It's hard to put effectively into words but one example is ***BEGIN SPOILER*** when the Chief crashes on the ring he exits the escape pod, crosses a small bridge and takes cover from Banshees in some rocks ***END SPOILER*** and this is exactly what I did when playing that level in the game! I found many examples of this while listening to the story and that added something that those who didn't play the game or don't remember it as well as I do wouldn't get out of it. This meant that instead of my brain manufacturing images of the story as it does with most novels, I was able to fit the story around my memories of the game's levels. The reason this is significant is that while going through the events of the story I knew exactly where the Chief was within each of the game's levels. I'm more familiar with the level design of that game than any other Halo game and quite a lot of other games that have come since. The greatest aspect of this novel for me though is that gaming has always been my main source of entertainment and I played Halo: CE extensively back in the day, again when it had it's Xbox 360 re-release and yet again as part of the Master Chief Collection. What the novel brings to the table that the game never could are the thoughts of the characters, the conversations between secondary characters, the perspective on events from the Covenant, plenty of minor details that couldn't be covered by the game as well as a whole host of events and occurrences that weren't even in the game, many of which don't involve Cortana or the Master Chief at all. I can understand how many people would think that creating a novel around the game would lead to an inferior novel and maybe that is the case from a purely novel perspective but here's the benefit. The Pros While it's true that this is simply the novel of the first game I still think there's a lot to recommend it for. I wanted it to end.Įxcellent for fans of Halo: Combat Evolved I hope the next one is better, this was bad. As American gung-ho as it could possibly get (and nothing wrong with that - but moderation please) verging from cliché to parody, to boring derivative. It’s all just blood-soaked plasma cannons. Never a real combat moment where skill could be used…. It is spinning to give artificial gravity, so why gravity plates? It seemingly also has a moon? How? The main protagonist Spartan C117 ‘John’ is now not limited by anything really, he never has ammunition lacking, has multiple weapons always in grip and everywhere he goes he just ‘blasts his way out, and avoids all the falling meat’. Halo itself is described as a gigantic ring-world, or Orbital as Iain M Banks would have described it. I know the ‘story-line’ probably needs to follow the computer game sequence, but this needed to have a level of complexity and story depth. This second story is 1 dimensional at best, where you have no engagement or care about any of the ‘people’ or even the previously witty and snarky Cortana - the ship or suit AI. The first story in the HALO series, gave character, background and some level of interpersonal relationships, making for a lightweight but enjoyable listen. Built 100,00 years ago by a long-lost civilization known as the Forerunners, this “Halo” is worshiped by the Covenant - a sacred artifact they hope will complete their religious quest for supposed transcendence, and they will stop at nothing to control it.Įngaging in fierce combat, Master Chief and Cortana will go deep into the Halo construct and uncover its dark secret and true purpose - even as a monstrous and far more vicious enemy than the Covenant emerges to threaten all sentient life on Halo and the galaxy beyond. The crew’s only hope of survival is to crash-land on its surface and take the battle opposing the Covenant to the ground.īut they soon discover that this enigmatic ringworld is much more than it seems. In this far-flung corner of the universe floats a magnificently massive, artificial ringworld. But their destination brings them to an ancient mystery and an even greater struggle. Having barely escaped the final battle for Reach against the vast alien alliance known as the Covenant, the crew of the Pillar of Autumn, including Spartan John-117 - the Master Chief - and his AI companion Cortana, is forced to make a desperate escape into slipspace. The best-selling adaptation of the iconic video game Halo: Combat Evolved featuring the Master Chief - part of the expanded universe based on the award-winning video game series!
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