Halo movie dumped.

[Prophecy2k]

They should get Michael Bay to direct the movie, have it filmed in 3D and wham bam thank you mam you have the next highest grossing summertime blockbuster. You don't even need character's with personality

Edit:
More seriously though. I'm almost 100% convinced that if they even go ahead with a Halo movie, they almost certainly won't use MasterChief as the lead. Mainly because:

a) Because to anyone not familiar with the Halo video game series, the name "Master Chief" sounds rediculous and juvenile.
b) There's no reason to rehash the lore of the first 3 Halo games in movie form. Who ever they get to direct it will want to tell their own story within the Halo universe (which is detailed enough and ripe enough for such).

 

[BadTB25]

Master Chief can always be referred to as "Spartan-117", "John-117" or even just "John". Anyway, they can flesh the movie out focusing on other characters like Cortana, Dr Halsey, Miranda or Jacob Keyes and Sgt Johnson.

I guess they could also center the movie around other Spartans with the MC making a cameo of sorts. I'm looking forward to the new Halo trilogy if only to find out what happens to MC and Cortana--I hope 343 doesn't screw it up.

 

[Gubbi]

They should get Michael Bay to direct the movie, have it filmed in 3D and wham bam thank you mam you have the next highest grossing summertime blockbuster. You don't even need character's with personality

The world needs a Pearl harboured Halo movie !!

Neill Blomkamp or Ridley Scott are the only persons I'd like to see directing a Halo effort. The latter is highly unlikely, IMO.

Cheers

 

[function]

343 can't screw the Haloverse up any more than Reach already did (retcon + downgrade - drama).

I've only finished Reach single player 1.5 times. The .5 time ended when I accidentally didn't skip a Spartan gimping, continuity breaking cutscene and was then forced to turn the game off, reminded that only more of this + not being able to fight any of the scarabs + bad botmaches lay ahead. Never looked back.

Reach is really bad story and atmosphere wise. It even killed my wish to see a Halo movie. Dead. Outright.

 

[Prophecy2k]

343 can't screw the Haloverse up any more than Reach already did (retcon + downgrade - drama).

I've only finished Reach single player 1.5 times. The .5 time ended when I accidentally didn't skip a Spartan gimping, continuity breaking cutscene and was then forced to turn the game off, reminded that only more of this + not being able to fight any of the scarabs + bad botmaches lay ahead. Never looked back.

Reach is really bad story and atmosphere wise. It even killed my wish to see a Halo movie. Dead. Outright.

Out of curiosity, what did Bungie screw up with Reach? I didn't read any of the expanded universe.

Also, maybe slightly OT, is Master Chief a cyborg? Or just a human in the Spartan armour like the other spartan dudes in Reach?

I always thought he was cybernetic somehow, hence why he doesn't take off his helmet (i.e. he can't). Kind of like a space robocop

 

[BadTB25]

Out of curiosity, what did Bungie screw up with Reach? I didn't read any of the expanded universe.

Also, maybe slightly OT, is Master Chief a cyborg? Or just a human in the Spartan armour like the other spartan dudes in Reach?

I always thought he was cybernetic somehow, hence why he doesn't take off his helmet (i.e. he can't). Kind of like a space robocop

Nope, not cybernetic. The Spartans were specially chosen children that were "taken" from their families from different colonies and replaced with clones so that the families wouldn't become suspicious. After very rigid training at a secret base as children they received genetic enhancements that made them bigger, stronger and faster with faster reflexes/endurance and increased bone density.

The genetic enhancements are further augmented by their armor.

I can't remember how MC is able to interface directly with Cortana through his armor, but I believe that may be the only genetic enhancement. It is said in the books, that the primary reason that Cortana/Dr Halsey chose John-117 was due to the X-factor that he is thought to possess which is luck.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

If the clones are identical, why not use the clones instead of taking the children?!

 

[Prophecy2k]

Nope, not cybernetic. The Spartans were specially chosen children that were "taken" from their families from different colonies and replaced with clones so that the families wouldn't become suspicious. After very rigid training at a secret base as children they received genetic enhancements that made them bigger, stronger and faster with faster reflexes/endurance and increased bone density.

The genetic enhancements are further augmented by their armor.

I can't remember how MC is able to interface directly with Cortana through his armor, but I believe that may be the only genetic enhancement. It is said in the books, that the primary reason that Cortana/Dr Halsey chose John-117 was due to the X-factor that he is thought to possess which is luck.

Ahh, cheers for the info. ;-)

Is it really called "X-factor" though? As i can't help but think of the british tv talent show

The Halo lore does seem to take a bit of inspiration from Warhammer 40k. I remember a thread on NeoGaf titled, "Who would win in a fight between a Spartan and an Adeptus Astartes (aka space marine)?" That was was def one of the more humerous threads on the board, but also inspired me to read up more about the two universes.

I just think that a movie in either universes could have the potential to be incredible if done well. If MS are smart, they'll push to get an acomplished director on board and give them creative freedom to tell their own story within the universe. I think it'd be far more effective than trying to force a hollywood director to retell a story that's already been told in a game.

 

[BadTB25]

The "clones" apparently don't live for very long either by design or a flaw of the process. It may explain why clones can't/weren't used instead of the original.

X-factor was my word for it as Cortana had her pick of the children. She chose John not because he was stronger, faster, smarter, more skilled, etc but because he had something special that she identified as "luck". It is also in the dialogue in the beginning of Halo 3 when MC was crashing onto earth, although explained better in the books.

 

[Dominik D]

Out of curiosity, what did Bungie screw up with Reach? I didn't read any of the expanded universe.

It contradicts what's known from books about Spartan's involvement on Reach. There's also a tiny problem with game's protagonist - (s)he doesn't fit in canon that well. There's a re-release of books (most notably: The Fall of Reach) which fixes some of the issues. Haven't read this one though.

 

[function]

Out of curiosity, what did Bungie screw up with Reach? I didn't read any of the expanded universe.

Spartan continuity aside, I've also been affected by the disappointing mega downgrade in the scale of everything. It's not about putting the player in a battle with 10,000 UNSC troops vs 15,000 Covenant, it's the way the universe operates. Mass Effect, for example, does scale really well. It was a few years back that I read it, but The Fall of Reach went something like this:

Reach is a "fortress planet" bristling with orbital cannons (powered from the planets surface) that can wipe out a covenant cruiser in a single shot, and home to vast numbers of earth warships. But Reach's biggest defence is that the Covenant don't know where it is. But the Covenant find out.

Out of nowhere the Covenant hit Reach with the biggest fleet ever seen, anywhere. They throw ships at the orbital cannons faster than they can fire and begin to take the cannons out, allowing them to land ground forces in certain places. Masses of Covenant ground forces then attempt to move along and take out the power stations that, well, power the orbital cannons. The Spartans, along with every other military asset on the planet, try and stop them in pitched, all out battles but get killed or pushed back, with the surviving Spartans heading for a Covenant excavation site.

Aside from the few square miles in one spot that the Covenant are excavating (forerunner stuff) the entire planet gets glassed, killing everyone and everything left and and Reach is effectively a lifeless rock forever. It's very dramatic, everything is on an epic scale and the original trailer looked like it was going to be dropping you in right at the start of this epic but ultimately futile battle to save reach.

But Reach the game?

The covenant secretly land (that's weak). There is a secret carrier in orbit (that's abysmally weak). Reach orbital defences can't even shoot at it (super nerfed) and none of the many scores of battleships in orbit are doing anything (oh, the token ship that blows up). One of the Spartans just ... I don't know. I don't know what George was playing at. Anyway, they seem to think that taking out one carrier will save Reach (which doesn't fit with anything that was known about the Covenant, at all, since day one) and then the Covenant start glassing Reach. Which now amounts to burning a few buildings, and making things dirty. Oh yeah and that's not really Cortana in the game (really). And at the end Reach is all nice and recovered and grassy.

The game and books are apparently both still cannon btw.

 

[Prophecy2k]

Whoa... sounds like they changed things substantially in the game then.

That's a bit of a bummer as the book version sounds a whole lot better.

I don't suppose Bungie have ever commented on why they made the changes they made?

 

[AlNom]

If the clones are identical, why not use the clones instead of taking the children?!

It was explained above already, but it does become a point that's brought up in the latest novel. A lot of the controversy surrounding the program was finally being addressed and there was a fair bit of character development in the novel and the Limited Edition Reach Journal to explain motivations or justifications/rationalizations.

I thought it was a bit of an interesting theme how people not born during certain events would never understand, so they and people down the line would be harsher judges than if they had experienced the situation first hand. But still there are laws and lines not to cross at the same time... There's quite a bit of juxtaposition in the novel between the older and newer generations. (Halo: Glasslands)

 

[Cyan]

Do you think there's significant draw to Halo that hasn't already been capitalised on? I'd every thought everyone interested in Halo would already have bought into the XB family. Gears helped attract a new audience. Next-gen will surely need a new IP to attract new customers not already bagged with the lure of Halo or Gears.

Gears and Halo vaguely interest me these days... although I can seldom seem to find a game with a style that actually seems to fit me completely. Skyrim is one of those rare cases -Forza 4 and FIFA 11 to a lesser extent too-. Trials, Outland, Crimson Alliance, etc, are also good

Neither Halo nor Gears look movie-worthy to me. Especially because of the weak plots. If anything Halo seems to have a more rich world and lore, but it's very disconnected.

If I bought an Halo movie I think it would accumulate dust in some corner of my room. I loved Halo 1 and 2 -especially-. But after a while, and Halo 3, my interest and passion for it just dwindled.

Xbox 1 and X360 excelled at new IPs, and I hope the same happens when the 720 comes out. I also hope MS creates an IP similar to F-Zero and Wipeout. It's an unfilled genre on the 360.

 

[function]

Whoa... sounds like they changed things substantially in the game then.

That's a bit of a bummer as the book version sounds a whole lot better.

I don't suppose Bungie have ever commented on why they made the changes they made?

The book version was massively better. I don't know why Bungie changed things; they say they work making the game great then worry about the story. They probably felt with the story that they had to shoehorn in a "tension build-up" period and "Covenant reveal" at the start and then have an escalation in stakes during the game. Lose impact so you can hit all the generic story points, even though the gamer/viewer knows what's going to happen.

This was the original intro to Reach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJPqBt2KGpI&feature=related

... (notice the Covenant ship in-atmosphere at the end?) not only is it a superb intro but it fits well with the book. Right from the start, planetary scale crap has hit the fan and everyone knows it. Watching the final game intro after that is very underwhelming, and the "Welcome to Reach" line just hangs there in the air with reference to nothing, like they had to leave it in* to minimise the changes. Got to admit, when I got the game home and reached "Welcome to Reach" and the camera panned to show ... nothing .. I just knew that I'd been Bungied and that it wouldn't be good.

*A comment from that guy I mean, instead of "You picked a hell of a day to join up" as in the original reveal.

The sad thing is that many of the levels in Reach would work better following the book's scenario e.g. the reason *you* have to take out the carrier is because Reach defences are overstretched and orbital cannons have been taken out in that area; the reason you only have one cruiser for support is because there are no other ships available; the reason George chooses to stay on the carrier is because there are no ships left that can rescue him from orbit. It just works better IMO.

I can't help feeling that maybe Reach (the game) might have been reworked after the original trailer was shown.

 

[kagemaru]

Put me in the camp that thinks Halo Reach would make a great movie. It would be a way to allow character building and everything else people would want from a movie. It could also introduce a whole new audience to the universe and maybe push them to look into the books or games.

The game and books are apparently both still cannon btw.

I thought Bungie did not treat the books as cannon with the games, at least not with the main story line of the games. It wasn't until 343i took over that they are now trying to make sure everything Halo related, books, anime, games, are all part of the same cannon.

And a huge fleet of cruisers still appear in the game, just not until a couple levels later. I always figured that the early missions could have gone on even in the Reach book story line, but the book did not pick up on the events until the entire fleet arrived.

Whoa... sounds like they changed things substantially in the game then.

That's a bit of a bummer as the book version sounds a whole lot better.

I don't suppose Bungie have ever commented on why they made the changes they made?

My opinion is that there is no way that Bungie could have done a game on the book that did it justice and pleased the fans. It was better, and safer, to make a completely different story line in those events IMO. It likely also gave them some freedom.

I can't help feeling that maybe Reach (the game) might have been reworked after the original trailer was shown.

I don't think that's the case at all. The Tom Morrllo leaks that spread on the net before the Spike trailer were close to the final mission designs.

I think that Spike trailer was just made to build hype, no different than any other trailer.

 

[AlNom]

And a huge fleet of cruisers still appear in the game, just not until a couple levels later. I always figured that the early missions could have gone on even in the Reach book story line, but the book did not pick up on the events until the entire fleet arrived.

Yeah, up until the end of Long Night of Solace (when the rest of the fleet jumps in), the events in the game take place during a couple weeks that are not detailed at all in the novel. There's quite a bit of date jumping going on there so I can see how some things wouldn't be mentioned at all in the novel (retcon or not, like Halsey's meeting with the SIIIs) because she's too busy with AI-Mark V integration and just about everything else.

 

[kagemaru]

Yeah, up until the end of Long Night of Solace (when the rest of the fleet jumps in), the events in the game take place during a couple weeks that are not detailed at all in the novel. There's quite a bit of date jumping going on there so I can see how some things wouldn't be mentioned at all in the novel (retcon or not, like Halsey's meeting with the SIIIs) because she's too busy with AI-Mark V integration and just about everything else.

Exactly and honestly the only plot hole that really bothers me in Reach is the fact that they don't tell you the AI you're transporting isn't really Cortana, but instead it's her clone that's storing and processing the data from the underground facility.

 

[AlNom]

Yeah, I think that only got a passing mention in Halsey's Journal. I can't quite remember. The AI cloning is certainly not a new thing in the Halo universe, and it actually was first seen during the third book (real-world chronologically-wise), but I think they should have been clearer on that.

 

[function]

I thought Bungie did not treat the books as cannon with the games, at least not with the main story line of the games. It wasn't until 343i took over that they are now trying to make sure everything Halo related, books, anime, games, are all part of the same cannon.

Good show 343!

And a huge fleet of cruisers still appear in the game, just not until a couple levels later. I always figured that the early missions could have gone on even in the Reach book story line, but the book did not pick up on the events until the entire fleet arrived.

The UNSC knew that the presence of a single Convenant on Reach would mean that Reach was in enormous, imminent danger, if not facing certain annihilation. I don't think that saying the early missions simply weren't covered in "The Fall of Reach", when you think about what's in the book, is really legitimate story cover for the game.

A fun analogy: It's like a new Star Trek film set in the 1950s, called "First Contacts", where the Vulcans set up an embassy/dating agency in New York. "It happened, it just hasn't been mentioned before!"

Spoiler

That would be better than the new Star Trek film

My opinion is that there is no way that Bungie could have done a game on the book that did it justice and pleased the fans. It was better, and safer, to make a completely different story line in those events IMO. It likely also gave them some freedom.

I think sticking more closely to a total war from the beginning would give more urgency to the game and an almost unlimited scope for missions or actions. A planet facing destruction would allow you to tell any story and fight any battle in any place. What Bungie did with the story once the Covenant fleet arrived was still really limp IMO.

I don't think that's the case at all. The Tom Morrllo leaks that spread on the net before the Spike trailer were close to the final mission designs.

Maybe you're right, but that's even more of a shame because some of the levels work a lot better set within a book like framework anyway. The first mission, the carrier mission (especially), even the last mission.

I think that Spike trailer was just made to build hype, no different than any other trailer.

Well it worked for me. I don't mind changes just so long as what you get is as good or better. The Halo 2 switcharoo was initially disappointing but I loved the game and wasn't left with a big, lingering sense of disappointment and underwhelmedness (yeah I don't think that's a real word).