Unless I’m mistaken, this animation is unique to this specific Spec-Ops Elite.įollowing this, several Elite Drop Pods are sent to the pair’s position.Ī Zealot busts down his pod door, exclaiming, “Hah! Over so soon?” as your Spec-Ops Elite ally comments, “A Zealot. A place of tranquil beauty has become one of dishonorable, traitorous bloodshed.Īfter finishing off the remaining Brute forces and moving up to an entrance to a nearby Forerunner structure, a Spec-Ops Elite runs out, Energy Sword drawn.Īs he views the several dead Elites in the area, he somberly comments, “By the Prophets – what have these Brutes done ?!” He then turns to you and proclaims, while clenching his fist in anger, “They have shed our brothers’ blood – and for that, they must die!” A small detail I appreciate here is that the fist-clenching animation is solely used in this one moment in Halo 2. It truly makes you feel like something absolutely awful has transpired here. After a moment, a Brute Captain from further ahead shouts, “Go see what’s taking them so long!” and more Brutes move forward, discovering the Arbiter’s presence.Īnalysis: This entire introduction to the mission gives a strong sense of sadness and helplessness as you see how these savages have betrayed their trust and killed them while their backs were turned. At this point, we engage them, stealthily assassinating them one by one with our Active Camouflage and Energy Sword. “Where’s the fun in that?” says the other.Īs we approach the pair, two more Brutes come into view and begin patrolling the area. “Let’s just throw them over the edge,” says one Brute, standing near the edge of a small cliff. “The Councilors…”Īs we take our fallen comrade’s Energy Sword, we can hear Brutes nearby arguing over what to do with the numerous Elite corpses. Immediately we find a dying Elite Minor, mortally wounded and barely clinging to life: This Minor was the only Elite in this area that was able to cling to life long enough to see Arbiter arrive. Right off the bat we can visibly see the stray shots of Plasma Rifle and Brute Shot fire, and even some Elite corpses as Brutes finish killing several off-guard Elites:Īs beautifully melodic and sad music plays, we make our way into the forest, with nothing but our Plasma Rifle. “Uprising” begins with our arrival to the scene of a slaughter. So…let’s get into this! “Uprising” starts with Arbiter being teleported by the Gravemind to a cliff face leading into a dense jungle, the Control Room visible in the distance. I would argue otherwise, and I hope that I can convince those of you who may believe that to agree with me with this analysis. Some of you reading this may believe that this is looking too far into the level – that I’m seeing a story that’s simply not there. The overarching objective, however, of fighting your way to the Control Room, is a part of the much larger, broader story in Halo 2’s final act – stopping Tartarus from activating Delta Halo. In the case of “Uprising” this is the self-contained story of the Elites and their revenge against the Brutes’ betrayal. However, the overall objective of the mission is connected to the main plot, and thus the level remains connected to the rest of the game while also telling a separate, smaller narrative. What I mean is, narrative and story told to the player through experience with the level, and contained IN said level, NOT related to the overarching story of the game itself. You may be asking, “What do you mean by level-specific storytelling?” Bit of an interesting one for you today, inspired by Hidden Xperia’s praise of “Uprising” in Halo 2. I want to analyze this level and pose the argument that this level is excellent proof that level-specific storytelling can add a significant amount of character and depth to a game while also contributing to the main plot of the game as a whole.
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