Halo: Reach, Noble Controversy

[sheogoraththemad]

Given that the Spartans in question were Spartan III's, soldiers who began their career as normal grunts like the rest rather than being brought up with the sole purpose of being a super soldier.

most of them were orphans from planets the covenant glassed

 

[Naota_391]

How come they didn't have the ridiculous armor they had in The Ghosts of Onyx book?

 

[LornMind]

No-one seems to have mentioned that in Halo: Reach Cortana is said to have chosen Noble 6, but in Halo 3 she talks about having chosen the Cheif ahead of all the other Spartans. If Reach is to believed, she can't have chosen the Cheif. Cheif was the only Spartan on the Pillar of Autumn. That's not much of a choice.

She chose the Chief for the mission she was created for, that's why he was shipped in stasis to the Pillar of Autumn rather than fighting on Reach. She chose Noble 6 to get her there.

First off, you continually misspell "Chief" dehavid, I'm no grammar whiz, but spelling is a peeve of mine. I before E except after C. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Ok, Cortana chose the Chief as her Spartan because...

Spoiler: Halo: The Fall of Reach spoilers

He was apparently incredibly lucky, she was technically made from Halsey's brain who had a supreme emotional attachment to John, and that she "likes crazy" which Master Chief excels at.

She chose him for no mission other than that he was interesting to her. Nothing else.

If you pay attention to the Halo universe it relies on luck and coincidence more than anything. Not skill, choice of mission, or equipment at hand but luck.

If I remember correctly, my friend told me the reason John was chosen to be a Spartan in the first place was because he was unusually good at guessing things that were left to chance, like flipping a coin. Apparently he was really good at knowing if it would be heads or tails. So yeah, the Chief is a very lucky man, quite literally. As far as how the universe relies on luck, that would certainly explain Bungie's fascination with the number 7.

It all makes sense now!

 

[emeraldrafael]

Alright let me just say that I have watched my friend play Halo Reach because I'm currently unable to play Xbox 360 because of a lot of pain in my digits. Anyway I want to clarify that I have played all the of other Halo game franchise and I didn't think the plot was bad but the voice acting was terrible and I have also read one of the books Eric Nylund's The Fall of Reach. I personally thought that it was well written and composed well, for a gaming book anyway. But the heart of the matter is that I immediately from the get go of Halo Reach didn't like ANY of the characters, I didn't like how Kat and Noble leader were always going at each other and totally ignoring the chain of command. Now if you haven't read The Fall of Reach please don't slander my question with anti Halo hate, hear me out. Eric Nylund described the Spartans as hulking figures of muscle, sinew, and silence; instead we get these drama Spartans who spew emotion and empathy at ever flipping turn. I don't have a problem with the game itself, I think its excellent and the graphics are fantastic! I just wanted to take a step back and analyze this, I'm not sure why but I just find opposite of what we already learned and expected from Spartans of the past (well future actually). Anyway I wanted to get that off my chest, please put your comments, agreements, or disrespect bellow.

So you're mad that the game is taking a diversion from the muscle headed, huge hulking meat men that SO mayn have critized as being the standard action game hero, and instead took a nice deeper look, givng you character's with story and brain, rather then brawn?

I thinky ou need your priorities reestablished. I'm not hating on halo (i could do so much more and say more) but I'm just saying, bungie is tryinhg to do something that lets you let go of a series you love, by tweaking it so its different from the Halo 1 you fell in love with and master chief. stop hating, be glad you have it. An personally, be glad bungie didnt decide to succumb to the what the industry is making itself into.

 

[imnot]

Given that the Spartans in question were Spartan III's, soldiers who began their career as normal grunts like the rest rather than being brought up with the sole purpose of being a super soldier, I'd say that the display of emotion is relevant. And, to be honest, I'd expect a show of emotion from anyone present in such a circusmtance. Reach was a fortress world, perhaps the best defended human world in the galaxy. These defenses protected a significant portion of the infrastructure required to carry on the fight against a genocidal enemy. Without these assets, only a miracle could save the species.

Reach was more than a battle for yet another ball of mud. It was more than just another line in the sand. It represented the only tangible hope humanity had of winning the war. From the Spartans who time and again put down revolts or slowed the advance of the enemy to the ships and weapons of war necessary to continue a war that had already cost the lives of untold billions, Reach was the linchpin of Humanities defensive effort.

So, consider for a moment the crushing weight of the circumstances. Here you face a foe who has rarely tasted defeat, who has brought to bear more personnel and firepower than humanity had yet faced. The formidable defense of Reach put up a hell of a fight and the advance was costly and yet, just when it seemed victory was within their grasp, it was snatched away by the arrival of a second fleet. The ragged defenders could hardly hope to hold out long enough for relief to arrive. Their fleets were shattered, their orbital defenses lay in ruins and the fight on the ground a mere formality as the covenant maneuvered to burn the planet from orbit. The defense was lost, the hope that humanity might somehow prevail in the war was a distant dream. The only thing left to do was retreat yet again.

Here, in the heart of human military might, with all the resources humanity could muster, we once gain stood on the brink of annihilation. The valiant efforts of the remnants of the defenders at least served to allow a significant portion of the population to be saved. It was through the efforts of such men and women, who entered battle knowing they had no hope of victory, that anyone escaped the planet alive. Through a surpreme sacrifice, at least something from Reach was saved.

Yet, even in this dark hour, when the best hope of human salvation lay in ruins, the Spartans stoically continue the battle. City after city has fallen, human strongholds on the planet are folding quickly and, suddenly, a single hope appears, slim though it may be. The covenant came to Reach not to crush humanity - this was simply a convenient diversion. Instead, they came for the information that, thanks to the valiant defensive effort, lay in human hands. It is here that the team is given their final missions. First, they must, at any cost, keep this information out of the hands of the enemy. Second, they must deliver a brilliant scientist to the safety of human lines.

The first job was almost certainly suicide. To deliver the information meant breaching the lines of the enemy that encircled one of the last human strongholds. It meant treading where enemy concentration was thickest and all they had to see them through was a few personal weapons and a battered transport. There could be no delusions at this point: the odds were too long and the mission almost certainly suicidal.

All but one member of Noble team would give their lives in defense of the world. Jorge would die hoping that, by his sacrifice, Reach could be saved. Kat died in the chaos that followed the utter route of a human stronghold. Carter died to allow the remnants of the team the slimmest opening necessary to allow the delivery of the package. Emile and Six died to allow the package to escape.

The price humanity would pay for the loss of Reach would be enormous. Hundreds of ships were lost. Countless divisions were hurled into hopeless battle in the hopes of turning the tide. Millions of civillians were massacred before they could escape. The bulk of the Spartans available to humanity would be lost. In the face of such a defeat, even the most stalwart band of heroes would have to question the merit of standing their ground. Even the boldest would question the merit of throwing themselves into a battle with no hope of victory.

This.
I mean wow, that must have taken ages to write!

 

[Naota_391]

I like how people complain the game is not true to the book when it's pretty obvious the Halo games are the primary source of cannon and anything written is at least semi-cannon. The games take precident and consider that The Fall of Reach was written years ago then I think Bungie should be allowed to decide what they want to be cannon and what not.

The games hardly have cannon. If it weren't for the books, people would barely understand what the hell was going on in the first Halo game, let alone the second or third.

 

[The Austin]

Alright let me just say that I have watched my friend play Halo Reach because I'm currently unable to play Xbox 360 because of a lot of pain in my digits. Anyway I want to clarify that I have played all the of other Halo game franchise and I didn't think the plot was bad but the voice acting was terrible and I have also read one of the books Eric Nylund's The Fall of Reach. I personally thought that it was well written and composed well, for a gaming book anyway. But the heart of the matter is that I immediately from the get go of Halo Reach didn't like ANY of the characters, I didn't like how Kat and Noble leader were always going at each other and totally ignoring the chain of command. Now if you haven't read The Fall of Reach please don't slander my question with anti Halo hate, hear me out. Eric Nylund described the Spartans as hulking figures of muscle, sinew, and silence; instead we get these drama Spartans who spew emotion and empathy at ever flipping turn. I don't have a problem with the game itself, I think its excellent and the graphics are fantastic! I just wanted to take a step back and analyze this, I'm not sure why but I just find opposite of what we already learned and expected from Spartans of the past (well future actually). Anyway I wanted to get that off my chest, please put your comments, agreements, or disrespect bellow.

The Fall of Reach is a book based on a game.
Halo Reach is that game.
The game wins.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

SGT Johnson is black, He is born with natural skill.

So is Emile...connection?

You just shattered my entire universe.
:O That blew my mind

The plot thickens!

No wonder he went out in such a display of badassery. He was so bad as that he didn't die during his death scene!

 

[WanderingFool]

-holy God in Heaven, this was a hell of a snip!
1 mistake, they were removed after training.

Im not sure what you mean.

 

[UnwishedGunz]

i dont think the game was made just to make you happy, if you dont it then get used to it, or dont play at all

 

[ZomgSharkz]

The Fall of Reach is a book based on a game.
Halo Reach is that game.
The game wins.

Well the Fall or Reach book came out nearly a decade before the game so...not really sure how the book was based on something that didn't exist.

 

[WanderingFool]

Spoiler

-holy God in Heaven, this was a hell of a snip!
1 mistake, they were removed after training.

Im not sure what you mean.

All of Noble Team besides for Six was removed from the rest of the group of S-IIIs they were trained with by Kurt and Mendez (Six was removed by an ONI Official to be his own private grim reaper). None of them ever went on any suicide missions, they were given MJOLNIR from the beginning and were Kurt and Mendez's private squad for using on missions they needed a stronger but smaller group sent in. Think of it like this:

Spartan Group Strength/Skill/Effectiveness
1: Spartan-IIs like John-117 and Kurt.
2: Noble Team and Six
3: Normal Spartan-IIIs
4: Spartan-Is, due to most being killed or made insane by their augmentation. Johnson is what happens when it all goes right, however.

The IIs and Noble Team are outfitted with MJOLNIR Armor. MJOLNIR is much more powerful than the standard SPI used for the more economic suicide soldiers, the IIIs. Due to having armor on the same level of the IIs, they are around the same power level, but are weaker due to not having the same augmentations. The Spartan-Is are the outcome of a project that's been around since the 2300s, Project: ORION. It's goal was to turn normal Marines into Super Soldiers, but often had nasty side effects. Johnson was one of the people augmented and was a rarity, coming out sane but much, much more powerful. However, one of the augmentations turned out to have a good side effect, at least on Johnson. It messed with his neural system. Due to this, he was immune to the Flood. One of the Halo Graphic Novel stories details his escape from them. The Spartan-IIs are not so lucky, and are not immune to the Flood. At one point John was attacked by an Infection Form and almost infected. However, Cortana, having similar control due to being in the suit, was able to fight it off. Wow, I really got off topic.

^to prevent increasing the thread page length.

Damn... you know alot about this. I need to brush up at Halopedia, lol. I didnt know Noble was actually pulled... thank you for expanding my "probably useless" videogame knowledge.

 

[TheTim]

who knows, but in the books it was shown that Masterchief was deeply saddened over the loss of Sam and in halo 3 of the loss of Sergeant Johnson. Not to mention Kelly and Linda who were trapped on Onyx.

 

[irishstormtrooper]

Ya, Spartan III's would actually explain it. Still I think its funny that Johnson lasted longer than Noble Six without any Spartan Armor.

Its speculated that Johnson is actually a SPARTAN I.

Either that or he used his experimental Badass Shield.