- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Hi everyone. This was an idea that someone touted at gamefaqs. I thought it was interesting enough, so I brought it here.
DDoggy816 posted:
"Would you ever get a game like this? Where it is Halo 1 all over, except instead of Master Chief, you play as the Arbiter before Halo 2. You start off as the Head Elite leading your Covenant army onto the Human ship The Pillar of Autumn. This is where your quest to take down "the bad guy" Master Chief begins. He escapes the Pillar of Autumn, and comes down to the first Halo."
I liked this idea, so I posted my comments/suggestions:
-First of all, just because its story is an offshoot of the original Halo doesn't mean that the player should be restricted to what he has already seen! You are now playing for the other side, and are engaged in battles that the MC never even sees/knows about!
-It should obviously work with the Halo 2 graphics engine. Or an improved version if there is one.
-The Covenant you play should be high-ranking, i.e. a field command gold Elite. Using the directional pad, he could issue rudimentary orders to those units under his command. The player character is still a one-man army, so he doesn't HAVE to have a squad every mission. Keep in mind that this idea was originally intended for the Arbiter, but wasn't implemented, so it's not a long shot.
-The human enemies need not be dull. Although there would be only one race as compared to the Covenant, there can be several different classes, ones that the MC didn't even see in Halo 1. Some examples include regular marines, ODSTs, medics, field officers, and soldiers in power armor (as in the book). They can employ the various human vehicles already seen, and maybe some we haven't even seen (a human flier for instance).
-We could finally include Flood types that we didn't get to see in Halo 2, like the "Juggernaut." Forerunner enemies can also be expanded upon, including even more powerful enemies than the Sentinels and the Enforcers.
-As a bonus, new Cov. species can be included to aid the player in his missions, such as the Drones, Engineers, and even some Brutes! This also goes for vehicles and weapons.
Now here's some missions I thought up in about 5 mins.
1st mission: "Fires of Reach"
-This is the introductory mission, with you leading a small army of Covenant against light human resistance in an urban environment. This should be a tutorial in a way, familiarizing you with the controls, especially how you command troops. As soon as you secure an important human installation, you get a message from the fleet commander (the "Arbiter" from Halo 2) telling you that a human ship named the Pillar of Autumn has escaped, and they must pursue.
2nd mission: "The Sacred Ring"
-Your fleet comes out of slipspace into a stunning sight. A sacred ring lies before you! After the initial confusion of celebratory speeches and religious prayers that clog the Cov. battlenet, fleet command orders squads to secure the ring surface. Your forces however, awaits to ambush the PoA as it exits slipspace. The beginning of the mission has you in command of Seraphim fighters. You are in charge of clearing away the PoA's protective screen of Longsword heavy fighters and take out its MAC cannon that is laying havoc to your fleet. Afterwords, you link up with a boarding ship and take the fight to the humans. At the end, you succeed in securing many parts of the ship, but realize that the situation is lost and evacuates before the PoA crashes. This is where you first learn that "the Demon" was on the PoA.
3rd mission: "Autumn's Fall"
-The PoA has landed on Halo, and fleet command is insistent in preventing the filthy humans from tainting the sacred ring any further! Lead your squad as part of a large offensive aimed at destroying the human defense emplacements and capturing their command staff.
Mid mission: "Outbreak"
-By now your forces have secured most of Halo, and besides from the periodic Sentinel attacks and the Demon himself, there is not too much opposition. But something is wrong. Several squads of Covenant sent to claim the Forerunner facilities located in a swamp region has failed to report in. Command a spec. ops. team in a quick insertion to find out what is going on.
Mid mission: "The Flood"
-It is too late, the parasitic nightmare known as the Flood has been let loose on the sacred ring! Fleet command is desperate, and has been ordered to remove all ships from the surface of the ring before they can be infected! One cruiser in particular is having engine problems and is the last to leave. You have been transferred to this ship as extra reinforcements since the Flood has been seen in the area in large numbers. Prepare for imminent assault. Should the Flood overwhelm the defenders, destroy the ship's core to delay the Flood from escaping the ring!
Late mission: "Endgame"
-Covenant forces have been caught in a desperate containment effort as they battle the Flood across the surface of the ring. All ships capable of space-travel has been accounted for... except one. The PoA still has active engines, and the Flood knows this. They have already gathered around the ship in massive numbers. If we do not act quickly in removing this threat, all is lost. While a large Covenant army distracts the Flood outside the PoA, you and a large squad of spec. ops. troops are dropped off inside the ship to secure it as best as possible. This may be a suicide mission, but its importance is paramount to survival of the Covenant.
...whew now I'm done. What do you guys think? Would you play a Halo game like this?