

The cliffhanger of Chief taking off his armor was just great, I was shock, and yet happy at the same time. Oh course, I want to play as Chief once more in Halo 5. His story can't be over, but it is called the 'Reclaimer' Trilogy for a reason, so I won't be surprised to see another hero emerge for Halo 5.

  • 11.18.2012 4:05 PM PDT

Wake me when the jews are gone.


Posted by: ajw34307
Without a doubt the most meaningful ending in this series, and indeed for this year in gaming (the only ending topping it being Journey's IMO).

Halo has never been particularly big on sophisticated literary devices, the 'hero's journey' and 'full circle' would be kicked around a bit in some of the previous games but it never seemed to have much substance to it.

And, bloody hell, that sure changed in Halo 4!

When they said they were going to explore John as a person, they really weren't joking. The Prologue starts us off with the questioning of whether John was successful because he was, at his core, broken. It's continued throughout the game, Cortana asking John to find out which one of them is really the machine, and culminates in Lasky's dialogue at the end where he states that soldiers and humanity (machine and man) are no different.

On the subject of Lasky, his insistance that he's "not about to let that man down" at the end of the game really brought to mind Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. There was an emotional motivation for Lasky in this scene, and there was an emotional motivation for myself as the Chief to not let him down.

John removing his armour in the Epilogue symbolises the exposure of his humanity for what's really the first time in the series - and it took a machine who really was more human than him to make him realise who he is. The conclusion has finally been drawn that he wasn't successful because he was broken at his core, but the "tools" which Halsey supplied (calling Cortana a tool itself being ironic) helped bring out the humanity in John and turned it into his greatest strength.

It's beautifully poetic, and is infinitely more sophisticated development for a character who was treated as a sterile brick for so long.

Halo 4's ending is how an ending to a particular character arc is done right and done well. Cortana's final words, "welcome home, John," really did emotionally resonate within me. Cortana is a character we've been with for 11 years now, she got the exit she deserved and it had the impact it should.
Damm you Awj! why did you have to change your avatar, it's so confusing now.

  • 11.18.2012 4:24 PM PDT


Posted by: Grunt Warchief

Posted by: NAStheMagiking
There were moments when Cortana spouted stuff randomly during the Campaign - on one occasion quite viciously - and there is more than one occasion where her rampancy compromised the mission. Mostly, though, it was about her dealing with her fate, and becoming more distressed by it. 343 handled it brilliantly, and it's the most moved I've ever felt in a Halo game.



More than one occasion her rampancy compromised the mission?
Ok name 3 times the mission was compromised because of her rampancy.

Off the top of my head I can say that her rampancy became an issue:

1) When she was meant to encase the Didact in the pillars to stop him from leaving, but messed up just as she was about to do so

2) When she endangered their lives by spouting off random Halsey memories as they approached the asteroid base

3) My memory's a bit foggy here, but I'm sure 'Chief had to ask her twice to do something when the first Gondola stopped, in Shutdown

He also had to get her to concentrate her thoughts on Dr. Tilson when the Didact claimed the Composer. The situation was urgent, and 'Chief had to wait whilst she recited the doctor's identity to herself.

I'm not sure if 'compromised' is the best word, but her rampancy did effect the tasks at hand, where things would have been quick and smooth had Cortana been in her right frame of mind.

  • 11.18.2012 6:39 PM PDT

Posted by: AngryBrute1
Oh yeah, since somebody does not believe what YOU believe; that makes us vapid...
I cannot grasp that what you call "Something happened to nothing, and that nothing became something, and it was smaller than than a period."

Posted by: ROBERTO jh
The story of Halo 4 was my favorite, and as far as that goes, I likewise felt that Halo 4 had the best ending. Defeating Didact was kind of sudden, but the story itself made up for it.

I also don't get how people felt the story made no sense. Other than the Covenant, everything seemed pretty well explained, imo, or otherwise needed only a little thought.

  • 11.18.2012 7:01 PM PDT

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