- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Ugh, don't turn this into a debate about more Spartans in Halo 3, or ForeRunner whatevers... let's just talk about what the HGN points towards in Halo 3.
1) I'm wondering if "Gravemind" is the leader of ALL the flood, or if there is a different consciousness that directs them on each installation. It seems to me that the one on the Infinite Succor seemed different than GM on High Charity- but perhaps that was because GM on High Charity had absorbed infinitely more corpses.
2) Interesting to find out that the ForeRunners were indeed at a war with the Flood, and beaten. I'm wondering if Gravemind has been around since then...?
3)The Spec-Ops commander has been confirmed to be Half Jaw in the HGN in the prologue before the story, as well as in a separate interview on IGN. It pretty much explains how the Half Jaw has run into the Flood before Halo 2. What I find interesting is that him and Sgt. Johnson's stories are eerily similar. I suppose he is indeed like the Sgt. Johnson to the Arbiter. I'm guessing we'll see more of him in Halo 3, then.
4) The thing that is most intriguing to me is the emphasis on the Flood's intelligence. This hasn't surfaced entirely in the games, and has only been hinted at. I'm guessing that this is going to become a major plot point in Halo 3- I'm also wondering if this ties into what happens with Cortana at all. What if, to possess more knowledge, Gravemind did indeed absorb Cortana? To me, the end result would be one insaaaaaane Flood consciousness.
5) I like seeing that the Ark is confirmed to be underneath the Earth, near Mombasa. Now, you must ask yourselves: if you accept this as fact in the Halo "game" universe, then you must accept the possibility that other Spartans exist, since they showed one in the HGN. Bungie wanted to carve out the Canon of Halo more with the HGN (hence, Sgt. Johnson's escape, Half Jaw's background with the Flood, the location of the Ark, etc).
6) I know I said earlier that we shouldn't debate about Spartans, so I'm not going to. But I am going to note that it is interesting that another Spartan is included, an "off-duty" retired Spartan at that- I'm wondering if this particular Spartan will show up in Halo 3, especially given all the hints about "re-enlisting", etc.