Halo: 10 Memes That Sum Up The Franchise

Memes are a great way to sum up the most obvious facets of a particular pop culture franchise, and that includes Halo. The series is so unique that memes become easy to generate, based purely on common threads that all Halo gamers can instantly recognize and relate to. They also happen to be some of the funniest around.

Humorous as they may be, these choice Halo memes often have a ring of distinct truth to them. Whether it’s a reference to shoddy gameplay mechanics, questionable creative choices, or key moments in the narrative, they all serve to sum up the Halo franchise as a whole, in all the best and worst ways.

Lethal Teamwork

This meme enjoys poking a bit of fun at the concept of being the least capable fellow on a multiplayer team. There are times when Halo players are so good that they end up mopping the floor with the opposing force, leaving no targets left for casual players or newcomers.

The resulting thumb-twiddling can become quite boring, especially if teammates end up stealing a player’s kills right out from underneath them. Still, it’s good to follow them around and learn the tricks of battle to enhance one’s skills and build an entirely new legacy.

Funny Halo Physics

Halo has always had something of a realism problem, especially when it comes to the flipping of vehicles. As all Halo players know, there are times when vehicles will get knocked upside down, which ends up kicking them out of the cockpit or driver’s seat.

In order to get back into the fight, players need to press a button to flip the vehicles upright again. That might work for a Warthog or a Ghost, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense when flipping Scorpion tanks or Elephants, no matter how strong that SPARTAN armor really is.

Disappointing Directions

Many Halo gamers still have a bone to pick with Bungee for abandoning the franchise in favor of new projects, and leaving it in the hands of 343. While the team has managed to craft some of the best Halo missions of all time, it has also done some undeniable damage to Halo as a whole.

This was most recently evidenced by the lukewarm reception towards Halo Infinite, the latest in the franchise. PlayStation gamers have had their own fair share of coveted franchises taking a dive, but it’s nothing new to X-Box gamers who have had to watch Halo go from luminous, to lackluster in the space of a decade or so.

One Trick SPARTAN

The Master Chief and his fellow SPARTANS were cultivated and raised for battle, and that’s all they’ve ever known. In many ways, the franchise references the classic Kurt Russell sci-fi action film Soldier, which follows a very similar premise about children raised to become lethal galactic killing machines.

Granted, the Chief and his ilk aren’t mindless automatons without self-awareness, but it is a wonder if they ever bother contemplating anything else about life. The franchise has tried touching on this subject before, but with no concrete direction.

Arrogant Halo Opportunists

The Energy Sword is one of the most iconic weapons in Halo, and for good reason. When used up close, it can either kill with a single blow, or severely wound even a fully shielded player. That being said, the Energy Sword is no guarantee of victory, especially given how close a player needs to get in order to score a hit.

For those who are used to being bushwhacked by Sword-wielding opportunists, there’s always the shotgun. This meme basically sums up both sides, and how they view their chances with their respective weapons. Usually, the shotgun wins out.

Setting Up Camp

Camping in FPS games has been around since the 1990s, and it’s not going away. Attempts have been made to leverage level design in order to discourage camping, but there will always be players who like to set up a position, hold their ground, and pick off targets of opportunity.

Halo players are guilty of many bad habits, but camping is one of the worst. Yes, it is a strategy, but it’s highly frowned upon to this day. Thankfully, gameplay refinements have forced even the most ardent campers to go mobile, or at least relocate from time to time.

Questionable Halo Logic

Very few Halo memes are as true as this one. For all the Master Chief’s strength and capabilities, he’s a dud in the water. He can be shot, blown up, crushed, or knocked across a room, but he still gets up and goes for broke. Yet, if he steps into a body of water, it’s curtains for him.

This kind of bad gameplay logic is nothing new, but Halo made it hilarious. It’s very hard to take a towering SPARTAN in MJOLNIR armor seriously when he dies from just the slightest bit of waterlogging. Still, he makes up for it with some incredible Master Chief quotes, so that’s something.

A Tribute To Fallen Halo NPCs

Every Halo gamer at one point or another has tried to keep their NPC teammates safe and sound throughout a level. Many fellow Marines will come and join the fight in order to draw enemy fire, and lend a helping hand when the numbers seem insurmountable.

However, few of these NPC Marines ever make it to the finish line. The worst is when players manage to buddy up with an NPC and keep the momentum going right to the level exit, only for things to go awry in the final moments. Sure, they’re just NPCs, but it would feel good to save just one, from time to time.

Sgt. Johnson’s Legacy

Sergeant Johnson was one of the most beloved Halo characters in the entire franchise, thanks largely to his gruff exterior, hilarious personality, and overall badass attitude versus his Covenant opponents. What a shame that he ended up checking out in the worst way possible.

Halo 3 saw Johnson get killed by 343 Guilty Spark, shortly before the Master Chief was forced to destroy it. For all the blood, dirt and grime he made it through over the years, it seemed like such a cheap way for him to go. And because of that, the meme, and the legacy live on.

Irrefutable Similarities

It’s obvious that the Master Chief took at least some inspiration from the original DOOM Marine, especially given how similar their overall looks are. The 2016 reboot of DOOM focused heavily on facts about the infamous Doom Slayer in order to flesh out his stoic character, but his armor looked quite familiar indeed.

This meme sums up a franchise what-if in the best way possible, by suggesting the fantastic, and encouraging open speculation. Both are unstoppable killing machines who have taken out otherworldly hordes with highly sophisticated weaponry and unshakeable confidence. Perhaps a connection isn’t so far-fetched after all.

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