Throughout the Halo series, you’ll find yourself fighting alongside (or within) units of Space Marines — and it’s abundantly clear that being one of them would be absolutely terrible. If you think about how real-life Marines are treated, it’s not hard to see why: they get the worst gear and use it to take on the toughest battles.
The enemy in Halo is an alien faction known as The Covenant. They’re a brutal, calculating, formidable opponent for Earth’s futuristic military. It’s their goal (initially) to find Earth and wipe humanity from the universe, so it’s safe to say the stakes are high.
If you’ve ever dreamt of being part of the futuristic fight against The Covenant and you’re not lucky enough to be Master Chief, here are a few reasons why being one of the many faceless Space Marines in the series would suck.
Don’t let the firepower get you down.
(Microsoft Game Studios)
You would feel like you’re not making progress
You’ll quickly realize The Covenant isn’t just trying to wipe out entire planets, they’re succeeding at a devastating pace. You might go home after your deployment only to find a pile of rubble. Bummer.
Fighting invisible aliens
Since the onset of the series, Master Chief has found various power-ups to help him through the fight. One of the most iconic is active camouflage. We’ve never seen a regular Space Marine pick one up, but we’ve definitely spotted (barely) a few Covenant Elite using it. After you dump a magazine’s worth of ammo into an invisible enemy, you’ll never feel safe in the dark again.
They’re even terrifying to look at.
(Microsoft Game Studios)
Fighting zombie aliens
The Flood, an alien species of parasitic organisms, are easily the biggest pains in the ass in Halo. They’re fast, they multiply like crazy, and they’re out to infect anything — human or otherwise. Not only will they want to consume and convert you, they’ll actually be smart enough to use your guns against your friends if they get you.
You’ll just have to get used to it.
(Microsoft Game Studios)
Mortality rate is horrendous
Covenant fighters, for anyone not named Master Chief, are extremely difficult to kill. They can absorb a seemingly endless amount of rounds from Marine rifles and employ devastating weapons and vehicles to wipe out entire squads in a single blow.
Deployments would be long
In real life, if you get sent across the world on deployment, you’ll spend a few months getting things done before coming back. In space, you might find yourself on the other side of the galaxy. If the UNSC Marine Corps spent the time and money to get you that far, you can be sure you’ll be staying for a while.
This is all assuming you still have a home planet to return to, of course.
In true higher-up fashion.
(Microsoft Game Studios)
Master Chief will always take the glory
Master Chief is mostly a lone wolf but, occasionally, Space Marines help him out. Unfortunately, he won’t need your help — he probably just needs your sniper rifle. To be fair, he’ll typically do the heavy lifting and most of the Marines die off anyways, so don’t get upset when he’s the one getting medals at the end.