I know a lot of people who haven't played the game get the misconception that Halo's story has been tacked on and is really just a mediocre run of the mill let's not pay attention to the story type game.  While I know you can't get all of it out of this as this is like joining a movie  way into it as it's the 3rd game (they all carry the same continued storyline- halo 3 is the end, hence finish the fight) and much of it, especially the details, are told in game.

Just watch this though, it should give you an idea  of Halo's story.  It's really good sci-fi imo.   See people, it's not half-baked! And for god sakes, Master Chief isn't a silent protangonist or forced badass, he's a dehumanized human. (there's this theme about master chief becoming dehumanized where as cortona, an ai, becomes human).  He does show emotions now and then though, subtley though (like leaning in when concerned, etc.)

I love Halo as much as the next guy Smug.

But Halo 3's story was shit.

"I love Halo as much as the next guy Smug. But Halo 3's story was shit."

I liked the story of Halo and i thought Halo 3 wrapped it up nicely. The last level was epic the music the getaway and the final cut-scene all together was amazing.

Halo has an excellent scifi story, especially whats told in the novels. Unfortunately a lot of that stuff doesn't translate into good gaming.

I thought the story was fairly decent, I really liked how somethings that are shown or said link back to the older games.

Like when you rescue Cortana and she says "Keep your head down, there are two of us in here now" (which she says to you at the start of Halo 1).

"I thought the story was fairly decent, I really liked how somethings that are shown or said link back to the older games.Like when you rescue Cortana and she says "Keep your head down, there are two of us in here now" (which she says to you at the start of Halo 1)."

I'm sorry, Halo 3's story was very bad, especially when compared to the first two. Master Chief had the least personality and least lines out of all of the games, so there's one big strike against it. Also, all of the dialogue in the game essentially came down to a bunch of people saying "If we don't stop Truth, everyone will die" in a really over dramatic manner. Halo 3's story was also a little hard to follow, mainly the final act after the Arbiter kills Truth. There's just not a lot of explanation for any of the events. I had to  watch the cutscenes a few times to understand everything that happened. Also, the Gravemind was never actually explained in Halo 3, i only knew what the hell it was from outside sources.

You learn nothing about the rest of the Human race on Earth during the game either, which was disappointing.

Lastly, the worst thing about Halo 3's story was how the gameplay didn't back up how epic the story should have been. None of the battles have a really large scale to them, which detracts from the weight of the story.

So, yeah, Halo 1 and Halo 2 had good stories, Halo 3 did not.

Really, you found the "love story between Cortana and the Chief" to be compelling storytelling? Halo 3's story is a mess, none of the complex Covenant politics and dynamics of Halo 2, and none of the sense of exploration and adventure of the original Halo.

There was good story to be found within Halo 3, but it was buried in the Terminals. That's a compelling and well-told tale. The "main story" was hardly impressive.

I liked the story in Halo 3, quite a bit. The Terminals really add to it, as well, I felt.

Halo 3's story was so bad that I don't remember a thing of what went on.

I gave up on Halo 3 halfway through the campaign because the story was very uninteresting.

"I gave up on Halo 3 halfway through the campaign because the story was very uninteresting. "

"Halo 3's story was so bad that I don't remember a thing of what went on."

"Really, you found the "love story between Cortana and the Chief" to be compelling storytelling? Halo 3's story is a mess, none of the complex Covenant politics and dynamics of Halo 2, and none of the sense of exploration and adventure of the original Halo. There was good story to be found within Halo 3, but it was buried in the Terminals. That's a compelling and well-told tale. The "main story" was hardly impressive."

I don't understand why so many people think that when measured up to the stories of other videos games today, the story of Halo 3 is so bad. I thought it had a very good storyline.

Not that I'm really picky when it comes to games stories, but I liked this one. Its really cool to see it all lined up like this too...now you know what would be VERY cool? The cut scenes from all 3 games all lined up.

EDIT. Found them. If anyone is interested. In order from 1-3:

i thought the Halo story was lame. but i love it for its gameplay

I have come to not care about the story of first person shooters. Even as I played Bioshock, which was pretty interesting, I just didn't care about what happened after half way.

Seeing the graphical evolution in those three vids is really pretty cool.  And as far as the story, it does get convoluted, and it did get so in Halo 3 especially towards the end, and the whole business w/the Gravemind.  However, if you have read the novels, much of the story clicks and actually adds a new level of chartacter/player motivation.   The thing is Bungie makes games that are fun to play, not movies, and the continuity of the overarching story is hard to manage imo.  Anyway the books really add a lot, and they are very well written imo, and the universe they describe is very fleshed out and fairly plausible as far a sci-fi goes.  I can't wait to see how they approach Halo: Reach and stick to the novel or not.  The book reads like a script of a movie...very cool!  :)

I think the story was interesting, but it wasn't portrayed as well as it could have been in Halo 3.  I found the last few levels to be really dissapointing, what with the overly striking resemblance to Halo 1.

Seeing Halo 1's video actually makes me a little depressed...reminds me of how awesomely groundbreaking the game was for it's day.

I honestly think that it's quality really depends on what you're comparing it to. Since you said that it holds up as 'great sci-fi,' I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. You say that and you're bringing in absolutely amazing stories like Blade Runner, Ender's Game (the orgin of the Spartans is heavily inspired by this story), Neuromancer and hundreds of others. And compared to them, Halo is poorly written, derivative drivel. That said, due to Halo's massive popularity Bungie has been able to flesh out their story extremely well, thanks to all the novels, ARGs and so on. Most games don't get to do that, and I think that's why alot of people argue that it's a 'good story.' I would argue that it's not really high quality, but rather highly realized.

Too many loose ends.
What happened to Cortana's rampancy?
How did the Gravemind fit inside In Amber Clad? From what we see, it's downright enormous.
Why didn't we see any evidence of the Prophets in the original Halo?
The Hunters sided with the Elites in 2, yet are fighting you in 3. Same with the Grunts.

"Too many loose ends.What happened to Cortana's rampancy?How did the Gravemind fit inside In Amber Clad? From what we see, it's downright enormous.Why didn't we see any evidence of the Prophets in the original Halo?The Hunters sided with the Elites in 2, yet are fighting you in 3. Same with the Grunts."

"I don't understand why so many people think that when measured up to the stories of other videos games today, the story of Halo 3 is so bad. I thought it had a very good storyline. "

" @Gamer_152 said:

"I don't understand why so many people think that when measured up to the stories of other videos games today, the story of Halo 3 is so bad. I thought it had a very good storyline. "

Frankly, I think it's because the majority of people are too stupid too understand plot. 

" @Gamer_152 said:

"I don't understand why so many people think that when measured up to the stories of other videos games today, the story of Halo 3 is so bad. I thought it had a very good storyline. "

Frankly, I think it's because the majority of people are too stupid too understand plot.  Admittedly, the storytelling in Halo 3 is much less in your face than something like Half-Life.  Some people couldn't even tell you what Bioshock was about after the end of the game.  "

" @SmugDarkLoser said:

" @Gamer_152 said:

"I don't understand why so many people think that when measured up to the stories of other videos games today, the story of Halo 3 is so bad. I thought it had a very good storyline. "

Frankly, I think it's because the majority of people are too stupid too understand plot. 

No. "

OH NOEZ! DUDE IS GOING TO DESTROY THE GALAXY WITH A HALO! LET'S STOP HIM! BUT HOW? LET'S GET A ROCK AND GIVE HIM A HELMET. HE'LL STOP THE BAD ALIENS. BUT WAIT! NOEZ! THERE'S AN EVIL ROBOT THAT BETRAYS YOU. HES LIKE THE SIZE OF R2D2, BUT THAT'S FINE. LET'S HAVE HIM BE THE FINAL BOSS.

Halo 3's story is complete garbage. There wasn't any point where I cared about any of the characters or what was going on.

"@Br3adfan:

Dude i agree, halo's story has always been designed in a way that the 'Madden Crowd' can play it and not have their head explode and complex enough that those who care will find it deep and interesting. If u play halo and dont care about the story, u wont care about the story, u wont look for a story. Not all games need to be like MGS and bash u over the head with its plot....repeatedly and for 45mins straight.

"

Play Halo, then play something like Fallout 3, or even read a good book. Then tell me Halo doesn't have a half-baked story. 

" Play Halo, then play something like Fallout 3, or even read a good book. Then tell me Halo doesn't have a half-baked story.  "

Honestly my biggest issue with the way the story is presented in Halo 3 and to a lesser extent Halo 2 is that it tries too hard to be "epic".  This just has the effect of making it feel really lame.  A lot of this has to do with the music, while being good, never seems to fit the scene with all of the scores coming up at the wrong times.

At least the cutscenes were good.

I've enjoyed Halo's story thoroughly throughout all the games, I think it's a lot stronger then most other FPS's (i.e. Gears of War)

" I love Halo as much as the next guy Smug. But Halo 3's story was shit. "

Halo 2 has the best story. Aside from the First encounter with the Flood, Halo CE's Story didn't really entice me much. Halo 3 is second in terms of story and in terms of the actual game with Halo CE taking best overall game in my book.

Heh I didn't realize until after my post that I'd revived a dead topic

Anyways to add on to what I said before, I actually do like the halo universe.  The thing is that the games do a lousy job presenting the events that take place.  I agree that the first game had that kind of mysterious feeling to it as you played, it had a good atmosphere.  The problem is that unless you read the Fall of Reach, the plot seemed like a throwaway.  Halo 2 had the best story, it suffered from poor presentation to a lesser extent than halo 3 and there was lots of depth which made it interesting. 

I like the stories in all the Halo's, I think they tell a good tale.

The story they tell in the outside fiction might be the greatest thing ever.  It doesn't change the fact that the story told in the games is incomprehensible nonsense that's terrible.

i thought that the story was well fitting with the end of a loved trilogy

 As science fiction, the Halo story is pretty ordinary. It hearkens back to the pulps of the thirties and such classics as E.E. (Doc) Smith's Lensman Series (excellent material for a game of it's own, by the way) and Edmond Hamilton's Captain Future.  Even so, it has ten times the story of your average non-japanese game, and that, combine with excellent voice acting and endearing characters--along with the novelizations, has made it an epic that has captivated it's fans for years. Unfortunately the single player experience and the story, took a definite back seat to the online multi-player part of the game, after Halo 2, and the trend culminated in a distinctly brief and painfully truncated single-player conclusion to the story in Halo 3. One can only dream about what the game COULD have been, had less resouces been, in this writer's opinion at least, squandered on the multiplayer aspect.

I have a decent mindset I use while watching Sci Fi, as well as for Anime, but Halo's story just didn't overly impress me. In fact, sadly, it didn't do much to pull me in at all. The cortana story arc/line/whatever could have been really great, if it didn't intrude on the gameplay soooo much. The story about the covenant 'teaming' up with the humans to defeat the flood was alright, but I wish more was placed in the first game to at least hint at it. Overall though, It's a decent story and a great game.

On the youtube video itself, I love when users submit whole collections of cutscenes from games like that. Nice!

" Play Halo, then play something like Fallout 3, or even read a good book. Then tell me Halo doesn't have a half-baked story.  "

WinterSnowblind, I have played all Halo games. I don't hate them. I still play Halo 3 once in a while.  I've had a blast with 3's campaign in 3-player Co-Op. The Halos are good, worthwhile FPS games.

But anyone who has anything positive to say about Halo 3's story, plot, writing or execution needs help. Badly.

You don't need to have read the books to get anything out of the story, I was just saying they expand on it and help flesh out the universe.

@Meowayne said:

" WinterSnowblind, I have played all Halo games. I don't hate them. I still play Halo 3 once in a while.  I've had a blast with 3's campaign in 3-player Co-Op. The Halos are good, worthwhile FPS games.But anyone who has anything positive to say about Halo 3's story, plot, writing or execution needs help. Badly. "

You define the quality of story and storytelling by the number and nature of plot elements and actors. That's very cool. See ya then.

"Play Halo, then play something like Fallout 3, or even read a good book. Then tell me Halo doesn't have a half-baked story.  "

" Play Halo, then play something like Fallout 3, or even read a good book. Then tell me Halo doesn't have a half-baked story.  "