Okay, by now, most of you have seen the Halo 3 commercial, you've had time to digest it, roll it around in your head, and come up with theories and conclusions. So, what did we see? First and foremost, this ad feels almost like it was designed as a movie pitch. Now that Fox and Universal have dumped the Halo movie, we wouldn't be surprised if MS starts using this ad to fish for new investors.
Now, as the commercial begins we see what looks to be one of the Chief's memories, presumably before he was kidnapped and turned into the superhuman badass he is today. Second, we get to see the real time weapon storage as the Chief magnetizes a rifle to his back (of course, we all know that it's the new MA5C assault rifle, unlike our non-fanboy brethren at Joystiq, who mistakenly call it the MA5B*). Next, we have a forcefield grenade which blocks a tremendous blast. Could this be the mysterious new function of the X button? Finally, the Chief jumps into the fray. A little frame-by-frame reveals that these enemies are all Brutes (one of whom seems to have obtained Tartarus' gravity hammer, the Fist of Rukt) . Most will recall that Halo 2 ended with a covenant civil war between Brutes and Elites. Does this mean that Elites will form a truce with humans to eliminate the Brutes? Unfortunately, we'll have to wait another year to find out. Check out the video and post your conclusions and theories in the comments.
2. Posted this in the other thread but here it is again?
So does anyone else think that the little boy and girl are the Chief and Cortana as kids and they were both in the same Spartan class? but since Coratan's body couldn't take it she was turned in to an AI and now her 7 years is up and she's turning rampant (listen to I love bees again that's all that was running in my head while playing Halo 2)?
I also remember seeing an interview with the Bungie guys before Halo 2 shipped. But, during what looked like a cut-scene you see the Sarge hug an elite right before a huge blast washes out the screen. So who knows, i think that a covenant human alliance is possible considering how Halo 2 ended.
3. In the most recent book, "Ghosts of Onyx," the elites are fighting the Brutes as in Halo 2, however they still manage to want to eliminate the human race. This might be a three sided war we're about to see...
10. Ok, who said that Cortana was ever a human? I could be wrong ofcourse, but Cortana? Anyway...
My question: Where is this battle taking place?
You can clearly see what appears to be a cloud of smoke or a mountain (or maybe a volcano). The sand looks very white and dirty, which might mean that this doesn't take place in the African field near Mt. Kilimanjaro. I tried looking at the aircraft that fly by when the Master Chief is "waking up", but couldn't really make out what they were because of the motion blur and the odd contrails. I think that the "shield grenade could actually use the X button, because Halo 1-2 had only 2 types of grenades and could cycle through them. With the Shield Grenade and the Spike Grenade, that would make 4 grenade slots you would have to cycle through, which would take a bit of time in an online match (when you are in intense situations).
Posted at 10:36AM on Dec 5th 2006 by GeraldTheShoe
11. "during what looked like a cut-scene you see the Sarge hug an elite right before a huge blast washes out the screen"
This cut scene is part of Halo 1; it's inserted before the Pillar of Autumn blows if you finish the game on Legendary. It should be in the h.b.o. cut scene library (assuming that part of the site is still around).
14. "The kids are real actors, which was said on the Xbox Live summary."
A soft bloom effect is added to the actors to make them blend with the CG backgrounds, as seen in the cutscenes for Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
Posted at 10:51AM on Dec 5th 2006 by GeraldTheShoe
15. Some are saying the girl might be Cortana, but wasn't there a rumor that Halo 3 will allow you to play as a female Spartan in multiplayer. Could the female Spartan be in the storyline, and available as a playable character in multiplayer.
Either way, I thought it was awesome, and I'm not that much of a Halo fan. I liked the effect of the gun magnetizing to MC's back.
16. Cortana is an AI clone of Dr. Halsey, who was the one who captured John. Can't be her. I'm guessing those two kids are insignificant, just there for theatrics.
17. My understanding on AI's is this. All AI's brain structures are based off of a living human being (or at least living at one point). Now for Cortana, "Cortana is one of thousands of AIs which populate the computer networks of the Human worlds. She is, however, somewhat unique; she is a direct copy of a human being, Dr. Halsey, and lacks behavioral inhibitors of any kind. She is free to do as she pleases, unlike most other military AIs, such as the ONI AI Beowulf, which is strict, sullen, and by-the-book. Cortana, on the other hand, is strong-headed, noisy, and somewhat off-the-wall."
Because this is the case, the kids at the beginning of the commercial can not be MC and Cortana. It could be MC and Kelly or Linda though.
19. The beginning is MC and Kelly. The are both wearing the long black one piece's that signify they are in the spartan program. Remember that Spartans started training when they were only six.
They are most likely on Reach, but I am not certain about that.
20. The kids in the beginning are real actors. (Hard to tell, I know.)
I'm don't think the girl in the beginning is Kelly (or another "soon to be spartan") as they are postulating about the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. By the time the spartans were "selected" I'd imagine that the war against the covenant was common knowledge (even if Earth was insulated from the damage). So I imagine that it was John and someone before his initial "selection" for the Spartan program.
I think many of the "clues" that Bungie mentioned are in the audio (which is very hard to decipher when he is waking up. There is present day audio, flashback, Com traffic, etc. all overlayed...lots of stuff. I hear Cortana, his young self, some marines, etc.
Lots to think about, but I just want one of those blast shields and the new rifle!
1. poop.
Posted at 9:51AM on Dec 5th 2006 by Gunner43