Is Cortana Halo's Worst Level?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2020
- Halo 3 and its story of Master Chief and Cortana finally settling their score with both the covenant and the flood was met with critical acclaim - except for one level.
Despite glowing reviews, Cortana, the level some consider to be a pseudo-sequel to Halo Combat Evolved mission The Library, was almost universally panned by all who played it due to its frustrating gameplay, repetitive visuals and confusing level design.
And, I mostly agree with them. In this video, I take a closer look at the game design behind one of Halo's most infamous missions to try and pinpoint why exactly it was so poorly received, examining everything from its gameplay and graphics to story and level design.
If you enjoy the video, do consider subscribing, and thanks for watching!
#Halo3 #Cortana #HaloHorror - เกม
✅ Subscribe: th-cam.com/users/BenPlaysGames
🖱 Support the channel: www.patreon.com/ben_plays_games
I've got a much larger analysis of Halo: Combat Evolved in the works, similar to this video but covering the entire game. So, do keep an eye out!
*"We join Masterchief as he flies into the concept art."*
I still cant believe someone at bungie deadass just went "fuck it just give them concept art, we're almost done with the game at this point 💀"
@@bloodhound1182 Halo 3 does that a lot. Even the ark at the start of the Ark is effectively just 2D art pieces with some ships and pelicans infront of it. Honestly, I think when the game released it worked pretty well, due to the low resolution helping blend it with the environments. Achieving such draw distances and making them look good would have been difficult at the time. The problem is playing it on higher resolutions, it begins to stand out, since the art itself wasn't high res.
Reminds me of the background paintings in Star Wars, and for that reason I love it
I guess it wasnt that noticeable back thwn with the original 480p resolution and crt monitors
@@bensadfleck9972 halo 3 wasn't in 480p, rather a little under 720p
Something that's always bothered me is how High Charity is refered to as a city, but in any level set in the "city" shows little to nothing of the sprawl.
You're constantly on disembodied walkways or in empty corridors. It seems like a massive wasted oportunity to have not let you see and explore the living quarters, places of occupation, medical facilities.... really anything to make it feel lived in
Yeah but we saw how big High Charity was in the level Gravemind of Halo 2 already, and the theme of the flood is to take something and twist it into something familiar yet unrecognizable. It works for what it is, but I do agree there could have been more interesting set pieces to play through.
They wanted to have you going through many of the same places you did in H2 and to see how it changed with the flood outbreak.
You can see the city sector down below in the areas you fight in Halo 2.
High Charity is actually ENORMOUS but yes I think it was a missed opportunity in H2A
@@DanMarston117 there initially was a section where you were supposed to fight through the Mausoleum of the Arbiter while it is flood infested during the return of MC to High Charity, where you would fight a bunch of reanimated former Arbiters
I hate this level. But damn is Dee Bradley Bakers work as the Gravemind impressive. He made that character so cool
Agreed Christian, brilliant, brilliant work.
Holy shit that’s Dee Bradly Baker
Wait you mean to tell me that the guy who voices the clones from The Clone Wars also voiced the Gravemind? I never knew that.
@@collincampbell7508 and Klaus from American Dad. Dudes a gem
@@collincampbell7508 DBB is freakishly good at doing monster and creature voices.
Imagine if during the level when the action had slowed there was a path Chief takes that he needs to break into, and inside is an area still not taken by Flood growth and Chief finds himself between a small group of terrified Covenant survivors and the Flood behind him.
That's a really lovely idea for how to break things up! And, I think it would be pretty interesting to see the covenant such a weakened state too, especially considering how much of a threat they pose for most of the rest of the series.
I think this might even be better if the group was lead by hostile elites.
There's so much potential in that, either for forging a desperate alliance with Covenant, or to include hostile Elites without busting lore.
@@Azrael_Equinox Elites AND Brutes, joining forces against the larger threat.
Some encounters with the Covenant taking your side would be cool too
@@Espartanica God, that would've been awesome, regardless if they even lasted long in battle or not. Elites, probably and maybe Brutes, but Grunts and Jackals, if included in the friendly forces there, definitely would die quick, for obvious reasons.
Sometimes I think that it’s not a mistake how they made this level. I like to tell myself that the horrible feeling I get while playing is bungies way of putting me in chiefs shoes by making me feel the same despair.
Yes, the whole way through, I’m just focused on getting Cortana and getting the heck out of there.
It’s the only level from any game I’ve ever played that gave me real life physical goosebumps, making the hair on my arms and back of my neck stand up, I fucking hate this level lol, gets my real life adrenaline going and fully activated my fight or flight 😂😂😂
It's not a mistake. They made what they wanted. It's a great level.
I feel like High Charity would have been better as a more open setting, floodgate gave us a taste at how interesting it could be to fight the flood on such a grand scale. Additionally there's a peculiar map called "Assembly" in the dlc maps where its presumably a scarab factory, which I feel like, with some additional flood biomass, would have made for a great art style for "Cortana", the saturated pinks of the stage contrasting the eery browns and greens of the flood, maybe add in some similarities to the original flood from CE, or the glowiness from HW2, and you could really make an interesting and easier to traverse set piece.
I completely agree. It's funny because they actually nail the coming together of flood/covenant architecture in the room where you blow up the generators, but it's not as well done anywhere else in the level. If they'd have focused on, as you said, taking interesting covenant areas as a base before adding the flood to them, I think it would have made the level a whole lot more visually appealing.
It would have been cool to see Elite and Brute remnants still hunkered down in there as an homage to those two levels in halo 2. Possibly even fight Elites who had heard no news of the alliance
@@BenPlaysGames I think a lot of that didn't happen due to this being the repurposed ending of floodgate. Most the level was meant to be a covenant cruiser, not high charity. Navigating the massive city, using still functioning gravlifts, would have been a neat way to experience the lost grandure of the covenant.
@@Janx14 exactly, that's why the doors and corridors match those of a covenant cruiser not the ones from high charity.
I think in order to experience Cortana again but better is to mod the whole High Charity and the level, I hope someone out can make it look like an actual teared down capital and hopefully make look a bit like halo 2 but with halo 3 engine. Alas Bungie did do a good job with the Halo classics but modders these can whip up something fresh for the community, not like 343 that is.
I actually kinda like this level, you usually tear through everything in your way, covenant and flood but here you dive into a flood hive and struggle against a horde of flood. I think that really shows what an impossible task you end up completing.
*struggle* yea flood ai is so fucking bad, would not make any difference if they would not have put any enemies in this level
@@tupacshakur5868 bruh what
I would play the level on legendary, that would be cool but challenging
This level is throwback to Keyes, where you're shooting your way through a Flood infested ship to save someone who holds the key to your mission. Keyes having the codes for the Autumns Self Destruct and Cortana having the Index for the newly built Halo.
It's a bad level but nothing will ever touch the library.
The Library isn't THAT bad Jarek. It does exactly what it's supposed to. Drown you in Flood and disorient you.
@@clydemarshall8095 The library is easily one of the worst levels in not just halo, but all of gaming. Even the bungie devs themselves described it like this. "The level felt like it was over 40 minutes ago."
@@Jarekthegamingdragon I loved that stream! The speed runner cut the playtime of that level down by like 30 minutes and they were still like "Are we watching this on a loop?"
@@Jarekthegamingdragon I almost feel like I'm the only one in the world that actually likes the level overall, or at least don't mind it and don't see it as the worst level ever.
this^
It terms of design its fucking brilliant in showing you a Flood Hive and really, REALLY brings forward the horde mantality. What brings the mission down is the constant mind violation by the Gravemind & Cortana, which despite being INSANELY well done voice acting and dialogue wise, shows up WAYYYY too much.
Man alive, I was done with being slowed to a crawl after the second time it happened haha.
@@BenPlaysGames I feel like it would've been so much better if they just made it so the two spoke normally instead of slowing you down. Like sure, the combat and the other parts of the level would still be a pain, but do you really have to put in so many of those "slow down" moments, Bungie?
Agreed! That's the most annoying thing, that and those friggin wall crawling needler things
This level was literally Hell to play through on Legendary. One thing I do like about this level is the little Easter Egg you can find: a dead and uninfected ODST in the depths of the infected city. How badass that ODST had to be to survive a flood infected city for who knows how long. And when he eventually does expire, it's not because of Flood infection.
This level took me by far the longest to finish on solo legendary, it's absolutely brutal!
That was Doomguy's lesser known and lesser powered cousin.
I there's like two or three dead ODSTs in this level, most likely from that Pelican outside. Not sure why they're here though, possibly after Cortana.
@@MisterJohnDoe They could have been badass holdouts that survived on In Amber Clad even after it was hijacked and then survived for a while on High Charity.
Chips' younger brother Fry
You know, now that you mentioned it, I am imagining an alternate ending to this level. Imagine if after rescuing Cortana, the Flood become even more aggressive and actually corner the Chief and Cortana into some sort of narrow hallway. Endless flood comes and the Chief's ammo is running perilously low. And as you think all hope is lost, in comes the Arbiter, smashing through High Charity with a Scarab and a whole bunch of Elites.
You think the level is over as the Chief and the Arbiter hide in the Scarab. But then, the Gravemind's tentacles start to appear, wrapping themselves around the Scarab, threatening to tear it apart. The Chief and the Arbiter must therefore climb on top of the Scarab, simultaneously fighting off waves of Flood while needing to shoot the Gravemind's tentacles with flame throwers, rocket launchers, and spartan lasers.
It would have been a very different tone, of course. But given that both the Chief and the Arbiter have fought the Flood before and it has always been such a chore, this would have been somewhat cathartic to be able to directly attack to Gravemind. It would have also been fun to fight form and defend a Scarab for once, after having had to destroy them through the whole game/series.
Holy Fuck that is genius i wish this happened.
This idea would've been amazing but Halo 3's engine would have a stroke portraying this lol.
@@dillonc7955 i doubt it, just simulating one scarab, a bunch of tentacles, and the flood
I've always liked that level. I'm surprised to see that it's so disliked, but these are valid criticisms. The flood are my favorite aspect of Halo though and that's the most infested area in the series.
I think in story terms it definitely has some merits! I just personally struggle with the gameplay after a while, as I feel like combat gets repetitive much quicker fighting than the flood as compared to the covenant. For me, the best levels featuring the flood are always the ones which have other factions involved either most or some of the time, as it helps takes the edge off it a fair bit.
I thought the same with the library in halo: CE.
I feel like it wouldn't make sense for the flood to not attack you right away from a story perspective given how bad the infection is, and while it's annoying that the flood blends into the environment, that's the entire point. The flood isn't going to make it easy on you by making it's soldiers stand out. While it's not the best from a gameplay perspective, i think it's really good from a story perspective
I love how this mission forces you to go into the home of the flood and you always feel on edge, especially at the end when you have to escape. Super intense on legendary, and the story of actually finding cortana is awesome
Yeah I always thought this level was a nice treat and farewell to The Flood.
I feel like Floodgate is the best pure flood mission (outside of 343 guilty spark). It manages to balance atmosphere and gameplay well, and somehow manages to not feel nearly as repetitive as cortana, despite it having the exact same enemy line up.
"Takes about 30 minutes". Speedrunners on Legendary: bet I can beat it in 8.
Is this the only time that chief successfully lands an air vehicle in a cinematic?
Technically he lands himself pretty good on the In Amber Clad buuuuut I don't know if that counts
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 noble 6 landed well froms space i guess
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 I mean for a brick…
@@thatkarmaguy5356 he flew pretty good
Yeah that level was horrible. I remember even the first time playing it, when I was eager to soak up the story, being annoyed almost the entire way through. And I'm not someone who gets lost/disoriented in video games easily. This level just felt like a trainwreck.
Exactly the same experience the first time I played it. Two minutes of wonder at the well designed environment followed by 30-40 minutes of frustration.
Nope it was a good level
I don't know if that was the idea of it that bungie decided to implant it on but I think it's meant to be frustrating for gameplay and story wise
@@Noname-uk9mu Uh no, you can't convince that it was a good level. You liking something is different than saying it was good even though it isn't. I think it's poorly designed on the harder difficulties especially legendary.
Cortana on Legendary is where the boys become men, the pacifists become Postal Dude from Postal 2, how Doomguy becomes DOOM Slayer, Gordon Freeman defeating the Nihilanth while defending White Forest from Striders and Hunters.
Cortana, as a mission, sucks, but you know no fear after completing it, you’re no longer trapped in a room of Flood, the Flood’s trapped in the room with you.
Now i imagine doom slayer in high charity just ripping and tearing every flood apart. Then he jumps and stabs the crucible into gravemind
“I will know all that I possess.”
One if my favorite lines about the Gravemind and the intentions of him with Cortana as well as how the Flood work as a whole: if he can break Cortana, he can undo the progress made against him by the remnants of the Forerunner. The Gravemind’s ability to absorb all the hes infects is the most dangerous power he posses. The Master Chief is about to lose the only thing that connects him to his past and in doing so, humanity and the universe at large is about to lose it’s only defense against the Flood.
I hope the Flood return in Infinite and are just well-written as they are. There’s a disturbing poeticism to them and makes Halo what it is.
People say the flood need to be retired from the games, but seem to forget:
-They're the biggest threat in the series
-Flood are the reason Halos exist
-They're far more resilient and unwilling to quit
Not seeing them again would *really* downplay the true magnitude of their threat
@@JuiceboxCE They should have never conceived in the first place.
Something i notice about the flood, they’re at their best when there are other players weather its the Covenant and Sentinels struggling to contain them, or Desperate Marines getting overwhelmed and consumed. On the other hand they seem to be at their worst when they’re the only enemy to fight
100% agree with this Schoen, they work so, so much better when other factions are involved. I really struggle to enjoy the levels in which they're featured exclusively.
To all of you speculating when the Gravemind is talking and when (if ever) it's really Cortana:
There is an official shortstorie called Human Weakness. It sheds light on the Events between Halo 2 and Halo 3 from Cortanas perspective. It visualizes her battle of wits against the Gravemind that soon turned into pure torture. It also retells Halo 3's level Cortana from Cortana's perspective. Cortana is uncertain wether it's really Chief comming to save her or yet another of the Gravemind's ploy to weaken her defense. In the end she decided that it doesn't really matter to her, since the Chief is the only thing or person to give her hope.
Thank you! I just finished reading it. It’s brilliant, definitely a must-read.
@@simonemarconcini8648 glad you liked it!
It's bizarre to me that you start off in a heavily infested area of the city and work your way towards an almost untouched section where cortana resides instead of the other way around. Imagine how much better the level would have been if you started in the same room you started in gravemind, and as you go on, the level gets progressively more infested to the point of it being unrecognizable. You actually do revisit that room but I'm willing to bet most people don't know that with how much flood gunk there is
I always thought that the reactor room was less “corrupted” because the flood didn’t want to damage or corrode anything that may cause a detonation.
I actually enjoyed Cortana. I viewed it as a nice stress test for the player to demonstrate that they've become adept at the game and fight in three-dimensions and fighting multiple enemy types.
yeah ive never found its frustrating just scary and overwhelming and running past or ignoring small popcorn flood. on legendary its a diffrrent story but it always is and i think its purposefully trying to be the hardest lvl like in gravemind h2. uve been teleported to the main covenant ship ur all alone against everyonenthere
@@WisestPongo Gravemind on legendary, you literally have to start shooting and moving the instant you gain control of Chief or you instantly die within half a second, each and every time
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 pretty easy tho WR like 7 min xd
@@WisestPongo what that's absolutely insane, I have to check that out, no glitches??
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 oh no glitches is done in 20 mines by rocats in his john wick series no speedrun skip
almost got a sub 18 but got unlucky and i think sub 15 possible and i could do gravemind legendary with skips in like 30 min lmao for me no skips would take around an hour and a half
I love this mission, it's a really nice change of pace later in the game. Like after defeating the Covenant, you turn your attention to this other enemy
That's fair, it's definitely a change of pace. For me, coming after The Covenant doesn't help it, as that's such an amazing level.
@@BenPlaysGames Makes sense, and I love The Covenant too. The one small thing I didn't really like about Cortana was that it was mostly unrecognizable from High Charity in most parts of the level. Oh, and the weird doors
@@rolandb2108 can you really blame them? High Charity is covered in flood biomass and you get dropped off where you last left her which is near the Prophets Inner Sactum.
@@rolandb2108 those flood booty holes really freaked me out at first too lmao
Not for me. Love this level. Brilliant. Truly scary and very difficult. In and out of Hell.
fun fact: the flamer can kill flood enemies with one tiny puff of flame, making it extremely ammo efficient
meaning you can use the thing through the entire mission along with a carbine to take out the long range guys
Yeah but the flood like to charge at you when they are burning, which drains your shields super quickly
@@horrorcrankyv2551 just jump
they die before you land
The level makes you feel how John feels. No one wants to be there, the Flood is relentless, lets hurry up and gtfo. I do wish it had more Flood forms, maybe something truly horrific to further solidify the despair the Flood want to inflict on every other living creatures, and also more areas that we traversed through High Charity.
This level really makes you FEEL like John Halo. Kill alien zombie and not be afraid
I personally loved Cortana and library. Particularly due to the challenge on legendary with a friend in CO-OP. so many memories. and deaths...
This is my favorite level. The isolation, difficulty, atmosphere story.
Not to mention the sheer amount of melee weapon combat and a wide usage of the shotgun which otherwise goes pretty much unnoticed in halo 3
I feel like it'd be better if it was darker and creepier like a destiny hive nest or smthn
What you describe about building tension and making it feel scary when going down into the flood infested rooms; Halo 2 does this perfectly in Sacred Icon when you are trapped underground in the tunnels which are dark and filled with mist.
Shudders
I never understood why people hate the level Cortana. I for one enjoy it, for the horror aspect, and how you have to constantly be on your toes to survive. Plus Arbiter with a flamethrower is badass.
Then again, shotgun + energy sword + plasma grenades was my constant go to here. And having all of those let me SHRED through them so satisfyingly.
I love the story that goes along with it, but I struggle with the gameplay a little - planning to play 3 again soon, so will take your advice on board!
Is there enough ammo there for that to be possible? I distinctly remember being bogged down on Heroic due to a lack of ammo for my guns given the absolute abundance of pure forms that soak up so much damage and yet drop no weapons.
@@shiveshsingh3169 Yeah, I also managed no problem on Heroic.
Tips:
1. Meleeing popcorn costs NO ENERGY from your sword. It's free kills.
2. Energy Sword only uses 5 charge to kill a Flood Combat or Pure Form. Use it whenever possible.
3. Take advantage of the tight corridors to bait them around corners for quick kills
4. Use plasma and spike grenades on Pure Forms that use projectiles. It easily one shots them. Also doable on Carrier Forms but it's more of a waste.
5. Try not to go too fast, or you'll be overwhelmed. You can, in fact, fight your way through slowly if you clear out zones enough that only a few show up
6. Use frags on clusters of popcorn if there's a lot
7. Save firebombs for when you're really in a pinch, or when you need to close off a path from the Flood and buy you time
8. Have the Skull that increases Grenade Drops. It'll arm you with even more to work with, so you'll never run out. Plus, Flood can't use grenades. In some games, you can sometimes even get Grenades from Popcorn if you melee them. Somehow.
Bruteshot was also excellent in this level. Melee had the power of a sword on flood, so all pure forms went down with one whack! And the firepower was perfect against the range forms! If it didn't kill them immediately, it almost always has them fall to the floor, open and dazed. Gotta mix up tactics in this level, as the issues he had with being stuck in the entrance were never my own experience. Walk in and haul it, fire grenades and brute shot blasts far out. Was actually some of the most fun I had in Halo 3 right there, felt like a powerhouse against such disgusting odds
The ranged forms on legendary are extremely annoying. They kill you fast enough you can't really approach them with a close-range weapon and they are also massive bullet sponges - I don't think one grenade is enough. So in most cases the only viable solution is to get into cover with a long range weapon and do the pop out and shoot routine for a few minutes.
If they just removed all of those enemies and stuck to normal flood forms, the level would've been fine
It kinda sucked that we never got the chance to fight the gravemind. I always assumed that bunige wantend to build up the tension between Master cheif and the gravemind. Thus as you said, why wasnt there more pure forms in this level? It would be a great if they finally introduced the juggernaut flood form from Halo 2. 343i better give us the Flood in a more variety ways.
As you said, variety is key going forward I reckon! People will definitely be disappointed if Infinite simply has the same old flood again. Fighting Gravemind would have been awesome too, I've always felt like the flood were under utilised across most of the original trilogy.
Same! Really wanted to kick its ass for infesting high charity and torturing cortana. Its a shame Bungie didnt give us that.
The flood works as a hivemind so technically you are always fighting him except in the early stages of flood infection
@@cosmictreason2242 Infinite doesn't even have the flood nor did they advertise that there were flood. I don't get why you would complain about this.
@@cosmictreason2242 the "correct" direction the story should go in is subjective. Personally I never want the flood to return, any level they're the main enemy in is a guaranteed skip for me. I'd rather fight the Prometheans again than the flood again, but then again this too is subjective.
What a difference this level would have made with the Arbiter at your side with a infinite ammo flamethrower, offering commentary on Covenant culture as he explains where you are High Charity and directs you where to go.
I think the biggest issue here is that the High Charity is completely unrecognizable from what we see in Halo 2. The endless rooms, holding cells, grav lifts, "outside" areas from the last few missions in Halo 2 are just not there. This feels more like Keys from Halo CE.
As a teen this level really frustrated me and I honestly found it hard to get through solo, I think having only one or two playthroughs that weren't coop. It's, of course, been a long time since then. I'm almost double the age I was when I first got Halo 3. It's a lot easier now as an adult whose played even more halo than the honestly ridiculous amounts I played Halo 3 as a teen but it's still a less than stellar level from a game play perspective to say the least. When the story being told in the level takes center stage it's great but there's so many rooms that are seared into my memory even recently for being just utterly annoying between obnoxiously positioned ranged forms and other flood forms just making things a slog as I move from one place of the room to the next.
It does some good things story-wise, but I find it tedious to play to say the least. It's just so boring when it focuses on combat. The flood are a problem as they're not the most varied enemy to begin with and they don't combine well with the relatively samey environment either.
I agree. As I’ve aged, I’ve played Halo a shit ton more. But even I hate this stage. I love the gravemind as a character though. The flood are interesting but this and the library do them no justice in terms of gameplay.
I just wanted to point out that there is a second little area similar to the marine by the pelican. There's an ODST that got themselves cornered in a service duct down the hallway at 14:33 and I'm pretty sure they have a flamethrower with them as well.
Didn't notice that coop, nice spot!
I think another misstep of the mission is that it takes place in broad daylight. It should have taken place at night, or at least at dusk, to give it a more atmospheric feel.
That would be cool, or even just a few very dark areas where you rely on the flashlight. Thinking about it, it's not something that's been done much in the series and could be really cool - creeping around rooms and seeing things move in the corner of your flashlight.
This might be just me but at the end of the level with the cutscene, exactly at 22:24, I can't help but feel that the Gravemind was somehow... Helping them. Like he helped to give the Pelican a little tug off the sticky ground of the Hive's floor. I can't explain it, but I get that feeling each time I see this.
Definitely wasn't Bungie's intent but 343 could easily spin it as being because Cortana has the logic plague and the Gravemind already knows he has lost for now. May as well let them go and ensure that Cortana goes on to fuck everything up for him.
We don't know for sure just yet if she really does have the logic plague or not, but Bungie left a lot of unintentionally convenient story beats that 343 can call upon, and already have. This could be another one should 343 be going this route. Almost makes me wanna look up the story leaks but I must resist.
Like the Gravemind says, ebb and flow. Defeat is merely added time to a sentence he feels he does not deserve. And so far he's delivered on that in Halo Wars 2. So we'll just have to wait and see if there's a plan at work or not.
It's possible given the events of the previous mission. Though Truth was the immediate threat, the Oracle has been his enemy for far longer
@@MintyLime703 that’s a 4th Dimension retcon I could get behind. What they did to Cortana in Halo 5 means they kinda have to make it so she has the logic plague.
I always viewed it as the explosions in High Charity had weakened him: he tries to stop the pelican, but is unable to keep hold. The interaction could have been framed much better, unless they intended for it to be ambiguous.
Though I do find it disappointing we don't have any direct interaction with the Gravemind ever. In cutscenes his tentacles toss Chief and the Arbiter around like dolls but recede before gameplay picks up again - the worst offender is in The Covenant just after you disable the rings, when it deftly drags the pair of you off Johnson's pelican and just nopes out of there. That being said, Halo doesn't really DO satisfying boss fights so maybe it's just as well?
I always felt that too, but I think the more visually accurate conclusion is that, very clearly, the tentacle directly lingers under the exhaust port on the pelican's wings, I'm imagining it would be, absurdly hot.
When it grabs the pelican a 2nd time, the angle it drags it downwards causes the same exhaust to sear the tentacle again.
It's still obviously up for debate, but I feel like rewatching it, this is the most straightforward observation, as you can see it recoil the moment the exhaust primes.
Am I the only one that actually likes this level a lot? I love the atmosphere, lore and really everything about this level. The library in contrast has absolutely none of that.
No you’re not alone; this level is one of my favorites, arguably my favorite, and arguably one of the best designed levels, narratively, aesthetically, and gameplay.
All the arguments he makes here in the video are valid, but he’s analyzing these elements from a “textbook” perspective, the way it “should be”, rather then fully immersion himself into what is in front of us and analyzing how he feels about it. I say “how he feels” because (before Destiny), Bungie has never shown to be bad at story telling or game play design, so to assume this one level is bad based on just a general guideline is…inappropriate.
It's one of my favorites. It's genuinely unsettling. I love the references to The Fall of Reach. The creepy feeling of being swallowed up. It's confusing and difficult, yes, but it should be. You're all alone, on the Flood's home turf.
I love the feeling of the level, mostly thanks to Cortana. The whole way through felt like the apex of how much character I had always imagined the relationship between Chief and Cortana had when playing CE as a kid, except actually conveyed this time. Not to mention, it has a myriad of quotes which are lore deep , spoken by both Cortana and the GM. One of my favorite easter eggs - "It was the coin's fault" is in this level, referencing the scene in one of the books where-by Halsey tested Chief's luck by flipping a coin and having him guess the result
@@DeiExVenatus I was looking for a way to describe the way he was analyzing it and "textbook perspective" is exactly what I was looking for. People expect something from a game and if it's different than expectations they consider it bad.
no you arent
I haven't replayed Halo in years, finding this video, funnily enough on the 'worst level' (I don't disagree even though I love it, that's halo for you) may have actually given me the motivation to play this epic again. Thank you Ben who plays games! You have a new subscriber! I will definitely be making my way through your back catalogue.
Awesome, Halo's always worth a replay in my book - and, thanks for the support Sam!
Well that’s the thing, halo’s worst is still pretty good overall.
I can't agree with this video enough - I couldn't believe that they made that level.
Should have learnt their lessons from The Library in Halo - though that level definitely had its moments.
Great vid.
Thanks for the great feedback mate, appreciate it!
And completely agree, it's baffling to me that Bungie decided to go ahead with Cortana after the overwhelmingly negative feedback they received from The Library.
All your criticisms are very well thought out. And I'm not sure Bungie purposefully made the level frustrating, but a flood-infested High Charity is somewhere you would NOT want to go or return to once you've left. And that's exactly the sense you get playing this level. It's the darkest, most frustrating thing in the game, as that location would actually be to Master Chief.
Thanks ectobeam! As you say, they definitely get the dark and frustrating feeling right haha.
This was a great analysis of this level. I also just want to point out that the one interaction that you pointed out was poorly planned because you couldn’t hear Cortana over the chaos of combat, was a direct quote from Dr.Halsey’s first interaction with the master chief when she was vetting him for the spartan 2 program. The fall of reach animation has that scene, it freaked me out when I realized this connection. Specifically because it raised the question as to why Cortana had this memory.
Cheers Gabe! And that's awesome, thanks for mentioning it - I'll have to go back and check it out.
Funny enough this was my more replayed level as a kid . because I was in love with monsters and creatures, and the flood was so , so cool and intriguing back then for me.
I fricken hated this level I couldn't get find my way out
Such bad level design, right?
I’d say they did library and cortana to bring out emotion in us that we have to fight the flood. They are the worst in the universe why not make them the worst in the game too?
I hate this level for two reasons:
The first is that this level accomplishes next to nothing when it comes to the story. Cortana's been trapped here for quite some time, tortured without end by the Gravemind, yet the only glimpses we get into that are the moments. Why not have some clashes between the two that affect the player? Have the city itself become an enemy of sorts. Maybe doors get locked and dangerous alternate routes have to be navigated, platforms rise and fall, or segments blow up - essentially anything to show Cortana's struggle and Gravemind's power.
The second is that I really wonder what Bungie's original plan for this mission was supposed to be, especially with a year of preproduction amounting to a game that feels like most of the story was winged during actual production. This isn't High Charity we're exploring, this is a Covenant ship, the same one that crashed into Voi. This level is repurposed content from Floodgate, pointed out in the video, as that ship was pretty much to be a deep scavenge for the actual Cortana, like finding Keyes in the first game, before it was shortened to a quick trip to find a message from Cortana. As a result, this level has no real identity. We get a brief glimpse of the entire city's dome, which looks rather small compared to the vistas in Halo 2, as well as the mausoleum and some select assets, but apart from those, there really isn't anything that screams High Charity. It's just tight corridor after tight corridor, whether Flood-infested or not. I don't hate fighting the Flood - hell, Halo 3 managed to make them actually enjoyable to engage in combat whereas it was tiring if you didn't have a shotgun in the preceding games - but this level drones on with nothing to mix things up. How cool would it have been to actually see, and maybe even engage the Gravemind? We only ever see him or his tentacles in cutscenes, and we never really get a sense of his scale or presence as a result. This level could have given us a nice taste of that, to see how this powerful creature took over this once glorious city.
This level was a hugely missed opportunity, and I have no idea why that became the case, but I am rather disappointed by that. This level is truly the sour spot in Halo 3, and maybe even the entire trilogy. The Library had the excuse of being part of a rushed game that really didn't know what it wanted to be until Microsoft stepped in. "Cortana" just feels lazy to me.
Yeah this is a complaint I feel especially. As a kid, I never really understood that I was in this big city. Opting to splash some muddy concept art on the screen in the beginning rather than actually render the city made it worse. I feel it wastes the premise of the epic return to an iconic Halo 2 location by basically feeling like they handed a guy an asset painter tool and gave him a week to construct a flood level. Just the same flood and tiny splashes of covenant terrain over and over again, with most everything interesting that could have been there conveniently covered by Flood flesh.
Personally, I really liked Cortana's message at 13:20 (not the terminal message but what she says to draw attention) because what she says is Halsey's half of the dialogue between her and child John when they first meet in The Fall of Reach book. It's like her broken consciousness is trying to speak to you and help you. This happens throughout the level like how she speaks to you when you're near the second flamethrower to draw your attention to it. They used that mechanic again in ODST with Virgil using cop lights, phones, and signs to guide you to objectives and Sadie's story.
Casually, the level is awful, but if you're an achievement goblin like me, you'll eventually try to speedrun it. When you're speedrunning it it's actually not bad at all. I get the feeling that there might not be too much overlap between levels that speedrunners and casuals hate.
Achievement goblin 😂
I’m guessing speed runners must hate the Arc and Covenant for being long, even though they’re two of the objectively best levels from a casual standpoint.
@@Slender_Man_186 depends on the runner I’d imagine
What bugged me the most about it was the room of dead bodies that weren't turned into flood yet, makes no sense
that level was such a pain in the ass to play, like i had no clue where to go or even to handle that near infinite swarm of flood
Couldn't agree more, it's a massive pain in the arse haha!
The whole level is an ass
Even the doors are assholes
I somewhat enjoyed this level even on legendary, it may be because I enjoy the flood as an enemy and seeing the covenant ship infected with disgusting flesh is so appealing to me. Anyways, great video! You earned a sub.
I actually really loved this level, the maze like labyrinth in High Charity makes it both creepy and ambient. The ONLY thing I hated about this level was the fact that there was no Gravemind boss fight, this would have been on the top for me if that was a thing.
that introductory description of Cortana bears a heavy resemblance to the Library
At some point in this level; Master Chief would have passed through the Mausoleum of The Arbiter and the player would have had a mini boss fight against all of the past Arbiters as combat forms but unfortunately, that was cut...
That would have been blooming brilliant!
i replayed halo 3 recently after about 8 years without touching it, and i was surprised how much fun i had on this level. I remember absolutely hating it when i played it back in the day but by making better use of the weapon variety available i really enjoyed it, and was actually surprised at how it wasn't all that difficult.
I always thought that that pelican with the Marine was some kind of squad that got sent into high charity for some reason maybe to retrieve Cortana as you can also find a dead ODST with a flamethrower that hasn't been turned later on in the mission and why would he be in there if he didn't have a reason to go in there
Screw being a part of that squad, I'd be shooting myself in the foot as soon as they announced the mission haha.
the mission could have been S tier if it had some covenant survivors fighting still, or led into a more open part of high charity.
17:22 I love this threat from the Gravemind because it makes zero sense. It threatens to "feast upon your bones", as if this wasn't what the Gravemind intended to do from the start.
It wouldn’t be so annoying if Bungie didn’t put so many forced slow down Cortana/Gravemind sections that REPEAT every time you reload a checkpoint
I always find them so irritating. I get why they're there, but I hate anything in games that slows you down to a snail's pace. Gears of War's radio parts used to drive me mad.
The new mic sounds great! :D
Thanks mate, appreciate that!
Great video! Subbed for sure. I would have loved to see more of High Charity. I feel like it was so coated in biomass that it could have been any generic Covenant cruiser or station. Basically show us more of the environment with the mix between Covenant and Flood architecture that was present in the generator room. It also would have been neat to see more of the areas we saw in Halo 2, or even some of the areas we _didn't_ get to see, like the lower districts of the city. After all, fighting through many of the same areas we saw in cutscenes in Halo 2 as they were becoming infested by the Flood was one of the highlights that makes High Charity arguably my favorite level of that campaign. I particularly loved how the air becoming more infected with flood spores combined with the rooms getting darker as High Charity's infrastructure begins to fail was fantastic level design. I also would have loved to have seen some of the remains of In Amber Clad. Perhaps some scattered vehicles, like Warthogs or Pelicans which the Flood used to initially infect the city.
I'd be interested to see your thoughts on High Charity (the second to last level of Halo 2) in a video.
at 14:00 the message played was supposed to be something about a 4th wall break trying to talk to the player, cortana asks what the player does as a hobby, which she says "oh, you like playing games? I like games too." or something along those lines, I managed to kill all of the flood when this message occured and this was a while ago.
Love this series man! Keep em comin 😎
Thanks Mick, will do!
@@BenPlaysGames stay awesome Ben!
I think Arby showing up does have implications for the story and lore. He came into the flood infested high charity for his ally. For his friend. it speaks volumes about how the two have become some sort of friends when contrasted with the start of Halo 3, they hated each others guts.
Just wanted to say I love your videos dude. I hope you keep making them.
That's real kind of you Atari, thank you - no plans to stop either!
would be interested to see a comparison between this and Gears 2's Intestinal Fortitude which i think are pretty similar
Interesting idea - I haven't played Gear of War 2 in donkeys, will go and check the level out.
Intestinal fortitude was actually fun because you had cool stuff to do like dodging the worms giant teeth, outrunning its swallowed food and going through its guts
@@BenPlaysGames did you ever get to do this?
14:50 this part of the mission killed me more times than I could count on Heroic and legendary difficulty. I was beginning to think that it was impossible to do it alone.
I played Halo 3 through on legendary pretty soon after it came out and while some sections were definitely tricky, no mission caused me anywhere near as much grief as this was did. If I remember correctly, I actually stopped trying to finish it for a week or so because I was getting so pissed off with it 😂
I remember my friend would RAGE on this level, and I can understand his frustration because the level filled with different flood enemies that wouldn't give you a chance to take a break and recover your health, plus he would get lost easily then I would have guide him through the level on his live stream. I remember there was a flamethrower that you can pick up from a small back room, but it was such a bitch to use due to how narrow the environment was and how the flamethrower does self damage when it's on the floor or on a dead flood's body.
Hey I like how your description fits it as well as it fits the Library
Once I figured out that dual plasma rifles was the best weapon for the job, this level is a lot of fun. For the tanks, use an energy sword. It's a one slice kill, even on legendary.
Just discovered your channel and thought this was an excellent video. I've always disliked the level 'Cortana', even more so than 'The Library'. You were able to succinctly describe my complaints! As you said, the Flood-infected High Charity is a good idea thematically, but it actually gets visually boring, and as you said, is very disorienting. I think another problem with Halo 3's Flood in general is that they die so easily from melee attacks. The whole point in Halo 1 and 2 was that you had to back-pedal, as they resisted melee attacks. But now they disintegrate in just one hit. I also find the constantly changing Pure forms add to the confusion. Also, the Pure forms don't have a very clear death animation. There are often times when I keep shooting at at Stalker form, only to realise that I've already killed it. However, you did make me appreciate the Cortana / Gravemind 'moments' a lot more than I did before!
Thanks for the kind words Baron mate, really appreciate it! And yeh I agree, it's an absolute clusterfuck visually a lot of the time, just way too much going on in enclosed spaces that look too visually similar to the enemy you're fighting. The melee thing is a really good point, I always forget that every time I go back to Halo 3 and panic every time a flood gets near me 😂
Cortana is the worst level in the Halo series... Halo CE's Library: "Am I a joke to you?''
I also have a video moaning about that level 😂
Also the fact that as you get closer to Cortana you begin to see more of the former Covenant flooring and walls. As if the Flood hasn't taken complete control of the area that Cortana is in, or Cortana herself even if it does have a grasp on her.
Honestly I'm just sad that high charity herself had such a short life in the halo campaign
I think it's a well made level when you aren't playing on legendary. On my legendary run I almost died irl while playing it. However it is far better than anything from halo 5
The thing is that, unlike the Library, Cortana is mandatory.
Nothing of note happens during the events of the Library. You get the Index. Big deal.
But if you are replaying Halo for the storyline, the experience, then Cortana is so VITAL for the narrative and thematic center of the series that it MUST be endured. That sense of unavoidable obligation is probably the greatest weight that Cortana adds: an emotional millstone around the necks of players.
This is a great comment - and I completely agree. I can't stand playing the level, but it is really, really important in narrative terms.
I liked this breakdown so much, you've earned a new subscriber. I agree, at least to an extent, with everything you've said and I am impressed with how you've approached every aspect of the level. Great job.
Thanks Zac, really appreciate the kind words dude!
I think the unintelligible Cortana message is something like: "Can I speak with you, please? What's you're name? It's very nice to meet you." Probably hearkening back to when Halsey met John as a kid when she was scouting out Spartan candidates.
a bad level or not, i think we can all agree that the flood is disgusting and we hate them and we're happy to never see them again
I really want them to return in Infinite. But done well, like 343 Guilty Spark 😶
@@BenPlaysGames Yeah, I just hope they make it super satisfying to kill the flood as well, like they blow up or disintegrate with certain weapons (like the robots-humans in halo 4)...
Still creep me out though haha
Y’all are tripping. The worst level is library. Cortana is not bad at all
I'ma be real, throw a shotgun and a energy sword in my arsenal, and this level is a cakewalk even on Legendary.
I feel like a great way to bring importance and attention to the Graveminds taunts would be to actually move and vibrate the biomass all around you like he's talking through it. Really make the oppressive control he has over your environment part of the story.
Everyone complaining is a butter bar trying to complete nav training!
😂
Came from reddit! Keep up the great work. Hope both of our channels keep growing. Just subbed!
Likewise, thanks for the support mate!
I like the think the marine came to help master chief and brought a ton of weapons for him to use
I remember being stuck for not hours but days playing it as a kid
This level was the worst if you didn't know how effective the Plasma rifle and the Bruteshot were against Flood.
Yep, melee is a huge help too!
Assault rifle and shotgun combo is also pretty valid.
Am I the only one who didn't get lost or annoyed with cortana? the library I understand because its literally the same thing copy and pasted throughout the level, here though I had a much easier time with. mind you this is only on heroic. to legendary players I can see how this can get annoying
I found it a little tricky the first time I played it through when making this video, but it wasn't so bad after that. I think the problem is that there's so many enemies around you in some of the narrow corridors that it begins to become a little disorientating!
@@BenPlaysGames yeah I guess that makes sense.
I remember I couldn’t finish halo 3 as a kid cause I would always get lost on this level and would give up every time I tried
I'm new to the channel but I gotta say, I love your videos. Keep up the awesome work
Thanks so much Scout, I really appreciate the kind words mate!
Worst level? I assume you're only considering the CE, 2, 3 games as "Halo" because the worst levels on those were infinitely better than the best levels on the other games.
Ah yeh, I always leave 4 and 5 out as 'the other' games 😂
T,T
This level is one of my favorites.......
I can't say I'm a huge fan, but compared to terrible levels in other games, it's still pretty good fun!
Same, I love this level
@@BenPlaysGames
To be fair, I also like The Library from CE, so....
@@FBI-ju5no You're a glutton for punishment! Kidding, I've actually had a fair few people say they like both, so you're definitely not alone!
As soon as you said Cortana was supposed to be the end of floodgate everything made sense. It's why both levels are so short and so similar.
Before I even complete this vid I wanna just bring up both Cairo Station and Gravemind. Both missions, especially on LASO were the biggest headaches I've experienced in any Halo game
Edit: I heard the mention of gameplay, but I see you more specifically meant map layout. At least some of the issues you expressed having were solved with equipment though. By Cortana's terminal with the hammer nearby there are camos you can pick up and save.
Just for navigation though I wouldn't have minded some landmarks. I do remember getting lost when I first experienced Cortana. That 4 level high room has a tunnel that to goes in circles, and because it had dips in it I thought I was going up for a good 2 or 3 rotations. Good holdout area though
a bit of a controversial opinion but Cortana is actually my favourite level in Halo 3
That's cool, how come? I think it's gotta be The Covenant for me, that mission is ridiculously entertaining!
@@BenPlaysGames I Like to think of it as a test of determination memory & skill the final showdown against the Flood testing all your knowledge of the flood you have acquired over the last 3 games
So its not just me!
Nope, terrible level!
Theres a good reason that chief in Arby n’ the chief, consider being forced to play this level on legendary repeatedly, his personal hell.
Personal hell is definitely the right description 😂
I don’t know why but I struggled so hard to figure out where I was meant to go when you are supposed to leave