We both know that Halo stories have been done very well

by Avateur , Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 21:39 (3906 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by Avateur, Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 21:45

They are structured fine, and did the job they were supposed to do. In fact, Halo had a pretty good video game story. However, I would not say any of Bungie's games even came remotely close to the types of stories that shape our cultural collective, nor do they offer anything morally, intellectually, emotionally, or philosophically interesting.

H2 alone touches on xenophobia, genocide, war, pride, deception, morality, and philosophy. You're playing as one of two largely silent protagonists who are all about war and killing and survival. If not the Master Chief, the Arbiter absolutely grows as a character. Lies are unraveled, truths are revealed, and a game that focuses on placing the player in the role of two action heroes turns into a larger statement about what really matters in life, the lies and deceit that often begin and fuel war and genocide, and an attempt to set aside differences to work for a common goal of survival and cohabitation if not mutual respect and understanding (even for the Flood, who only wants to survive and take over, but that's another story).

Only if you were 12 years old and thought action movies were real life.

See above. H3 is where it all unravels when you realize that basically not a lot of the foreshadowing from H2 mattered and that Truth wasn't some evil coniving genius, but just your general religious zealot who really just wanted to blast everything to oblivion.