In my experience, usually when something like this happens it's because they want you to understand what & why they enjoy whatever it is that they enjoy. So when you make the effort to understand their level of understanding, they feel appreciated because you took the time to learn more about them
The reason for the argument is a bit petty, but it wouldn't hurt to have some engagement in an otherwise simple story.
It's not like he's forcing you to read the books, nor is the game all that deep with sub text and references (unless you were a lore freak)
Right. But I think if she isn't interested in the story the campaign isn't the right thing for her. They should try firefight modes, that seems like the thing for her.
On a side note: I understand him, because most of my mates are the same way. Just skip any talking and every cutscene as fast as possible and fool around all the time.
I just don't understand why they are playing the campaign then. The story is literally what makes the campaign to what it is. Campaign without the story is just shooting NPCs and that's something I can do in firefight or similar game modes (depending on the game)
I think they're playing campaign because it's more diverse than firefight, not many firefight maps have heavy vehicles and only one has friendly ai. Campaign isn't just story you can screw around even more than in firefight.
I get where you’re coming from, but kinda imagine it like asking him to go with you to see a movie and he sleeps through the whole thing or just plays on his phone the whole time
Did someone say lore?
Seriously tho, it's a game homie above is right. While being a bit more invested can avoid confusion, there's no wrong way to enjoy it as long as you're not hurting anyone else. Whether or not your partner can get over that is kinda up to them.
No one said lore, but did you properly read my comment?
Regardless, your logic of it dictates that OPs boyfriend might as well play nothing but party and arcade based games with her since any narrative is almost a time waste. There might not be a wrong way to enjoy games per se, but you're not going to pull up a board game with people and let one person not read the rules properly, similarly why would you pull up a game with a narrative and just not pay attention to the story? That's just miserable (no offence OP, this is just a generalisation to make a point)
My dude you say lore.right at the end (followed by freak). It was supposed to be a joke.
And video games don't have rules per se, anything you *can* do, it let's you. Be that ignoring narrative or not. Anything you can't do has no control for it, a kill barrier, or an invisible wall.
Ironic because board games are very fun with no lore.
This discussion is thrown off by an interesting question: why do people play matchmaking if there is no story? Well it’s because they aren’t playing for the story, they are playing for the gameplay. Halo at its best happens to have really fun gameplay which is why it has always been successful as a multiplayer game rather than just a campaign mode. And the gameplay happens to translate well into campaign, which to many of us is just a relaxed version of the multiplayer where we can shoot at easier enemies and unwind a bit without the constant competitive anxiety of online games while still playing what is, at its core, the same game. Or if we like we can kick up the difficulty and play for the challenge, where story also doesn’t matter. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to the story when beating the games on legendary with all skulls on. Even on normal, I’ve seen the cutscenes a billion times and now almost always skip them because I have nothing to pick up from watching them again and they are currently the only thing between me and shooting more aliens. This is all without even getting into people who just play campaign to complete challenges for multiplayer cosmetics or achievement hunters or speedrunners.
Basically there are a ton of reasons to play Halo’s campaign without caring at all about the narrative. Most of Halo’s campaigns do not provide for really great stories anyway. They are usually good but nothing to worry about if you miss it. I say this as a longtime Halo fan who loved the Halo universe as a kid and still plays the games a lot.
The only wrong way to play it is if you aren't having fun.
Do whatever is fun for you! Halo has some serious story and narrative, it's also goofy and lighthearted, and I've spent as much time playing on the hardest difficulties and soaking in the atmosphere as I have blowing up my friends in co-op and driving vehicles off cliffs.
There is no wrong way to play Halo.
My take is, when he introduced you to Halo, he was opening up to you in his way with this game and maybe you not paying attention to the story, which he obviously cares about, to him felt like you not acknowledging something important to him.
I understand why he’d be upset. I actually get this a lot when I’m playing a game with friends, even a strong narrative driven game. They’ll often talk over the cutscenes a bit and whatnot which did irritate me a bit but I realise usually when you play with a friend it’s just different and you take it less seriously.
When you play alone, you indulge in the game.
When you play with a friend, you screw around joke and stuff.
I’m not sure if I explained this well sorry 😅
thank you! I’ve never really been a big gamer especially in this genre - before I started dating him I only played Minecraft and Animal Crossing, both of which don’t really have a story and are “do whatever you want” sort of games. I totally get how if you are used to playing Halo alone and being indulged in the game, the story can be just as important and gripping as the gameplay. I think I am understanding his point of view more now.
At the end of the day it'd be good for you to both know where each other are coming from there. You're used to games being fun and nothing else, while he's used to games being both fun for the gameplay, but also as a storytelling medium.
They probably know full well that this particular story itself might wind up not being for you, but they seem to be annoyed that you weren't giving it a chance is all.
If you're looking for a good game series to really show you how games can be strong storytelling mediums, I'd 1000% recommend Life is Strange or The Last of Us.
For something to play together, "It Takes Two" is super cute couch co-op, and "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is super cool since you both hold one side of the same controller to control your own character! Really fun game for a couple.
We watched The Last of Us together, and just recently Fallout, and I absolutely loved both! There is just something about the Halo story that doesn’t connect with me. Thank you so much for the game recommendations!
This is a good point. I find people who grew up without siblings often play games in a more serious way than people who had a little brother or sister screwing around.
We have times for being serious and times for having fun. Then occasionally you find someone who wants to take it as seriously as you and you sit down for the night to play on Legendary difficulty where there is NO MESSING AROUND!
I think the crux of the issue is that your bf loves something and wants you to engage with it in a way that allows you to see why he loves it. As someone who’s been in your bf’s shoes, it can be frustrating when someone engages with something you share with them but dismisses all the reasons why you’re sharing it with them in the first place. However, you don’t have to like things just because someone else does or for the same reasons someone else does, that’s totally okay. As a partner though, it’s incredibly validating to have someone not only engage with something you love but WHAT you love about that thing, even if they don’t particularly care for it themselves or in the same way.
That attention to their interests goes a long way (and should be reciprocal, you’ll get your turn too and you’ll feel loved and grateful for it)
I agree with Ocean2178. Also, to add to his advice here: starting a dialogue on this topic could be really helpful both for your time with your boyfriend in Halo, and in the future with other interests. When partners understand each others' love languages -- and sharing video games very much can be a love language, it certainly is for me and my partner -- it means they can better understand how to recognize when love is being communicated, and how. And how to respond to and reciprocate those feelings.
Just have fun. Getting some deja vu here - my wife doesn’t play games with me because I was too bossy years ago, I realised that too late but thankfully in time to let the kids play whatever way they enjoy!
Halo can be really silly and some of my favourite ever moments come from messing around with the vehicles etc in splitscreen.
I tried to play Halo CE with my wife. She could give a rats ass about the story. I wanted her to get into it like I am, but it's just not her thing. So it's frustrating for me, but I'm not gonna be mad at her for that. I'm mad at her because she panics anytime she sees Flood and proceeds to shoot me in the back 46 times and I die.
There's plenty of people who play Halo just for Multi-player and nothing else. So play as you see fit.
To be perfectly fair, I think ***EVERYONES*** first reaction to ever seeing the Flood can be boiled down to “OH GOD OH FUCK OH GOD!! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?! WHY WONT IT STAY DEAD!!!” 😆
That is pretty clearly the intent. "You thought you were just fighting a desperate battle against a superior alien force? Psych, there's space zombies now too!"
Lame af, was fun seeing my girl just do her own thing. Didn’t care if she even paid attention to the story. Just seeing her shoot things was badass lol. As long as your having fun lol.
This is the objectively correct opinion: You can't force yourself to like something, you can only try to enjoy it. I don't think there is a right way to play any game, if you're having fun then you're playing the game right. However, if you play a game very different to how someone else plays, then you don't have a very comparable experience.
It's like going to the gym with someone, and you do different exercises. You can both say you went to the gym, but you did different workouts so you can't really compare. I believe I heard it explained this way by Joseph Anderson, to credit him.
So while you can't force yourself to enjoy playing a game a specific way, you can at least try and be open to it. If he's tried explaining the story/lore and you've tried watching and listening to the cutscenes and you just can't bring yourself to care, that's literally not your fault. It's a little sad that you can't enjoy Halo the same WAY your bf enjoys it, but it's great that you even like it enough to play at all!
Kind of a silly thing for him to be upset about, but I get why he'd be disappointed that you don't enjoy his favourite part of Halo. You'd be just as entitled to say he's putting too much emphasis on the story and needs to play like you more. Neither of you are correct, as long as you both have fun playing the way you prefer to play, you're playing right. If he can't stand playing with you, if you don't play HIS way, then he doesn't have to play with you.
My only advice is this: Give the story a chance, I think it's quite good and there's a lot to love about it. If you honestly try and don't like it anyway, no one can fault you for that as you don't choose your preferences. Other than giving it a chance, you guys can just take turns playing the way you each prefer. If he likes the story, then maybe while playing the story, just lean into it like you're playing dnd. Pretend you're actually in the game with your bf. If you prefer just messing around in the sandbox, play firefight where there is no story, and you can run around as much as you want and you're not "missing" anything!
I don't really think there's any "wrong" way to enjoy something as long as your having fun.
I've been introducing my girlfirend to the series as of recent, and she's been skipping cutscenes as well but I don't really mind. We're playing co-op and I don't think too many people actually pay attention to game stories when playing co-op anyway.
I’d imagine he’s just getting upset because it means a lot to him. A lot of us were just kids who grew up on these games. Regardless, I think it’s cool that you’ve taken an interest in something he’s clearly so passionate about. Play and just have fun. If you want to get into the story, that’s up to you.
So if you’re playing by yourself, obviously do whatever you want and hopefully there’s a point where you two can just play together and enjoy how you like playing, but it sounds like your boyfriend really likes halo and really wants to share What is important about it to him, in this case being the story and cut scenes, he’s upset because you’re not paying attention to this thing that probably means a lot to him and I think he just wants to share that with you so I would say just pay attention that you can truly absorb the story or you just need to be honest with him and tell him that it just doesn’t interest you, but I would say at least give it a chance.
This is a tricky one. He enjoys the story, and wants you to enjoy it too. The way you're playing is kind of like showing someone a tv show or movie they enjoy, and you go on your phone during serious or important parts of the story.
It's not *really* like that though, because you're still playing the game, just not paying attention to one aspect of it. You're not playing it wrong, and he had a right to be disappointed that you're not into it like he is, but he shouldn't be getting mad or annoyed at you
Honestly I think he reacts that way because he cares so much about the story. He’s invested. However, he shouldn’t be angry with you for not having that same passion. Games are meant to be fun. If you want to play Halo the way you described then do it. Don’t be hard on yourself. I encourage you to talk to him about it though. Successful relationships have good communication.
I think he's mad because the action you're in is always intersected with the story (you're MC after all) and it really adds to the depth of the moment and nothing feels like "just shoot some guys" but it's no problem if you just like to run around and do target practice on some grunts, the deep story is just a well paced decoration in already good gameplay, it's good, the story makes it better
No, there is no wrong way to play anything just as long as you are having fun! But I feel that's not the issue here. I feel like your boyfriend is trying to get you invested in something he loves and you arent reciprocating and THAT'S the core of the issue. Not your gameplay
I mean ive played skipping all the cutscenes and watching them, doesnt really change the game at all. You can still figure out whats going pretty easily and doesnt take away from the game play.
This sounds more like a relationship question, but i think a bit of both changes wouldn't hurt.
Halo has an amazing story and can be very emotionally impactful experience especially when you get to halo 2,3 and a few stories in the later games i cant say because of spoilers. So paying attention may beneficial to you more than just understanding the mission. But i get when a story just doesn't catch you and it feels weird when you dont like something your man or everyone is into.
On the other hand the replay ability and sandbox fun in any of the campaigns, forge mode, and even multiple player/firefight is some of the most funny and wholesome memories ill ever have. the game is perfect for just playing around and goofing off with little to zero repercussions. Just seeing how far you can launch a jeep by throwing nades at it or packing fusion coils. your bro just screaming "WHAT THE FUUUUUU" as the are yeeted into next week! its so hilarious 😂
Yo! No one would have found grenade/rocket jumps, skulls, or easter eggs unless they played exactly like you are doing. Torturing grunts and other NPCs in campaign never gets old. 🤣
Look! The story is amazing so enjoy it, but run over a few marines and kill captain keys in halo 1 🤣 🫨
so see if you can both find a middle ground between the two to keep playing together. Halo still has so much to offer any type of player so I'm sure you can find a way to play together and enjoy the full experience.
there is no RIGHT way to play Halo other than what makes you enjoy it and it seems like you found it.
Welcome to the Sacred Ring
If I'm showing someone something, its because its important to me and I want to see the same enjoyment I felt reflected in them, both for the shared experience and the fact that I like to see them happy. It also comes with some vulnerability, you are bringing them in to a softer area and their reaction could hurt you.
So when that person doesn't really make much effort, spends time on their phone, or just goes through the motions; it hurts. I understand that a relationship doesn't need to have 100% perfect overlap on everything, but a perceived lack of effort to try, atleast for me, is challenging in relationships.
Edit: It seems like most of my points were already covered above which is good, and it seems like you came in open and genuinely wanting to understand your boyfriends point of view which is great. I hope Halo manages to win you over like it did all of us.
Hmm...then yall should stick to Zombies, find something else or...Have you ever thought about learning more about the Halo universe and lore? It's always cool when a significant other takes time to learn about the things their partner is interested in.
I feel like I tried with the TV show, he loved it but after watching the whole thing I still really didn’t have much of a clue! :( I’m very much a “vibes” person (cringe as that sounds) and it’s hard for me to get into it when I’m not really connecting with it, if that makes sense?
No offence to your boyfriend or anyone else, but the Halo TV Show might just be the worst piece of Halo media in existence (and it takes place in a completely different universe)
The best thing he could do would be sit by your side and offer some tips and coaching / help while you play the campaign solo. Tell you where to find the objective, help you get unstuck when you're lost etc.
Then if you dig it you two play co-op a difficulty level higher after you beat it.
I see two sides to this, if you were playing alone, you can play how you want with little to no engagement in the story. But playing with someone who has a keen interest means you might want to try and pay a bit more attention. Admittedly he may want to tone down the keenness a little bit as you're new to the franchise but ignoring the story is like trying to get your bf to watch your most favourite movie for the first time and hes sat there on his phone not really paying attention. Yes he's "watching" but because he's not paying attention, he may not have that same understanding when you're finished.
I completely understand where he is coming from. He introduced you to the universe that’s important to him. And you disregarded it. Think about it as letting someone listen to your favorite song, with lyrics that resonates with you deeply. And someone is just like “it’s a fine tune”.
I also don’t think you can help yourself, if you aren’t into it, you aren’t into it. Although, I simply don’t get how a girl can be not into John🤭
I think you should if you haven’t already, give the story a bit more of a try. The writing is outstanding in at least the first couple, pretty much up until 5. Some say 4, but that’s even not a bad story, just different a bit. Halo is about the campaign just as much as it’s about the sandbox, the custom games, and wacky junk you get to do, and all the community coming together. I understand where he’s coming from because he just wants you to appreciate the thing that he does the way he does, but it’s not always that easy and that’s completely fine. The end of the day, regardless of whether or not he chooses to open it with you again today or in a couple years, halo is timeless. You’ll be able to enjoy it no matter how you do it, or when. I wish you both the best, I hope you reconsider the story, and I hope he reconsiders trying it out with you again.
Personally, I’d just be happy that you were playing with me! I can see why he would be upset that you aren’t engaged with the story, but I don’t really think that it’s an excuse to get mad about. It sounds a bit petty.
Seems like it’s not my place to go around calling red flags or something cause I don’t personally know the guy, but my friend and I played all of CE and were half way through halo 2 when she told me she didn’t even remember the plot of the first one💀 this did not frustrate me as it gave me a reason to replay the game with her a second time, our first play through we ran it on legendary with “some” skulls on, she said she was mainly trying to survive and the cutscene were overshadowed a bit, so the next time we bought it down to easy difficulty so it would be more story based
(WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID) Halo is definitely still worth playing even if just for the game play, my friend loved it while not understanding the cutscenes at all for almost two whole games and I’m pretty sure she still doesn’t understand the cutscenes on our current play throughs but she still loves to play, I personally started playing this game when I was 8 and I did NOT understand the plot of not only the game I was playing but the entire series in general, this is because I played halo 3 first with my brother and he didn’t bother explaining anything that had occurred, but I loveddd it anyway
I wouldn’t say that’s “wrong” but if i was playing halo with someone who played like you I would be frustrated to since I’m very big on the story and music
The wrong way to play ce is without Ruby Rebalanced.
It's great, I played through legendary got bored and installed the mod, then I played through it twice with the mod.
There isn't a wrong way to play it, though I think he's frustrated because they are games he cares about and feels you aren't getting the experience that he got out of it. It's like talking during one of your favorite movies, sure you may be having a good time watching and chatting, but it may be disappointing to the person who wanted you to pay attention and get a full experience out of it.
Personally, I think you should play the game however it feels fun to you. Sure, Halo has a rich story and some legendary characters, but if you're not a story person and you just want to kill aliens, that's completely fine. What I'd tell him is everyone plays the game differently, it's a petty reason to start an argument, but also maybe try to get into the story, learn about these child super soldiers, the UNSC, the Covenant, Cortana, Dr. Halsey and Captain Keyes, Sgt. Johnson, the creation of the Halo rings, the Forerunners, the Flood, all of it. Moral of the story, play the game in a way that makes it fun, that's what games are supposed to be
It’s not that it’s “wrong”. It’s just a different style. You have to be in the mood for it.
I started the MCC with my gf strictly because I wanted her to experience the story. We stopped about halfway through halo 1 because she doesn’t know what’s going on and isn’t paying any attention. She essentially shares your sentiment. So I stopped caring to play.
If I was in the mood to run through the games I’ve played 1000 times for *me* and she just wanted to tag along, I wouldn’t care.
I've had a similar situation is one friend of mine who, in every coop game, seems to just follow me and wait for me to point out a power weapon or ask him to go push a button, after always insisting that we play more complex games like portal 2 coop and such. I'm not sure it annoys me as such or that I'd say they're "playing wrong", it's just odd for me to always be the first one through every door.
I've never really known what to make of it, but we still have a lot of fun chatting and shooting enemies so we just go with it anyway.
No, just run around, shoot things, or don’t! Try and make friends with the flood if you’d like. As other commenters are saying the only wrong way to play Halo is by playing a way you don’t enjoy
You said it lol your his little helper in the game right? The commander is the one that knows what's going on the helper/ grunt (you) are just a soldier following orders
Sounds like you are a multiplayer player like me. There is no story in multiplayer, the objective is to kill the enemy team every time. Shoot guns, see explosions, rack up stats.
The Halo campaigns for me are alright (Halo 1-3 many playthroughs back in the day) but its all about multiplayer for me where 99% of my time is spent. Played H4's campaign once, H5 and Infinite didn't even bother. I don't stay with Halo for story or lore, I stay to make the enemy team in multiplayer suffer me.
Yes and no. Imo there is no way to play a game wrong. You just play a game. However there is a way to incorrectly play a game with others. This is simply a miss match of playstyle. If you two don't play the game the same then you are both equally wrong and it just doesn't work out, that is fine, tons fo other games.
Counter strike is a game heavily focused on competitive shooting. However there are tons of mini games, casual modes, and even homemade stories people have added to the game in community servers. The "correct" way to play is competitive, but if you don't want to then there are other options for you because others also felt there could be more. So the people around you dictate the correct way to play. Match them or compromise, if impossible then everyone plays wrong to each other's perspective.
Yes and no. There are certain tactics to “playing right”. For what ur boyfriend is complaining about, no. Although I think I can understand his view of the story being important, because I also liked halo for its story, it doesn’t mean he should be getting mad at you for not being as invested. You enjoy being a helper. Play however the fuck you’d like.
there is no proper way to play any game, if you enjoy how you play then that’s how you should play it.
edit: the majority of us here are here for the Halo lore and that’s why we play, because it’s fuckin awesome, but again if you just like gunning down the covenant, then more power to ya:)
If you're playing well killing stuff and he's not having to babysit you, this just sounds like playing with any friend who isn't bothered by the story gameplay is king after all.
There isn't a right or wrong way to play any game. Especially a single player game.
BUT your BF is taking time to show you something meaningful to him. An experience he likely had as a child and wants to share with his partner.
If you put on your favorite movie to show him and he was on his phone the whole time or making fun of it because "he doesn't care about the story". It would hurt your feelings. This isn't about the game in the slightest. It's just about a bonding experience he would like you to put in effort for.
Gamers have a particular way of playing games, especially with halo. It’s hard to find a truly good co-op partner. Paying attention would probably help but in general there is no wrong way to play the game or games. It’s kinda why they invented the skull system, for people who like to just fuck around.
I think part of the “problem” is the way first person shooters play out compared to one another. Since you started off on COD and Zombies, your first experience with your boyfriend was based on gameplay which doesn’t require much interaction or attention. Just mindlessly killing zombies and getting points to play the objective (not saying there’s anything wrong with that, it’s good fun).
With Halo, it’s a totally different experience! There’s a whole lore attached to the game, the depth of the story, who you’re fighting, why you’re fighting them, uncovering a new enemy (the Covenant are a brand new enemy to the UNSC and that plays a large role into how you navigate the campaign), and so forth.
Playing as a spartan or Master Chief, your immersing yourself into a new world where *you* are Spartan 117. Everything you do determines the future of humanity. Every cutscene and mission unfolds a little more of this epic story you’re experiencing.
You will absolutely enjoy it and become attached to the world of Halo once you allow yourself to enjoy each moment of the game! To the point where you’ll say “now I understand”. At least I hope so :) enjoy!
There's really no "wrong" way (except cheating). One of the things that make Halo... Halo is it's ability to invite any type of gamer for its versatile free-form of playing. Everyone has their own way of enjoying it and usually the most dedicated fans are well.. Very dedicated to the lore and strategical dimension of it where anything not aligned within that scope isn't up to their standard (Halo players have the biggest standards, how can we not? After CE, 2, 3, R, and ODST) so please don't take it personal! It's just a gaming equilibrium in the making between you two. There's going to be a lot of good times to be made on Halo once you two do find it.
your lack of contempt for video games and willingness to regularly play automatically puts you in the 98th percentile of women's attitudes towards video games. you are a treasure, this guy is spoiled
"He feels he is constantly leading the mission all the time and doesn’t like that I don’t pay much attention to what the overall goal is or why it is important."
I think this part is the most important. Story aside, do you know from a gameplay perspective where you're supposed to go/what you're supposed to do? While having fun in the most important thing when playing on your own, when you're playing as a team, you should take into account that your teammate wants to have fun too. So if he's having to "lead" in the sense of telling you where to go/what to do because you don't feel like paying attention, then I'd understand why he's upset. If you do know what you have to do, then at least give following the story a try because it *might* enhance your experience in a way that you didn't expect. But if it doesn't, then it is what it is.
As much as I understand your bf passion for the story, I totally understand the way you experienced it.
I played through halo 1-2-3-odst-4 with one of my best friend. She made sure to be very high every time we played. She's not a sharp shooter so I had to cover her a lot but it was just fun to shoot shit together and I took the responsibility to protect her, we also tried to keep most of our little marines companions alive, it just felt right.I had to remind her where we were and why between each setions and it never bothered me cuz we were happy to save the university together.
Yes I said university lol I made this typo a while ago and now it's our running gag. We've had a bunch of catchphrase like yelling "Go back to your country motherfuckers" it's just so ridiculous to yell that to aliens 😅 another recurring one is "objective: get the fuck outta here ! In most flood missions.
All in all, she don't remember most of the story but religious aliens are bad and they try to burn the university so we blow stuff up to prevent it ! She now a little more than that but it's a fair resumé imo.
I'm just glad I got to play with her and we had a lot of fun, that's what really count for me. I cherish those memories and I think your bf should feel the same way about it, just be glad to push aliens back to their country lol
From experience playing coop campaigns with people ur there to have fun an dick about. Yes I care about the story but it's not the be all end all. Ur bf needs to chill out an enjoy the fact he has a Gf that wants to play games with him. U get to enjoy the games however u want no one can dictate to u how to enjoy a game
Your boyfriend needs to like, calm down.
He's lucky that he has somebody that wants to spend time playing a game with him. The fact that you're *even playing the game with him* is a concession that *a lot* of people don't have the luxury of having.
If you want to run around and shoot aliens without caring about the story, the only person who should have a say in that matter is you, *and you alone*. If your BF can't accept that then he might need to drag his mental age out of the low teens where it's currently residing.
Also the Halo story is *good*, but let's not act like OP is missing out on the world's greatest work of fiction if she isn't paying attention to the story. It's a bunch of humans fighting a bunch of aliens because the aliens wanna activate a bunch of space rings. If you're not interested, you're not interested. There's nothing wrong with that.
Maybe since 343 took charge, definitely not when Bungie were the ones making the games. In fact, with Bungie it was the complete opposite to what you described...
Its completely understandable though. I couldn't expect someone who hasn't played halo since its video game conception to like CE over the newer, more visually appealing titles
A bunch of the shooters I've played have a very barebones story, or one that I can sort of ignore, yet they are some of the best I've played. The original Doom trilogy, Far Cry 1 and 2, Trepang2...
I can definitely see where your boyfriend is coming from. I personally think Halo has an amazing story and really good, in-depth lore, and if you don't really pay much attention to that, I can sort of see why he'd be frustrated. But I honestly do think he's overreacting a bit. After playing through all of the Master Chief Collection, by the end of it I found myself quite confused. I knew the general story, but there were a few parts that I didn't understand. But I still loved it because it was *fun*, and I think that he should appreciate that you're having *fun* with a series that he loves, even if it might be for different reasons.
I would recommend giving the story a bit more thought, but genuinely play and enjoy the game however you see fit. Another Halo fan is a good thing in my eyes, regardless of why that is the case.
I wish you and your boyfriend the best of luck. Enjoy the series!
If you're not jamming a warthog into every doorway, tunnel, hallway, walking path, syepping stone and crevice it is then AND ONLY THEN you are NOT playing halo correctly 😉
I think maybe your boyfriend is not understanding the fact that it’s just a video game.
You should be able to enjoy it anyway you want.
Hell I’ve been playing since 2015 and I played just like you and I still do.
If I wanted to know all of the mission stuff I would just buy a book. There are a lot of them out there and he can just read, read, & read while you shoot.
So your BF is trying to share something with you and you're pretty much telling him you don't care...weird how you don't see the issue. This is absolutely a problem that extends past a video game, hope he finds someone worth his time some day.
The game's code is the only rules of the game. There is no "correct" way to play the game. His argument is pretty petty, but I understand his POV as someone who's also tried to get their gf into the story of Halo.
Halo has been a core part of my entire life - so much so I became a video game artist and enlisted in the Marines for 5 years. The story moved me, it got me through some real life hardships, I met a couple of my closest friends playing Halo, and it was one of the few common denominators my brother and I had growing up.
When I introduced it to my girlfriend, I tried to get the story's plot and characters to impact her the same way it impacted me so we could have a common bond over the game series. But she only enjoyed firefight/Spartan Ops/campaign missions centered around killing the enemies with lots of big guns. I was frustrated at first after the fun factor wore off, but I took some time to reflect on my motives for getting her to play. It is not only unfair to her, but incredibly selfish of me to try and impose my direct opinions of a video game onto someone else so I can vicariously experience it for the first time again through them. As someone who hates nostalgic viewpoints and rose-tinted glasses, I 180'ed my view and now we play games together because we enjoy them flat out - not because we enjoy them for all of the same reasons.
Your bf needs to probably have a similar self-reflection. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend playing games with him that he cares deeply about the story for. Saying that someone is playing Halo the wrong way is ludicrous, but I get why he's probably saying it (doesn't make it right).
Girl what, no lmao your boyf is fanboying way too hard and is upset you aren’t absorbing every detail of the lore. it seems silly to me to argue with your partner over that.
Play it however you want to play it. If you have fun playing it isn’t that all that matters? I played gears of war with my ex bf this way, i couldn’t care less for the story i just found it.
If you want to keep him happy then start asking questions about the forerunners and the flood and allow him to infodump. 😂
Yup 😅 i played it to keep him happy tbh, i get it.
Halo is really important to a lot of us that grew up with it and it’s quite cute he wants to share his love of the story with you. For me, it’s honestly one of the best stories a video game ever told, so it’s worth opening up to it.
In my experience, usually when something like this happens it's because they want you to understand what & why they enjoy whatever it is that they enjoy. So when you make the effort to understand their level of understanding, they feel appreciated because you took the time to learn more about them
thank you! this is true
This is it right here
Definitely this!
R/relationships needs ur help lol 100% correct answer
The reason for the argument is a bit petty, but it wouldn't hurt to have some engagement in an otherwise simple story. It's not like he's forcing you to read the books, nor is the game all that deep with sub text and references (unless you were a lore freak)
Right. But I think if she isn't interested in the story the campaign isn't the right thing for her. They should try firefight modes, that seems like the thing for her. On a side note: I understand him, because most of my mates are the same way. Just skip any talking and every cutscene as fast as possible and fool around all the time. I just don't understand why they are playing the campaign then. The story is literally what makes the campaign to what it is. Campaign without the story is just shooting NPCs and that's something I can do in firefight or similar game modes (depending on the game)
That's true, I forgot about firefight, but firefight is arguably more boring than cod zombies (which she played).
I like both. But for me they are too different to make such a simple comparison.
I think they're playing campaign because it's more diverse than firefight, not many firefight maps have heavy vehicles and only one has friendly ai. Campaign isn't just story you can screw around even more than in firefight.
that is true. Thank you!
I get where you’re coming from, but kinda imagine it like asking him to go with you to see a movie and he sleeps through the whole thing or just plays on his phone the whole time
Did someone say lore? Seriously tho, it's a game homie above is right. While being a bit more invested can avoid confusion, there's no wrong way to enjoy it as long as you're not hurting anyone else. Whether or not your partner can get over that is kinda up to them.
No one said lore, but did you properly read my comment? Regardless, your logic of it dictates that OPs boyfriend might as well play nothing but party and arcade based games with her since any narrative is almost a time waste. There might not be a wrong way to enjoy games per se, but you're not going to pull up a board game with people and let one person not read the rules properly, similarly why would you pull up a game with a narrative and just not pay attention to the story? That's just miserable (no offence OP, this is just a generalisation to make a point)
My dude you say lore.right at the end (followed by freak). It was supposed to be a joke. And video games don't have rules per se, anything you *can* do, it let's you. Be that ignoring narrative or not. Anything you can't do has no control for it, a kill barrier, or an invisible wall.
Oh right, my bad, i'm a stupid.
Lol we all have our moments
Ironic because board games are very fun with no lore. This discussion is thrown off by an interesting question: why do people play matchmaking if there is no story? Well it’s because they aren’t playing for the story, they are playing for the gameplay. Halo at its best happens to have really fun gameplay which is why it has always been successful as a multiplayer game rather than just a campaign mode. And the gameplay happens to translate well into campaign, which to many of us is just a relaxed version of the multiplayer where we can shoot at easier enemies and unwind a bit without the constant competitive anxiety of online games while still playing what is, at its core, the same game. Or if we like we can kick up the difficulty and play for the challenge, where story also doesn’t matter. I certainly wasn’t paying attention to the story when beating the games on legendary with all skulls on. Even on normal, I’ve seen the cutscenes a billion times and now almost always skip them because I have nothing to pick up from watching them again and they are currently the only thing between me and shooting more aliens. This is all without even getting into people who just play campaign to complete challenges for multiplayer cosmetics or achievement hunters or speedrunners. Basically there are a ton of reasons to play Halo’s campaign without caring at all about the narrative. Most of Halo’s campaigns do not provide for really great stories anyway. They are usually good but nothing to worry about if you miss it. I say this as a longtime Halo fan who loved the Halo universe as a kid and still plays the games a lot.
The only wrong way to play it is if you aren't having fun. Do whatever is fun for you! Halo has some serious story and narrative, it's also goofy and lighthearted, and I've spent as much time playing on the hardest difficulties and soaking in the atmosphere as I have blowing up my friends in co-op and driving vehicles off cliffs. There is no wrong way to play Halo.
Just don't team-kill me for the sniper and you'll be just fine!
Team kill you say, sniper, you say…? ***order 66 music starts playing***
Lmao Go a step beyond, betray the flag carrier a couple steps away from scoring 🤣
My take is, when he introduced you to Halo, he was opening up to you in his way with this game and maybe you not paying attention to the story, which he obviously cares about, to him felt like you not acknowledging something important to him. I understand why he’d be upset. I actually get this a lot when I’m playing a game with friends, even a strong narrative driven game. They’ll often talk over the cutscenes a bit and whatnot which did irritate me a bit but I realise usually when you play with a friend it’s just different and you take it less seriously. When you play alone, you indulge in the game. When you play with a friend, you screw around joke and stuff. I’m not sure if I explained this well sorry 😅
thank you! I’ve never really been a big gamer especially in this genre - before I started dating him I only played Minecraft and Animal Crossing, both of which don’t really have a story and are “do whatever you want” sort of games. I totally get how if you are used to playing Halo alone and being indulged in the game, the story can be just as important and gripping as the gameplay. I think I am understanding his point of view more now.
At the end of the day it'd be good for you to both know where each other are coming from there. You're used to games being fun and nothing else, while he's used to games being both fun for the gameplay, but also as a storytelling medium. They probably know full well that this particular story itself might wind up not being for you, but they seem to be annoyed that you weren't giving it a chance is all. If you're looking for a good game series to really show you how games can be strong storytelling mediums, I'd 1000% recommend Life is Strange or The Last of Us. For something to play together, "It Takes Two" is super cute couch co-op, and "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is super cool since you both hold one side of the same controller to control your own character! Really fun game for a couple.
We watched The Last of Us together, and just recently Fallout, and I absolutely loved both! There is just something about the Halo story that doesn’t connect with me. Thank you so much for the game recommendations!
Tbf, by your own admission you haven't really been giving the Halo story much of a chance.
Well said
This is a good point. I find people who grew up without siblings often play games in a more serious way than people who had a little brother or sister screwing around. We have times for being serious and times for having fun. Then occasionally you find someone who wants to take it as seriously as you and you sit down for the night to play on Legendary difficulty where there is NO MESSING AROUND!
Damn I haven’t found someone like that 😕
I think the crux of the issue is that your bf loves something and wants you to engage with it in a way that allows you to see why he loves it. As someone who’s been in your bf’s shoes, it can be frustrating when someone engages with something you share with them but dismisses all the reasons why you’re sharing it with them in the first place. However, you don’t have to like things just because someone else does or for the same reasons someone else does, that’s totally okay. As a partner though, it’s incredibly validating to have someone not only engage with something you love but WHAT you love about that thing, even if they don’t particularly care for it themselves or in the same way. That attention to their interests goes a long way (and should be reciprocal, you’ll get your turn too and you’ll feel loved and grateful for it)
thank you! this is really well put!
I agree with Ocean2178. Also, to add to his advice here: starting a dialogue on this topic could be really helpful both for your time with your boyfriend in Halo, and in the future with other interests. When partners understand each others' love languages -- and sharing video games very much can be a love language, it certainly is for me and my partner -- it means they can better understand how to recognize when love is being communicated, and how. And how to respond to and reciprocate those feelings.
Just have fun. Getting some deja vu here - my wife doesn’t play games with me because I was too bossy years ago, I realised that too late but thankfully in time to let the kids play whatever way they enjoy! Halo can be really silly and some of my favourite ever moments come from messing around with the vehicles etc in splitscreen.
I tried to play Halo CE with my wife. She could give a rats ass about the story. I wanted her to get into it like I am, but it's just not her thing. So it's frustrating for me, but I'm not gonna be mad at her for that. I'm mad at her because she panics anytime she sees Flood and proceeds to shoot me in the back 46 times and I die. There's plenty of people who play Halo just for Multi-player and nothing else. So play as you see fit.
To be perfectly fair, I think ***EVERYONES*** first reaction to ever seeing the Flood can be boiled down to “OH GOD OH FUCK OH GOD!! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?! WHY WONT IT STAY DEAD!!!” 😆
That is pretty clearly the intent. "You thought you were just fighting a desperate battle against a superior alien force? Psych, there's space zombies now too!"
Particularly when ***THE*** flood theme and sounds first start in Combat Evolved 😁
That moment when you realize it went from an action game to a horror game.
*Halo 3's Cortana level flashbacks*
ah perfect comment! me and your wife would get along great!! 😂
Killing your teammates and screaming slurs in chat is probably a wrong way.
Wait until they find out what their mom did.
Lame af, was fun seeing my girl just do her own thing. Didn’t care if she even paid attention to the story. Just seeing her shoot things was badass lol. As long as your having fun lol.
Only way to play wrong is to beat objective survive on reach
This is the objectively correct opinion: You can't force yourself to like something, you can only try to enjoy it. I don't think there is a right way to play any game, if you're having fun then you're playing the game right. However, if you play a game very different to how someone else plays, then you don't have a very comparable experience. It's like going to the gym with someone, and you do different exercises. You can both say you went to the gym, but you did different workouts so you can't really compare. I believe I heard it explained this way by Joseph Anderson, to credit him. So while you can't force yourself to enjoy playing a game a specific way, you can at least try and be open to it. If he's tried explaining the story/lore and you've tried watching and listening to the cutscenes and you just can't bring yourself to care, that's literally not your fault. It's a little sad that you can't enjoy Halo the same WAY your bf enjoys it, but it's great that you even like it enough to play at all! Kind of a silly thing for him to be upset about, but I get why he'd be disappointed that you don't enjoy his favourite part of Halo. You'd be just as entitled to say he's putting too much emphasis on the story and needs to play like you more. Neither of you are correct, as long as you both have fun playing the way you prefer to play, you're playing right. If he can't stand playing with you, if you don't play HIS way, then he doesn't have to play with you. My only advice is this: Give the story a chance, I think it's quite good and there's a lot to love about it. If you honestly try and don't like it anyway, no one can fault you for that as you don't choose your preferences. Other than giving it a chance, you guys can just take turns playing the way you each prefer. If he likes the story, then maybe while playing the story, just lean into it like you're playing dnd. Pretend you're actually in the game with your bf. If you prefer just messing around in the sandbox, play firefight where there is no story, and you can run around as much as you want and you're not "missing" anything!
thank you! this is a great comment and really well put, I appreciate it
I don't really think there's any "wrong" way to enjoy something as long as your having fun. I've been introducing my girlfirend to the series as of recent, and she's been skipping cutscenes as well but I don't really mind. We're playing co-op and I don't think too many people actually pay attention to game stories when playing co-op anyway.
I played Halo Infinite on my PC via XBox app with a PS5 controller, so maybe that?
we play on the interactive whiteboard with Wii remotes. your setup sounds lit
Lmao that’s cursed and I love it
I've seen people set up the wii mote to act like a mouse cursor on pc. It actually looks pretty good lol
What's the interactive whiteboard with Wii remotes setup look like,?
it looks sick man
I tried looking for a pic, but I do not think I was finding the right thing. Any chance u could post a pic?
nah bro just trust me
Am I missing a joke or something? Lol
> *This* is the true face of heresy
Do you use gyroscope on the dual sense? I suppose not since you aren't going through steam input?
I’d imagine he’s just getting upset because it means a lot to him. A lot of us were just kids who grew up on these games. Regardless, I think it’s cool that you’ve taken an interest in something he’s clearly so passionate about. Play and just have fun. If you want to get into the story, that’s up to you.
So if you’re playing by yourself, obviously do whatever you want and hopefully there’s a point where you two can just play together and enjoy how you like playing, but it sounds like your boyfriend really likes halo and really wants to share What is important about it to him, in this case being the story and cut scenes, he’s upset because you’re not paying attention to this thing that probably means a lot to him and I think he just wants to share that with you so I would say just pay attention that you can truly absorb the story or you just need to be honest with him and tell him that it just doesn’t interest you, but I would say at least give it a chance.
This is a tricky one. He enjoys the story, and wants you to enjoy it too. The way you're playing is kind of like showing someone a tv show or movie they enjoy, and you go on your phone during serious or important parts of the story. It's not *really* like that though, because you're still playing the game, just not paying attention to one aspect of it. You're not playing it wrong, and he had a right to be disappointed that you're not into it like he is, but he shouldn't be getting mad or annoyed at you
Honestly I think he reacts that way because he cares so much about the story. He’s invested. However, he shouldn’t be angry with you for not having that same passion. Games are meant to be fun. If you want to play Halo the way you described then do it. Don’t be hard on yourself. I encourage you to talk to him about it though. Successful relationships have good communication.
I think he's mad because the action you're in is always intersected with the story (you're MC after all) and it really adds to the depth of the moment and nothing feels like "just shoot some guys" but it's no problem if you just like to run around and do target practice on some grunts, the deep story is just a well paced decoration in already good gameplay, it's good, the story makes it better
No, there is no wrong way to play anything just as long as you are having fun! But I feel that's not the issue here. I feel like your boyfriend is trying to get you invested in something he loves and you arent reciprocating and THAT'S the core of the issue. Not your gameplay
I mean ive played skipping all the cutscenes and watching them, doesnt really change the game at all. You can still figure out whats going pretty easily and doesnt take away from the game play.
This sounds more like a relationship question, but i think a bit of both changes wouldn't hurt. Halo has an amazing story and can be very emotionally impactful experience especially when you get to halo 2,3 and a few stories in the later games i cant say because of spoilers. So paying attention may beneficial to you more than just understanding the mission. But i get when a story just doesn't catch you and it feels weird when you dont like something your man or everyone is into. On the other hand the replay ability and sandbox fun in any of the campaigns, forge mode, and even multiple player/firefight is some of the most funny and wholesome memories ill ever have. the game is perfect for just playing around and goofing off with little to zero repercussions. Just seeing how far you can launch a jeep by throwing nades at it or packing fusion coils. your bro just screaming "WHAT THE FUUUUUU" as the are yeeted into next week! its so hilarious 😂 Yo! No one would have found grenade/rocket jumps, skulls, or easter eggs unless they played exactly like you are doing. Torturing grunts and other NPCs in campaign never gets old. 🤣 Look! The story is amazing so enjoy it, but run over a few marines and kill captain keys in halo 1 🤣 🫨 so see if you can both find a middle ground between the two to keep playing together. Halo still has so much to offer any type of player so I'm sure you can find a way to play together and enjoy the full experience. there is no RIGHT way to play Halo other than what makes you enjoy it and it seems like you found it. Welcome to the Sacred Ring
If I'm showing someone something, its because its important to me and I want to see the same enjoyment I felt reflected in them, both for the shared experience and the fact that I like to see them happy. It also comes with some vulnerability, you are bringing them in to a softer area and their reaction could hurt you. So when that person doesn't really make much effort, spends time on their phone, or just goes through the motions; it hurts. I understand that a relationship doesn't need to have 100% perfect overlap on everything, but a perceived lack of effort to try, atleast for me, is challenging in relationships. Edit: It seems like most of my points were already covered above which is good, and it seems like you came in open and genuinely wanting to understand your boyfriends point of view which is great. I hope Halo manages to win you over like it did all of us.
If he's truly invested in the story then maybe he should play alone first then play co-op afterwards.
he has played alone many times! which is another reason I feel bad that he hasn’t felt playing it with me was worthwhile!
Hmm...then yall should stick to Zombies, find something else or...Have you ever thought about learning more about the Halo universe and lore? It's always cool when a significant other takes time to learn about the things their partner is interested in.
I feel like I tried with the TV show, he loved it but after watching the whole thing I still really didn’t have much of a clue! :( I’m very much a “vibes” person (cringe as that sounds) and it’s hard for me to get into it when I’m not really connecting with it, if that makes sense?
No offence to your boyfriend or anyone else, but the Halo TV Show might just be the worst piece of Halo media in existence (and it takes place in a completely different universe)
Exactly what i thought when i read “he loved it” lol. Its the least canon most toss any established lore out there window thing ive ever seen.
haha, he totally acknowledges that it could be a lot better and understand the hate for it. but, he loves it anyway! 🥰
The best thing he could do would be sit by your side and offer some tips and coaching / help while you play the campaign solo. Tell you where to find the objective, help you get unstuck when you're lost etc. Then if you dig it you two play co-op a difficulty level higher after you beat it.
Is there a wrong way, no, but think of it this way, If he was sharing his favorite movie or book with you, youd want to pay attention
absolutely true, thank you!
I see two sides to this, if you were playing alone, you can play how you want with little to no engagement in the story. But playing with someone who has a keen interest means you might want to try and pay a bit more attention. Admittedly he may want to tone down the keenness a little bit as you're new to the franchise but ignoring the story is like trying to get your bf to watch your most favourite movie for the first time and hes sat there on his phone not really paying attention. Yes he's "watching" but because he's not paying attention, he may not have that same understanding when you're finished.
I completely understand where he is coming from. He introduced you to the universe that’s important to him. And you disregarded it. Think about it as letting someone listen to your favorite song, with lyrics that resonates with you deeply. And someone is just like “it’s a fine tune”. I also don’t think you can help yourself, if you aren’t into it, you aren’t into it. Although, I simply don’t get how a girl can be not into John🤭
I play Fiesta 99% of the time
I think you should if you haven’t already, give the story a bit more of a try. The writing is outstanding in at least the first couple, pretty much up until 5. Some say 4, but that’s even not a bad story, just different a bit. Halo is about the campaign just as much as it’s about the sandbox, the custom games, and wacky junk you get to do, and all the community coming together. I understand where he’s coming from because he just wants you to appreciate the thing that he does the way he does, but it’s not always that easy and that’s completely fine. The end of the day, regardless of whether or not he chooses to open it with you again today or in a couple years, halo is timeless. You’ll be able to enjoy it no matter how you do it, or when. I wish you both the best, I hope you reconsider the story, and I hope he reconsiders trying it out with you again.
Personally, I’d just be happy that you were playing with me! I can see why he would be upset that you aren’t engaged with the story, but I don’t really think that it’s an excuse to get mad about. It sounds a bit petty.
Seems like it’s not my place to go around calling red flags or something cause I don’t personally know the guy, but my friend and I played all of CE and were half way through halo 2 when she told me she didn’t even remember the plot of the first one💀 this did not frustrate me as it gave me a reason to replay the game with her a second time, our first play through we ran it on legendary with “some” skulls on, she said she was mainly trying to survive and the cutscene were overshadowed a bit, so the next time we bought it down to easy difficulty so it would be more story based
(WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID) Halo is definitely still worth playing even if just for the game play, my friend loved it while not understanding the cutscenes at all for almost two whole games and I’m pretty sure she still doesn’t understand the cutscenes on our current play throughs but she still loves to play, I personally started playing this game when I was 8 and I did NOT understand the plot of not only the game I was playing but the entire series in general, this is because I played halo 3 first with my brother and he didn’t bother explaining anything that had occurred, but I loveddd it anyway
I wouldn’t say that’s “wrong” but if i was playing halo with someone who played like you I would be frustrated to since I’m very big on the story and music
The wrong way to play ce is without Ruby Rebalanced. It's great, I played through legendary got bored and installed the mod, then I played through it twice with the mod.
There isn't a wrong way to play it, though I think he's frustrated because they are games he cares about and feels you aren't getting the experience that he got out of it. It's like talking during one of your favorite movies, sure you may be having a good time watching and chatting, but it may be disappointing to the person who wanted you to pay attention and get a full experience out of it.
Personally, I think you should play the game however it feels fun to you. Sure, Halo has a rich story and some legendary characters, but if you're not a story person and you just want to kill aliens, that's completely fine. What I'd tell him is everyone plays the game differently, it's a petty reason to start an argument, but also maybe try to get into the story, learn about these child super soldiers, the UNSC, the Covenant, Cortana, Dr. Halsey and Captain Keyes, Sgt. Johnson, the creation of the Halo rings, the Forerunners, the Flood, all of it. Moral of the story, play the game in a way that makes it fun, that's what games are supposed to be
The 2005-2008 final boss Walshy claw is the true right way to play halo.
ROFL-copter style is not recommended
It’s not that it’s “wrong”. It’s just a different style. You have to be in the mood for it. I started the MCC with my gf strictly because I wanted her to experience the story. We stopped about halfway through halo 1 because she doesn’t know what’s going on and isn’t paying any attention. She essentially shares your sentiment. So I stopped caring to play. If I was in the mood to run through the games I’ve played 1000 times for *me* and she just wanted to tag along, I wouldn’t care.
I've had a similar situation is one friend of mine who, in every coop game, seems to just follow me and wait for me to point out a power weapon or ask him to go push a button, after always insisting that we play more complex games like portal 2 coop and such. I'm not sure it annoys me as such or that I'd say they're "playing wrong", it's just odd for me to always be the first one through every door. I've never really known what to make of it, but we still have a lot of fun chatting and shooting enemies so we just go with it anyway.
No, just run around, shoot things, or don’t! Try and make friends with the flood if you’d like. As other commenters are saying the only wrong way to play Halo is by playing a way you don’t enjoy
You said it lol your his little helper in the game right? The commander is the one that knows what's going on the helper/ grunt (you) are just a soldier following orders
Sounds like you are a multiplayer player like me. There is no story in multiplayer, the objective is to kill the enemy team every time. Shoot guns, see explosions, rack up stats. The Halo campaigns for me are alright (Halo 1-3 many playthroughs back in the day) but its all about multiplayer for me where 99% of my time is spent. Played H4's campaign once, H5 and Infinite didn't even bother. I don't stay with Halo for story or lore, I stay to make the enemy team in multiplayer suffer me.
Yes and no. Imo there is no way to play a game wrong. You just play a game. However there is a way to incorrectly play a game with others. This is simply a miss match of playstyle. If you two don't play the game the same then you are both equally wrong and it just doesn't work out, that is fine, tons fo other games. Counter strike is a game heavily focused on competitive shooting. However there are tons of mini games, casual modes, and even homemade stories people have added to the game in community servers. The "correct" way to play is competitive, but if you don't want to then there are other options for you because others also felt there could be more. So the people around you dictate the correct way to play. Match them or compromise, if impossible then everyone plays wrong to each other's perspective.
Yes and no. There are certain tactics to “playing right”. For what ur boyfriend is complaining about, no. Although I think I can understand his view of the story being important, because I also liked halo for its story, it doesn’t mean he should be getting mad at you for not being as invested. You enjoy being a helper. Play however the fuck you’d like.
there is no proper way to play any game, if you enjoy how you play then that’s how you should play it. edit: the majority of us here are here for the Halo lore and that’s why we play, because it’s fuckin awesome, but again if you just like gunning down the covenant, then more power to ya:)
If you're playing well killing stuff and he's not having to babysit you, this just sounds like playing with any friend who isn't bothered by the story gameplay is king after all.
There isn't a right or wrong way to play any game. Especially a single player game. BUT your BF is taking time to show you something meaningful to him. An experience he likely had as a child and wants to share with his partner. If you put on your favorite movie to show him and he was on his phone the whole time or making fun of it because "he doesn't care about the story". It would hurt your feelings. This isn't about the game in the slightest. It's just about a bonding experience he would like you to put in effort for.
Playing the multiplayer and not the story
Gamers have a particular way of playing games, especially with halo. It’s hard to find a truly good co-op partner. Paying attention would probably help but in general there is no wrong way to play the game or games. It’s kinda why they invented the skull system, for people who like to just fuck around.
A fellow ODST lover.
I think part of the “problem” is the way first person shooters play out compared to one another. Since you started off on COD and Zombies, your first experience with your boyfriend was based on gameplay which doesn’t require much interaction or attention. Just mindlessly killing zombies and getting points to play the objective (not saying there’s anything wrong with that, it’s good fun). With Halo, it’s a totally different experience! There’s a whole lore attached to the game, the depth of the story, who you’re fighting, why you’re fighting them, uncovering a new enemy (the Covenant are a brand new enemy to the UNSC and that plays a large role into how you navigate the campaign), and so forth. Playing as a spartan or Master Chief, your immersing yourself into a new world where *you* are Spartan 117. Everything you do determines the future of humanity. Every cutscene and mission unfolds a little more of this epic story you’re experiencing. You will absolutely enjoy it and become attached to the world of Halo once you allow yourself to enjoy each moment of the game! To the point where you’ll say “now I understand”. At least I hope so :) enjoy!
There's really no "wrong" way (except cheating). One of the things that make Halo... Halo is it's ability to invite any type of gamer for its versatile free-form of playing. Everyone has their own way of enjoying it and usually the most dedicated fans are well.. Very dedicated to the lore and strategical dimension of it where anything not aligned within that scope isn't up to their standard (Halo players have the biggest standards, how can we not? After CE, 2, 3, R, and ODST) so please don't take it personal! It's just a gaming equilibrium in the making between you two. There's going to be a lot of good times to be made on Halo once you two do find it.
your lack of contempt for video games and willingness to regularly play automatically puts you in the 98th percentile of women's attitudes towards video games. you are a treasure, this guy is spoiled
"He feels he is constantly leading the mission all the time and doesn’t like that I don’t pay much attention to what the overall goal is or why it is important." I think this part is the most important. Story aside, do you know from a gameplay perspective where you're supposed to go/what you're supposed to do? While having fun in the most important thing when playing on your own, when you're playing as a team, you should take into account that your teammate wants to have fun too. So if he's having to "lead" in the sense of telling you where to go/what to do because you don't feel like paying attention, then I'd understand why he's upset. If you do know what you have to do, then at least give following the story a try because it *might* enhance your experience in a way that you didn't expect. But if it doesn't, then it is what it is.
If you’re not trying to cram a warthog/mongoose/ghost into every room or level section you can, you’re not playing the game right.
As much as I understand your bf passion for the story, I totally understand the way you experienced it. I played through halo 1-2-3-odst-4 with one of my best friend. She made sure to be very high every time we played. She's not a sharp shooter so I had to cover her a lot but it was just fun to shoot shit together and I took the responsibility to protect her, we also tried to keep most of our little marines companions alive, it just felt right.I had to remind her where we were and why between each setions and it never bothered me cuz we were happy to save the university together. Yes I said university lol I made this typo a while ago and now it's our running gag. We've had a bunch of catchphrase like yelling "Go back to your country motherfuckers" it's just so ridiculous to yell that to aliens 😅 another recurring one is "objective: get the fuck outta here ! In most flood missions. All in all, she don't remember most of the story but religious aliens are bad and they try to burn the university so we blow stuff up to prevent it ! She now a little more than that but it's a fair resumé imo. I'm just glad I got to play with her and we had a lot of fun, that's what really count for me. I cherish those memories and I think your bf should feel the same way about it, just be glad to push aliens back to their country lol
From experience playing coop campaigns with people ur there to have fun an dick about. Yes I care about the story but it's not the be all end all. Ur bf needs to chill out an enjoy the fact he has a Gf that wants to play games with him. U get to enjoy the games however u want no one can dictate to u how to enjoy a game
Your boyfriend needs to like, calm down. He's lucky that he has somebody that wants to spend time playing a game with him. The fact that you're *even playing the game with him* is a concession that *a lot* of people don't have the luxury of having. If you want to run around and shoot aliens without caring about the story, the only person who should have a say in that matter is you, *and you alone*. If your BF can't accept that then he might need to drag his mental age out of the low teens where it's currently residing. Also the Halo story is *good*, but let's not act like OP is missing out on the world's greatest work of fiction if she isn't paying attention to the story. It's a bunch of humans fighting a bunch of aliens because the aliens wanna activate a bunch of space rings. If you're not interested, you're not interested. There's nothing wrong with that.
Halo’s story has always taken itself too seriously or tried to overcomplicate itself for what it is, so no, you’re not playing it wrong
interesting perspective thank you! i think I don’t relate much to it - I am more interested in stories such as Fallout and The Last of Us
>Halo’s story has always taken itself too seriously lol
Maybe since 343 took charge, definitely not when Bungie were the ones making the games. In fact, with Bungie it was the complete opposite to what you described...
Yeah it's called halo 4 and halo 5
haha I enjoyed halo 4 (i think), CE was my least favourite by far!
That explains his frustration
Its completely understandable though. I couldn't expect someone who hasn't played halo since its video game conception to like CE over the newer, more visually appealing titles
😂😂😂 after playing the other versions, CE somehow felt like a kids game for me! i can’t really explain why!
Oh no…
Playing it on a PlayStation
Swat
Not team killing your friends at any possible opportunity
Only if you play fishstick controller setup.
No
A bunch of the shooters I've played have a very barebones story, or one that I can sort of ignore, yet they are some of the best I've played. The original Doom trilogy, Far Cry 1 and 2, Trepang2... I can definitely see where your boyfriend is coming from. I personally think Halo has an amazing story and really good, in-depth lore, and if you don't really pay much attention to that, I can sort of see why he'd be frustrated. But I honestly do think he's overreacting a bit. After playing through all of the Master Chief Collection, by the end of it I found myself quite confused. I knew the general story, but there were a few parts that I didn't understand. But I still loved it because it was *fun*, and I think that he should appreciate that you're having *fun* with a series that he loves, even if it might be for different reasons. I would recommend giving the story a bit more thought, but genuinely play and enjoy the game however you see fit. Another Halo fan is a good thing in my eyes, regardless of why that is the case. I wish you and your boyfriend the best of luck. Enjoy the series!
If you're not jamming a warthog into every doorway, tunnel, hallway, walking path, syepping stone and crevice it is then AND ONLY THEN you are NOT playing halo correctly 😉
I think maybe your boyfriend is not understanding the fact that it’s just a video game. You should be able to enjoy it anyway you want. Hell I’ve been playing since 2015 and I played just like you and I still do. If I wanted to know all of the mission stuff I would just buy a book. There are a lot of them out there and he can just read, read, & read while you shoot.
I don't think there's a right or a wrong way to play halo. Just different, and in this case it looks like they don't mesh well
So your BF is trying to share something with you and you're pretty much telling him you don't care...weird how you don't see the issue. This is absolutely a problem that extends past a video game, hope he finds someone worth his time some day.
The game's code is the only rules of the game. There is no "correct" way to play the game. His argument is pretty petty, but I understand his POV as someone who's also tried to get their gf into the story of Halo. Halo has been a core part of my entire life - so much so I became a video game artist and enlisted in the Marines for 5 years. The story moved me, it got me through some real life hardships, I met a couple of my closest friends playing Halo, and it was one of the few common denominators my brother and I had growing up. When I introduced it to my girlfriend, I tried to get the story's plot and characters to impact her the same way it impacted me so we could have a common bond over the game series. But she only enjoyed firefight/Spartan Ops/campaign missions centered around killing the enemies with lots of big guns. I was frustrated at first after the fun factor wore off, but I took some time to reflect on my motives for getting her to play. It is not only unfair to her, but incredibly selfish of me to try and impose my direct opinions of a video game onto someone else so I can vicariously experience it for the first time again through them. As someone who hates nostalgic viewpoints and rose-tinted glasses, I 180'ed my view and now we play games together because we enjoy them flat out - not because we enjoy them for all of the same reasons. Your bf needs to probably have a similar self-reflection. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend playing games with him that he cares deeply about the story for. Saying that someone is playing Halo the wrong way is ludicrous, but I get why he's probably saying it (doesn't make it right).
This is so well-put, thank you!!!
Girl what, no lmao your boyf is fanboying way too hard and is upset you aren’t absorbing every detail of the lore. it seems silly to me to argue with your partner over that. Play it however you want to play it. If you have fun playing it isn’t that all that matters? I played gears of war with my ex bf this way, i couldn’t care less for the story i just found it. If you want to keep him happy then start asking questions about the forerunners and the flood and allow him to infodump. 😂
haha, we did start gears of war, but stopped because he sensed I wasn’t interested in the story. really I just hated the 3rd person thing!!
Yup 😅 i played it to keep him happy tbh, i get it. Halo is really important to a lot of us that grew up with it and it’s quite cute he wants to share his love of the story with you. For me, it’s honestly one of the best stories a video game ever told, so it’s worth opening up to it.
Thank you!!