Though there is plenty to love about the series, and zany characters like Caboose always ensure that comedy is present, one truly stellar aspect of the show is the fight scenes. Beginning in Season 8 and reaching absurd levels of quality in Seasons 9 and 10, machinima proved to be a boon for the show that allowed concepts like the Freelancers to be properly explored. In fact, the show’s well-animated fight scenes - especially those worked on by the late Monty Oum - regularly made characters like Tex look cooler than Master Chief. Given the incredible feats of Chief in the Halo novels and his obvious power level in the games, it is about time that 343 Industries makes him a more visually impressive fighter.
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What Halo Should Take From RvB’s Best Fights
Though gameplay has always been the biggest strength of the Halo series, action-heavy cutscenes have become a bigger focus in recent entries. While moments like Atriox beating down Master Chief were solid, and featured the Chief landing a flurry of punches to highlight a bit of his combat prowess, the intent of this scene was to show Chief struggling against a massive and intimidating foe. While this is fine in theory, it is a bit of a bummer since Master Chief has not had much of a chance to show off his skills in hand-to-hand combat during the games.
The biggest offender of the Halo series’ struggle to display Master Chief’s close range capabilities is Halo 5, and more specifically, his much maligned battle with Spartan Locke. Not only were fans disappointed by the brevity of this encounter, feeling like it was a weak payoff to the “Hunt the Truth” ad campaign, but the fight itself was quite boring. The slow-paced battle featured some basic punches, dodges, and headbutts alongside some oddly quiet music, leaving fans scratching their heads. It simply did not feel like an intense battle between two skilled Spartans, and while it showed that Locke was close to Chief’s level of skill, it ultimately made both look like weak fighters overall.
This is a far cry from the action seen during Red vs. Blue’s peak, and it is oddly reminiscent of the slower, clunkier fights in the seasons where Monty Oum was not involved. When Red vs. Blue’s fights were at their best, fans got to witness Freelancers like Tex and Carolina making expert use of their armor and fight experience. A mix of punches, kicks, jumps, and counters were present in Red vs. Blue’s action sequences, all of which were choreographed perfectly via some flashy animation. Fitting music played in the background of these fights that matched the intensity of the sequences, and above all else, speed was a priority.
Oddly enough, just as Halo 5 gave fans an example of a boring action sequence, it also gave them something more akin to the beloved fights of Red vs. Blue with its opening cinematic. This gorgeous sequence saw Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris fighting as they propelled down a mountain at incredible speed, landing punches, dodging attacks, and firing from their weapons as they moved toward their destination. The entire cutscene felt like one of the Freelancer action sequences from Red vs. Blue but with a bigger budget, and with it arguably being the best moment in that game’s campaign, more action like it would be ideal.
Master Chief deserves to fight like the Freelancers from Red vs. Blue, or Fireteam Osiris in Halo 5’s intro. However, not only should 343 Industries give him similar movement, speed, and finesse in cinematics, but it should also strive to do the same in gameplay. Letting Master Chief land melee finishers like the Doom Slayer could be a good way to make this happen, with players doing more than just hit Brutes with the butt of their gun, a basic punch, or an energy sword. While the series’ shooting mechanics allow players to embody Master Chief to some extent, his limited melee combat has a negative impact on the power fantasy. Master Chief moving more like RvB’s Agent Tex and less like he did in his battles with Locke or Atriox is long overdue. With its next campaign, 343 Industries should aim to present Chief as a far more dangerous close range fighter.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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