Halo 3 has been out for over a month, and most of the secrets hidden in its womb have been ripped apart by the public. But there is one part of the game that has generated small amounts of discussion and even smaller amounts of awe. The terminals. Hands down, the terminals in Halo 3 are the coolest and most awesome things in the game. They reveal so much about the Halo story line, and are given very little credit. I can see why. Bungie probably believes that, if you want to enjoy that part of the game, you should work for it. I think that it should be appreciated and shared. I try to bring it up doing matches, but people seem to call me the f-bomb and shoot me in the head. So, here is my attempt to discuss the terminals at length. SPOILER ALERT! I’ll be revealing things, or will be trying to, after the jump.
So, first and foremost, where are they? The terminals can all be found in various places when you reach the Ark and when you get to the final Halo ring. I won’t tell you where. If you haven’t found them yet, there are plenty of sights online that can help. What are they? The terminals tell the story of the first Halo rings firing, killing every sentient being in the galaxy. When the Flood first showed up in our galaxy, the Forerunners made it their mission to fight the Flood and to catalog all the species in the galaxy, or as much as they could. That is what the Ark is for, to hold all that information, and to produce the Halo rings. The portal on Earth isn’t the Ark. Its just a slip to get there. From Terminal two:
All evidence suggests that use of overwhelming force is the very foundation of the enemy’s combat doctrine. And I adamantly refuse to deploy personnel where the enemy has available forces numbering in the billions. With the very real possibility we are becoming the last living specimens of our race, all personnel are henceforth confined to stasis until further notice. Even with everyone equipped with [C_12_CS[Class 12 Combat Suit]] we could have had very little chance of survival, let alone victory.
The Forerunners created two AIs to try and fight the Flood. Mendicant Bias and Offensive Bias. From the third Terminal:
D: We have the answer. We’ve built Mendicant Bias. It’s a contender-class [AI] unlike anything we’ve ever achieved.And we’ve observed a pattern it can exploit.The parasite has formed a Compound Mind. When it reaches a certain mass, the Mind is able to recoil its disparate parts to create a [tactical shield]. This is a simple matter of mass preservation. The thing has no compunction about sacrificing parts of the whole. But when the core of the Mind is threatened, it reacts violently and quickly.This is the only time we see it retract or slow its growth.If we are to defeat it, the trick will be coordinating our forays against the [sprawling infection] with Mendicant Bias assaults the Mind’s core. So far, we’ve been hesitant to use certain weapons because of the damage they cause surviving populations and environments.That protocol has been abandoned.
The problem with this plan is that Mendicant Bias betrays the Forerunners, just like Cortana almost does, and sides with the Gravemind, attacking all the Forerunners ships, heading to the Ark.
From Terminal Five:
Of my ships that had been captured, 11.3 percent of them are close enough to Mendicant’s core fleet that they can be used offensively – either by initiating their self-destruct sequences, or by opening unrestricted ruptures into [slipstream space].It is best that our crews perished now; because the battle that is about to ensue would have driven them mad.
Here is the cool part. If you find the last terminal on the last level, Cortana will ask you a question.
“Where are you going? Wait. What’s that?”
When you read the last terminal, only on Legendary, Mendicant Bias will address the Master Chief personally.
You don’t know the contortions I had to go through to follow you here, Reclaimer. I know what you’re here for. What position do I take? Will I follow the betrayal with another? You’re going to say I’m making a habit of turning on my masters. But the one that destroyed me long ago, in the upper atmosphere of a world far distant from here, was an implement far cruder then I. My weakness was capacity – unintentional though it was! – to choose the Flood. A mistake my makers would not soon forgive. But I want something far different from you, Reclaimer. Atonement.
Then she’ll ask, “How many of these have you found?”
Mendicant Bias is the reason the Halo ring was able to stay together long enough to blow up and kill the Gravemind once and for all. You probably missed that your first or second time through because, typically, gamers hate reading. And these terminals are packed with text. But, everyone complains that Halo doesn’t have a cool story, and that it isn’t in the game. Well, I call bullshit, because all the terminals are in the game. You just need to take time and read them. I was playing with a guy that told me that the terminals retell the story of Marathon. I don’t remember that, but I wouldn’t put it past Bungie. I love how the terminals aid this extra level to the story. I wish Halo 1 and 2 had this level of interaction. Maybe this new Peter Jackson thing could be it. While we wait on that, go back and check out those terminals. You’ll be glad you did.
Jayslacks
Yeah, basically, Marathon had no little cutscenes, so they had to put it all in terminals for you to read and follow up on. I haven’t yet played Halo 3, but if it has that aspect, I think it shows Bungie returning to their old roots. Maybe they’ll go back to other games. Marathon anyone? Myth? Come on, you know they’d be great.
I don’t know that it is fair to say that the terminals are a great example of bungie throwing in a story. If they had a great story, it should be shown in such a way that it can be accessed to all — you shouldn’t have to go through all the bullshit of playing through Legendary AND finding the story.
Granted, I think that this is neat, but I still feel ok saying that the storyline of Halo is just ok. The story that you have shown here is cool, but it seems to be more of a “director’s cut,” than actual canon.
Yep, I see your point. What excites me is the idea that Halo 3 could have been a totally different game, if these terminals were easier to find, had more of them, and the contents of the terminals played more into the plot. It’ll be interesting to see what Bungie comes up with next, in any regards.