Halo 3 Commercial/Trailer/Teaser/Preview Thingy Breakdown!

Tomato potato.... Break it down!!! (<---- insert ub3r Hardcore breakdown!)

Author's note: I'd like to think I know it all, but the more I think I know the less I truely do know...

OK first things first! If you just woke up from a coma or have been trapped under 6 feet of snow for the last week GO HERE and watch the video, or you will be lost when reading this editorial!!!

The Halo 3 TV spot aired this monday in the middle of Monday Night Football as the Eagles take on the Panthers (<---- best Al Michaels voice). I missed watching the spot because I was too busy pwning nubs on Halo 2! That and I don' t have cable TV. I did, however, watch it that night on my PC. I was blown away. It was purrdy and chock-full of goodness that my eyes have not seen yet. I watched it ten times in a row.

Some say that the 60 second spot was too short and that there was not enough going on... Yada yada yada.... But it was crammed with goodness and I am going to share what I saw and address some of the internet specualtions and rumors that have been floating around.

Starlight, Starbright, First S-Class Cruiser I See Tonight...

Lets start with the first 18 seconds: the kids. The Chief is out cold and having a flash back of his carefree pre-Spartan days. This gives us a deeper grasp on the rich story of Halo. It lets us know that the Master Chief is a lot more than a mean, green, Covenant killing machine. He has memories and a tangible past. To those of us that love the Campagin and the story thus far it has us clamoring for more and wondering what is the story behind the Helmet...

A lot of fans have been saying that the Helmet is a clue that Master Chief is going to be able to run around helmetless and/or have chunks of his armor fall off as he takes battle damage. Granted that would be cool for an action figure, but its very impractical for Halo. The hardcore fans already know that the helmet is removable. It came off at the end of Halo: CE and was off at the start of Halo 2. Master Chief is, afterall, a human. The less intense gamer may not know that, and may think that the Master Chief is an android. Having the helmet off just shows the world that the Chief is a person.

"Chief... Leave me..." Says a very faint female voice... I don't want to say its Cortana, but if it is, the Chief is remembering what she said. The voice is too clear to be real time Cortana. Sgt. Johnson asks for any sign of the Chief. How did he get there from Delta Halo? Heck, how did he get to Earth from the first Halo? If you read the books you know!

Saddle Up!!!

Well if you've seen the magazine screen shots released in November you already know that we will be able to see where the Master Chief keeps his secondary weapon and what he is stowing. Check out that funky cloud in the distance while you are at it...

Its not a Grenade!!!

Seriously, its not!!! One of the most obvious things in the whole TV spot was the 'Dome Shield'. Don't be duped into calling it a Shield Grenade because its not a grenade! I admit, I made this mistake at first, but grenades blow stuff up, or emit smoke or gas. They don't save your ass from tank rounds...

Is this 'Dome Shield' going to be the funciton of the X Button? Will it be Sprint? Prone? Shield Boost? Only bungie knows for sure, but wait... Whats lying there in the background? The Mongoose!

Yes, the hardcore gamer knows about the Mongoose and how it got scrapped in Halo 2 pre-builds, but Joe Basic doesn't. Was the Chief driving this into the fray before he got knocked out? We will find out soon enough...

Holy Pistol Whip Batman!!!

This is for more of the Hardcore fan. Its the Halo: CE M6D (possibly). As much joy as it brings to my heart to see the bump on the tip where the scope is, I don't think its going to be the same M6D the Halo: CE fans have come to worship. I belive bungie put a little visual metaphor in for us to decipher. Chief holsters the AR after he picks it up then pulls out the Pistol. Halo: CE: Pistol > AR. Then, when he is sprinting towards the baddies, he holsters the Pistol and pulls out the AR. Halo 3: AR > Pistol. Take it as you like, but if the M6D is coming back, get ready to be disappointed. No way is Bungie going to bring back the sniper accurate Three Shot Kill...

The Hundred Yard Dash

We all saw the Chief run. Does it mean anything or is it just for some eye candy? In the first two games, the Chief was hardly ever in a hurry (except after 'Assault on the Control Room' and before the Temple on Delta Halo got annihilated) and to see him full on sprint has to mean something. Those of us that don't think the X Button will be used to activate the 'Dome Shield' belive that its going to make the Master Chief run his ass off. It could work. Bungie would probally take out the lunge, making you do a XB combo in order to get the umph in for a stronger beat down. They will also probally not let you shoot or throw grenades while sprinting. And since most of us will have to take our thumb off the right stick to press X, it only means that we can go straight and strafe. For that last reason is why I belive that X will not equal sprint.

E Tu Brutes!!!

Yep, Frankie said they're Brutes! Complete with their own version of the Wraith equipped with KC Floodlights! I have a sinking feeling that we are not going to be facing too many Elites as the Campaign unfolds. Thats a lot of brutes and if they are as tough as they were in Halo 2, I don't envy the Chief one bit right now...

Maybe we will get to swing that nifty hammer around after we stomp some Brute Skulls. It would be a good replacement for the sword; slower with no lunge but good striking distance and capable of taking out everyone in front of you. I doubt it, though but I read it about it from IGN and thought it deserved some mention.

I also think that we have yet to see the function of the X Button if in fact the 'Dome Shield' is activated through the same button as the normal combat grenades. The hype machine is in full gear and is only going to offer us more eye-candy as time drags on. Halo 3 can't come soon enough for me!!!