The best UNSC Marines volunteer to become ODST, but what outfit do Spartans aspire to join?



Last night at the Spike TV Video Game Awards the evening was brought to a close with the first screening of the ‘Halo: Reach - World Premiere trailer’. The content itself has put a stop to a lot of speculation and rumor spinning but has also given us plenty food for though. (If you haven’t seen it, do so now!) My bro Kevin has tackled the ‘Mistaken Identify’ issues I have with the revelations that have arisen from the new Halo: Reach trailer.

So instead of venting all of my shattered ‘Eric Nylund - Fall of Reach’ character line-up dreams; I’m going to focus (mostly) on one of the Spartans shown in the trailer:

The Hellspartan.

Watch the trailer in HD here: Web link

Kevin - Reach Trailer Reaction: Web link


‘HELLSPARTANS & SKULLS’

The UNSC Marine core has an ‘Elite Unit’ the: Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) or ‘Helljumpers’ as they are more colloquially known and they are some tough hombres. (Apart from the ones represented in HALO LEGENDS: The Babysitter) Then you have the Spartans; the toughest, most badass soldiers ever to shoulder an MA5-B Assault Rifle.

So what if the Spartans had an ‘Elite Unit’ within its ranks? The best of the best (of the best) that the UNSC has to offer; enter the ‘Hellspartans!’



What is a ‘Hellspartan’? OK, maybe I have been as misleading as the Halo: Reach Spartan line-up wallpaper artwork here; the Hellspartan’s are not from Game or Book cannon. The concept was originally dreamt up in 2008 to support a variant figure line by ‘McFarlane Toys’. After watching last nights new trailer it seems that Bungie liked the idea of an ODST version of a Spartan as much as I did.

The ‘Hellspartan’ EVA Action Figure was exclusive to the San Diego Comic-Con 2008 and only 3,000 sets were made. The Hellspartan is basically an EVA armored Spartan with full body black armor and red detailing (with white accents) The helmet is very unique with single black stripe running down its centre and two light green sections that make up the ‘eyes’ in a nod to Mcfarlane's own ‘Spawn’ character.

(The name ‘Hellspartan’ a reworking of ‘Hellspawn’; The Hellspawn being basically the ‘Army of Hell’, Spawn himself is a Hellspawn. See below how the colour variations of the Hellspartan figure compare to the Spawn character)



The packaging carried details regarding origins of the Hellspartan:

"To bolster the offensive and defensive capabilities in the escalating conflict with the armies of the Covenant, the United Nations Space Command commissioned wide ranging programs of research into the creation of more Spartan-grade soldiers"

- Description on the EVA Hellspartan box

5 Spartans where hand-picked for this program. (This presumably made them the best qualified; be that physically, mentally or by specific ability; hence ‘The Elite’) They would be trained to use the new upgraded MJOLNIR Mk.VI EVA Powered Armor suit. After 2 months of training with this armor variant only 2 of the 5 Spartans made the cut and qualified to operate this new MJOLNIR variant becoming the HELLSPARTANS.

(So essentially there are x2 EVA wearing Spartans rolling around somewhere in the Halo Universe tearing shit up and looking good in Black & Red)


Then last night I saw this guy:



This guy just screamed out ‘HELLSPARTAN!’ with the Skull detailing on his visor (though I do wonder how much it would compromise his vision, if at all?) and red/white armour detailing. This can’t be coincidental; the boys at Bungie have decided to bring to life a Hellspartan. Even if he doesn’t have the back story of being 1 of 5 selected to train with new specialised EVA MJOLNIR he is still an intriguing figure.

To start with (other than his helmet art) he is currently only known as ‘The Unidentified Grenadier’ (Member of ‘Noble Team’ - a six man fire-team sized unit) and judging by the shells stored around his chest/belt we are looking at a new gun type! (Other than the revised Battle Rifles as seen worn by the other Spartans in the trailer and the ‘heavy-gun’ carried by the ‘extra-large’ Spartan Jorge-052) Whilst playing the Modern Warfare titles I wished the HALO games had a rifle with an underside Grenade launcher. It could be that my wish has come true or we could be looking at a stand-alone launcher weapon?
(I also like the fact that he is the only Spartan not to speak, being the stoic; strong-silent type only adds more of a sense of mystery about him and his back-story/character)

I don’t know why but there’s just something cool about skulls. (Or at least when Skulls & Guns are involved) I used to be conflicted over the personalization of armor and equipment. When I saw ALIENS (1986) as a kid I hated the fact that they had (in my eyes) graffitied all over their armor and weapons with as I saw it ‘Tipp-Ex’ correction fluid. In my mind they should have looked slick and unified but now as an adult I can see why you’d want to customize your gear and make it stand out from everyone else’s. This is more relevant when you are dealing with 100’s of individuals in identical and faceless suits of armor.

This has now become a point of interest to me, the whole ‘Personal Customisation’ thing, especially in regard to Multiplayer HALO 3 (and now HALO 3: ODST) where people can edit their armor and icon to reflect their personal tastes or what they want to project about their online persona. (Don’t even mention the word ‘Hayabusa’ to me!) I always find it interesting to see what people mix and match to make their Spartan (Or Helljumper) unique.



In regard to story (Campaign) it has become part of the process of establishing the characters and their function/back-story/specialty by the physical differences between them through such customization. I compared the variation of Buck’s squad in HALO 3: ODST to the ‘lead’ Clones in the STAR WARS prequel movies and animated series. They are usually subtle variations in equipment and armor accent colour to identify and individualize them. So what does a bold statement like a huge full-face Skull say about the ‘Unidentified Grenadier’ character? (Other than he is one ‘hell’ of a death-dealing Spartan)

To think I thought Dutch from HALO 3: ODST looked hardcore with his ‘now somewhat subtle’ skull detailing.



And if this guy wasn’t already a totally hardcore looking Spartan (as Spartans go) he tops things with his knife. Its not just that he is sitting there sharpening his blade against his own arm (which is cool enough) but it is the knife itself: A Kukri. For years I have been secretly in love with ‘The kukri’, known to me as a child as the ‘Gurkha Blade’: a curved Nepalese knife used as both tool and weapon by ‘The Royal Gurkha Rifles’. I don’t know why but just like ‘Skull-Masks’ there is something innately ‘cool’ about this knife and if British law permitted it I would carry one at all times. (In case of a possible Zombie outbreak scenario occurring of course)



All you Modern Warfare boys will know how sick Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley looked with his red sunglasses and skull patterned balaclava in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (He even has his oven graphic novel series: Modern Warfare 2: Ghost! That just proves how having a Skull across your face is the very definition of cool)



I remember this moment in the (great) film: Harsh Times (2005); during the pre-credits sequence Christian Bale is wearing a DEEP! ‘Skull’ pull-up mask (plus sick matching ‘skeletal’ gloves) as he charges a trench and wipes out a dozen enemies in one steady ‘Spartan’ like maneuver. (Switching from ‘Rifle to Pistol’ just like ‘Gaz’ told you to in Call of Duty 4; “It’s quicker than reloading” you know)
If you haven’t seen Harsh Times; it is a must-see flick. (Just think Training Day (2001) and Narc (2002) if that helps persuade you to give it a chance!)



So it seems like I’m not going to play as any of John-117’s squad as I had hoped to and I fear that Bungie will further (HALO WARS) blur the line between the games and novels but on the plus side I’m looking forward to learning more about the ‘Skull-Spartan’ and as long as I can get his Skull-visor-Helmet for online multiplayer I will be one happy gamer.

Oh in case you didn’t pick up on it:

I ♥ SKULLS MASKS!



TreyUK



More on ODST: Web link

More on HALO LEGENDS -The Babysitter: Web link

More on HELLSPARTANS: Web link

More on The Unidentified Grenadier: Web link

More on The Noble Team: Web link

More on The Kukri: Web link

More on Simon "Ghost" Riley: Web link

Harsh Times IMDb entry: Web link

Everyone loves LEGO and now thanks to the developers at Traveller's Tales and the publishing team at LucasArts we can even play-out our own LEGO adventures as characters from the Indiana Jones movies, Batman comics or the Star Wars universe.

I was poking around on deviantART last night and came across this: Web link



How awesome would this game be!? Just think of all the characters, vehicles and locations from the ThunderCats cartoons; they would amount to a truly epic LEGO adventure.

Just think of controlling the heroes or even better sometimes the villains of a 'Lord of the Rings' LEGO Adventure? Or maybe a title that spans all 7 years at 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? I’d even buy Rocky LEGO if they made it! (Drago!)



Web link

Maybe franchises like Ghostbusters would have fared a better outing recently as a LEGO title: taking itself less seriously and focusing on FUN over detail and trying to recreate something that ‘feels’ nostalgic.

What LEGO game do you dream of?


TreyUK.