- NAStheMagiking
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- Noble Member
Posted by: DO0MTRA1N
First off thank you for actually having a response with logical arguments. That being said yes, some might not think of Reach's story as beautiful but I can't think of a more lazy motive at beating a game as a love interest. It especially loses me when it's with a computer. And yes I realize that saving humanity was the prime motive but that has always been there throughout all the games. With Reach I cared about the characters. I loved Emile's dry humor and how was it not touching the way Jorge sacrificed himself. It made me want them to live through the end. The motive was to keep these characters alive not just save humanity. I was honestly happy when Cortana was gone and I know I shouldn't have felt that way.I'm pretty sure there are people who can articulate this into better words than I can (ajw and roberto, in particular), but I'll try. Cortana isn't a love interest, just someone that 'Chief cares deeply for. We have to remember that 'Chief's state is different to a 'normal' person. The game indicates that he is broken, and that means that we need to look a bit deeper at his relationship with Cortana. I think you, deep down, understand that it's not a simple 'love' story. They have a unique relationship. We have a man and a machine - in the physical sense - with the roles seemingly flipped. It's not ridiculous to have 'Chief grow curious, and ultimately to become close with an AI that's so human. They take care of each other.
The history of these two characters makes the motivation reason enough to get invested. The way it was depicted had me totally engrossed from near enough the outset. The pain in Cortana's voice and on her face was moving. 'Chief cared deeply for humanity, but there was definitely a greater degree of care for his fellow Spartans, Halsey, and Cortana.
This new challenge was making him face something he's never faced before. Getting him to feel things he's not really felt. This journey to save Cortana became a personal journey, too. One where he would evaluate himself, and challenge all that he has known. It's not a simple tale. It's actually quite deep.
There is all that saving humanity stuff, and I think that's pretty interesting, but I think the main story here was about a Spartan and an AI.
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Reach's cast of Spartans may have been better if we saw enough of them. I didn't like that we spent only a few levels with the whole - or most - of the team, but rather had only one other Spartan with us at a time. After reading Fall of Reach, I was hoping to see the Spartan bond come to life in the game. I was hoping for people who don't read the novels to see how Spartans are like brothers and sisters. It's beautiful how tight they are. It never happened.
They didn't take advantage of having one Spartan with you, eother. They could have used the time to provide us with some development. Our personal moment with Emile was at the end, and we barely got anything from that. Along with Jun, I felt he was pretty barebones. Sure, Emile showed us that there was something more that could have been done with him (he showed interesting characteristtics during his little spat with Jorge), but nothing ever came of it.
I feel Kat and Carter in particular had an interesting relationship. They were the ones that engaged the most of the team. Again, though, that was sparce. They didn't give me nearly enough to grow on these characters. They were, ultimately, so empty, which meant that I just couldn't feel for them when their time came.
Jorge showed more than any other, but simply showing me that he cares is also not enough. I needed to see some kind of journey, but our time was brief. It's easy to say here's a character that cares deeply for this planet, but you also need to flesh him out. I need more than that.
Their deaths were also incredibly rushed. It's like it happened quickly and then seconds later we're moving on. Again, Jorge was the one where it appeared the most effort was applied.