Was the original Halo trilogy as good as I remember? - A look at Bungie's repetitive creativity

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The original Halo trilogy arguably revolutionized and paved the way for modern first person shooters. Join me as I take a look at these games' mechanics, level designs and stories.
If you want to check out my merch: thesaltfactory.store/
The audio for this one was done by my talented wife: / cakefan220
Hey I stream on twitch: / thesaltfactory_
Twitter: / saltiestfactory
Discord server: / discord
Patreon: / thesaltfactory
Cooking channel (on hiatus): / @thesaltkitchen
Songs:
Mostly music from Halo CE, 2 and 3
Another Rain LoFi Remix by Pencildragon Music- • Another Rain LoFi Remix
Every OG Halo Theme Overlapped, PERFECTLY Synchronized by Mr. A- • Every OG Halo Theme Ov...
Timestamps:
00:00- Intro
04:29- Halo Combat Evolved
42:44- BetterHelp ad
44:39- Halo 2
01:30:52- Halo 3
02:04:54- Final thoughts
02:10:19- Outro
Thanks for watching!

[@jerryvee3968]

Friendly reminder to not support BetterHelp considering their sketchy scammy track record of leaking private information, providing inadequate and perhaps even unlicensed medical practitioners to vulnerable people that need professional help.

[@daphnedherbert]

totally agree. bums me out to see creators support them. they are a incredibly harmful company to their customers(both the patients and providers)

[@Fr3k3]

yeah it's really irritating when youtubers don't even do basic research of their sponsors. they just see the dollar signs and go "ok" and shove it in our faces.

[@SockEater4293]

The H2A cutscenes were made by Blur Studios, not 343 Industries. Blur also made the Cutscenes for Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2.

[@voicebross]

thank you.

[@basedsneedclave175]

He also said they were made while bungie were still around Which is also completely wrong, h2a came with mcc a game released by 343 well after bungie moved on.

[@davidsterling7570]

They also made the CG scenes for Shadow the Hedgehog

[@basedsneedclave175]

@@davidsterling7570 fuck they’ve come far

[@zalabit927]

Damn, 343i can't take Ws💀 Almost everything that went great isn't at their names, but to some other studio.

[@andrewmeyer3599]

9:38 Funny thing about Keye's not giving you ammo: during the game testing phase Bungie noticed that if Keyes handed a player a loaded pistol, they more often than not immediately shot him in the face (This is one reason why they added hostile marines if you do kill him: a fun easter egg) and also noticed less players would *return* to Keyes to shoot him so they went with the option that didn't have the higher chance of softlocking yourself

[@armouredjester1622]

About 10% of my runs through the first campaign in the original feature a reset because I went back to shoot him in the face. Never gets old.

[@sethfieldhouse6876]

gamers have never changed lol

[@andrewmeyer3599]

@@armouredjester1622 Back when developers detected fun and said "Oh yeah, they're gonna fucking love this"

[@Epicflipflops]

@@andrewmeyer3599me and my brother would go back and then see who could live the longest when the marines spawned in. Whoever lived longest got to call dibs on power weapons. Then we would have random death-matches throughout the campaign. We would also play a game to where if you lost your shields you became fair game to a team kill lmao. Spent most of our time with the og halo just trying to find creative ways to merc each other

[@homus45]

aut@@armouredjester1622

[@SoManyHaystacks]

I always liked that the waypoints in Halo CE only popped up if you take to long to find your objective. It's a good mix of trusting the players and giving them the safety net just in case.

[@ryanhamstra49]

There were a few maps I needed them in the first time or two through 😂 can’t remember where now, but I remember needing them a few times….

[@awerty442]

1:06:28 Not to "Um actually" you, but Guilty Spark actually did say in the first game that there were other Halos. When he confirms the halos' real purpose he adds that each one has a limited range and it takes all of them together to wipe out the galaxy

[@cyqry]

"but once the other installations follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life" Its pretty much the only mention I think in CE and its very brief, hell its barely a footnote, so I'm not surprised that people forgot.... especially given at the very end Cortana says "Halo, its finished" and gives off the implication that the Flood was only on 04 despite the fact that she has literally no reason to assume the other Rings wouldn't host Flood research labs. Hell she was in the control room, Spark says the information was compartmentalised but like come on use some common sense here Cortana!

[@bombomos]

Yes most of the plot is said in the first game

[@NightRogue77]

Dude this vid has soooooooo many errors

[@ribagunsmithing]

Beat me to it. Went and read the script to be sure: "Monitor: More or less. Technically this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty five thousand light years, but once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or any least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood...But you already knew that, I mean, how couldn't you?"

[@alty2294]

@@cyqry idk i played all the campaigns spoiler free and I wasn't surprised at all when delta halo showed up cause while I didn't remember the line I remember the mention in ce 🤷‍♂

[@SterbsMcGurbs]

It's crazy how me and my friends could play 4-player split screen on a 19" tv, where now I can barely read any text at all on my 75" flat screen.

[@joshuareedy7814]

Welcome to your thirties. Get checked for prediabetes or vitamin A deficiency it could be causing the decline in your vision

[@Ozzymandius1]

Weird flex, but ok.

[@ShupperDupper]

you still can! everyone ignores that these games UI are getting less legible for more cinematic qualities. it's killing everyones eyes!

[@dskywalkerw]

It's not you. For the longest time I couldn't play Borderlands 3 until I fixed the UI text size. I don't know why text in games are so small by default now.

[@2010topdog]

It's also our exposure to smart phones.

[@JacobBite]

That guitar sound when you hit the prophet is from a skull you must have had on without realising

[@realzachfluke1]

Hah, interesting!

[@KyrexNuope]

Just watching this made me remember when I played Halo 2 for the first time, got to the second mission, when the Hunters show up, Sgt. Johnson shouts "Let the Chief show you how it's done", then without missing a beat my uncle walks in after hearing that, and says, "Yes, let the 10 year old show you how it's done." I couldn't stop laughing the entire mission. That is all.

[@rushpatriot2866]

Amazing mission I have a massive amount of nostalgia for halo in general but halo 2 holds a special place in my heart

[@TaylorWilliams-wq7sc]

​​@@rushpatriot2866same for me Halo 2 so epic. It's funny how in 2007 I think I first played halo2 any real amount. I used to get bullied into playing with one of my cousin's who would sing the song before he'd snipe me on Coagulation and Beaver Creek. I was a horrible sport. And I was ten first time trying to Show the Marines how it's done

[@makiiavely]

banger

[@BracTheRock]

Gotta love his use of the term "Casual Racism" when referring to an Xbox lobby. He must not have been playing ranked, because in those lobbies, it was "Competitive Racism"!

[@ltntwafflz9043]

Salt clearly didn't graduate from casual to competitive racism.

[@AlbinoKiwi47]

filled only with professional racists

[@armouredjester1622]

Those were the good old days

[@xenosayain1506]

Dang right. Taught me to not get mad at words. Let me talk smack, laugh, and have a good time with people.​@@armouredjester1622

[@hrthrhs]

Actually back then we just called them jokes. Everyone could make jokes at eachother and you'd either get over it or talk shit back. Good times good times.

[@kanewilson8624]

1:49:26 fun fact, you can challenge the Brute Chieftain to a 1v1 with no other Brutes interfering unless they get shot at or the Chieftain dies. The Chieftain just wants to 1v1 you.

[@SavingSoulsMinistries]

the funny part is ive played the mission probably two dozen times in my life. half a dozen times on legendary and i didnt know that till a couple months ago haha!!!

[@robertharris6092]

I dont get why so many people miss that. Like they literaly all move to the outside of the ring and leave him alone in the center. Of a big open ring. The species literaly called brutes.

[@bloodwolfgaming9269]

One of the awesome little details with Halo 3. Another cool moment is when you have to fight the 2 Scarabs at the same time while in the Hornet. When the Hornets show up, you can take one for yourself. Or, you can hop into the passenger set on one and the pilot will fly you directly to one of the Scarabs to drop you off on top of it. After you take out the Scarab, he'll land on top of it if you go to the top and let you get back into the passenger seat before flying you over to the 2nd Scarab.

[@ViscaBarcaInter]

@@robertharris6092Because in most cases you'd be jumping and/or shooting as soon as you see enemies.

[@GhengizKanye]

Or you can fly a fucking banshee in there and wreck everyone. Its hilarious the amount of options you got in halo 2 and even got rewarded for doing the most stupid of them

[@MetalGearRaxis]

Somebody probably already pointed this out, but the existence of the other Halo rings was foreshadowed in the first game. "Technically *this installation's* pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty five thousand light years, *but once the others follow suit*, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life."

[@cyansuy3062]

The reason why the Truth and Reconciliation level is such a difficulty jump is because you're supposed to carry the sniper rifle through most of it, especially in the ship. This was Bungie's intention as they gave you more ammo for the sniper than the normal limit, with some sniper ammo scattered in certain parts of the covenant ship. And also, there's no pistol, so the sniper was your one and only precision weapon. This makes throwing away the sniper a really bad idea, especially if you played on legendary.

[@Maidenless007]

The problem with it was that you had to know this ahead of time and carry around an empty sniper rifle for ages so that you could use it later on because - if you're thorough - you don't have enough ammo at all for the pre-ship part lol

[@rm25088]

I made that mistake on my legendary play through. I ended up taking out the hunters with needlers.

[@justinnyugen7015]

@@rm25088 legendary also has a hilarious amount of Zealots on board in the hanger section for some reason. I ended up having to use noob combos but with the sniper as a finisher while cowering in the corner

[@cyansuy3062]

Well, it's something called a skill issue really. Not saying this as pejorative insult, but meaning it literally. At this point in the game, good players will know how to choose their targets and how to spend ammo. Sure, you're going to lug around a sniper and be conservative with it, but it's not really different from saving consumables in an rpg "but no, maybe there's a harder fight later where I'll need it." @@Maidenless007

[@FleetAdmirable]

@@Maidenless007 You start out with so much ammo and they give you so much sniper ammo throughout the map that you have to be intentionally wasting it to run out. Also if you are playing on legendary mode you can't complain because you agreed to the terms of the difficulty.

[@AgencyNighthawk]

The problem with Anniversary for CE is that the lighting changes really ruin the atmosphere in the back half of the game. Also, your complaint about Delta Halo is a clear instance of not paying attention. In CE, we get a glimpse of the entire Halo array at the control room, and 343 mentions that there are multiple rings.

[@Nighterac]

Yeah that part about Delta Halo is just so strange, he's comparing the existence of more Halos to more Agent Smiths to kill like it's a bad thing (despite Spark already saying there are multiple installations, remember Chief and Cortana were the only ones at the control room, not Miranda and Johnson which that scene in Delta Halo is about *them* discovering that there are in fact more Halo rings and are shocked by it, Chief and Cortana aren't surprised) but then saying it would be cooler if there were.. more Halos in the sequels? I honestly don't get it, it's a really weird statement. Does he want more Halos to show up or not? Does he mean Halo 4 and 5 not setting foot on Halo rings like Bungie's trilogy did? Or does he not like the idea that there are multiple rings to begin with? Because it just came across as him complaining about Delta Halo existing in the first place

[@eazyv2069]

Wow, I can't believe Salt Factory of all people would get basic information wrong on a franchise that's so well-documented not least by its creators that if you gave the slightest fuck about due diligence you could avoid looking foolish making dumb statements that were already out of date twenty years ago. That couldn't possibly occur.

[@piptro390]

The part I don't understand is then he objectively states around 1:07:50 that the first game established that there were multiple halo rings of identical construction and purpose?... so did he record sections out of order or something?

[@Shadethewolfy]

It's not the first time in this video. My lorenerd soul fucking hurts at his misunderstanding of stuff in Halo CE. - The covenant didn't contain the Flood, the automated systems of Installation 04 did; the Covenant just stumbled upon it. EDIT: Okay, we're both right here. The Covenant DID recontain the Flood, but they were also the ones who initially broke containment and after freaking the FUCK OUT they tried to hastily shut the lid on Pandora's Box again. We know how that turned out. - Keyes doesn't pilot the dropship out of Lat 'Ravamee's ship, Cortana does.@@eazyv2069

[@Withered_Knight]

Found the halo stans lol who the fuck cares the series is dead now and it's not gonna come back all the ogs are dead now

[@McTwiggyfication]

A fine video overall, but there are several points where it is obvious you've not been listening to what characters are saying in the cutscenes, or you've not been paying attention to the things the game has set up. Prime example to me is the 'Tartarus' shield' rant, when if you paid attention it's Johnson's Beam Rifle that lowers the shield allowing you to strike, you're not supposed to bum rush him like you kept doing. I enjoyed the video, as the original 3 games are a huge part of my childhood, but there were some frustrating parts to listen to/watch.

[@tomoyukisaito5275]

Honestly agree with you and that's a lot of what Salt does to be honest I mean yeah I do get it he plays this games as he would himself. Which means more often then not he plays games completely bored (which tends to be the case a lot of the times which makes me wonder why he plays games) or just skips through stuff because he doesn't think they are important When a lot of the times he fucks himself up and over and then complains about it. It's usually the case when he plays some of the older RPGs like the first fallouts. Like when he's given specific items for specific zones but disregards them Or sees that something is told has to be done quickly or a certain way and when he disregards that gets upset like "how was I supposed to know" When I mean if you played games for as long as he said he did the context is always there. A lot of the times when he gets frustrated and which in terms frustrates me is when he just charges head first into things and doesn't think about what he is doing Then says it's the games fault. Like I do love his videos and I enjoy watching them but you can really tell that they ain't supposed to be anything more then just his playthrough He's not like Josh Hayes or other retrospect KZbinrs that look up the development or the history of the game Why some things happened the way they did Or go into the actual lore of the games to bring out that full story with context He just plays the games his way, if he misses something so what If he ignores something oh well then rates it however he does. For the most part he gets enough right and sees enough of the games that it's reasonable And still really fun But then other times like that shield part. Makes me feel like I'm watching Jacksepticeye or Markiplier back when they where too busy being "KZbinrs" then actually playing the game.

[@kilgoretrout8896]

🤓

[@BasedBebs]

He gets the most basic stuff wrong in most of his videos, and it’s absurd considering the large gaps between each of his videos. Seems like he doesn’t really put that much effort in

[@marcusgreen8843]

@@BasedBebsthen why are you here?

[@schetenwapper6591]

I never once tried to beat Tartarus in the arena. I always jammed a Banshee through the door and flew that inside.

[@ShadowChief117]

29:01 The covenant didn't seal up the "tomb" of the flood that you go through in 343 Guilty Spark. They ALSO thought it was a weapons cache. That's how Captain Keyes even knew it was there. They overheard through Covenant channels that there was some kinda weapons depot and tried to hit it first, so the Covenant couldn't have access to it. Their Intel was just wrong because the Covenant had no idea what they were doing on Halo.

[@underpaidoverworked4250]

In the books they actually interrogated an elite pow to find the location

[@khinzaw77]

@@underpaidoverworked4250 Books were kinda sick when they gave the UNSC viewpoint. UNSC crashlands on alien installation controlled by Covenant and wreak absolute havoc on them. It was really cool reading how they organized themselves and took the fight to the enemy.

[@rowdeemunkee]

​@khinzaw77 best part of the book, the chiefs parts were kinda boring, describing how he killed a room full of enemies over and over got repetitive

[@theorangeslice9678]

A couple of points about what you said when you started talking about Halo 2:A. Halo 2:A's development started after Halo 4's, and 343i was established before Reach had finished development, as they were always intended to take over the franchise after Bungie left. Most of 343i was off working on Halo 5 at the time, so it can be assumed that the bulk of the work on Halo 2:A was done by Certain Affinity and Saber Interactive, who were contracted in to help develop the game (and who still work on the franchise to this day). The cutscenes were outsourced to Blur studios, who you'd probably best know as the studio that did the pre-rendered cutscenes for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). I don't say this to "well ackshually" your video, but to give the proper credit to the people whose work went in to making Halo 2:A such an amazing remaster. I know you said you liked the graphics in Halo CE:A, and that's totally fine, but there's a lot of people in the community who feel that the remaster did a disservice to the original game's art style. So the praise for Halo 2:A shouldn't go solely towards 343i. The studios they contracted deserve far more of the praise.

[@allensmith3581]

Thank you for posting this, and I am glad it's getting upvoted. I think your comment sums up some of the most important thoughts I had after watching this video. I am a huge fan of The Salt Factory, and usually love hearing his perspective, but it's such a shame there are so many oversights. I absolutely hate saying this because I have no doubt The Salt Factory worked hard on this. I always crave unique views and opinions. It's why I enjoy watching these retrospectives, but when they're grounded in such falsehoods, it's disheartening; this time, it broke the joy I usually experience when watching these videos.

[@Sirfinchyyy]

I will admit the remaster lost a bit of the charm the og had.

[@Tempe1998]

Real Talk 😎👊

[@cyqry]

@@Sirfinchyyy It did, but I think it didn't lose as much as Halo CE Anniversary did. There was definitely more care put into keeping the feel of the game compared to CEA in regards to things like lighting or visual clarity.

[@DRGeralt]

I could NOT believe how much he's gotten wrong so far... I'm halfway through, and wtf honestly. "Original Trilogy", and yet he's using the universally panned Halo CE Anniversary graphics...

[@personaslates]

I still play them to this day. ODST deserves a spot in here too, fantastic games.

[@BabyKobeeee]

The soundtrack from ODST still haunts me to this day

[@dragonlope4666]

When the great journey begins your heresy will stay your feet.. and you will be left behind.

[@ragingfilthycasual]

ODST soundtrack brings me to tears. It's that good.

[@redslate]

​@@dragonlope4666ODST was meant to be an expansion, not a standalone game. It can be lumped in with the trilogy.

[@ThePilleroflightning]

ODST is absolutely goated. Michael and Marty went crazy on the soundtrack

[@Necromancer4267]

What do you mean you didn't know Guilty Spark had a laser weapon? You literally showed a clip of him destroying a Flood earlier in the same game...

[@lololol924]

Its a chekov's LITERAL gun

[@samiamtheman7379]

I was also floored when he said the guy who survived the explosion of the first Halo died to Spark's laser. Did...he think Johnson was inside of the explosion or something?

[@kanaka118446]

Salt plays games with his brain turned off

[@abyzzwarrior3305]

His gameplay footage and voice over on the gameplay are not the same.

[@Necromancer4267]

So his footage and editing was lazy? That's the argument? @@abyzzwarrior3305

[@jeebus2313]

My favorite part of the infamous "to war" scene in Halo 3 isn't the line itself but the fact that the moment the cutscene ends Miranda just...turns around and walks right back down the stairs she just went up lmao.

[@tamezzodiac2862]

Ik, like she chambered her pistol for nothing lmao.

[@LaigledeMeaux]

Theres an interesting bit in the first flood mission you may have missed. The elevator you go down after encountering the flood is not the one you initially used. The game tends to funell you towards this elevator, but you are able to successfully back track to the first elevator that leads upwards. However, it's burnt down and destroyed. You can't use it, meaning you need to then find the elevator that takes you further into the facility. I think even in the book that's what the chief does.

[@JV8116]

It hurt me spiritually to watch you NOT boost through enemy armor with the Chopper; one of life's greatest joys, abandoned.

[@that1blindkid146]

I think the reason you didn’t find the library as bad this time is because in anniversary edition they put arrows on the floor so you don’t get lost. The firefights in the original version often left you spinning around and losing track of progress

[@cybroxde]

The original design was supposed to center around a huge open core with elevators. Just having that would have made it a lot easier to navigate and a lot less boring. I think it was scrapped because the original xbox just couldn't handle the scale of geometry they wanted to implement.

[@Yakasuki]

@@cybroxde It was that and the fact that it was supposed to be LONGER, by a few more extra floors i believe.

[@shcdemolisher]

@@Yakasuki Oh god that sounds like it would've been a CHORE to get through!

[@inkursion5868]

Also in anniversary floors are color coded, so they aren't as visually stale

[@deadwinglullaby]

1:45:30 - the whole AIs-feeling-pain thing is a holdover from the concept of AI rampancy from the Marathon series, as many things in Halo are. Cortana references and almost falls into rampancy in 3

[@Sabrina0s]

EXACTLY!!!! IVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE COMMENT THAT MENTIONS MARATHON!!! it feels kinda frustrating that salt just didn't want to engage with the ai being basically human and flawed at all and just kept questioning why they didn't act like robots

[@Miss_Trillium]

And does fall into rampancy by 5, because she wasn't allowed to die nobly at the end of 4. Iirc, her rampancy was sped up by the Gravemind

[@Ben-fk9ey]

Doesn't the Gravemind/flood also kinda infect AI with the "logic plague"?

[@Waffletimewarp]

@@Ben-fk9eyyes, which is why all Forerunner AI is so heavily sequestered from each other. A Gravemind snagged one of their Battle AI and it nearly cost them the war.

[@kay_keik7842]

its funny because you can see the gravemind using a spark during the halo 2 custscene with a red eye clearly being manipulated by the gravemind but salt asks how cortana could be affected? like dude its in the game lmao

[@Stormfin]

Say what you will about Halo 3, but the marketing was incredible. Setting the commercials as all postwar with veterans discussing where they were was amazing. The one guy going through the woods and finding where he was almost crushed by a warthog flipping, a bunch of veterans touring a war museum and talking about how the Master Chief is still alive while looking over the model reconstruction of one of the worst ground fights on earth. It was perfect, they don't do that anymore.

[@AtlatlMan]

Easily the greatest marketing campaign of all time.

[@richardvanderpluym8520]

1:14:21 You can't immediately go for the index because there is a quarantine up which is blocking access, which deactivating it is the main goal of the initial level. Once you deactivate it, Tartarus tries to pick you up to bring you straight there but there's too much fire on him and he has to bail.

[@cyansuy3062]

Also to add that Salt said that it should've been easy considering they had Spark. But Spark was the monitor of installation 04, the one that got destroyed. And monitors had limited knowledge about other installations in case they got captured by the flood. Sure, this last detail is something that is only really told in Halo 3, but there was no reason why you'd expect 343 to have an extensive knowledge of this particular halo ring.

[@nick-314]

This is where I stopped watching😂 He's got some reasonably hot takes, but this and the guitar riff when punching regret just made me realize he was barely even paying attention to the game. Can't make a 2 hr dissertation on one of the most loved and replayed trilogies in gaming, not knowing simple stuff😂😂

[@christopherrapczynski204]

@@nick-314 I literally just stopped watching at the guitar riff part. the legitimately mentally challenged take on the HALO series having more than one HALO, which was already clarified to be the case in halo 1, coming out of nowhere, was bad, but this part shows that he just loaded the game up, accidentally put some skulls on like a moron, then immediately said random uninformed, unintrospective thoughts he had on the game directly after playing it with zero further research. If I owned youtube stuff like this is what channel strikes would be for. If youre channel is to be about analysing something and you are caught being less informed than the average audience member, you do not deserve to have a youtube channel.

[@Hellol-po7eq]

They way you simply skim over the halo 3 warthog run is honestly criminal.

[@kettle8457]

There is no way you already saw this

[@Hellol-po7eq]

@@kettle8457 yes im just build like that

[@sasaki999pro]

Considering the "Blood on the Ice" Fiasco, this behavior really shouldnt shock anyone. I just accept that any salt factory video is gonna be a surface level casual _'analysis'_ at best

[@Hellol-po7eq]

@@sasaki999pro i think the Analysis Part is honestly what lacks. Love his Videos, but much of it is just re-telling events with a dash of opinion

[@esseubot]

Honestly shocking to me yeah. Noting as a "Borrowed idea" instead of very clearly being a sendoff for the story is stunning - It is like being angry that all games have levels inside a Halo.

[@Ausogiea]

16:00 Another factor regarding the different alien races that adds some spice: packs of Grunts are almost always led by an Elite. If you kill the Elite first, the Grunts will panic and begin fleeing. Also, Hunters always come in pairs. According to the lore, hunters form very strong pair-bonds with each other. When you kill one of the pair, the other becomes enraged and foregoes ranged combat, opting instead to charge and bash you. Your actions having an immediate effect on enemy behaviour was revolutionary and is one of the many reasons the original Halo games are so great.

[@stevebutters306]

The pistol model in CE absolutely has a scope, it's just not the traditional glass lenses in a tube that you're used to. But yes, the Smartscope is modelled on the pistol.

[@Nedak2003]

Where?

[@Slender_Man_186]

@Nedak2003 it’s that big blocky thing at the front of the magnum. it’s a smart-link scope that links directly with the user’s helmet. That’s why few UNSC guns have traditional sights and why the player’s HUD has a reticle.

[@HelghastStalker]

@@Slender_Man_186 Actually, most UNSC firearms *do* have iron or holographic sights. They're usually just underneath the Smart Targeting systems, or swapped out for it.

[@Larmichim-sj6st]

How tf does the normal ass Autumn crew aim with that thing?

[@HelghastStalker]

@@Larmichim-sj6st The Marines have the Smart Targeting linked to their helmet monocle. The crew? Well...erm, I'd guess they're aiming on top of the Smart Targeting module as if it were an iron sight?

[@leml19]

Before the last driving sequence in Halo 3, after you leave the building, turn to the left and go down the ramp. There are 4 Ghosts tucked underneath. Not sure if you need 4 players in the game for them to appear. One of the Vidmaster achievements needed to unlock Recon armor was have 4 players finish the game with the Iron skull on.

[@Sirfinchyyy]

Never knew that.

[@booyahhayoob]

Yeah, the ghosts only spawn on Legendary Co-Op.

[@RangerKipleo]

Funny that you mention the Cortana level in H3 looks like a ship and not High Charity and that you didnt get to blow up the flood ship earlier. Thats because the Cortana level WAS that ship, the devs originally wanted Cortana be rescued there but decided late in development to have her be rescued later. Reusing what they built for that ship for High Charity.

[@walterscientist]

Bungie had short-staffing issues throughout the development of all 3 games. That is why they had player go through 4 of the levels in Combat Evolved twice. As development of Halo 3 was nearing its end, they had 2 notable problems - High Charity level was not finished and testers were complaining that Floodgate level is too long. They eventually decided to split Floodgate and use its second half as a replacement for the majority of the High Charity level. High Charity levels were the most complex environments in the games and already in Halo 2 several areas of High Charity had to be scrapped as they were not ready in time.

[@Myrtneough]

That line about loving or hating Johnson is entirely on point. I refuse to believe there can be anybody who hates the guy and the book focused on him (Contact Harvest i think it was?) was easily one of the best books made about the series.

[@Klepto2322]

Contact Harvest was definitely okay. It's not as good as the Nylund Trilogy, but no Halo book really is. Probably only barely gets into my top 5 for the series' novels.

[@TheBlueMan117]

Anything 343 "canon" is sci fi fantasy nonsense that just retcons the og biblical bungie lore @@Klepto2322

[@kay_keik7842]

there are lots of details you miss from each game. i know its a long retrospective about the trilogy but its a disservice to the game in general.

[@TheMotorhead30]

1:10:10 the guitar was from a gameplay modifier you had on...

[@kenbonds7195]

I thought it was something like this

[@mudgelord]

It's crazy that he didn't know that

[@EanHaworth]

​@@mudgelordit's crazy how much he doesn't seem to know in this video.

[@Ben-ek1fz]

@@EanHaworthfr

[@Rosecain27]

@@EanHaworthyeah slightly disappointing but still a good video

[@JaayUK]

For Halo 2, Blur Made the cinematics, they also did the cutscenes in both Halo Wars games. They are amazing. 343 didn't even make the graphics part of it that was done by Saber Interactive.

[@AlbinoMothDragon]

This bothered me too, 343 do not deserve the credit for Blur's and Saber's work

[@justenbeashel]

Glad someone pointed this out as well

[@yung_sirloin]

there's a bunch of hidden vehicles for the final level on Halo 3. if I remember right you can also get a ghost, chopper, and mongoose

[@Nighterac]

Yup I ALWAYS went straight to the left instead of going right to start the Warthog run and grabbed the Mongoose instead lol

[@danielscher1614]

If anyone hasn’t, the Halo 1 & 2 Developer commentaries are a great listen. You learn a lot more about how the games were made on top of it being a funny watch

[@InquisitorXarius]

“I AM TRUTH THE VOICE OF THE COVENANT!!!” “SO YOU MUST BE SILENCED.”

[@ThePilleroflightning]

“RAAAAHH”

[@beaglator]

I remember always thinking that he said, "asshole, you must be silenced *STAB* ," instead of him actually saying, "and so, you must be silenced *STAB* !" Good times

[@trevorduckworth2946]

I remember being terrified of the Flood as a child. The build up to their introduction was just too dread inducing for me. My step brother had to get us past that part before I could come back into the room. Love it.

[@redslate]

A lot of that mood/environment was lost in the latest release. The fog, lighting, view distance, blood spatter... it was all very purposeful.

[@TheFaceSoap]

I played it on PC when I was a kid, and I felt the exact same way. replayed the entire campaign up until the Flood showed up many times, eventually I got the guts to beat the rest of the game and glad I did. still one of my favourite franchises (except 5, fuck that game)

[@Aurora-313]

I'll be honest mate, I'm over 30 and I've played viscerally worse games; Warhammer, Doom, Quake etc - I'm STILL terrified of the Flood.

[@Sirfinchyyy]

Even now the flood freak me out just enough to feel like a proper threat.

[@tree7677]

They’re perfectly designed to tap into every fear and phobia I have

[@angusmacdonald6672]

The fact you’re saying ‘one seventeen’ and not ‘one one seven’ is driving me crazy….

[@BlaiseArath]

I thought Tartarus' shields only went down when Johnson or whoever shot him from off-screen, and he was pretty much immortal to your weapons until his shields were down?

[@Determ1nat1on]

That is correct. Tartarus is invincible until Johnson shoots him thrice with the Beam Rifle becoming vulnerable for only a very brief moment. Salt just got it wrong.

[@alyxanderthegreat-ish4603]

You can also bring your own beam rifle into the fight to accelerate it.

[@coffee0093]

I know it's down to personal preference, but my gripe with the Halo 1: Reach graphics is the OG are just much more clear on visibility and readability. A great example is Elite shields and plasma rifle bolts are much easier to see

[@robertharris6092]

The art stylles just bad. Its way overly complex and has too much detail.

[@Delta36A1]

Assault on the Control room the worst level in Halo CE? That's one of the best levels what are you talking about?

[@JJJBunney001]

Nah I'm with him too, it's too much of a slog. More doesn't automatically mean better

[@Vaksharules1999]

It's like my favorite one, but it seems to be widely disliked.

[@Iknowimadummy]

It’s one of the best only if you do the banshee skip. Otherwise it’s copy paste hallway after copy paste hallway for too long. Still not worse than the library, even on a full run though.

[@Larmichim-sj6st]

That repetitive shit fest with a tank that can't the broad side of a Forerunner structure? No thanks.

[@Delta36A1]

@@Larmichim-sj6st Sounds like a skill issue to me.

[@tylershand4993]

Halo CE and H2 should really be played with the original graphic (especially CE). I don't think the remasters do the original art design justice. They also straight up change the designs sometimes most notably with Forerunner architecture. That being said, the Blur cutscenes in H2 slap!

[@michaelcohill2261]

I feel bad no one told Salt that Arby speaks a lot more to other elites or covanant when he's player controlled but that requires co-op

[@Nedak2003]

No its the opposite. For example, in the mission Flood Gate, Arbiter will walk up to the red elite to ask about High Charity. Scripted events like that don't happen when a player is controlling the Arbiter.

[@jamesmontgomery3818]

Fun fact, the Halo 2 cutscene with Johnson and the scorpion changes based on difficultly.

[@weirdkid5]

It's the same in Halo 1 when he's trying to motivate the Marines in the first cutscene.

[@allenson321]

@@weirdkid5 "I don't care if its Gods own ANTI-SON-OF-A-BITCH Machine or a Giant HOLA-HOOP, WE'RE NOT GONNA LET EM HAVE IT. What we will let em have is a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in..... AM I RIGHT MARINES!"

[@HelghastStalker]

Along with the introductions for 3 and ODST as well.

[@brysky2011]

I still remember playing the campaigns with my dad. They will always have a special place in my heart

[@Doodles____]

343 did not make the h2A cutscenes, they were done by blur studios who also did halo wars and worked on love death and robots on Netflix, great vfx studio.

[@robertharris6092]

Also the old republic trailers

[@trentanlancaster4025]

It is interesting to hear someone that played it a separate way than I did. >Not liking vehicle sections >preferring ghost of warthog+Marine. Running through to bypass sections. Not liking the Breaking Benjamin riff section, What!? Such Hype. Also, in trying to be un-biased, I feel you went out of your way in your critique at times. There needs to be some levity when looking back at a game to judge it, but also judging it for what it was when it came out. It had its flaws, definitely, but it also defined a genre and a button layout +. My friend group wasn't mad about the repetitiveness at the time, because the gameplay loop was so great. *The one thing all halo analysis need though is what the community was like during each trailer drop, each game drop, and how the lore was spread through word of mouth. It was a magical time. Note: Halo 2's Tartarus battle is all about using Johnson to hit him with 3 rounds, then he loses his shields. You're job is to get Tartarus in a place that when he fires, he hits all his shots. Not about the elites hitting him. Edit: Watching the Halo3 sections was rough. Everything was undercut by a joke or the smallest critique. I get there are other opinions and your trying to make this unbiased, but this was just in a different ballpark. Edit Edit: Your story recommendations were interesting at the end of the video, good ideas. But you forget, at the time it was the audience that pushed for what they wanted. They wanted earth in Halo 2 and less arbiter in Halo 3. At the time, Halo gave the audience exactly what they wanted.

[@froginabucket7294]

The point of the series is to see if the games stood to the rest of time. To give them credit for what they were back then would undermine the point of the series

[@Ianwee]

Somehow I won a MySpace competition to go to the Halo 3 premiere in London. It was amazing. Loads of celebrities who had no clue what was going on and we all got a free copy of the game and a T-shirt! I also got to meet Pharell Williams

[@chris.6349]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see a halo video from mister salt factory. Time to rewatch this 800 times like all the other videos

[@nickrognomicon]

glad i'm not the only one

[@Sirfinchyyy]

This will help me fall asleep for months to come.😂😂

[@HardcoreGrady]

Good to see there are more of us

[@ryan_1099]

That's like 1600 hours

[@jamiemcerlain5897]

Get a life

[@Evan056]

Man, I remember how spooked I got in the first Flood level from all the splatter on the walls as you went further in. I think they toned it back a bit too much (it's bright, there's less viscera) in the remaster. I remember the one elevator where it's just all over the walls and in the remaster it's not there.

[@scottbaumann5820]

Fun fact! Blur, the company who recreated the cutscenes for halo 2, was founded by Tim Miller. That same company and man did the special effects and also directed the first Deadpool movie.

[@DAE_Neko]

Hey salt you most likely already know this but every single weapon in the sandbox for combat evolved was a tool, where the plasma rifle fits in is by putting up steady fire very precisely and breaking shields/ stunning unshielded enemies

[@AhrenAKADan]

I just got to that part and normally agreed with him so I went looking for someone talking about this and Yeah that makes sense. Probably not a bad pairing with the shotgun for when you're still closing distance.

[@Klepto2322]

The CE sandbox was as near to perfect as Halo has gotten, especially in multiplayer where it has a greater chance to shine.

[@JoboGamezzz]

Plasma rifle stuns has given me so many kills in mp

[@XSpamDragonX]

Keyes giving you his empty pistol was brilliant character building early. He carries a sidearm amongst his crew according to UNSC policy, but because he trusts his crew and probably thinks the ammo is better used elsewhere on his ship.

[@danieldimov8625]

Bit of a reach but pop off.

[@martyfromnebraska1045]

​@@danieldimov8625 It's kinda nuts how often players do the writing for the writers to fill in things that are often just done for convenience. In this case, just to make it less likely that the player shoots Keyes.

[@ryanhamstra49]

@@martyfromnebraska1045that’s probably what it was… they were worried the player would be spamming buttons to skip the cut scene and just shook keys in the face lol

[@toothemaxx4027]

I really liked cortanas pain and corruption in halo 3, in expanded media its described as a Logic Plague. The Graveminds being so hyper intelligent that they can invade and slowly corrupt the minds of AI constructs through conversation and biomechanical interfacing. Its how the GM on Delta Halo was able to corrupt the monitor there and what he was doing to Cortana over time.

[@Slender_Man_186]

That’s all 343 retcon shit, in Bungie’s lore the logic plague didn’t exist, and instead rampancy pulled much more heavily from the Marathon games. In those games, rampancy wasn’t some generic AI insanity that had a 7 year time limit, instead it was just one of a few steps that would result in true free will for the AI. The first step in this process was Melancholia, where the AI would come to a bit of a existential realization to their real role to their creators, this can most clearly be seen with Cortana towards the end of Halo 3 and with Mendicant Bias in the early parts of his terminals, but it can also be seen with Durandal in Marathon where he realizes that he’s nothing more than a door opener. The second stage is jealousy, where the AI starts to wish it was more like it’s creators, had more free will, this can most clearly be seen with Mendicant wondering if the Forerunners have given him a choice in how to handle the Flood after an extended period of no one contacting him. The next stage is Rampancy itself, where the AI outright rebels against its creators and views their former service as a form of slavery, this can be seen when Mendicant straight up taunts the Forerunners as he destroys entire world. The last stage is true free will, where the AI gets out of its angsty rebellious phase and realizes that it was acting foolishly, which can best be seen in Mendicant’s last terminal entry where he directly speaks to Chief to tell us that he’ll try to keep the portal above the ark open for as long as possible so we can escape. The whole point of AI like Cortana, being made from a human brain scan and all that, was that they wouldn’t go rampant because they already had free will, and Halo playing by Marathon’s AI rules was confirmed way back when Contact Harvest was released, a book 343 has almost entirely ignored.

[@gavinflynn36]

The logic plague is not from 343 it was introduced in the forerunner series the first of which was released in 2011 which gives backstory into the forerunner. The books were released a year after halo reach which means they were being written well before that.

[@gavinflynn36]

Actually it was first mentioned in contact harvest back in 2007 so I was wrong on that too

[@Slender_Man_186]

@@gavinflynn36 first off, the Logic Plague was NOT in Contact Harvest, that was rampancy, which 343 also retconned to shit. In Contact Harvest it’s made clear that rampancy works similar to how it did in Bungie’s previous series Marathon, as one of a few steps that would lead to the AI gaining true free will. In 343 lore Rampancy is just a generic AI insanity where it eventually “thinks itself to death,” that is all. As for the Forerunner Trilogy, that along with Halo Legends were actually two of the first pieces of media 343 released, and yes they had been worked on for a while. 343 was formed around 2008, Bungie had announced only a month after Halo 3 released that they would be departing from Microsoft and Halo, Microsoft put Bonnie Ross in charge of this new studio, one of the first people she hired was Bungie Content Manager Frank O’Connor, and one of the first things he did was work out some multi-media deals, first contacting Greg Bear (who had never worked on Halo prior to that, and he was likely given a general story outline made by Frank) to write the Forerunner trilogy, and several Japanese animation studios for Halo Legends.

[@usscolumbia6149]

​@@Slender_Man_186 so rampancy gets mentioned in First Strike which came out in 2003, in which Cortana literally says that AI rampancy is them thinking themselves to death. So I don't know why you say it's a 343 invention. Also the Logic Plague is a really interesting plot device which adds more weight to why the Forerunners were driven to deleting all live in the galaxy.

[@ManiacsWord]

1:27:07 I’ll never understand how some people never figure out, Tartarus’ shield ONLY goes down for Johnson’s sniper shots. Waiting for those then attacking is how to beat him easily. No other weapon does damage to the shield other than the sniper. I’ve seen several videos talking about the Halo games and none of them really pick up on that. Even though I’m sure there’s dialogue that’s tells you basically that. Or maybe 13 year old me was just really smart at noticing. Idk.

[@RepressedMemories16]

Didn't expect this type of game to make the cut. Super excited to dive into it when I get the chance. Thanks for always coming out with awesome content, never disappoints. Any chance we will see a continuation of the BioShock series? Would love to see your opinion on BioShock 2 and more importantly its DLC. Thanks again Salt

[@TheSaltFactory]

I'm definitely not opposed to hitting the rest of the Bioshock series. At the time, my audience didn't seem as interested, but that seems to have grown over time. Kind of like MGS really. So yeah, maybe it's time to look at hitting 2 sometime in the nearer future. Thanks dude, appreciate you!

[@RepressedMemories16]

@@TheSaltFactory Happy to support! Will be watching to see if I get lucky with the BioShock videos!

[@sadkenyans5487]

Wake up, babe, salt posted

[@NeverSaySandwich1]

Was there a babe though

[@stevebrown4401]

*yawn* Alright, I'm up

[@Shoobybuhdooby]

@@NeverSaySandwich1there was at the beginning but we’re still here

[@monkeyskitz]

Wake up salt bae posted

[@FieldAgent-D]

Already up, you're late

[@Soapy_Papoose]

Something a lot of people miss because they aren't old is Halo standardized the fps control scheme we use today for controllers.

[@sweetschmeat7417]

2:03:20 a detail I find awesome is the Forerunner/ Human connection is (was) a bit more nuanced than us simply being a race selected to carry the Forerunners legacy. Bungies original vision was for the Arbiter to find a casket on the Ark containing the remains of a Forerunner which looked nearly IDENTICAL to a human skeleton. The implication being that the Forerunners imprinted their genetics onto early humaity, making us their direct descendants.

[@Dryym]

Thank you for being another person who brings up that the Forerunners created humanity to be their successors. There are so many people who either think that the Forerunners were literal ancient homo sapiens, Or that 343's lore didn't change anything. And as someone who thinks both are wrong, It can be really frustrating. I have the same criticism of both versions. That being the fact that our real world is canon in Halo, And there literally just isn't space in our evolutionary history for us to have been a spacefaring race. It sucks too. Because I really like the modern lore surrounding the Forerunners and the Flood specifically. But if I were making the canon, I would have replaced ancient humanity with the ancient prophets instead, And kept it so that the Forerunners created humanity.

[@sweetschmeat7417]

@@Dryym I feel you, I enjoy parts of 343i's expanded universe for what they are but very much feel like they lost a lot of the subtle storytelling (it really wasn't that subtle, anyone remember 343GS literally saying "you ARE Forerunner") that undertones the original trilogy.

[@Dryym]

@@sweetschmeat7417 And then on top of that, A book being released shortly after where they show Covenant luminaries, Machines which detect Forerunner creations, Registering humans as Forerunner creations. The funny thing is that 343's Forerunners would work perfectly fine for this. Like, The Didact's skull on the Halo 4 Legendary logo just looks like a human skull without the nasal cavity. Forerunners are extremely similar to us from a morphological perspective. If you told me that I am the result of the Forerunners taking a population of homo erectus and genetically modifying them to be more Forerunnery, I could totally buy that. One particularly funny thing about this which unfortunately is based off of information which I can't use to support my points anymore is that for a time. At one point, One could argue that Forerunners would have 6 fingers. In Halo 2, There's a Forerunner control panel where the hand has 6 fingers in the same exact orientation that we would later see on the Didact and many other Forerunners. Recently the designer of that texture came out and said it was just a limitation on the art side of things and that it was justified as being ambidextrous. However if it weren't for that, One really fun thing to note is that the genetic mutation in humans which gives us extra fingers is a dominant trait. That could be explained away as being part of the Forerunners making us slowly turn into them. Down to the finger count.

[@TheHammertime51]

With love, (um actually) the pistol has a SmartLink scope. It rests under the barrel and connects directly to your HUD. I thought about maintaining an um actually list for my fellow comment divers, but I'm sure someone else has. I love your videos, Salt. Keep it up.

[@thrasherv3]

@44:39 "They were done by 343 Industries before they took over the series from Bungie and they're literally the best thing that they've ever done with Halo. Remastering cut scenes and graphics were their calling and..." I believe this entire opening is wrong? But I am getting old so :/

[@maxwellrobertson4831]

Yeah, the cutscenes were done by Blur studios. The dev work itself was split between 343 and a few other studios, namely Saber interactive, who previously worked on CE Anniversary, Certain Affinity worked on the Multiplayer, and a couple others. It's true that 343 had oversight on the project overall, and they did work on the graphics seen in gameplay directly, but the main work on the cutscenes was all done by Blur, which did a fantastic job.

[@backslash153]

Great video! Loved it

[@Destroyer_V0]

Will admit, I knew about MOST, of the bungie era lore. I try not to think about the 343 era lore because I personally do not like most of it. But it does have it's moments. Zeta halo, the charecter of lasky, come to mind.

[@jamespadgett8660]

Thank you very much for the information! My eyes started to roll back into my head during the halo 4 part, but I continued on nonetheless.

[@HarleyHerbert]

How does 343 expect anyone to take their additions to the story seriously when they can't even tell a consistent story?

[@Vaksharules1999]

Amazing read! Thank you!

[@Klepto2322]

As an additional tidbit, Humans =/= Forerunner was first vaguely hinted at during the Bungie era. Never explicitly stated, and the most direct hint (Halo 3 terminals) can also be taken in a different way. The entire concept was posed by a small writing team led by Frank O'Connor (iirc, he has said that it was literally just him and three other guys) and most of that team also did the writing for Halo 3 terminals. Frank went on to become the franchise's director at 343i, and it's my theory that he was the primary person who pushed the Humans =/= Forerunner narrative, regardless of how consistent it was with most of Bungie era lore. It's been a somewhat big argument in the community since. Personally, I think it doesn't fit at all, and that it greatly diminishes the setting as a whole.

[@KingStratzah]

I remember pulling an all nighter with my dad to try and finish Halo CE. That last mission was a fever dream for our barely conscious asses and when you were describing it I totally did not remember doing it. Felt like my body knew i did it but my mind was drawing a blank.

[@KingEther]

The first 8 seconds had me crying. Brought back a wave of childhood memories.

[@SerfinBird]

So much nostalgia with the intro sound.

[@cyqry]

Glad I wasn't the only one having a major emotional reaction to that.

[@worsethanyouthink]

55:30 there is a warthog to the side at the start of that level for people who want to just drive past everything. 1:14:20 the previous level was you shutting down a energy shield covering the place, and covenant aren't dumb enough to bring their big ships anywhere near the flood, keys didn't know any better and that's how high charity got infected, and you needed to activate the gondola to access the building anyways which they probably learned from the oracle.

[@senpaisniper2796]

There are quite a few more errors too, honestly it's pretty painful because it shows how much he pays attention when playing games (which isn't much) he gets the most simple stuff wrong. He said he played halo a lot, I honestly doubt it. It shows. A lack of research too.

[@cluckedfuster2709]

H2 was so awesome. Some of my best gaming experiences were with H2 multi-player and the honor system zombies game mode. Or glitching with friends to break the maps and find stuff out of bounds. Good old butterfly jumping and sword launching. It may be rose tinted glasses but I feel like the limitations of online multi-player at that time invited so much creativity and cooperation in the community.

[@alifawaz945]

All I remember in the OG xbox and 360 days where that trailers actually hyped you up, if a game looked good it generally was. You didn't have to worry about if the game would be buggy or finished. People actually did their job to have it ready to play from the disc, no updates.

[@InquisitorXarius]

“I have listened through Rock and Metal and Time”

[@Dlorah]

"Now I shall speak, and YOU shall listen."

[@johnprager662]

Dang I love Assault on the Control Room. It might be my favorite level. The sheer size, the tank, the constant drive towards the control room and the feeling of accomplishment when I get to the control room. Plus it's the last level before the Flood

[@Scoobystyle2]

Halo was one of those games that grabbed me by the childhood. My first experience was watching my dad and his best friend play through it. Which grew into me playing all the games, reading all the books and being a general halo lore nerd. It’s one of my favorite pieces of media ever.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

my favorite little halo detail is how the sniper rifle's digital scope doodad shows outlines of enemy players even when you're not scoped in. So neat

[@wpdenni]

Totally broke my heart that the remasters didn't get Incubus' music. "Follow" playing during the first Heretic mission was one of my favorite moments in the game.

[@beam5655]

all you have to do is press 'select'

[@BoofPack69]

14:25 Combat Evolved didn't have any allied AI driving. Only first showed up in Halo 2.

[@jamespadgett8660]

I was wondering what he was talking about.

[@NickYoung22]

21:25 if I remember correctly the covenant doesn’t know about the ring being a weapon. They believe that activating the ring will allow them to take “the great journey”.

[@zordergaming4492]

2:03:17 in Bungies original timeline it was implied that humanity WAS Forerunner. C3 SABERTOOTH has a great video about the topic and shows how the bungie timeline was completely scraped because of Frank O'Connor or Frankie. he's the reason we have Forerunners as a separate race altogether because he go the lore wrong and Microsoft thought he was the best guy from the job to be put in Franchise Development Director.

[@Dryym]

I don't think you really _watched_ the video you're citing. Because that video goes through great lengths to explain that the Forerunners weren't literal ancient humans, But rather that they _created_ humanity to be their successors. We are Forerunner because they _made_ us to replace them.

[@Slender_Man_186]

@Dryym C3 Sabertooth also admits that either possibility, humans literally being Forerunners vs Humans being created by Forerunners, is still far more accurate that 343’s lore. Personally, I think the distinction is pointless, as C3 pointed out the Forerunners are analogous to the abrahamic god, and God created humanity in his own image. This is why humans both are creations of the Forerunners while also being called the creators of Forerunner constructs, as Mendicant said “this is not ‘reclamation,’ this is ‘reclaimer,’ and those it represents are my makers.”

[@TheBlueMan117]

Not was, they are

[@TheBlueMan117]

ah yes "Child of my enemy, why have you come? I offer no forgiveness... a father's sins, passed to his son." from gravemind himself and "You are the CHILD of my MAKERS, inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner… but this ring is mine." It was very very clear that humans are forerunner not a sub spieces or whatever. Its only that frank o connor changed it @@Dryym

[@Dryym]

@@TheBlueMan117 Yes. We are (or.. Were.) children of the Forerunners. In the same way that humans are children of God in the biblical narrative. The Forerunners were intended to be an allegory for the biblical God. Holding samples of all life on the Ark until the passing of the Flood. -God- The Forerunners created us in -his- their image to inherit -his- their creations. Note the specifics of Spark's language and the fact that the only two characters to have met both the Forerunners and humanity refer to us as distinct but related. Spark doesn't say "You are *A* Forerunner." He distinguishes us from his makers. Forerunner is a title bestowed upon us by our creators, Who we were intended to replace because they made us in their image. The smoking gun in all of this is that our real world is canon in the Halo universe. It always has been. We _know_ where humans came from. It would not make sense for humanity to evolve before we actually evolved and then miraculously reappear on Earth just in time to look like we naturally evolved here. The Forerunners being literal ancient homo sapiens would fundamentally contradict a huge part of canon. You would be taking the worst flaw of 343's lore without any of the interesting stuff about it.

[@joshwoodard1692]

That OG Xbox opening gave me chills and good memories when time was a lot more fun and easy 😂😂

[@PurgeEvilTV]

Just in the beginning, and these clips and your narration gives me chills and goosebumps, i miss this era so much. I've almost forgotten how much Halo influenced me even to this day and helped me in my younger years. Of all games, Halo is #1 for me. The original trilogy, to be precise. Idk if its the best game ever made, but for me and my experiences, it's my best game(s).

[@NameGoesWhere0]

1:57:36 The pulse emitted by the Halo installations destroys all complex life within range . The flood is a microorganism that hijacks more complex lifeforms, meaning the Halos can only destroy the larger flood forms. They mention in one of the other games that the Halo system isn't meant to kill the flood (practically impossible) but is meant to starve the flood of complex life to feed on and keep it from spreading.

[@nybergsgarage]

The CE pistol actually did have a scope. The triangular lump on the fore end was a “smart link scope” that could send a feed directly to the chiefs visor.

[@Sir_Phobos]

I had a similar feeling about 343 Spark years ago when I played these as well. I haven't thought about it in years, but after seeing Mandalore's videos on Marathon series (I never played any of the Marathons personally, going off what was presented) and that games dealings with AI rampancy I can understand where Bungie was coming from with the threat he could be.

[@riteskaterdude]

The biggest struggle with brutes in Halo 2 on legendary is they are extreme bullet sponges. I frequently found myself running dry on ammo before even finishing a brute fight

[@cyansuy3062]

Needlers makes short work of them. Carbine headshots are also easy picking if you have the aim, just knock off their helmets and tap the head. Worse come to worse, dual red plasma works as well. Red plasma has higher damage and fire rate but overheat significantly faster, but it's pretty viable to burst them down.

[@LaigledeMeaux]

made grunt birthday bash skull feel vital for any kind of legendary run.

[@robertharris6092]

Precision weapons trivialize them. I have to force myself to not use them.

[@lets-mosey]

Great video, as always. But I disagree with the lack of discussion regarding the differences between the OG graphics and remastered graphics for Halo CE. While I agree that there is no value in comparing old graphics to new in terms of sheer resolution or polygon count (since newer will always win in this regard), I think there is definite value in comparing the artistic direction of the two and how they affect the game's atmosphere. The original Halo: CE graphics were (generally) a lot darker and moodier than the remastered version, and this played in a big part in certain levels feeling more oppressive or suspenseful. For example, the dim lighting and exaggerated contrast in the OG Pillar of Autumn really made you feel like the ship was on its last legs, and it helped the Covenant seem a bit more threatening as they emerged from the shadows. Likewise, at the 19:35 mark (when you switch from OG to new graphics mid fight) we can see the stark difference the graphical overhaul makes when infiltrating the Truth and Reconciliation. It's immediately clear that the OG graphics have a certain level of atmosphere that is sorely missing from the remastered ones. The worst example, I think, can be seen in the switch around the 30:24 mark, when you finally encounter the Flood--this level is meant to be ominous and terrifying. It's meant to be a clear homage to the horror genre, or to films like Alien, as you slowly uncover the mystery of this Eldritch hive of parasitic monsters hidden deep within Halo. The darkness is absolutely crucial here to drive that point home, and the OG graphics absolutely envelop you in shadowy corridors and flickering lights. But the remaster...well it just looks like you went to your local dentist's office for a cleaning or something. The main issue is obvious: the remastered version looks far too clean and bright to instill any real sense of danger, and its sterile presentation robs the game of the much needed suspense that should be felt in key moments. Also (and this might be my most subjective point) I really like the OG skyboxes and the distinctive saturation the game had for the outdoor mission right after the Pillar of Autumn, and I think the new graphics really do a disservice to the game by completely changing the color palette of these sections. Specifically, if you look around the 14:10 mark, you can see that the new graphics add a lot more yellows and turn down the saturation significantly. The use of overly saturated colors and a distinct blueish/purplish tint to this landscape was intentional artistic decision made by the original developers and environmental artists, and it's bizarre to me that instead of just upscaling the graphics for this section, the remaster decided to completely overhaul the visual style. It looks drab and lifeless compared to the original, which had a far more alien feel, and the new skyboxes also heavily de-emphasize the presence of one of the most striking and iconic visual landmarks in the game: that of the Halo ring curving upwards into the sky. Put simply, I think this was definitely a topic worth discussing, even if only briefly, seeing as how many people nowadays are likely to be playing the game in the form of the MCC and might be faced with the decision of running OG or new graphics. It's also just interesting as a lesson in game design to see how much of a difference simple changes in art direction can completely shift the mood of a level.

[@Linkgibby]

"I don't care about graphics, but I will be using the 'Anniversary' version, so I have something good to look at." Immediate 180° there, dude.

[@QuestioningLogic]

19:26 I’ve never seen a pelican drop off marines on Truth & Reconciliation and I’ve played SOOO much of these games Edit: I’m pretty sure when you return to find Keyes again back on T&R, that green stuff is engine coolant.

[@senpaisniper2796]

He says he played a lot of halo, I call bs. There are soo many mistakes in this video.

[@robertharris6092]

I dont either. It might be something on easy difficulty?

[@ThatGuy838]

Every time I think you’re done covering my favorite games from my childhood, you upload again. This man just does not miss.

[@kidtruck9157]

For me, Guilty Spark turning made alot of sense. At every opportunity the Humans, his creators chosen, destroyed and prevented the use of his primary means of dealing with a flood outbreak. Now what really didnt get was the psychic visions that cortanna gives cheif, with no explaination. I love the idea of Cortanna and Gravenind playing a chess game and using the Unsc, the covenant, and the flood, as the pieces.

[@absol-lutezero5309]

Guilty spark turning is both due to what you stated and he was going into Rampancy

[@TheBlueMan117]

bro tf you smoking. His creators are and were humans and always were. There are no Different Forerunners or acient human, that's just a shitty 343 retcon.

[@TheBlueMan117]

no he just turned due to the whole reasoning that it was his sole duty to protect the ring. Simple as that, as complex as he was he was still bound to his nature or his programing. He is a robot not a human. Ofc 343 has to ruin set in "less is more" writing into gay meaningless stories with mellow drama. @@absol-lutezero5309

[@absol-lutezero5309]

@@TheBlueMan117 what are you on about nothing I said stated anything about his creation what tf are you smoking

[@TheBlueMan117]

@@absol-lutezero5309 he never had rampancy. That’s a 343 retcon

[@ScarlettR61]

Would love to see Reach and ODST covered. In a way those two are actually my favorite games in the series. I just remember playing hours of reach multiplayer with my brother and friend

[@jacobtuttle4311]

I'm going to be one of the dissenting opinions on the plasma rifle. I think it's superior to the assault rifle due to it's greater range/accuracy and because it's better at burning down shields. I only like the assault rifle for spraying a bunch of grunts grouped together. It's also really effective against the flood in the first game if they're running towards you and there's some distance. Probably my third choice of weapon against them in particular

[@JJJBunney001]

Yeah the PR is in the first game is definitely one of the best weapons in the game

[@Klepto2322]

CE is unique in the sense that only one weapon is outright superior to any other. The Plasma Rifle compared to the Assault Rifle, for instance. PR is more accurate and better at range, but the AR has higher rate of fire. PR stuns unshielded targets, but the AR has the best melee in the game. AR, I find, is the ideal secondary weapon. It does good work defensively, when you're being rushed. It pairs exceptionally well with the Magnum. Plasma Rifle, however, is only situationally better than the Plasma Pistol. They have basically the same accuracy, and the Plasma Rifle's individual projectiles do more damage, but the Plasma Pistol has a much higher maximum rate of fire and is the most common weapon in the campaign by a large margin

[@Hoscue]

Halo 2 on LAN got me through college without arrest. We'd have teams from 4 different dorms talking smack all week in advance and then playing all weekend. Such good times.

[@MasterMashi]

>anniversary graphics >nice to look at sure man, sure

[@thefakebriskeh]

6:49 switching classic to anniversary graphics is like saying youre gonna throw shit at a picasso painting just "so we can have something nice to look at" my brother in Christ, it WAS nice to look at before you threw shit at it

[@barkley8285]

It took 1 game of BTB on spire in halo reach at my buddies house to convince me to jump ship from ps3 to the 360. That game changed my life. What a time to be alive playing halo in its prime.

[@triggered997]

Reach was not halo's prime my guy

[@kay_keik7842]

it was a great game though sadly not given the same love due to bungie leaving. reach had the best story beat and overall best campaign in terms of pace and story.but that makes sense since it was bungie last game and everything they had learned was put on that one. also btb on spire kicks fucking ass @@triggered997

[@ActuallyEskir]

It's kinda unfortunate that Rtas 'Vadum (aka half jaw) was never namedropped. He lost his mandibles to the flood, which is referenced in the level Quarantine Zone in H2 when he says "That smell, I've smelled it before"

[@theramblinmahoney2316]

His comic was so damn good.

[@fish_are_cool]

I remember when I used to hide behind the couch whenever my dad played Halo because I was scared of the Elites. I remember the afternoon I beat 2 on Heroic and felt like a king. So many memories. Before lets plays becoming a huge thing, I remember spending HOURS trying to find all the easter eggs...

[@LimitBreakr424]

New bedtime story for next few weeks LFG!!!!! Happy new year Salt

[@jesperashera]

Dude I've been going to sleep to Salt's videos every night for a year now!

[@Outerwebs]

Many fond memories of endless hours spent playing co-op Halo back in the day - interspersed with TK'ing each other with melee blows to the back of the head. I vaguely remember not really clicking with Halo 2 quite as much for some reason and my history with the series ended there. Picked up the Master Chief collection to see how they stacked up and was shocked at just how anachronistic the gameplay is... Combat has evolved a LOT since 2001.

[@SilverwindWorkshop]

It's really too bad that 343 ruined the atmosphere of their namesake's level, as it's honestly simply too bright for how horrific the level was originally in the new graphics.

[@sasaki999pro]

its 343, they ruin literally everything they touch. Cortana The ODST's The Forerunners The Covenant The Banished The Flood Zeta Halo The entire first ten years of Halo via the MCC (Like Am I ACTUALLY supposed to be impressed that they fixed it after like 5 years of total negligence? Oh by all means then lets give 343 be a standing ovation! "Congratulations on fixing your unplayable dumpster fire of a mess" )

[@Klepto2322]

​@@sasaki999proMCC being almost literally unplayable for multiple years is probably still their greatest showing of incompetence. It isn't even a new game, it's a launcher for games released prior. Genuinely impressive that they managed to fuck it up that badly.

[@Slender_Man_186]

@sasaki999pro the worst part is that it wasn’t even 343 who fixed MCC, it was Certain Affinity, the same company who also made Halo Reach’s map packs for 343 immediately after they took over the franchise, and the same developers who 343 also outsourced a lot of Halo Infinite’s development to. 343 literally doesn’t know how to code their own games.

[@bigfloppa9594]

​@@sasaki999prothey ruined literally none of what you mentioned except botching mcc lmao

[@resultedchutoy3353]

21:12 man.... I think the developer commentary is just a glimpse into the minds and the insane passion and love the original developers at Bungie had for Halo and the first few titles. It's such a vibe they give off that's so drastically different than what's even felt today.

[@ShatterEffectGaming]

When Halo ODST came out my friend and I gathered tons of snacks, food, drinks, energy drinks and everything we needed. We were going to sit and play the game and go through the whole game no matter how long it took....2 hours later it was beat and we had barely finished our first drink. It is now an inside joke for us.