That said, the two-minute-and-thirty second version of the live action Halo: Reach short "Birth of a Spartan" is just ... well, it's too much. For future reference: If by the halfway mark we're shouting at the screen, "Just hit Powder with the muscle juice already and let's get to shooting fools!" you know you've overdone it.
That said, the two-minute-and-thirty second version of the live action Halo: Reach short "Birth of a Spartan" is just ... well, it's too much. For future reference: If by the halfway mark we're shouting at the screen, "Just hit Powder with the muscle juice already and let's get to shooting fools!" you know you've overdone it.
Reader Comments (42)
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:20AM Commando1162 said
As much as I'm a halo fanboy and loved the first two live actions... this I felt was definitely the weakest of the three... at least maybe show some of the actual training of the spartan boy or something of the sort and not just the surgery...
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:58PM carbonize said
@Trey - Except this is the augmentation of a Spartan III and not a Spartan II. The Spartan III augmentation was pretty much risk free where as the Spartan II augmentation was highly dangerous and resulted in deaths and deformities. The main flaw in this video is that all Spartan III training and augmentation actually took place on the planet Onyx and not a space station.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 1:31PM (Unverified) said
I get what you're saying, really, I do. My friend, though, who isn't into Halo loved it because it humanized the Spartans to him. Instead of some name-taking, no emotion warrior, this showed basically that this guy was scared, even if it was the choice he made. Photos of his family, the somber setting, etc. Of course, there'll be some more action later, but the story of Reach is really depressing more than anything.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 3:52PM maveric101 said
@carbonize
actually the augmentation took place on a huge medical space station. this short also doesn't agree with the books; in the books all the spartans were pretty much in the same room together in sectioned areas, and it took a lot longer than they imply in the short.
Reply
actually the augmentation took place on a huge medical space station. this short also doesn't agree with the books; in the books all the spartans were pretty much in the same room together in sectioned areas, and it took a lot longer than they imply in the short.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:21AM Uncle Jesse said
NEEDS MOAR WALKING
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:22AM yankeyhotel said
I don't know, we always see the grit of the master chief and spartans in the Halo universe. I thought it was kinda cool to see this "Thin Red Line" introspective take on being a spartan.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:43AM Temidien said
I disagree. We aren't given any opportunity to sympathize with the soldier other than his staring at a photo of (I'm assuming) his parents. The rest of the time he's stoic as all hell and is walking around clean environments. Hell, even in the transport vehicle everyone is straight-faced with no sign of fear or apprehension.
If they wanted us to emotionally connect with the Spartan II soldier, they should have had him facing some kind of physical/emotional crisis and actually, you know, emote.
Reply
If they wanted us to emotionally connect with the Spartan II soldier, they should have had him facing some kind of physical/emotional crisis and actually, you know, emote.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:09PM (Unverified) said
If they want us to emotionally connect with the Spartans then they should point a gun to our heads and force us all to read the Fall of Reach book.
Technically speaking the fact that he has a picture of his parents at all is fairly contradictory of John 117 et al's upbringing in the Spartan training program - as none of them had such a picture. I guess it's a deus ex machina in order to get the point across.
Reply
Technically speaking the fact that he has a picture of his parents at all is fairly contradictory of John 117 et al's upbringing in the Spartan training program - as none of them had such a picture. I guess it's a deus ex machina in order to get the point across.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:16PM Knight Marquise said
Temidien & Thetjalian,
Problem is, this isn't a Spartan II in the live action short. It's a spartan III. Not as advanced, much wider gene pool, much cheaper to produce, much quicker to produce, i.e. troubled kids, kids w/no homes, or nothing to loose. Kids who lost their folks to the covenant and want "revenge". "Expendable for suicide missions" are the Spartan III.
If we were watching the making of a Spartan II, then i'd be right on board with your analysis.
Reply
Problem is, this isn't a Spartan II in the live action short. It's a spartan III. Not as advanced, much wider gene pool, much cheaper to produce, much quicker to produce, i.e. troubled kids, kids w/no homes, or nothing to loose. Kids who lost their folks to the covenant and want "revenge". "Expendable for suicide missions" are the Spartan III.
If we were watching the making of a Spartan II, then i'd be right on board with your analysis.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 1:08PM Temidien said
Whether the soldier is a Spartan II or III is inconsequential. The purpose of the trailer is to get the viewer to connect with the soldier and want to join in his fight. To that end, making the soldier emotionally inaccessible causes the trailer to fail as a whole. I'm betting that if you haven't read the books, you wouldn't know all of that about the Spartan III program nor would you care.
The trailer should be accessible to more people than the Halo fans who read the novels (because they're obviously going to buy the game anyway).
Reply
The trailer should be accessible to more people than the Halo fans who read the novels (because they're obviously going to buy the game anyway).
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 4:11PM stubby boardman said
If we're gonna look this deeply into stuff, I'd argue in favor of the stoic, disconnected soldier over one that's teary-eyed and staring longingly into the horizon. In the military, it's common courtesy to not wear your emotions on your sleeves. It's easier to stay composed when everyone around you is doing the same.
And I thought the straight-faced silence in the transport vehicle was appropriate because I would have no idea what to say in a situation like that. Nobody would. It wouldn't be like Gears of War, with a bunch of drinking buddies joking around on their way to battle like they're kids in a locker room before gym class.
This showed the player that these people aren't uniquely powerful warriors destroying their foes with vengeance, but scared children being chosen to do something that nobody wants to have to do. It almost makes you (wait for it...) *relate* to the character.
Reply
And I thought the straight-faced silence in the transport vehicle was appropriate because I would have no idea what to say in a situation like that. Nobody would. It wouldn't be like Gears of War, with a bunch of drinking buddies joking around on their way to battle like they're kids in a locker room before gym class.
This showed the player that these people aren't uniquely powerful warriors destroying their foes with vengeance, but scared children being chosen to do something that nobody wants to have to do. It almost makes you (wait for it...) *relate* to the character.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 5:08PM maveric101 said
@temidien
except spartans aren't supposed to emote.
Reply
except spartans aren't supposed to emote.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:24AM DWells55 said
I kinda liked it. Every knows that Spartans are trained fighters and all that, so they expect to see that kinda stuff. This shows it on a more personal level, shows people less familiar with the franchise or story line what went on behind the scenes.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:24AM Spike Spiegel Humble Bounty Hun said
More companies need to fit publicity like this into their budgets if they can. Stuff like this can really help sell a game. These shorts have been really entertaining. The Alan Wake shorts so far are great too. Refreshing from a typical game trailer.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:31AM Bearcut said
It puts the lotion on it's skin...
you have NO IDEA THE KIND OF HELL I CAN BRING YOU!!!!!!
you have NO IDEA THE KIND OF HELL I CAN BRING YOU!!!!!!
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:36AM Acosta02 said
The mood is kind of... dampened. For me, at least.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:43AM Kamizar said
Jut make a movie already, damn. And I thought Microsoft was into profits.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:44AM Danzaiver said
MASTER CHIEF NEVER DID DRUGS!!!111
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 11:51AM Patton said
I was hoping for some more action, as well. I think the atmosphere would have been great if it were another 2 minutes longer and showed some actual combat. The life of a Spartan is clearly more interesting than his or her birth.
My other issue with it is that they pumped him full of the McGuire juice and made it look like he was instantly getting bigger, but then he's walking over to the suit and he's about as scrawny as your average Halo player. Muscle suits are like 10 bucks at the local Halloween store. :P
It was still pretty cool though, and I liked the music.
My other issue with it is that they pumped him full of the McGuire juice and made it look like he was instantly getting bigger, but then he's walking over to the suit and he's about as scrawny as your average Halo player. Muscle suits are like 10 bucks at the local Halloween store. :P
It was still pretty cool though, and I liked the music.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:14PM Metal Gear said
Wow, that dude showed so little emotion, I wonder if he is trying out to replace Olyphant for the Hitman sequel! Remember that awesome CG video for Halo 3? The one with the Wraith shot and the Bubble Shield, yeah, make something that style 120 minutes long, not this trash style.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:20PM quackdocter said
i wanna play halo reach but on my PC .
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 2:06PM quackdocter said
i think what he was trying to say was he cant justify the expense for one game, not the console itself.
Reply
Posted: May 4th 2010 7:15PM ShadowOp said
Yeah, I have a decent laptop that I got with college loans that is still doing me some good. It definitely wouldn't run reach if it came out, but I use it for way more than gaming... seeing as I'm school for film, graphic design, and communication... a bit ironic that I failed to communicate this fact in my first post. But money is pretty tight now, and building a pc or buying a mac *shudder* or buying a console, is out of the question although the console is the least of the three.
Reply
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:24PM Brutl67 said
If you notice, it says Spartan III class. You can read about these fellas in The Ghosts of Onyx. The Spartan III's were a controversial program of youngsters, being thrown at the enemy and definitely expendable. Kind of takes away from the whole Spartan II wow factor if you ask me. Would been happy to see a reference to Kurt though, that would have been cool.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:30PM (Unverified) said
@TheTjalian & Temidien... If you look at the screen thats running tha diagnostic while dude is getting injected you'll see that he's infact a Spartan III and not a II... in the book Ghosts of Onyx i believe, it touches on the III's... aparently most of them are comprised of angry orphans who lost there famlies due to planet glassings.. and they start the training process much later in life than the Spartan 2's.. there also much less expensive to outfit.. and thought of as being expendable.. almost like mass produced spartans
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:50PM ShadowOp said
the shorter version was better IMO... the music flowed really well and got really intense.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 12:56PM CynicalStrike said
That video was such a cocktease... All that build up for nothing! No pay off at all! I was at least expecting a few seconds of Spartan asskickery.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 1:05PM (Unverified) said
Definitely the weakest of the three. There is no juxtaposition with the flashbacks like they did for the live action ODST short. Not saying they had to cut explosions and gunfire in to make it exciting since this seams to be a more character driven piece. Maybe flashbacks from his pre-military life showing the sacrifices and tough decisions he make to get where he is now. This would help us relate to him and not think he's a muscle head who just wants to kick covenant ass.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 1:21PM xFenixKnightx said
I liketed it.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 1:33PM amart89 said
thought it was great.. LOL at everyone whining about not enough action, just wait for the beta in 4 days and you'll have plenty of action :D
I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT TO PLAY HEADHUNTER!
I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT TO PLAY HEADHUNTER!
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 2:52PM Land0fChocolate said
I liked it a lot, even though I'm not a big fan of Halo. The camera was well executed, the music was well chosen and the viewer can easily see what is going on. It shows a very human side of the faceless people in the big metal armour.
I haven't seen the others which people here claim to be better.
I haven't seen the others which people here claim to be better.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 3:05PM (Unverified) said
*Wonders if there are any latino or black Spartans*
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 4:02PM (Unverified) said
Spartan IIIs have it easy, just some drugs and armor. They even have momies and daddies to look at in photos. Spartan IIs got abducted in childhood and replaced with clones that died shortly after. Then they went through years of grueling training, the weak were killed. In shirt, Powder looks like a jerk and I hope he dies.
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 4:45PM Uncle Jesse said
It was like playing Heavy Rain.
I kid, I kid!
I kid, I kid!
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 4:56PM Natokhan said
I for one enjoyed the trailer because it showed that Spartans aren't some people that just run around and kill people. With a video like this you can see the people more on your level because nobody is without fear and if people have similarities it is easier to relate to and i for one enjoy relating to the people in my games.
Well those are my thoughts on the issue lol
*Schaedel Castro*
Well those are my thoughts on the issue lol
*Schaedel Castro*
Posted: Apr 29th 2010 5:12PM kenny goo said
Easily the weakest of the three Halo shorts, but the build up, the atmosphere, and the fleshed out score made it a lot better than the teaser.
Hopefully we see another one for some pre release hype, rather than just some Beta release hype to sell a few extra copies of ODST.
Hopefully we see another one for some pre release hype, rather than just some Beta release hype to sell a few extra copies of ODST.
Featured Stories
Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma
Posted on May 25th 2012 3:30PM