What It Means To Be Human In Halo

[@ThaneBishop]

My lung has not been collapsed but I'll let you metaphorically walk me down the stairs because the elevator is broken due to ongoing alien invasion. www.patreon.com/ThaneBishop

[@RakeHipster]

Why is your voice so overly dramatic?

[@ThaneBishop]

@@RakeHipsterI did not do theatre from Kindergarten to College to *not* overly pack emotion into my presentation style.

[@quill9648]

@@ThaneBishop Understandable have a nice day.

[@LongLiveLiberty]

@@ThaneBishop🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@Highland-Gaming1]

​@@ThaneBishop Master Cheif was never the last Spartan read the Halo books to know more.

[@Zombysushi]

"Self sacrifice and the reckless -- utterly reckless -- hope that, via that self sacrifice, someone else won't be lost." Damn good line, man.

[@Deadshot-zr5ob]

I love it too

[@averageclussyenjoyer6396]

This is the Way

[@voidvoidvoid7274]

Oh wow :O

[@classicalpotato]

One super small but significant detail almost everyone misses: There are two cutscenes when you discover Virgil. If you havent found all of the audiologs and taken out the corrupt police officer, Dare coaxes Virgil out of the data stacks. However, If you have fully listened to Sadies story, and have completed that arc, the cutscene changes. Instead of Dare coaxing virgil out, the Rookie steps out and calls them with a whistle very similar to the Superintendent tone. The rookie recognized Virgil even faster than dare, and even motions her to lower her pistol. Its a small detail, but signifies just how important sadies story is to ODST.

[@mohammadqasimawais9155]

There were 29 logs and I moved at a snail's pace, how I was supposed to find all of them?

[@DatcleanMochaJo]

@@mohammadqasimawais9155 HUD on and listen for the money each time you go through the city. Virgil can even direct you. Otherwise watch a GuIDe? Bro its been out for over a decade they had video guides online showing you when I was in high school.

[@mohammadqasimawais9155]

@@DatcleanMochaJo No, the main problem was that I moved at a Snail's pace in a Covenant city. I did not want to waste ammunition searching for videos.

[@lizardwizard7196]

@@mohammadqasimawais9155 Last 30th Log is in the Data Hive at the very frost and ice covered door.

[@FloodMakerProductions]

@@mohammadqasimawais9155 some of the weapons caches in the city had mongooses in them that make going round the city way faster, on legendary you may run into a ghost too

[@padwock2294]

30:08 It's funny how the one mission in the game that feels like a "power fantasy" is a mission that is based around gettin' the f* out and away from the enemy ASAP. The first time you've described a feeling of consistent safety and security in a mission and it's when you're leaving! Love this game man

[@Illegiblescream]

I love how hopeless Reach and ODST are, and just how much it pushes home that Chief is an actual unholy monster that lurks in the nightmares of these otherwise unstoppable alien overlords.

[@Skullkan6]

And he can still die fairly easily, especially on higher difficulties

[@deathbringer9893]

​@@Skullkan6 that is the point heroic is the canon way to play and chief is not a god he is just a human who refuses to give up and extremely lucky

[@erincarson8998]

​@@deathbringer9893 If only the dead have seen the end of war, is he really the luck one?

[@deathbringer9893]

@@erincarson8998 his luck is also his undoing he will most likely outlive everyone else due to spartans living longer and being in there prime longer kinda sad and makes sense why john "loves" cortana

[@draochvar9646]

It also hammers home the sheer magnitude of difference between Spartan IIs and everyone else.

[@youngman850]

"Have TWO kabobs."

[@nathanramage1275]

Jonas is a real one, hope his Kebabs live on, in his memory

[@4TheWinQuinn]

May he ride eternal on the forklift of destiny

[@S0RGEx]

Fun fact, Jonas actually got a mention in the Halo Cookbook, of all things. There's a kebab recipe where the in-universe author opens with: “I used to get these great beef kebabs around Old Mombasa, but ever since the Covenant glassed that part of the city, I haven’t been able to get in contact with the butcher that sold them. I was missing the kebabs, so I figured I’m make ‘em myself, but I miss that kind butcher too. Hope he’s doing OK.”

[@richardcostello360]

​@S0RGEx when I saw that.....I kinda cried a little

[@Scriptedviolince]

When you think of the kinds of people the player and Sadie run into, Jonas was honestly probably worth at least five people the player and Sadie run into over the course of the campaign.

[@ACEYGAMES]

She ran into those left behind, the dregs who could not or choose not to leave. Many of those who choose did so for good reasons, they fought and died. Those who did so for bad reasons stuck around and made trouble. Johnas was worth 5 who stayed. But he decided he wasn't worth 5 who left.

[@UncleWilsonProductions]

​@ACEYGAMESThat was really well said.

[@CrushedFemur]

I think something else special about ODST, especially the first mission, is your loadout. You get a suppressed smg, the first suppressed weapon in the series. There have been stealth missions before in the series, but they were about ambushing and relied on snipers. This suppressed smg and dark environment screams "do not get caught, engaging the enemy is death".

[@Skullkan6]

This. I remember that feeling at 12 years old.

[@quintonsloan3666]

Mombasa streets were ment to be played laso so that way you had to avoid fights. My issue with the suppressed weaponry is everyone in the fire fight hears it so melee is still the best stealth

[@Arvolash]

@@quintonsloan3666 …did not know that. *runs to redownload the game*

[@ImperialGuardsman2]

For them.

[@Beefercow]

Playing this on legendary, the environment legitimately scares me. It's so much more threatening.

[@danimarch2639]

"...even though it looks more like a Puma." XD Sir I was drinking. Literal spit take.

[@GenStallion]

How about a Walrus?

[@germainsimada7591]

@@GenStallion Stop creating imaginary animal

[@ryanparker4996]

I think it looks more like El Chupacabra

[@GenStallion]

Chupa-thingy?

[@KodeeDentares]

What the hell is a "Puma?" Oh, memories..! 😂❤

[@mnk9073]

Regular Halos: the Space Marine experience ODST: the Guardsman experience

[@luken4164]

Eh, I’d say it’s more the Kasrkin/Scion experience. We’ll have to wait for a Grunt game to really suffer the Guard.

[@michaeledmunds7056]

Scions are Guard, son

[@people174]

real

[@a05odst62]

>Warhammer fans on there way to insert their shitty fucking franchise into every medium humanly possible

[@luken4164]

@@a05odst62 What makes you think that? 40K and Halo share much in common, so I imagine their fans would have much crossover.

[@blazingswayze5518]

To quote the book. A life spent is not a life wasted.

[@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly]

Gotta' love Mendez, we need a Johnson & Mendes buddy cop prequel book written by Karen Travis no cap.

[@projectr9999]

@@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly Please, no. Do not let that woman anywhere near Halo again.

[@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly]

@@projectr9999 I haven't read any of the 343 books, what happened?

[@projectr9999]

@@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly Hypocrisy, overzealous hatred for Catherine Halsey, and racial prejudice against Sangheili in some ways.

[@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly]

@@projectr9999 I can't tell if you're serious or having a joke at my expense.🤣

[@CRDubU]

Master Chief made me want to fight, to save the day. The Rookie made me want to live, to survive the night. That’s the impact a game can have. That’s what it can do for someone.

[@randommoron9892]

Oh hey it's you one of my favorite youtubers

[@Naramsit]

Noble Six made me realize, we are not the hero of the story but paving the way for the one who is.

[@Eubeenhadd]

It's really telling that I die most times I play any of the Master Chief games on basically every difficulty on every level. I play fast, take risks, and have fun. ODST had me surviving most missions without any deaths even on heroic or legendary because I was so much more tentative with committing to engagements.

[@CRDubU]

@@randommoron9892 Thank ya kindly for that.

[@randommoron9892]

@@CRDubU no prob

[@nicklapallo9090]

"A minimum of one alien, per rifle, was going home in a mop bucket." Aaaand subscribed. I'm not a full half hour in and already the dining has been fine.

[@invaderHUNK]

WE ARE EATING GOOD THIS DAY

[@ThaneBishop]

I BRING A BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

[@sumonedum]

I'm having toast with blueberry jelly

[@invaderHUNK]

@@sumonedum how is it?

[@sumonedum]

@@invaderHUNK yummy

[@naverilllang]

We are eating kebabs

[@BuffCheeks80085]

I know there was no rain in ODST, but my memories will always have heavy rainfall while exploring New Mombasa as my favorite Halo protagonist. I feel that has something to do with the music while exploring. (Buck is probably my 3rd favorite Halo character, if Superintendente doesn't count 😅)

[@BuffCheeks80085]

BTW my 2nd favorite Halo game is Reach. Utmost respect for Rookie and Six. o7 (my 2 favorite Halo protagonists)

[@user-ns4zm8qe9p]

The trailers cast some kind of spell that infected us all with the logic plague and now we think it was raining

[@Endwankery]

I feel the same way. Great times 🙂

[@Skullkan6]

Same. Same

[@BlueTeam-John-Fred-Linda-Kelly]

...Now that I think about it, why isn't there a mod for this on steam?

[@JediSteve-J3-]

Something I absolutely love about ODST is the start, specifically in Multiplayer. You don't start near each other, You spawn in various spots on the streets. As you start to get familiar with your controls you are also trying to find your fellow players, a prelude to the quest of finding out what happened to your team.

[@D.Nobile]

Thank you SO MUCH for mentioning A Walk in the Woods. I wrote a whole essay on it in highschool.

[@elchjol2777]

What I remember hitting me in ODST was if you had all the logs,the officer survived until you found the frozen door. Then he turned on you. Your targeting reticle goes red on a human for the first time,even on the crazy marine that shot at you in CE it was green thus a no-shoot. But now you got a police officer with a potential one-shot-kill shotgun in his hands and he is hostile. You have to pull the trigger first to survive. I had a shotgun as well in my first time with this encounter and on reflex from seeing my cross hair go red at close range, I pulled the trigger without thinking. A bang,a man crumpling to the ground and a red splat on the wall. Not blue,not purple,not orange,red. For the first time in Halo you have a human as a red target, and what do you do when you have a red target? The same thing you've been doing....shoot. But this is no alien,nor even one of those insurrectionists heard of in the background....this is a uniformed police officer. In the same uniform as the officers you fought alongside in some missions. I only realized what I did after I saw the red splat on the wall a second after the shot. This hit me a bit harder as my mother was once a police dispatcher so I had a high option of officers, so pulling the trigger on the NMPD officer was a "The hell did I just do?" moment.

[@Splarkszter]

I love when a story... a world, is written so well that these things happen.

[@jingle9691]

"Good Soldiers Follow Orders"

[@weir-t7y]

Wait until you learn how many real officers are just like him

[@elchjol2777]

@@weir-t7y Mind you this was my experience as a little 11 year old back when I played this for the first time.

[@DankMeme-ni2my]

Why do you have to bring politics into this? Why can’t you just shut your mouth and actually stay on topic instead of taking every moment to spit some petty point in?

[@Inward_Outward]

Great video! I just wanted to throw one thing in for context: ODST used to be panned back in its day, the most common rhetoric used was that it was "like playing Halo without shields." Lore-wise, that's 100% correct. ODSTs do not employ any sort of shielding tech, aside from traditional heat-dispersing/ballistic armor. In-game, it's actually false. The game itself has a tutorial for the system, IIRC it goes by the name "stamina" but it's functionally an energy shield. You can see it by taking damage. It's the red vignette on your screen, and signified by your character's heavy breathing. It absorbs some damage before you start losing health, just as John Halo would. Fun fact!

[@n8dogue]

It always bothers me when people get confused about that fact. I mean they literally mention the whole stamina system in the tutorial yet it flies by the average player's head

[@zucchiniiiuwu]

....which makes you think "huh this game really does not portray ODST's as they really are. I'm literally just a reskinned spartan" which makes me feel all the glaze this game gets for "being gritty and grounded" is just horseshit

[@quorthon8411]

@@zucchiniiiuwu tbf if you wanted the real deal, any damn grunt would ground you with one shot of a plasma pistol.

[@strikeforce1500]

I always appreciate when a videogame IP takes the player from basically a terminator protagonist, to the average grunt. You aren't the Doomslayer, you are normal soldier #38476. You aren't Master Chief, you are marine #23222 It's something few games do,and I love it. Makes you appreciate more how different are Spartans from the average guy, even the guys above the average like the ODST soldiers. But it also adds more humanity to the series as a whole

[@dominicdemuro462]

What other games besides ODST do this?

[@mohammadqasimawais9155]

​​@@dominicdemuro462Well, there was a Warhammer game where you could play as different factions. One of the factions was the regular Guardsmen, arguably the weakest faction in lore. Defeating the other factions as Guardsmen gave you the best ending in the game. There's also Resident Evil 7. You go from trained police officers and spec ops to just like a guy trying to survive a house full of nightmarous creatures.

[@dominicdemuro462]

@@mohammadqasimawais9155 thanks

[@Ozzianman]

It's why I am looking forward to The Forever Winter. I want to play as a scrappy scavenger navigating a war where I am an insignificant speck.

[@zucchiniiiuwu]

except you're totally wrong about ODST doing this. Gameplay wise you are literally just as souped up as master chief. You literally still have shields for crying out loud, they just got renamed. You jump an ungodly height with all that heavy gear, and you can operate alien weapons the are canonically grossly oversised for use by a regular human. Pull your head outta ur ass bro

[@ethanchirdon9375]

28:55 I see the clever use of describing Spartans and ODSTs with "We're the Desperate Measures" playing in the background.

[@chthulu27]

3:26 "Even though it looks more like a puma." Ah, red vs blue, classic.

[@TwoAwfulGuys]

It is a CRIME this only has 2,000 views. Incredible video on my favourite Halo game.

[@Keiranful]

An older video on a small (as of now) channel. It is growing though, and at a rapid pace. There are already close to 8k views on the video and the channel has nearly 18k subs.

[@nopenope9945]

50% like ratio? That's gotta be a good sign though right?

[@theirishviking9278]

a month on and that number has been multiplied by 10

[@LostShipMate]

Jonas is my spirit animal.

[@mrrootbeerguy1280]

I think you forgot one of the best missions, mickeys mission. He rally’s all the marines scattered in the city to push towards the Oni building. The dialogue between marines and Mickey himself while driving a tank feels very fitting to the themes you’re bringing up

[@EldritchMage3922]

If you get enough audio logs the officer on sub level seven has a different death

[@MaddoxDelgado]

i still dont fully understand how buck figured out where Dare was but i do know it stems from the conversation that any of the tunnels not flooded are filled with covenant at that point. I have read that since on the drop they angled towards the ONI building and she disappeared from her pod that she continued to the ONI building (which most marines including ODST would know has sublevels.) Tunnels have to lead somewhere and if the covenant are there for something then Dare (ONI) must be there to retrieve it.

[@LordlessSword]

Well I know Buck knew that they were of course. He still thought that they were boarding the supercarrier at the start. He said something like "What are you doing ? We're way off course!" Which he remembers after kikowani station. (It plays as audio)

[@MaddoxDelgado]

@@LordlessSword yeah, he only figured it out after it was a death wish to go back.

[@alphahuner1116]

Don't forget that Dare called out on the comms relaying her rough position. Buck may have figured to go to the Oni Building, but getting underground was Dare's request.

[@mitchelledwin105]

It really, really, really goes to show just how much you improve with each video! I don't mean to say that you've had any L's -- because you straight up haven't. But your first Cyberpunk video sucked me in with just how masterful your analysis of the forlorn genre is when it's not being used to sell Gamer(tm) Chairs. Every video you've done is not only intelligent, but meaningful in a way that resonates with not only me personally, but with everyone I've shared them to and clearly the ~6000 subscribers you've accrued. I'm 29. Halo came out when I was seven, and I've been here since the beginning, begrudgingly and blissfully. This video captured everything I've ranted about to friends, family, and at one point an entire university class alike about why this franchise means the world to me, even if I think it's lost its soul to brand merchandising and vapid writing in the two most recent of the main series entries. That said, holy crap did you knock it out of the park with the truly human aspect of Halo's world. "Not lost. Only losing." love it -- profound as fuck -- succinct in its most flourished forme -- feed it to me slowly like grapes. Also, your jokes are on point I genuinely laughed out loud and woke my cat up several times.

[@ThaneBishop]

I had to sit on this comment for the day because it's hard to articulate how much this one means to me. I'm so thrilled that this video connected with you, and I'm really grateful you took the time to let me know. These kinds of comments are the absolute highlights of getting to share the way I view and understand media with the world. Thank you so much.

[@Keiranful]

​@@ThaneBishop I totally agree with this commentator. Your comments about Pokemon Silver date you as quite a few years younger than I am, but you have a perceptiveness and understanding of the themes behind videogames that is a sight to behold. I say that as someone who is no slouch in philosophy or storytelling, who works as an analyst for a living and grew up on video games, starting with Diablo 2, Tomb Raider 2, and War Craft 3. You have a knack for breaking down complex themes and undertones into something understandable, which is reflected in the growth of your channel. I look forward to seeing more from you.

[@michealdrake3421]

42:45 Dude, this hits SO HARD. "The will to drag yourself over the finish line, or just to find someone else to drag you." That line right there so deeply encapsulates, at least to me, what it means to BE human. We keep going, no matter what, until we PHYSICALLY cannot any longer, and even then, we seek out someone else to help us keep going, until we're strong enough to continue on our own. Thanks for that.

[@mileonaslionclaw2525]

“Even though it kind of looks like a puma” heh, I see what you did there~ nice

[@haloinfiniteisagoodgame1163]

a lot of chiefs gameplay is about winning and victory reach is about holding out, waiting for the extraction, slow the advance of the enemy, then it ends with that very mission, survive, hold out, after which you fail odst is about surviving, your goal is to make it past this encounter, not the mission, not the day, not the tour, odst is about trying not to eat shit too quickly, maybe succeed in the mission

[@Captain_tiberius]

Its been years since I played ODST, but if i recall correctly, Sadie calls in for a elephant to evac him, which you can find tourched by plama fire in route to that terminal. Makeing it notable because I thnk it was the first time an elephant was mentioned/ modeled in a halo game that was not Halo Wars. I've been watching through your content in the last day or two, I gotta say, Love your stuff man! I'd love to hear your take on Halo reach, if you have any opinon on it!

[@Epsilon.17]

3:20 Bro made an RvB reference and thought we wouldn’t notice.

[@GnarledStaff]

Great Video! Halo always had these themes, its just that its easy to miss them when you play as chief and dont see the marines as people. But honestly, the Halo Marines (and nonmarines in some instances) really made Halo Stand out. They pit a lot of effort making those NPCs feel real, having them joke and interact with the player and other NPCs, and generally making them feel human. Their presence alone did wonders for reinforcing the theme of humanity but those voicelines and the genuine help they provided (though often short-lived) really take it to the next level. I still remember the PC demo, fighting through the beach landing on the Silent Cartographer on higher difficulties. I got my ass handed to me. But the marines fought and died together, and by learning to take cover, stay with the group, and focus fire their targets I was able to get through it. You did feel lonely in older Halo games, it just happened to a lesser extent. The juxtaposition of starting out with a squad and ending up in the bowels of some alien construct with only the voice in your head made that loneliness apparent… but they usually ended a level with reinforcements so you never felt that loneliness for too long (unless you got lost, lol). I remember spending hours trying to keep as many marines alive in Combat Evolved and feeling a profound sense of loss when I beat it because I thought all of those other characters were dead. But Halo 2 restored my faith by having Johnson survive, implying that all my efforts were not lost and some did make it off the Halo.

[@GnarledStaff]

And man, the voicelines!! “No Covenant!? You had to open your mouth!” Is one of my favorites. It occurs right after the covenant ambush when you enter their ship with the marines, but its easy to miss because of the gunfire, and explosions and possibly the RNG of that character dying before he can say it. The excitement when a group of marines see you arrive. Calls of “The cavalry has arrived!” And other displays of renewed hope really hit me hard. I remember hearing that they looked up combat footage to see what real people said while firing their weapons. And then they didnt shy away from things like “C’mon, get some!” Just because they were a little corny. They even let them crack jokes and apologize for team damage during combat! Halo’s AI felt like real people. I havn’t played a game with that type of NPC immersive experience since Reach (I did not play 4 and beyond because I heard they were lacking)

[@BT293HG]

I love how in OSDT, you’re just A Person, surrounded with Some People, just trying to make it through one hell of a time

[@exodus9941]

I watched your Republic Commando video, loved it, and I also agree, ODST is my favorite. WE KNOW THE MUSIC AND IT'S TIME TO DANCE!

[@HazeNades]

Crazy how we go from stories like reach and ODST to whatever halo5 and infinite are

[@andreasottohansen7338]

ODST has a special place in my heart, because few games to me have really capture the feeling of loneliness and isolation the missions as Rookie have, while still maintaining a glimmer of hope. It first introduced me to the scrappiness and impenetrable atmosphere that would later have me fall in love with Metro 2033. I hadn't really "gotten" any Halo game before this, and had only briefly played Halo 3, but ODST is what made me 'get' Halo, which would down the line be reinforced by Reach

[@joyfullpuns1593]

Something I'm surprised you didn't mention, is that ODST has a lot of small voice lines dedicated to mourning. The squad has a habit of reacting to Marine and NMPD deaths that you don't really see anywhere else in the series. It's missable if you're not keeping an ear out, but it really helped the theme of humanity imo. The one that sticks out the most to me is one of Mickey's, which you can hear in the mission where you detonate the ONI building. It's just this, despondent and kind of desperate, "He's gone man. There's nothing we can do for him anymore, he's gone." He barely knew any of the people he was fighting with, but he still sounds so broken at seeing them die. It uh, it hits.

[@RebelPhoenix117]

This was one of the best Halo video essays I've ever seen. ODST truly holds a special place in my heart, alongside Reach, for the jarringly real way it tells the story of humanities struggle, a struggle that you outlined and captured phenomenally. Beautifully done.

[@castropanopanopalis]

I've always posited that Virgil is how, if not at least a big part, the UNSC got the Infinity...

[@SpoopySquid]

I really wish we get a remake/spiritual sequel to ODST that goes hard on the stealth and survival elements

[@Bluejaywitharedscarf]

I would argue that the bass riff for half life is equally iconic. It pushes forward a dead feeling. City 17 is the last of humanity, kept heavily under the eyes of the Combine. It is a depressing landscape, even with the rebellion. It doesn't feel like a fight for life. It just feels like the last death throes of a doomed species.

[@realfallengang]

This was gorgeously writen. You are an exceptional writer. I made myself an essay back last year about the Halo 3: ODST and Dante's Inferno. It was about 3000 words, my lord. I wish I saw this video sooner, cause It makes me want to write again. Take care and much love!

[@aplestone6878]

”I don’t care if that Aliens are invading. I just want to know if you love me.” Hit me somwehere deep. Such an amazing video!!!

[@slipcasedant2612]

I want you to know, that over a year after you posted this, it kinda saved my life. Thank you.

[@ThaneBishop]

Couldn't be happier about that.

[@tridentgreen3346]

Vergil had info on the Covenant’s search for the Portal to the Ark the Covenant eventually find in Voi. Also I really want to relisten to Kilo 5 now

[@goldengod90]

My cousin was design director for ODST. Growing up I recall his US Army photos on the wall, the parallels of being a paratrooper dropping into an area of options compared to being an “ODST” drives the plot in this game from the Halo Universe. He worked with some of the best in the industry to complete this project. It was a great game to me, and it kept me busy during my university years. I recall the ambiance of the main menu of the city being played in the background while I completed various school work. It truly gave a “legendary” feel; being challenged to play without Spartan armor. I appreciated listening to this coverage of ODST, your perspective on the plot was thorough and brought back great memories. 👍 Great shoutout to the Siege of Madrigal, from Myth. The theme you described about, “we are most capable is when we are with people we can rely on,” was something my cousin had lived on the game of Myth with his team Civil Order, they’d gone on a 8-0 tournament run from 98-00 on Bungie’s myth battlefields where teams numbered 5-7 in roster sizes. It’s safe to say this teamwork also played a role in teams creating the first 3 Halo games. It makes sense to me a game he would direct and design would encompass the theme of working well as a team to accomplish goals, it’s echoed throughout this game as well as how it’s foundation was created. 👍

[@scissorcorn9956]

40:33 “He knows he is not worth five seats.” I actually cried omf that’s so heartbreaking 😭😭😭😭

[@KillerSniper142]

This is too high quality for only 2k views, but ya earned a sub today

[@kevinalmgren8332]

I still remember the first time I played Halo. It was that same jump from Pokémon and Mario 64 to Halo: Combat Evolved. I was eight years old, it was December of 2001, and my mom was horrified when she saw what I was playing, but I was mesmerized. I had no idea what was happening, and for at least a year I was stuck on the Library, but the scale and feeling of that game was breathtaking in a way that I didn’t feel again until I encountered Morrowind.

[@crypt_1085]

Boss, everyone's talking about how raw the self-sacrifice line is, but for me, what makes this is "she's like... REALLY fucking in charge". Excellent writing, dude.

[@crypt_1085]

Gotta add - "At this range? At least one alien per rifle is going home in a mop bucket." COLD.

[@spartanwar1185]

"It's a box of *halo theme"* "A box of *halo theme* ? You can't put *halo theme* in a box" *_GUITAR RIFFS ENSUE_* All jokes aside, this was a genuinely awesome essay It really shed light on parts of halo that don't get talked about enough

[@Couldnt_let_J.Marston_die]

18:44 The victory tune after battle in the OG FF7, oh and the Mario theme.

[@swhaw]

I love representations of humanity in stories, of course if it makes sense and isn't hamfisted in a poor way. Jonas is a prime example of that, no sudden heel turn, just an older man doing what he can to help people until he can't and accepting his fate knowing that his safety would compromise the safety of others and he can't do that. Even though he is a barely mentioned character that doesn't have a huge story or lore, you can feel his humanity from the small interaction and you can believe he is a person and not a caricature or cliche. It can be hard to do but when done well, doesn't even need to be complex, it hits.

[@JohnKidd-up7uh]

ODST was the game that first led me from the PS2 and PSP era of my childhood into the Xbox-360 years of my teenage days. I'll never forget the tonal shift from bright and colourful SW Battlefront 2 and the arcadey-ness Need For Speed, to the dark, cold and oppressive streets of New Mombasa. I knew nothing about the other Halo games, and I love ODST for being effectively standalone in that; there was no Master Chief for me - just a lonely regular soldier, in a rain-drenched tomb of a city. A mission, and a gun. And a plot that expands and builds-out around that. And when the game concludes, the mission is completed and the squad is saved, the city is glassed: 'we won this battle, but the war is still being lost', the game's ending seemed to say

[@TheArchiveRose]

Hearing him talk about ODST as the game with the human perspective made me think of something, one of the first things you see in this game is the slip space scene from Halo 2, ironically enough, the moment the game starts marks the moment you don't have the master chief to save you. I find irony in that fact that it only extends the point further. And I don't even think that it was on purpose.

[@savxage__3927]

I know im a bit late, but with no doubt, the style of this video in how u describe things almost mirrors how H3 ODST writes its story. Thank you for the amazing content.

[@ThaneBishop]

Ya know, I'm also a bit late. Thank you so much for this, it means so much to me!

[@savxage__3927]

@ThaneBishop np man, I really look forward to anymore halo content you make. If you do, I'll continue to support cuz u absolutely nailed the reach and ODST videos!

[@CoffeeCrowgasm]

What you gotta do on uplift reserve is give a marine your laser asap, then in the next area there's a grunt with a fuel rod, grab that and hand it to a different marine from one of the other warthogs when they pull up, using those it makes rolling through the next areas far easier and there's even another laser in the building within the area with two wraiths just before the bridge.

[@atlev]

I've not been doing very well as of the past 4 years. Thank you for this video. Your words hit my heart.

[@ThaneBishop]

Four years is a long time to have a rough time. But the silver lining is that if you're strong enough to go that long, I reckon you're strong enough to go as long as you need, until you don't need to be so strong all the time. Things will get better.

[@atlev]

@@ThaneBishop I'm losing, but I haven't lost. Not yet.

[@adri.progression]

@@atlev I Believe in you 💫 (I like to use 💫 as my HALO emoji)

[@LatiBite]

great vid feller. last few days been annoyed that a lookback like this i liked seems to have disappeared. This one was great, thanks a ton and keep up the good work

[@ThaneBishop]

Hey, thanks for the kind words! I'm really happy you enjoyed this one

[@thebigwoogle]

Rewatching this video for like the third time. Every time in ODST and Reach, when we have a victory-however small-I always think of a line from Doctor Who: "Maybe you will win... But nobody wins for long." and I feel like that quote embodies ODST and Reach. As you put it: we're haven't lost yet, we're only losing.

[@genericcultist9640]

Idk if ive ever watched your content, but im only 54 seconds in and am sick in bed playing final fantasy tactics on my DS light. This is gonna be a goated video

[@fpshightide]

Damn that line where you said it was the first game where you got good enough to enjoy being good at hits hard man

[@P9ctMak3r]

Any video about ODST is sure to be a hit with me but you have an immaculate gift of observation and writing. I could only imagine you're a god tier Game Master

[@quill9648]

This and Reach are the two favourite of mine. Because when the rest show Chief breaking through insurmountable odds, Locke going on a goose chase after John amid an all-out war. In these two outliers, we're the ones that rally behind Chief, we're the ones who would in any other scenario, provide cover or a distraction for John so he could break through and complete the mission. And it shows how BRITTLE we are, compared to the Spartans. I love it, because it gives us a break from the power trip that Spartans effectively are. And it shows that even a small group of soldiers, regular human beings, and even a lone survivor with a goal, can achieve something that seems impossible.

[@Christiaan-qj8fi]

Banger video. Only thing I’d add is that I like the characterization of kinsler as a flat, uninteresting character. People that prey on others are very rarely people with rich personal lives

[@Cactusprisms-oz6yn]

Oh this is beautifully articulated and written and I appreciate it very much. Thank you for making it

[@heyheyalaska]

ODST holds a special place in my heart. The great story, firefight, playing with friends and probably some other stuff all make this such a stand out to me, more so than all the halo games that came before. Though Reach is still my favourite (butHalo 5 is also a contender)

[@jalen7690]

Don’t forget the smooth ass jazz music.

[@spiegel7608]

I love playing ODST with friends, especially on Legendary. It just feels so. . .right. I’m with what feels like my brothers and sisters, fighting to just get to the next checkpoint. We work together, moving as a team and it feels human. Supporting and being supporting. Like a human

[@willbates8464]

ODST was my first halo game and my first shooter game. And I'm so incrediblely happy it was, the feeling of being at gamestop, my brother, and me convincing our mom to let us get it. The car ride home being filled with anticipation and then finally loading up the game and oh boy the title screen music and the rain. Love this game so much. Honestly some of the best childhood memories I have that have really stuck with me.

[@MrRandomperson78]

Just saw this, earned the subscription. Thank you for putting out content that isn’t just slop

[@Splarkszter]

I love when a story makes gives me that sensation of "hope and teamwork in a sea of death"

[@hiddenhundred8565]

Man Jonas as a character makes me so happy that I share the same name as him, even if a little different, and that oddly enough ODST was my first halo. I believe it is what truely shaped my love and compassion for settings or games like ODST. I think you put that idea perfectly and that this feeling of grounded reality is what I crave, to know that humanity may face countless trials but we are still able to keep going and still sneak in a bit of compassion into the bleekness that we deal with. THAT is the greatness of humanity. Our ability to witness or experience all this suffering or bleakness but still being able to keep moving forward, lend a helping hand to those we are able to, or even still keep our morals and stand up to injustice even in the chaos of an invasion. THAT is what has always drawn me into a setting, it being a video game, book series, or movie. It's ability to convey that feeling is something I truly love. Anyways enough with my rambling, this video was an incredible disection of ODST's story and it really shined with how you were able to really bring all 3 stories together nicely and even hint towards the third stories to those who may have not played ODST or those who haven't played it in awhile. Again great stuff man!

[@maxplaysgamesmore8552]

If you find all the audio logs, you actually see Sadie Endensha’s father’s body. The Police officer then reveals he is corrupt and attempts to kill the Rookie. For the second time in the series, we are faced with a human we must kill, but this time it’s man vs man at close range with shotguns vs a Spartan putting down an insane man with only a pistol. It’s a visceral and intense moment. Of course it’s a lot easier for an ODST (even a rookie at that) to put down a corrupt police officer, but it’s still a very surprising and sad moment that even amongst an alien invasion, there are humans evil enough to want to fight other humans in a survival situation like that.

[@ShadowWulfGaming]

Thank you for this video, I cried during a lot of it because of just how much all these moments are close to me growing up with this game

[@kailutz4901]

This is exactly what I want out of a video game video. Thank you for the clear, concise, respectful, informative and well balanced listening experience

[@giancarloauriemma7525]

This is such a beautiful video essay on one of the most (if not the most) emblematic and atmospheric of the Halo games, I'll keep coming back to it and watching it lots of times, good work man :)

[@GPutlovis]

I recall crying the first time I saw the audiolog with Jonas. I find it difficult to pinpoint why it affected me so greatly, but I still think about the story sometimes. Acceptance. It’s powerful.

[@copperhead5858]

26:40 swapping guns with Buck also shows his assault rifle lost ammo.

[@ryeandcedar9740]

10:32 "We're in the dark... we have no direction... we have no-" *falls 50 feet from a building* "-SHIN BONES OH SWEET LORD MY LEGS"

[@blueB0wser]

Rookie (and ODST) teaches us the meaning of the indomitable human spirit. Great video, easy sub from me.

[@KeyboardTarantula]

I always tried to save as many marines as possible in every other halo game. it felt like babysitting in every other game. but in ODST, it felt... like genuinely protecting. now I understand why.

[@ipodclassic91]

Dude...I cried while watching this You perfectly encapsulated the experience of playing this game and the core reason for its existence and involvement in the Halo saga. ODST by far is my top 2 Halo games I deeply have love for, & listening to you talk about this game really made me cry because I can never go back to the simpler times and experience this game again for the first time...and it makes me really hunger for nostalgia. Halo is the reason I look back and smile because the times I had shared with friends all the long nights, all the sleepovers truly was made possible because of this game. Thank you

[@606Xentrax606]

I'm so very delighted that you mentioned Jonas. He had the biggest (lol) impact on me personally from this game (to the point I made an npc of him in my first d&d campaign), so it's so gratifying to hear someone else appreciate him as much as I did. He's in maybe 2 out of however many audio logs exist in the game, but I was sincerely touched by his personality and sense of humor. Truly a larger than life kinda guy.

[@Aegxs]

I found it odd that in Uplift Reserve you managed to come across your conclusion, but hardly mentioned Kizingo Boulevard. I’d argue that Kizingo Blvd with the mention of the rally point and the multiple scattered marines would drive this desperate cooperation much further. I still think about the Gauss gunner who fires at the banshees and not the wraith in Dutch’s ambush. And it hits all the harder when this mission is followed up by a desperate last stand in the ONI building where the only survivors were just Dutch and Mickey

[@d0dgecity]

This was great. I was a teenager and massive Halo fan when ODST came out and I remember playing through it one time, being bored, not really liking the visual style, thinking it should've been an expansion to 3, and never replaying it. It's awesome to see what I missed and revisit it as an adult. I actually would love to give it another go. Great vid!

[@aaronmckinney2411]

I've seen several videos of people trying to summarize and explain halo 3 odst. And you're the first one to do it justice. I couldn't even figure out why I liked odst as much as I do, till your video. Thank you

[@Burkius]

While I love all the halo lore and meme comments I have to bring attention to your writing style and vocal expression. It’s phenomenal, I’ll have to go through and watch your other videos but I’m wildly impressed on how well you’ve crafted your script to not only highlight important notes of the story but in cadence with your speech patterns and delivery. Chefs kiss man. Truly content worth consuming

[@ZandarRatesGames]

I know this is an old video but I wanted to say that the engineer saved in ODST led to the completion of the Infinity in the books. It isn't especially important but I always found that fact fun.

[@tobiasGR3Y]

What it means to be human in Halo so to experience a wide range of emotions in the face of the impossible. ODST & Reach were my Halos and allowed me to experience growing into being an adult and the trials it would bring. Which is why I’m writing this on Veterans Day, my ODST-patch is on my ballistic helmet in the next room and my drop pod is just a plane.

[@Czechmate88]

I think ODST hits home for so many because it’s (almost but not quite) an ordinary human doing extraordinary things in times of stress and it’s something we are all capable of

[@Hawk7886]

Well, if you're a highly trained soldier and basically peak form without using artificial enhancement, sure. Sadie's story is supposed to be more realistic for the average civilian.

[@dredhounds6832]

the subtle comedy you bring with information is so fantastic, thank you for the upload!

[@galactic_4042]

A very well written and great video, I've loved stumbling over your channel due to the cyberpunk vids, and have even watched videos about games or topics I didn't even know about, just to hear your thoughts on them. I truly believe you have a special way with words, and I'm sorry if this comment is too weird but I really aspire to write like the way you do, even anywhere close to it LOL. Thank you for your work, truly. I will be eagerly waiting for the next video, and I wish you all the best :D

[@tippetytap9437]

Jonas always has, always will, and always succeeds in trying to make me cry. He pulls my heart strings in just the right way to run the waterworks.

[@sulijoo]

The piano and soft jazz always give me those warm, fuzzy feels. Bless you, Marty.

[@restoredtuna8264]

I love what you said about not knowing how to describe the emotions. It’s like how I struggle to fight back tears at the end of halo reach, at the Mac gun scene. I can’t describe why it makes me so sad. Somebody asked me once and I just said “there’ll be another time.” When they asked what that meant, I said “I don’t know. It just kind hurts.” Something about staying behind by choice. Because you can do the job. It hurts.

[@RouththeRLPanda]

"we've never lost. We're just loosing" that really hit hard

[@eclipseslayer98]

That little bit at the beginning about Cyndaquil (objectively best Gen 2 starter btw) is funny to me since I named my Rival, Rival because I thought I'd be arrested and taken to jail if I lied to the police officer who asked my character who broke into the professor's lab. I've got no idea how I thought that real police would be able to know I lied to fictional police, or how I thought it was illegal in the first place.

[@neverletthemusicstop]

It is something to appreciate when you come across a KZbinr that you can listen to easily, enjoyably, for the entirety of the video. Captivating in the storytelling, the writing, but perhaps even more so the vocal aspect, the oral storytelling. Thank you for that, for how you can carry your sincerity and love for the topic through the oral storytelling. Or, perhaps, it is even more accurate to say that really the telling of it is where the substance is and the video is simply the presentation of it - one who knows it well would perhaps not have to watch, as it is in listening that I have learnt and appreciated the story I have been told. In this quality you remind me of CinemaStix, who I always enjoy and find easy to listen to for the same reasons. Keep it up