260°

Master Chief: The Single Most Boring Protagonist in History

Is one of the most recognizable main characters in video game history also the one of the most boring?

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gameskinny.com
-Foxtrot3656d ago

Well you had Cortana to keep him interesting, as I said in another article she's a part of him and his character.

<Spoilers>

It's why I can't see 343 doing another main game without Cortana when she helps him seem more human ironically for being an AI herself.

Ghost_Nappa3656d ago

Hopefully he'll reunite with the other spartanIIs

3656d ago
truefan13656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

Master Chief is the second most ICONIC protagonist next to Mario.

On another note, the article asking where is the ps4 exclusives was moved from the front the page after 15 minutes, but this dumb article is still here. This site doesn't even try to hide it's bias.

3656d ago
DARK WITNESS3656d ago

at the end of the day it's all his opinion...

the funny thing is all the things he does not like about mc, is exactly why I like Mc over so many other characters.

ya he does not say much, he does not stand out with this super badass character attitude giving it all that... yet he has got through everything going on around him without taking a holiday I may add, that is exactly what makes him so badass and such a great character in my opinion.

He is a trained killing machine right from childhood, without the wise arse comments, being the guy that has to get all the ladies, or any of that stuff.

His whole life has been nothing but war to the point that he does not have time for anything else and it fits him perfectly.

there is really nothing I would change about him as a character. My only wish would be at some point he gets to meet up with this original spartan team (whats left of them anyway)

mikeslemonade3655d ago

There's lots of boring protagonists and Master Cheif is one of them. I think the actual game is boring. Who really plays single player first person shooters outside of Bioshock??

bmx_bandit3655d ago

Author is owner of psxextreme.com…so who cares what a fanboy with clickbait-articles thinks...

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3655d ago
gjruk3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

Yeah but that's what Halo 5 will be, Chief finding a way to get Cortana back, the game won't instantly just give you Cortana at the begining, it would make losing her in Halo 4 pointless. We need to see Chief like this, to be driven towards a goal of his own for once, this will bring out his humanity more than anything, choosing his own fight other than being ordered to do so. It's likely we will see Halsey, maybe she might interact with Chief through comms, making him remember her voice etc..

Mystogan3656d ago

This article is so full of fail. How can he be the most boring if he's the second most popular video game character after Mario?

Volkama3655d ago

To be fair, Mario is quite boring. The entire focus of his design is "make sure you can see him" working with the limitations of technology at the time.

I guess they did well to give him such a lavish plumbing backstory and even better to merchandise him so well :)

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Baccra173656d ago

The MC isn't boring, it's the game and how he is used. 90% of Halo's epic story and character development is in it's books/novels= not in the game.

That may be great for selling merchandise and making Halo a big franchise but that sh!t takes too much from the game. So MC isn't the one with the problem, it's MS keeping the story and characterizations out of Halo the game and putting it into Halo the novel/book.

Gamer19823655d ago

He really is boring and dull but it doesnt matter as Halo like COD and battlefield is bought for the online.

mewhy323655d ago

Wow. I'm surprised this article even got approved with that title.
But I have to disagree. I'm a big halo fan. I've play all of the games except Halo Wars. Next halo should look even better but I hope that some more halo will come to the 360 as I still have two of them LOL.

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Agent20093656d ago

Same goes for Gordon Freeman.

ProjectVulcan3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

Gordon Freeman's "character" is really a device to allow players to put themselves into the lead character role. He is a blank slate, it's a simple premise.

Personally I think it works exceptionally well, because you forget about Gordon as a character, and get immersed so as to care an awful lot about the people around him.

It is an intentional decision on Valve's part that you take on his role and ARE Gordon Freeman, and live out his experiences as your own.

Rather than just sat watching him jabber on every few minutes in a cutscene as was popular at the time of the first Half Life game.

Try to understand that before slating Freeman as a character, as that is not really the purpose he serves in the Half Life games.

ShinMaster3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

""Gordon Freeman's character is a device to allow players to put themselves into the lead character role.""

That's usually the argument* I hear, but it doesn't hold up. Had they made him customizable, then you'd have a point. So he's not much a "blank slate".
And honestly, at no point in the game did I feel like I was Gordon Freeman or that the character was in any way my own. I was aware I was playing a character with no personality.

*fixed

ProjectVulcan3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

"That's usually the excuse I hear, but it doesn't hold up. Had they made him customizable, then you'd have a point."

It isn't an excuse at all, it's just the way those games are designed.

I also hear the reason that 'if I can make him customisable blah blah' A LOT.

Aaaaaaaaaaand if you could?

What exactly would it serve when you never hear your character talk, or even leave behind his eyes at any moment to see any 'customisation' you have made? The entire game is played out in first person from start to finish and there are no upgradeable skills or anything like that. So why have a customisation screen at the start when you'll never see what you did ever again....

That's blatantly pointless.

If you don't like the premise then that I can understand, but you have to understand the point of the game design in the first place.

Ghost_Nappa3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

Exactly, same with the chief except Halo 4 gave him more of a human side. Nowwe get to see him grieve the loss of cortana

MazzingerZ3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

Yeah, I agree with you regarding "The Freeman"

Master Chief is rather the typical hero, man with no name/face så everybody can identify with it...women kind of left out by Halo...

Anyways, the only game that really has made me feel I'm the character is Metroid:PRIME, one of the best games ever!!! Man eller woman can play this game and become the character

ShinMaster3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

""So why have a customisation screen ...""

Uhh it would actually make the whole "He's a blank slate that allows the player to be in the lead role" argument A LOT MORE CONVINCING. Even if it's in first person view. But he's got a defined background, a specific look and a name.

If you actually heard him talk, then it would make him more of a complete character. But he's neither a blank slate or a complete character. To me, Freeman is a half-assed character.

ProjectVulcan3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

"Uhh it would actually make the whole He's a blank slate that allows the player to be in the lead role argument"

It's not an argument. It's a fact. I was merely explaining what the device is. If you don't think it works then that's ok, that's your opinion.

But if you want some token screen before you play to make your character have comedy hair and clown shoes perhaps to make you feel 'immersed' and the character your own without ever seeing any of that ever again in the game, then you probably need to look elsewhere.

Cos it's pointless for Half Life and what Valve tried to do.

Or simply wear a comedy wig and clown shoes yourself before you start the Half Life games. It'll probably be more real for you then....

The point is that Freeman is a game device and designed that way. Like only being able to carry two weapons at a time, or regenerating health.

It's a purposeful design choice, simple as that.

ShinMaster3656d ago

The only fact here is that, yes, he was a game device and designed that way. But its effectiveness is arguable, not a fact.
You can force yourself to believe whatever they told you they meant to do. And that's fine. But it doesn't work for everyone. Some people just think he was boring.

ProjectVulcan3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

It's a fact that is the device Valve were attempting. It's not an excuse or a reason as you first claimed. You now admit that yes, it was a purposeful device, as I originally pointed out.

It is debatable and open to opinion whether that was effective or not.

I don't force myself to believe anything.

I know that for me, it was effective. For you it wasn't, and you want some (again in my opinion) entirely pointless customisation screen to add a few minutes at the start to make you feel better about you playing a character you'll never, ever see again.

Ok.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3656d ago
Godmars2903656d ago

Chell and Freeman are suppose to be you. They're you personas in their world.

Chief breaks the traditional silent protagonist in that he both talks and is on his own mission. Is a separate entity despite being controlled by the player.

ShinMaster3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

If they were my personas in their game world, then they wouldn't have given them specific names and looks, and in the case of Freeman, a defined background.
Had they been customizable in any way, then that argument would be more convincing.

Godmars2903656d ago

You can't customize MC within his campaign. When you're playing multiplayer that character isn't even a character, they're just a bot you control.

With Chell and Freeman, while you are in their role, any and all identifiers to them come from the outside. You make them do what they're doing and making them react they way they do. There isn't an "inside" voice describing what its doing while you might be doing something else.

Spikes14713656d ago

All he does is just kill shit. There isn't really a story (well their is but...) it just kill these gods and that.

Kratos v Morgan Freeman?

ShinMaster3656d ago

@ Spikes1471

""All he does is just kill shit""
Umm that's true for every game where you have a blade or guns. The main gameplay mechanics are to slash or shoot which result in enemies dying.

""There isn't really a story...it just kill these gods""
Sounds like you only watched videos of GOWIII.

""Morgan Freeman""
What?

_FantasmA_3656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

I agree that his constant anger and aggressiveness gets old, and I only played GOW 3! He needs to show some restraint and compassion. Chief is wack. He's a walking stereotype, humanity's last hope and the last of his kind. I think Dom should have been the main character in Gears of War. Nathan Drake is a walking cliche as well. End of rant.

The only real protagonists or game characters I felt were human were Snake, Alex Vance, Otacon, and most of the other Metal Gear characters.

Kratos02893656d ago

"And I only played GOW3" we'll there's your problem you played the last entry in the trilogy I suggest you play the whole series to understand why he sought vengeance on Olympus , Big Boss was more human and deeper than any of the characters in MGS and I say that as a fan of the series

Godmars2903656d ago (Edited 3656d ago )

At the very least, the industry is begging for a game where the main character has the option to not kill everything in from of them.

@Kratos0289:
Yeah, you say that. But there was one scene where he was needlessly murderously cruel. And the whole game is about how selfish he is at the core.

ShinMaster3656d ago

You're just saying that out of bitterness that they talked about Master Chief.
Kratos has more of a personality. He's not that boring.

TheDarpaChief3656d ago

Kratos isnt big boss but he certainly isnt boring in any sense of the word

GameDev13656d ago

Ignorant commment. Anybody who has played GOW will know about Kratos anger against the gods and the love of his dead wife

Tontus3655d ago

loool Kratos has got to be one of the most enthralling characters in videogames, it's a hell of a ride playing as that adrenaline fueled psychopath doing the crazy shit us mortals could only dream to do when we've been betrayed, lied to, manipulated etc. He is the spirit of vengeance and we need more anti-heroes in gaming like him.

Even the way he pulls a lever or opens a door displays more personality than Master Chief has done in all the series.

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DarkLord10033656d ago

I think the character design itself is very boring....

MetalProxy3656d ago

yeah I cant stand that dirt bike helmet outfit that he wears.

FrostyZipper3656d ago

The same can be said for a discouragingly high number of protagonists in pretty much every medium of fiction, though video games seem to have it worse imo.

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60°

The importance of audio: How music makes games better

How do composers make the iconic music tracks from games that we love? And just what makes them so memorable?

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gamespew.com
130°

Ex-343 dev says there were “20-30” pitched Halo games we’ll never see

A former 343 developer has revealed that mountains of Halo pitches failed to be approved, including a return to ODSTs and a push for more intimate, dark themes.

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theloadout.com
Kaii64d ago

Well, 4-Infinite dropped the ball massively so don't worry.

Sgt_Slaughter64d ago (Edited 64d ago )

Not really. 4, 5, MCC, and Infinite are only remembered for their shortcomings and failures when the franchise was purely known for being a system seller and an all-time great. There's a reason 1, 2, 3, and Reach are looked back on fondly, and it's not because of nostalgia.

FinalFantasyFanatic64d ago

I don't know of anyone that speaks fondly of the later Halo games, I would like to play 5, but I know it's not good, and I'm just waiting on Infinite to hit my strike price. I played MCC a lot later after it came out, so must of those bugs/issues were gone by the time I played it.

64d ago
PhillyDonJawn64d ago (Edited 64d ago )

To say it dropped the massively is just not true. Many in the community hold H5 as the best mp mechanics in the entire series and say its what 4 should've been. Its campaign was trash but the MP is Fantastic and many faces of the community still play today and it only made 500mill in the matter of months but sure it dropped the ball massively. 4 was hated due to all the changes at once. And CoD like feature and rightful get hate but it's campaign story was liked by a majority of ppl. 343 hasn't nailed ot 100% but they get 1 thing perfect but F up in other places. Infinite had a good campaign and design but the story was a mess. The MP improves upon what Halo 3 was and is what many ppl wanted to go back to but it lacked content severely. So massively aint the word. Dropping the ball massively is when it's pure trash and unplay/unenjoyable. Most ppl blind by nostalgia so soon as 1 thing aint the same its hated cause Halo set the bar so high
FYI reach was not that good.

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Vengeance113864d ago

Dead IP, time to invent something new.

kaos8964d ago

Maybe they can have ID or one of the COD studios help 343 with this series.

jznrpg64d ago

Halo-Pop like Gears Pop. Halo bowling. Halo Cooking Mama. There’s a reason why you won’t hear about them

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60°

The Best Four-Player Original Xbox Games

Remember the days of four-player couch co-op? The Wealth of Geeks team certainly does. This list brings us back to the golden years of the original Xbox with the best four-player games that were available.

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wealthofgeeks.com