| Mail |
You might also like: WoW Insider, Massively, and more

Reader Comments (34)

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:08PM rTwelve said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
shh just come

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:50PM acme64 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@rTwelve thats what she said
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:12PM aconrad777 said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
nice caption.
bromances are always legendary.

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 12:31PM ArcaneAmoeba said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@aconrad777
How do you know it's two guys? Either (or both) could be female.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 4:25PM NewEraBlood said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@ArcaneAmoeba Well the Elite is definitely male, as it is wearing combat armor and they don't allow their women to fight (their culture would be very similar to Greek Spartans).

As for the ODST, I would assume male as well since there has never been shown to be a female ODST (much like the US Army has no female Infantry) unless I'm overlooking one. And before someone says Dare, she was not an ODST, she was an ONI operative who was tasked with ordering around an ODST squad.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 8:04PM bluehawk178 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@NewEraBlood
What about McKay from the book Halo Flood?
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:15PM MEMgrizzlies7 said

  • 1 heart
  • Report
Ghosts of Onyx was awesome, but if Eric Nylund isn't writing it then I'm not interested.

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:24PM will18057 said

  • 1 heart
  • Report
@MEMgrizzlies7
Right? I want to give it a shot, but if Nylund isn't the author, this automatically seems "meh" to me. :-|
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:47PM bradphillips204 said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
@will18057
From what I have heard about the Gears of War books, Karen Traviss is a good author. Unfortunately, I have not read any of the Gears of War books, or the Halo books for that matter, but I really want to.
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:32PM ATimson said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@MEMgrizzlies7 Karen Traviss... is a good author when she has toys that fit her style (Gears of War, Star Wars: Republic Commando). When working with characters and situtations outside her comfort zone, she tends to bend them back into her typical mold (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force).

Fortunately, I think that Halo - or at least, the Earth forces, I'm still iffy on the Covenant POV - seems like it should be a good fit for Traviss.
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:52PM acme64 said

  • 2.5 hearts
  • Report
@MEMgrizzlies7 Karen is great, her republic commando series is top notch. She's not Nylund, but way better than Dietz. Please give her a shot.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 4:46AM (Unverified) said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@MEMgrizzlies7 I would have to say to give Karen Traviss a chance. I haven't read her Gears works but her Star Wars novels were INCREDIBLE at making the most overlooked characters, the clone troopers, into fleshed out and loved soldiers just doing a job. If there's one thing that Traviss can write, it's war stories.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 4:27PM NewEraBlood said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@MEMgrizzlies7 I haven't read her books, but it will be hard to top Nylund. He's not just a good Halo writer, he's an overall great Sci-Fi writer. Still, I'll give hers a shot, and after all the glowing reviews on here I may also pick up her Republic Commando series as well.
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:39PM sltPoison said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
ODST: "There used to be grass here"
Elite: "Yeah, sorry about that"

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 9:45PM ShadowMonkey987 said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
That looks like an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper not a Spartan.

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 10:07PM tendoboy1984 said

  • Half a heart
  • Report
Another Halo novel? Well, they sold very well, so why not?

Halo: IT PRINTS MONEY!!!

Man Microsoft struck gold when they talked Bungie into bringing the franchise over to the Xbox. Halo is Microsoft's most popular IP.

Is Gears of War even a Microsoft IP? Or is it owned by Epic?

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 10:30PM AkumaFTW said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
@tendoboy1984 Dont start with the milking arguments as pertaining to the books. The setting for the games spans an entire galaxy, lends itself pretty well to storytelling. The Halo books are high quality literature as far as sci-fi goes, Microsoft is just taking good care of their main franchise
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:25PM tendoboy1984 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@AkumaFTW

I'm not bashing Halo at all. I love the games and the books.

I was making that "it prints mobey" joke cause it's true. :)

I just wish Microsoft treated their other franchises with the same respect... And look at what they've made Rare turn into, a casual developer.
Reply

Posted: Jul 2nd 2011 7:22PM Robborboy said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@tendoboy1984 Say what you will, but Viva Pinata 1 and 2 are some of the best games Rare has ever made.
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 10:12PM tendoboy1984 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
Microsoft does need to develop some new IPs. They're starting to get as bad as Nintendo, relying on proven franchises. Nothing wrong with that, but it's beginning to get monotonous seeing nothing but Halo, Fable, etc.

Maybe Microsoft should buy some new developers the way Sony does. Sony has published many 2nd-party games, and then subsequently bought out the developers (Killzone and Geurilla Games, Little Big Planet and Media Molecule, Jak & Daxter and Naughty Dog, etc.).

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 10:39PM Mr Hett said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
You mean I gotta read?

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:08PM MGTrey said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
Spoilers: Ghosts of Onyx was awesome.

Also, those wary that this isn't penned by Nylund shouldn't fear: Karen penned one of the best short stories in the Halo: Evolutions anthology. You should check it out to get a feel for how she approaches the Haloverse.

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 2:01AM TheDarkWayne said

  • 2.5 hearts
  • Report
@MGTrey Oh man, did she write the Cortana one? I totally forgot about that, that one was wonderful. I guess I'm not so worried about her after all.
Reply

Posted: Jun 30th 2011 11:58PM Doctalen said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
Uh that is not a spartan. It's and ODST

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 12:20AM will18057 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@Doctalen
Caught that too, did you? Ha. Though, in Richard Mitchell's defense, that's one tall ass ODST (...or that's one midget-of-an-Elite).
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 11:54AM Opuelas said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@will18057
I didn't notice that--good point. Assuming average Elite size that trooper would have to be like 6'8" tall.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 12:41AM JustinSaneV2 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
Looks like an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper to me...

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 12:48AM The Blank Mage Returns said

  • 3 hearts
  • Report
"Approaching the lifeless Elite before him, the lone soldier stopped to pick up a discarded energy sword. Though untrained in its' use, he might well have need of it. Now standing over his vanquished foe, the soldier stared solemnly for a moment.

"F***ing noob, lololol."

He laughed quietly to himself, then began to move again. More would be coming, and it was only a matter of time before they started spawncamping."

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 10:15AM (Unverified) said

  • 2.5 hearts
  • Report
@The Blank Mage Returns

Turning back, a wicked grin cut across his face. He advanced upon the fallen enemy once again, standing directly above it's grotesque face he squatted. Crouching; Up and down, up and down, laughing manically.
War takes it's toll on even the most stalwart soldiers, he was no exception. Often feeling more machine than man, being controlled by someone, or something. The sensation was inexplicable, yet oddly satisfying.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 10:59AM NightSoD said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
@(Unverified)

War. War never changes.
Reply

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 2:01AM TheDarkWayne said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
Kinda worried about this. I liked Traviss' Republic Commando books for the most part, but a lot of the stuff she did in them I did not care for at all. Eric Nylund has really, really made the Halo Universe into something great, and I'm nervous Traviss is going to mess it up with her own personal touches and opinions on it that just don't gel at all with what I think of it, happened a lot in Republic Commando.

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 3:13AM hiruuamon said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
Kewl...The new series by Greg Bear looks promising, but it is a bit disorienting at first. I'm glad to see printed literature coming out to laid the groundwork for Halo's universe, leading into Halo 4.

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 8:19AM easo said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
I'm not a big fan of her writing style. It seems kind of slow and tends to focus on the personal relationships and feeling of the characters. When those relationships are actually as interesting as the current conflict that the characters find themselves in, It adds depth and makes the book and the characters more enjoyable. If not, it slows the narrative down and makes the reader force themselves to keep reading until it gets good again. Which is exactly what I found myself doing in both of her Gears novels.

Posted: Jul 1st 2011 11:57AM tendoboy1984 said

  • 2 hearts
  • Report
I wonder if these novelists actually play the games they write about...

Featured Stories

Image

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Posted on May 25th 2012 7:30PM

Image

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Posted on May 25th 2012 5:00PM

Engadget

Engadget

TUAW

TUAW

Massively

Massively

WoW

WoW