This review contains spoilers
I finished this around the same time as ODST, so the two impact each other in how I think about them.
Suffers from all the same problems all the other games in the series fall victim to, while buffing out a few others. It's wonderful to see a story set around a squad, as I think this is the more natural structure for the halo universe. Showing a group of soldiers impacted by this war is the story I think the Spartans should be telling. Jorge is far and away the most satisfying of the character stories, and his loss is felt. Sadly, the first 1/4 of the game is spent building Jorge into a character you feel for, while the others are merely background decoration. So when Kat is killed, it feels cheap, lacking any punch.
This game definitely benefitted from the experiments that ODST started. The new powers add a great dynamic change to the missions, squad narrative, and a protagonist that actually speaks are great improvements upon the previous Halo entries.
I still find myself a little lost from mission to mission. We talk to Halsey, then we run around trying to destroy the super carrier (to protect the planet?), then get back to Halsey's mission. It often just feels like a 'go here do this, repeat' and no overarching desire for the characters.
Suffers from all the same problems all the other games in the series fall victim to, while buffing out a few others. It's wonderful to see a story set around a squad, as I think this is the more natural structure for the halo universe. Showing a group of soldiers impacted by this war is the story I think the Spartans should be telling. Jorge is far and away the most satisfying of the character stories, and his loss is felt. Sadly, the first 1/4 of the game is spent building Jorge into a character you feel for, while the others are merely background decoration. So when Kat is killed, it feels cheap, lacking any punch.
This game definitely benefitted from the experiments that ODST started. The new powers add a great dynamic change to the missions, squad narrative, and a protagonist that actually speaks are great improvements upon the previous Halo entries.
I still find myself a little lost from mission to mission. We talk to Halsey, then we run around trying to destroy the super carrier (to protect the planet?), then get back to Halsey's mission. It often just feels like a 'go here do this, repeat' and no overarching desire for the characters.