E3: Cortana Goes Bonkers in Halo 4

[Riff Moonraker]

To the surprise of noone, the conference was a tragic failure full of Kinect bullshit. Halo 4 was the only half decent thing shown.

"MS can get away with this because stupid morons bought into this gimmick" - random dude on GT.

3/10. What a joke. Too horrible conferences in consequtive years.

I disagree. I didnt feel like I had Kinect shoved down my throat quite as hard as last year, at all. They seemed to focus a little more on games, which is never a bad thing. I was disappointed there was no shocker surprise at the end (I love those) but overall, I think it was better than last year.

 

[Korten12]

Wait, forerunners are VERY organic. They're kinda bird like to.

343, if you skullfuck everything we know about the lore just to make a quick buck (Halo reach) I will hunt you down.

Yeah, and also more human like (since they were both created by the Precursors to be similar.)

I just pray 343 doesn't pull: SYNTHETICS VS ORGANICS in this... Halo has never been about that and shouldn't be...

 

[TheSapphireKnight]

After seeing an up close still of that biped, ain't no god damn forerunner based on what I have read in the Forerunner saga. The warrior race was supposed to be ugly but they are till essentially similar to humans.

I will be very disappointed if Forerunners were suddenly an "Ancient Evil"

Well the ending is sort of confusing, an upside down Didatic symbol and also red and not blue. So maybe it's actually precursors who are using forerunner tech? Although it wouldn't make sense...

That is actually what makes more sense to me. If the Precursors created the Forerunners that I wouldn't be surprised if the Forerunners technology was based on Precursor tech much similar in the way that Covenant tech and now Human tech is based on Forerunner technology.

It just goes against everything that we know about Forerunners and their role in the Halo universe to make them an Ancient Evil

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The only thing that disappoints me so far is that we're fighting the Covenant, again. Despite everything that happened in Halo 2 and 3, we're back to fighting the Elites and the grunts, for little reason beyond "well, they just showed up".

Yeah yeah, I get that there's a trilogy of books that is supposed to explain why the Sanghelli-Human alliance breaks down after a while, but that just feels like a cheap, forced way to undo a really cool development from the original trilogy for the sake of having the Covvies show up again.

The other stuff looked rather interesting, but the amount of scripted events concerned me. Halo has always been a bit more free form with it's gameplay, and all these scenes where a big alien knocks you down and starts an arena fight sort of thing kinda irks me. And it looks like we're gonna get QTEs so we can grapple with Elite's faces. Wonderful.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Omg... It looks amazing... I can't wait... WANT IT SO MUCH!

Yeah, I'm in love. I have great faith in 343.

Wait, forerunners are VERY organic. They're kinda bird like to.

343, if you skullfuck everything we know about the lore just to make a quick buck (Halo reach) I will hunt you down.

They've never been bird like.

And as for what it's synthetics, they're most likely security systems/AIs like Cortana said.

Why they're so violent and aggressive, well... my guess is that they're the Didact's personal army/defense force.

For dealing with lesser threats, that is.

 

[Saviordd1]

Omg... It looks amazing... I can't wait... WANT IT SO MUCH!

Yeah, I'm in love. I have great faith in 343.

Wait, forerunners are VERY organic. They're kinda bird like to.

343, if you skullfuck everything we know about the lore just to make a quick buck (Halo reach) I will hunt you down.

They've never been bird like.

And as for what it's synthetics, they're most likely security systems/AIs like Cortana said.

Why they're so violent and aggressive, well... my guess is that they're the Didact's personal army/defense force.

For dealing with lesser threats, that is.

Read the books, they have feathers.

 

[Bloodstain]

Wow. I haven't really been into Halo since the first game, but this looks absolutely amazing.

Also, if Cortana becomes a bad guy, this will be one of the best twists in the series.

 

[Korten12]

Omg... It looks amazing... I can't wait... WANT IT SO MUCH!

Yeah, I'm in love. I have great faith in 343.

Wait, forerunners are VERY organic. They're kinda bird like to.

343, if you skullfuck everything we know about the lore just to make a quick buck (Halo reach) I will hunt you down.

They've never been bird like.

And as for what it's synthetics, they're most likely security systems/AIs like Cortana said.

Why they're so violent and aggressive, well... my guess is that they're the Didact's personal army/defense force.

For dealing with lesser threats, that is.

Read the books, they have feathers.

Well not exactly feathers:

The Forerunners were a bipedal species resembling humans in overall shape, though they were larger in stature. Before their first mutation, they were tall and slender, and possessed patches of fine, purple-pink or white fur on the top of their heads, along their nape and shoulder area, as well as the backs of their hands.[24] Their facial features were similar to those of humanity, and they were capable of making analogous expressions, but this changed as they mutated to their higher forms, which characteristically had stiffer facial muscles and a more limited ability to convey emotions.[25] The Forerunners also had a genetic code that was remarkably similar to humans, though they were not known to be genetically related.[26]

Their skin color ranged greatly, including gray, black, blue, pink, or a mixture thereof. The number of fingers Forerunners possessed seems to have varied according to their rate and form; Lifeworkers, for example, were known to have seven fingers,[27] while Bornstellar's later form, based on a mixed pattern, had six fingers.[28]

All Forerunners wore personal body armor which featured many functions, including protection from harm and medical assistance. This armor also eliminated their need to sleep, and made their lifespans basically indefinite; the Librarian, for example, was over eleven thousand years old by 100,000 BCE.[29]

 

[ZeroMachine]

Omg... It looks amazing... I can't wait... WANT IT SO MUCH!

Yeah, I'm in love. I have great faith in 343.

Wait, forerunners are VERY organic. They're kinda bird like to.

343, if you skullfuck everything we know about the lore just to make a quick buck (Halo reach) I will hunt you down.

They've never been bird like.

And as for what it's synthetics, they're most likely security systems/AIs like Cortana said.

Why they're so violent and aggressive, well... my guess is that they're the Didact's personal army/defense force.

For dealing with lesser threats, that is.

Read the books, they have feathers.

... I have, and no they don't.

They have strange fur. I legitimately don't think the word feather was even in that book once. Maybe to describe something else, but never Forerunner.

For further proof, here is the Halopedian Forerunner description (it is the most reliable source on up-to-date Halo fiction):

Spoiler

The Forerunners were a bipedal species resembling humans in overall shape, though they were larger in stature. Before their first mutation, they were tall and slender, and possessed patches of fine, purple-pink or white fur on the top of their heads, along their nape and shoulder area, as well as the backs of their hands. Their facial features were similar to those of humanity, and they were capable of making analogous expressions, but this changed as they mutated to their higher forms, which characteristically had stiffer facial muscles and a more limited ability to convey emotions. The Forerunners also had a genetic code that was remarkably similar to humans, though they were not known to be genetically related.

Their skin color ranged greatly, including gray, black, blue, pink, or a mixture thereof. The number of fingers Forerunners possessed seems to have varied according to their rate and form; Lifeworkers, for example, were known to have seven fingers, while Bornstellar's later form, based on a mixed pattern, had six fingers.

All Forerunners wore personal body armor which featured many functions, including protection from harm and medical assistance. This armor also eliminated their need to sleep, and made their lifespans basically indefinite; the Librarian, for example, was over eleven thousand years old by 100,000 BCE.

http://www.halopedian.com/Forerunner#Physiology

EDIT: WOW, ninja'd on a subject like THIS? Korten12, I am proud.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Mecidant Bias, Didact, Sanghelli-Human alliance, Master Faber...

The lore has been doubled I see.

 

[Korten12]

EDIT: WOW, ninja'd on a subject like THIS? Korten12, I am proud.

Anytime I discuss Halo, I always got Halopedia up and ready.

 

[Korten12]

Mecidant Bias, Didact, Sanghelli-Human alliance, Master Faber...

The lore has been doubled I see.

*sorry for double post*

Yes it has, Halo has a SHIT-TON of lore now.

Even if you don't play the games, the books are great. The Forerunner Saga is good, and in October the sequel to Glasslands: "The Thursday War" comes out just before Halo 4.

 

[ZeroMachine]

EDIT: WOW, ninja'd on a subject like THIS? Korten12, I am proud.

Anytime I discuss Halo, I always got Halopedia up and ready.

Brilliant XD

Also, just clicked,

Spoiler

we finally have it confirmed- the Didact is the main antagonist. The symbol at the end? His, spinning upside down.

God damn.

And I thought I was excited before. Although I hope the explanations for how the Forerunner defenses look like that is good...

 

[DancePuppets]

This does look very interesting. I'm a big fan of the Halo mythos and have loved the gameplay of the previous games. I like the way that the art style appears to have evolved in the trailer, even the new aliens look like they "fit" the universe they're a part of while still being very different. No idea if the game will be good of course, but at least, thus far, the direction looks good.

Just one question, as someone who hasn't really read many of the books, quite why are there covenant attacking humans? I thought that the Covenant-human war was over. I could sort of understand if it was left over brutes/prophets + armies etc. (ie. those that are still in existence after 3), but why Elites?

 

[Erana]

The only thing that disappoints me so far is that we're fighting the Covenant, again. Despite everything that happened in Halo 2 and 3, we're back to fighting the Elites and the grunts, for little reason beyond "well, they just showed up".

Yeah yeah, I get that there's a trilogy of books that is supposed to explain why the Sanghelli-Human alliance breaks down after a while, but that just feels like a cheap, forced way to undo a really cool development from the original trilogy for the sake of having the Covvies show up again.

The other stuff looked rather interesting, but the amount of scripted events concerned me. Halo has always been a bit more free form with it's gameplay, and all these scenes where a big alien knocks you down and starts an arena fight sort of thing kinda irks me. And it looks like we're gonna get QTEs so we can grapple with Elite's faces. Wonderful.

I wouldn't be so quick to judge the presence of the Covenant, especially with the whole "grunts, jackals and elites cooperating" thing that kind of fell apart after the Covenant civil war in 2. Not to mention, the elite was vaporized into a bunch of floaty, orange hexagons and there was no option to pick up the covenant weapons. It seems to me that, with the whole "scanning" and evil-orange-colored-robot baddies, they may well have been constructs made by the unnamed threat from the Chief's memories.

If they used this as an excuse to just do the covenant again as more than just an occasional threat it would still be a bit of a meh move, but I wouldn't mind some classic Halo:CE scenarios with shiny new orange guns.

 

[Druyn]

I was actually pretty impressed by it. Some of the "We're not alone here" and "mysterious" dialogue seemed kind of weak and cliche, but the game looks great, sounds great, and it looks like they're at least making an effort to work the game their own way. I was just disappointed to see the covenant return, because I was pretty sure that the covenant ceased to exist as an organization. At least it seems like they won't be the primary enemies anymore, because in all honesty, I was/am very sick of shooting at them.

So yeah, I'm excited. For an FPS. Never thought I'd see this day again.

 

[ZeroMachine]

This does look very interesting. I'm a big fan of the Halo mythos and have loved the gameplay of the previous games. I like the way that the art style appears to have evolved in the trailer, even the new aliens look like they "fit" the universe they're a part of while still being very different. No idea if the game will be good of course, but at least, thus far, the direction looks good.

Just one question, as someone who hasn't really read many of the books, quite why are there covenant attacking humans? I thought that the Covenant-human war was over. I could sort of understand if it was left over brutes/prophets + armies etc. (ie. those that are still in existence after 3), but why Elites?

I have yet to finish Glasslands, but what I did read of it showed that there is a sect of Sangheili (Elites) that still despises the humans. Most likely, these are them.

 

[Korten12]

EDIT: WOW, ninja'd on a subject like THIS? Korten12, I am proud.

Anytime I discuss Halo, I always got Halopedia up and ready.

Brilliant XD

Also, just clicked,

Spoiler

we finally have it confirmed- the Didact is the main antagonist. The symbol at the end? His, spinning upside down.

God damn.

And I thought I was excited before. Although I hope the explanations for how the Forerunner defenses look like that is good...

Well, Halopedian does say that, but it hasn't been 100% confirmed, since why would the Didact want to fight humans? Unless he isn't the villian and maybe he's been waiting because the AI's in Reqiuem have been hacked by Precursors?

It's just wierd to have a guy that never seemed evil, actually very noble in some cases, suddenly turn around and be evil.

Hell, they built Master Builder Faber up to be this evil guy through both books so far.

 

[ZeroMachine]

EDIT: WOW, ninja'd on a subject like THIS? Korten12, I am proud.

Anytime I discuss Halo, I always got Halopedia up and ready.

Brilliant XD

Also, just clicked,

Spoiler

we finally have it confirmed- the Didact is the main antagonist. The symbol at the end? His, spinning upside down.

God damn.

And I thought I was excited before. Although I hope the explanations for how the Forerunner defenses look like that is good...

Well, Halopedian does say that, but it hasn't been 100% confirmed, since why would the Didact want to fight humans? Unless he isn't the villian and maybe he's been waiting because the AI's in Reqiuem have been hacked by Precursors?

It's just wierd to have a guy that never seemed evil, actually very noble in some cases, suddenly turn around and be evil.

Hell, they built Master Builder Faber up to be this evil guy through both books so far.

I've yet to finish Glasslands and get into Primordium, so spoilers for those to a minimum, BUT, I did accidentally spoil something for myself. Correct me if I'm wrong, but-

Spoiler

Doesn't ONI control a Halo now? If that's true, 343 Guilty Spark's words in the 10th terminal in Halo: CEA are very indicative of this being part of the Didact's backup plan.

Or, perhaps he's been turned into an AI, and (like 343 before him) has started to go rampant and is taking his plan too far.