I'm not totally with you there. Mad Max wasn't the driving force of the movie, but he absolutely shaped and affected the outcome. Chief and Locke had literally no impact on the outcome of Halo 5.

He didn't really do anything, but even then, there are plenty of other films and stories like this. Look at Raiders of the Lost Ark, for example. He had even less effect than Locke and the Chief. It's a really well established thing.

No it's not.
If Indiana Jones hadn't been on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, the Nazis would likely have found Marion Ravenwood and tortured her to death for the amulet. She lived only because Indiana Jones returned to save her... well, get the amulet too, but saving her was likely #1 on the Things To Do List.

But that's not all! Remember that nifty airplane that was parked at the dig site? The one that pureed Heinrich the Hefty shortly before it caught fire and exploded? It doesn't exist. But look at it! It's a flying-wing design years before such aircraft were developed in earnest! There's no reason for it to be at an archaeological dig site in Egypt, unless, you know, the Nazis planned to fly the Ark back to Germany.

So, Indiana Jones foiled that plan. And the backup plan to either drive the Ark up to Germany or fly it out of Cairo. And then he arranged for the Ark to be smuggled to America. He was hardly doing nothing.

Of course, there's people who say that without Indy mucking up every stage of the Nazi's plans, the Ark would have been taken to Germany to be opened in front of Hitler and a bunch of other Nazi high officials. That assertion doesn't hold water. The Nazis wanted a weapon, but Rene Belloq wanted to talk to personally talk to God, and that's hard to do with Adolf Hitler standing right behind you. Doubtlessly, he would have staged that exact same ceremony and got himself and everyone around him killed for their trouble. Pretty much the same ending as Raiders of the Lost Ark, except the Ark is smack-dab in the middle of Nazi territory. It's either a weapon for the Nazi regime, or a filthy Jewish icon that must be destroyed.

The Ark is much better off in a forgotten warehouse than it is in Nazi Germany.

- MacGyver10

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

Otherwise, though, they were just revive suppliers. :)

I absolutely HATED that fight.

But after about six tries, I finally got through it with little difficulty. I didn't even notice at first, but the two pillars that sort of flank the center of the room have platforms that you can get on. When you're up there, the Wardens can't hit you with their swords, so you can just sort of run circles around the pillar to hide from them when they shoot and take potshots at them.

Where are you talking about? I got on top of one of the two tall pillars in the middle and it said "return to battlefield." Is there a different pillar you are talking about?

They're the first two you see when you enter the room. And you don't get on top of them, there is a platform that's just taller than a Spartan that rings the pillars. You're clearly meant to be there, as there are Forerunner gun racks on the platforms, but it's just high enough to be out of reach of the Warden's melee.

- MacGyver10

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

Otherwise, though, they were just revive suppliers. :)

I absolutely HATED that fight.

But after about six tries, I finally got through it with little difficulty. I didn't even notice at first, but the two pillars that sort of flank the center of the room have platforms that you can get on. When you're up there, the Wardens can't hit you with their swords, so you can just sort of run circles around the pillar to hide from them when they shoot and take potshots at them.

Where are you talking about? I got on top of one of the two tall pillars in the middle and it said "return to battlefield." Is there a different pillar you are talking about?

I'm not looking forward to those fights on Legendary, that's for sure. It's the only part where I might pressure some friends into jumping in with me to get through.

Or you could, y'know, not fight them at all apparently....

She's just a little ball of special cuteness.

LOL, which is exactly why I thought of Orf. Seriously, look up some X-Ray & Vav episode with Orf (voiced by Barbara Dunkleman), it's hilariously awesome. :D

Also a bit on the nose, though.

Is Exuberant Witness exuberant?

You bet.

Oh, don't get me wrong, she is extremely ridiculous, and obviously a bit literal in her naming, but damnit if I don't love her anyway.

Like everything in Halo 5 (I think), it's a borderline asinine idea pulled off spectacularly well.

You're half right.

I do have to say, the only point I actually had any interest was when the Arbiter showed up... and then went away again after about thirty seconds.

The next interesting part was when EW showed up.

Also a bit on the nose, though.

Is Exuberant Witness exuberant?

You bet.

Oh, don't get me wrong, she is extremely ridiculous, and obviously a bit literal in her naming, but damnit if I don't love her anyway.

Like everything in Halo 5 (I think), it's a borderline asinine idea pulled off spectacularly well.

....Totally reminds me of ORF (X-Ray & Vav). That's all I could think of as soon as we met EW. Anyone else?

I had to google what that is, so I can't say. (:

I will say that Exuberant Witness might be my favorite thing in Halo 5, though. She's just a little ball of special cuteness.

Also a bit on the nose, though.

Was Guilty Spark guilty?

Not really.

Did Penitent Tangent act penitent?

No, not really.

Is Exuberant Witness exuberant?

You bet.

....Totally reminds me of ORF (X-Ray & Vav). That's all I could think of as soon as we met EW. Anyone else?

I had to google what that is, so I can't say. (:

I will say that Exuberant Witness might be my favorite thing in Halo 5, though. She's just a little ball of special cuteness.

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

When I played through by myself, the Warden fights were all janky and/or frustrating. I figured that maybe they were designed for coop.

When I played the 3-warden fight in coop, it was pointlessly easy.

There doesn't really seem to be a sweet spot.

...In addition to the conceptual oddity of the idea, given how Halo 2's bosses were I was surprised that a lot of people wanted a Gravemind boss fight in Halo 3. Halo 5 hasn't really changed my outlook on the matter.

Yeah, it seems pretty clearly designed for co-op (at least on the two higher difficulties). It kinda sucks. Right now it's just that one thing, so it's not a huge deal, but I don't really want Halo to go that route, and even that one thing is just frustrating enough to be annoying. It just doesn't seem like good design to me.

I'm not looking forward to those fights on Legendary, that's for sure. It's the only part where I might pressure some friends into jumping in with me to get through.

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

When I played through by myself, the Warden fights were all janky and/or frustrating. I figured that maybe they were designed for coop.

When I played the 3-warden fight in coop, it was pointlessly easy.

There doesn't really seem to be a sweet spot.

...In addition to the conceptual oddity of the idea, given how Halo 2's bosses were I was surprised that a lot of people wanted a Gravemind boss fight in Halo 3. Halo 5 hasn't really changed my outlook on the matter.

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

Otherwise, though, they were just revive suppliers. :)

I absolutely HATED that fight.

But after about six tries, I finally got through it with little difficulty. I didn't even notice at first, but the two pillars that sort of flank the center of the room have platforms that you can get on. When you're up there, the Wardens can't hit you with their swords, so you can just sort of run circles around the pillar to hide from them when they shoot and take potshots at them.

Heh - I figured that out, too... but did a crappy job of running around the top - I'd either miss one of those nasty balls as they came in, or I'd fall off. ;)

It was STILL frustrating (I think this would ALL be easier in coop), but it worked. ;)

Otherwise, though, they were just revive suppliers. :)

I absolutely HATED that fight.

But after about six tries, I finally got through it with little difficulty. I didn't even notice at first, but the two pillars that sort of flank the center of the room have platforms that you can get on. When you're up there, the Wardens can't hit you with their swords, so you can just sort of run circles around the pillar to hide from them when they shoot and take potshots at them.

It's not exactly fun, but I was having a lot of trouble otherwise. It was the one part where I definitely felt like the companion AI was insufficient. I couldn't even get them to stay alive, much less doing anything helpful.

First of all, it's far from perfect and it's easy to screw up, but I've found myself doing new things, like sending them to the left when I'm right, just to get the hunter to turn. Learning when it's smart to target an enemy, how far apart is too far, etc. has been fun. Also, they can revive each other, so I'll direct one to do that and I'll cover them. I used to try to protect marines in Halo, which was nearly impossible before. Now it seems possible, and I find that a cool dynamic. Loading them all up with heavies, while not quite the Death Blossom of Halo 3 days, is fun and helpful in later levels, when you need to focus fire on a warden. It's a new wrinkle to Halo weapon juggling.

Being able to direct more than myself on the battlefield brings a new kind of fun to Halo for me. It adds more options for experimentation at least.

You definitely make it sound interesting. I guess maybe I need to experiment more. I found myself falling back into my old Halo playstyle routine, which basically amounts to ignoring ally AI and shooting bad guys. I guess when approached in that manner, the squad mechanics wouldn't stand out . . .