I recently got Halo: Evolutions, and got around to this story.
Holy crap.
Karen Traviss’ novels were miles better than this. I’ve read Fan Fictions better than this story - hell, I’m writing one better than this. Neither the Chief nor Cortana read as their characters were portrayed in the games. How by Thor’s rusty beard did this complete re-write of an established level get published?
Yeah, it wasn’t the strongest addition to the book, but Chief meeting an old friend from his childhood was a great scene.
I still maintain that they got Sarah Palmer and SPARTAN Davis from that story.
> I still maintain that they got Sarah Palmer and SPARTAN Davis from that story.
Yeah, I actually made a post a while ago asking whether Corporal Palmer and Commander Palmer were one and the same. People said that it wasn’t likely, but I’m not so sure…
> > I still maintain that they got Sarah Palmer and SPARTAN Davis from that story.
>
> Yeah, I actually made a post a while ago asking whether Corporal Palmer and Commander Palmer were one and the same. People said that it wasn’t likely, but I’m not so sure…
Corporal Palmer was a Marine, Sarah and ODST. So yeah, not likely.
You have to have combat experience before you can volunteer for ODST training.
I believe that it’s already been confirmed that both Palmers are different people thought.
> I recently got Halo: Evolutions, and got around to this story.
>
> Holy crap.
>
> Karen Traviss’ novels were miles better than this. I’ve read Fan Fictions better than this story - hell, I’m writing one better than this. <mark>Neither the Chief nor Cortana read as their characters were portrayed in the games.</mark> How by Thor’s rusty beard did this complete re-write of an established level get published?
What character? The Chief never had much of a character until Halo 4, and I fail to see how Cortana was “out of character”. I loved the story, and I like to think of it as a more “in-depth” description of that level.
The story was written by Robt McLees, who basically handled the Halo Story Bible while Halo was still with Bungie.
> You have to have combat experience before you can volunteer for ODST training.
>
> I believe that it’s already been confirmed that both Palmers are different people thought.
Only, ya know, Palmer da Marine was on Earth in late October of 2552, and held the rank of Corporal.
Meanwhile, in October as well, Sarah Palmer is an ODST with the rank of LANCE Corporal. She was injured in some battle that took place in probably early October, and remained in the hospital for three months.
Besides, a simple physical description for Palmer da Marine should be enough evidence that she and Sarah are not one in the same. Palmer da Marine has red hair, and Sarah has brown.
Yea the story was not that great but I loved the scene with Parisa and John. If your interested check out this vid on her character and her future possibilities http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLGWyofkpMU&feature=youtu.be
> > You have to have combat experience before you can volunteer for ODST training.
> >
> > I believe that it’s already been confirmed that both Palmers are different people thought.
>
> Only, ya know, Palmer da Marine was on Earth in late October of 2552, and held the rank of Corporal.
>
> Meanwhile, in October as well, Sarah Palmer is an ODST with the rank of LANCE Corporal. She was injured in some battle that took place in probably early October, and remained in the hospital for three months.
>
> Besides, a simple physical description for Palmer da Marine should be enough evidence that she and Sarah are not one in the same. Palmer da Marine has red hair, and Sarah has brown.
Let’s be realistic here, 343i isn’t exactly great at maintaining canonical accuracy. After all, the description of Commander Palmer in the Halo 4 section of Waypoint still says:
> Sarah Palmer had already been a marine for over a decade, garnering twelve tours of duty across eight different worlds, much of that time spent as a lieutenant in command of others.
Of course that description doesn’t fit in with either Palace Hotel or the series of comics about her and yet it’s still up there. Hell, the current job listing for a new Halo franchise writer at 343i includes this job requirement:
> Demonstrate daily judgment regarding how to balance the history of Halo against new opportunities to grow the universe, as well as creative problem-solving about how to blend those two needs when necessary.
I’m not saying they copy/paste Palmer and Davis from Palace Hotel but when you have an unlikable female character named Palmer and another named Davis in one story, it’s highly unlikely that you randomly came up with the idea to create a totally different unlikable female Palmer and yet another Davis.
Palmer in Palace Hotel is based off the Marine who gives you a shotgun in the level Metropolis in Halo 2; the level that the short story is based on.
> What character? The Chief never had much of a character until Halo 4, and I fail to see how Cortana was “out of character”.
Yes, he actually did have character, as did Cortana, laid out in multiple novels and games that show his social habits, mannerisms, and even morals. He wouldn’t replay to a Marine freaking out that he’s a Spartan, he’d simply keep moving. I also can’t see Cortana assuring the Chief that she’s “working diligently” at a problem; that’s an unspoken granted that they both know, and seems redundant to put into dialogue. Nor would she go into a full economic background for some random dead bus driver that they find lying among rubble. Most damning was that Cortana would have no problem whatsoever accessing the local network. That would be child’s play to an AI that can blaze through ONI Section 3 files like a hot knife through butter.
> The story was written by Robt McLees, who basically handled the Halo Story Bible while Halo was still with Bungie.
I am well aware of who he is; I think it’s still a bad story. The writing is god-awful, namely the over-analyzation of everything. The average reader is not going to care how many meters away something is exactly.
> > What character? The Chief never had much of a character until Halo 4, and I fail to see how Cortana was “out of character”.
>
> Yes, he actually did have character, as did Cortana, laid out in multiple novels and games that show his social habits, mannerisms, and even morals.
Your original post said “games”. Sorry for the confusion.
> He wouldn’t replay to a Marine freaking out that he’s a Spartan, he’d simply keep moving.
Since when? He does care for his fellow soldiers, as has been seen in the books.
> I also can’t see Cortana assuring the Chief that she’s “working diligently” at a problem; that’s an unspoken granted that they both know, and seems redundant to put into dialogue.
Again, since when? Half of Halo’s dialogue is Cortana explaining what she’s doing.
> Nor would she go into a full economic background for some random dead bus driver that they find lying among rubble.
This is debatable. Yeah, maybe she went a little far in her detail, but it’s not entirely new. Much of the early parts of the level “Infinity” in Halo 4 are here talking about the marines IFFs you find. Yeah, she doesn’t give a personal history on each, but it’s not entirely dissimilar.
> Most damning was that Cortana would have no problem whatsoever accessing the local network. That would be child’s play to an AI that can blaze through ONI Section 3 files like a hot knife through butter.
Mombasa’s infastructure and network weren’t exactly in the best of condition when the Chief and Cortana were there. Between the Covenant attack, and people messing with the local net. The Superintendent A.I. was turned off at some point after the Covenant attack, which could have made trouble for Cortana, and Commissioner Kinsler was messing with the network at times. A number of factors could have contributed to Cortana’s alleged troubles.
> The story was written by Robt McLees, who basically handled the Halo Story Bible while Halo was still with Bungie.
I am well aware of who he is; I think it’s still a bad story. The writing is god-awful, namely the over-analyzation of everything. <mark>The average reader is not going to care how many meters away something is exactly.</mark>
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This didn’t seem to bother people when Eric Nylund was doing it.