do you like rimworld
No idea what that is.
are the flood really "zombies" so to speak or are they actually concious? can the flood be cured?
All evidence suggests that victims of infection are conscious after infection unless broken down, and Flood Infection cannot be cured. Even dead bodies can be reanimated by Flood Infection (without the consciousness of the individual who once possessed that body), so long as it's not broken up (which is why in Halo 3 you're supposed to melee or use fire to destroy corpses).
The Flood's primary motive is to seek utopia through total control. The idea is that nothing can disagree and there can be no conflict if all are in alignment.
The ultimate state for the Flood is the Gravemind, a giant worm-like being with the power to corrupt AIs, teleport things about and control all Flood units within a certain radius of star systems. All Flood units have the capability to telepathically link with their resident Gravemind, allowing for the transfer of necessary data or orders. But the only way to create (or satisfy) The Gravemind is to obtain mass. This is where the insatiable hunger of the Flood stems from.
Ignoring 343's stuffty backstory; A Flood infection starts off with single airborne spores, and they consume whatever they can to obtain mass. The more mass they obtain, the greater a form an individual Flood unit can transform into. From spores come Infection Forms (Popcorn of Doom), with the capability to burrow into a victim's mind and override their thoughts and desires.
The victim can still think and feel, but they cannot fight the overriding thoughts. Why? The Flood want the memories of the victim, as it allows them to find more food to consume for the Flood whole, as well as just gaining tactical awareness of the situation (in case of consuming military/government targets).
Infection Forms possess bodies to use as Combat Forms. Combat Forms combine with each other (and consume other forms of mass) to turn into Pure Forms, where the original strains of infected victims are broken down to form hardened armour that can be manipulated as needed (see Halo 3's Stalker, Ranged and Tank enemies, which can transform as per needed). As more mass is acquired, you eventually get to the Proto-Gravemind stage. You've seen this once before.
The Proto-Gravemind is when the higher functions of the being start to form. At this stage, and and all mass is sacrificed to build up the Gravemind, be it from existing Flood units, or from fresh targets for the harvest.
Keyes was alive (but resilient to sharing his memories thanks to UNSC mental conditioning training) when you encounter him as a part of the Proto-Gravemind. The Chief removes his implants; necessary to activate the
Pillar of Autumn's engines (and destroy the Halo ring), but also kills Keyes (an act of mercy given his state). The Prophet of Regret was claimed after the Chief killed him in the temple on Installation 05 (Delta Halo) and used in the Gravemind's demonstration of why humanity, the elites and the Flood should work together to end the threat of Truth's insanity.
was the halo in halo: combat evolved jesus' halo
No. The Array is a series of intergalactic weapons and science facilities developed by the Forerunners as a means to starve out the Flood. I don't think my man Big JC was too aware of the parasite.
Give me your take on who or what you think Snoke is
Abrams has insisted Snoke is a new character. Popular theories support Darth Plagieus the Wise, but also Palpatine and Vader (both of whom are undisputedly dead).
We just don't have enough to go on right now given that most EU is non-canon.
why is halo reach the best halo game storywise and gameplay wise
While I don't personally agree, you are logically correct.
Halo: Reach was Bungie's last hurrah for the Halo franchise, a big send off to what really cemented their place in the industry and built long lasting friendships, communities and companies. After 10+ years of building Halo games, Bungie had a solid idea of what to improve on, and polished every technical aspect of the game (I remember being extremely hyped and satisfied with the changes to Forge and Theatre mode). The success of ODST's minor additions boosted Bungie's confidence in giving the player more control with Firefight and the Campaign itself (customisable characters and multi-path missions).
From a story perspective, Bungie had a place to begin with. It was a very interesting part of the lore we'd only ever read about, and since the ending was known, Bungie couldn't dump any stuffty twist endings in, yet had to work hard to try keep convincing us that somehow everything would work out of the best. A lot of effort was spent in trying to make team-mates you'd actually give a stuff about (except you, Kat), and the player's campaign through Reach feels a lot more meaningful than in any previous Halo game (instead of trekking through alien worlds listening to Johnny Radio giving you some vague instructions, you're on the floor of a major conflict and constantly reacting to whatever is happening around you).
