Halo: Reach Covenant Are "Terrifying"

[John Funk]

Halo: Reach Covenant Are "Terrifying"

With the upcoming Halo: Reach [http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Reach-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA20M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278968624&sr=1-1], Bungie was given the chance to reimagine its Covenant baddies as something truly "terrifying," says the game's executive producer.

It's no secret to anyone who played the Halo trilogy that the Covenant ceased to be all that intimidating or scary as soon as the mindless, relentlessly infectious Flood first showed up in "343 Guilty Spark" in the first game. The Flood were silent as they swarmed over you like a... erm, flood, while the Covenant roared and got frustrated or ran away squeaking in terror when shot at (depending on what type of enemy you were facing). And then, in Halo 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Halo-2-Xbox/dp/B00008J7NZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1279748864&sr=1-1], you got to play as the Covenant - or the Arbiter, anyway.

But that's going to change in the prequel Halo: Reach. There's no Flood, no Forerunners, and no Halo installations, just the Covenant on their drive to exterminate humanity - and that is going to provide a springboard for Bungie to reimagine their original villains as something scary and intimidating. According to a 10-page spread on Halo: Reach in this month's issue of Official Xbox Magazine UK, Bungie executive producer Joseph Tung says the developer wanted to make the Covenant something that players would really be intimidated to go up against.

"We wanted to reintroduce a more terrifying Covenant," said Tung. "We wanted, especially in Covenant weaponry, something much more violent and visceral."

Beyond just weaponry, Reach will add new Covenant races like the Skirmisher, a fast and nimble enemy that OXM describes as looking similar to the birdlike Jackals. Of course, the game will likely offer no explanation why said Skirmishers are completely missing from any of the games in the series that take place chronologically after Reach (which, at last count, is all of them). The perils of making a prequel, I guess.

It's all well and good, and I applaud what Bungie is trying to do, but can you really make Grunts scary? At all? I don't think so, Tim.

(CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=234260])

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[oppp7]

I'd rather have one where I can play as the Covenant (not the Elites).
I can see where they're coming from. The Grunts lightened things up but overall the Covenant could have been more intimidating.

 

[dalek sec]

I guess my main complaint for their weapons is that it's all waaay too bright and neon like for my tastes but that's just me.

 

[DarkSaber]

Getting the usual Halo-hype fired up early I see.

Also, I thought Bungie said they weren't making anymore Halo games and it was all being handed over to other stuidos?

 

[The Diabolical Biz]

I can get what you mean about the enemies missing from previous games, but without variation, everyone would re-rant about the 'same old bloody Halo'

 

[Vigilantis]

If they actually get the game off as if it were in an actual hardcore war with aliens like its supposed to be I might actually buy another product of Bungie. Its the reason I always thought Halo was a joke, the grunts running around making comments of its upcoming doom and running around like idiots. If they patch it up and make it into a badass alien shooter than I may have to eat my words about hating Halo.

Anyone ever play MDK2:Armageddon? I always thought that Halo was just about as serious as that game was...

 

[WafflesToo]

Yeah, cause what they were doing before was so unsuccessful. Wonder that they managed to keep thier doors open.

/sarcasm

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I'd love it if they could make the Covenant as scary as it used to be... as you said, before 343 Guilty Spark.
Dammit, thinking back to before I reached that level, they were rather intimidating... and that is now gone, they are just basic xeno baddies...

 

[JC175]

Yeah, I have to say that Grunts are the absolute antithesis of intimidating or scary, and the Covenant in general never really sold themselves to me as a proper threat in the original, one of the reasons why I never finished it.

 

[Trivun]

Beyond just weaponry, Reach will add new Covenant races like the Skirmisher, a fast and nimble enemy that OXM describes as looking similar to the birdlike Jackals. Of course, the game will likely offer no explanation why said Skirmishers are completely missing from any of the games in the series that take place chronologically after Reach (which, at last count, is all of them). The perils of making a prequel, I guess.

Actually, Bungie have been very good at providing in-universe explanations for discrepencies so far. For example, Sgt. Johnson apparantly died on the first ringworld at the end of the first game, yet still appeared kicking Covenant ass in the sequels. Bungie subsequently explained it by writing a book whereby several characters, including Johnson, escaped and then kicked more Covenant ass by destroyng a fleet that was about to attack Earth (which also explains the other discrepancy that the fleet attacking Earth at the start of Halo 2 was so unexpectedly small). Not to mention the video from Jenkins' helmet in the first game where Johnson is attacked by the Flood. A graphic novel shows him escape, and then he's stated in the backstory to be a Spartan-I, so has enhancements that stop him being affected by the Flood.

This has probably gone over most people's heads, of curse. However, the point I'm trying to make is simply that any plot discrepancies and holes will be sorted by Bungie. They have a very good track record at making sure that everything is completely canon . As far as the game is concerned though, as a Halo fanboy I'll be playing it regardless of the scariness of the Covenant. All I ask is that Bungie and MGS continue to provide such an awesome series as they have done, and that the game is good. If they meet that request, then I'll be getting it. If I want scary, I'll go out and buy a copy of Clock Tower or Silent Hill...

 

[AcacianLeaves]

They'll have to change all the voices, all the weapons, all the armor and costumes, most of the vehicles, rework the color scheme (purple and pink aren't scary), and probably totally remove grunts. Yeah, I can see how this would work if it WASN'T A HALO GAME.

 

[Snotnarok]

The Covenant are about as scary as the muppets, how can you make them scary? I didn't take them seriously in 1 and certainly less so in 2. Maybe I'm just being bias here but between their pew pew pewing laser guns and their awful lines not to mention the midgets they're teamed up with just make them the worst antagonist species ever.

Borg- scary
Krogan- pretty scary
Reavers(Firefly)- run

I played Halo 1 and 2 beat them on their hardest difficulties with/without a co-op and couldn't think the Covenant as "scary". Annoying, sure, scary? No.

 

[Supreme Unleaded]

Getting the usual Halo-hype fired up early I see.

Also, I thought Bungie said they weren't making anymore Halo games and it was all being handed over to other stuidos?

Bungie said that they would be making no more games after Reach, after that then no more out of them.

 

[The DSM]

They would have to redesign the entire Covenant, theforth removing all canon.

I see the hype train is pulling out of the station.

 

[Nurb]

This is sounding like the Star Wars prequels.

 

[MR T3D]

add race
make extinct via game's plot.

easy way to deal with prequel additions.

i dunno, i liked halo, the games are fun.
i'll play this new one.
probably, unless BC2 consumes even more of my gaming than i think.
which is plenty possible

 

[CommyGingerbreadMan]

Eh as much as I like Halo, you don't make a race in a prequel and have it just not there anymore. That's poor writing.

 

[HTID Raver]

hopefully its as good as the first 2

 

[edgeofblade]

Grunts? It's hard to make a species that breathes butt-gasses scary. In fact, I'm sure they could find a way to peacefully co-exist with such a flatulent species as humanity.