Alright, lets take this ODST talk away from the actual game itself until the end of this post, and lets focus on the advertisement for the game. Namely, lets focus on the Live Action Trailer. Now I know most people don't view trailers as gateways to the actual game, but as advertisement they create expectations of a product before it is bought. If McDonald's advertised that on Wednesdays from 10a.m. to 11p.m. Cheeseburgers would only be 59 cents, they would create an expectation from its customers that if they arrive at McDonald's on Wednesdays between 10a.m. and 11p.m. and order a cheeseburger it would only be 59 cents. So I would like to analyze the expectations the trailer created for me in regards to this game.
First, I would like to discuss the opening scene of the military funeral. This scene brings up memories of an event I've experienced more than once in my life. A good friend or family member being buried in a manner that honors the dead that once stood in defense of their country. When I see the boy flinching with each shot of the 21 gun salute, it reminds me of my own bodily reaction to the sudden burst of sound after a generally silent service. Now, what expectation does this create for the game? It creates the expectation that there would be some sort of sense of sadness at the loss, maybe a desire for revenge against the enemy that took this person from me, and/or a sense of patriotic duty that I should now step up and take the place of this fallen soldier in defense of my country (or in Halo's perspective, Planet).
Next, I'm going to discuss the scene of training. This scene seems to follow exactly from the funeral. The boy who once stood at the funeral of a man of the ODST Unit, now is entering into the training camp that is designed to turn men into Shock Troopers. His hair is cut from his head, he is berrated for any mistake, and he is put on edge through a series of training exercises, all of this is done so he is prepared for the rigors of war. The Drill Instructor yells at the entire group while shooting the ground right next to them as they crawl in the mud through the barbed wire, "Do you want to die? Do you? Faster! Go! Go," to prepare them for the psychological pains that will come with being under fire. This scene creates the expectation that there will be some immersive area of the game where the main character goes from being some sort of individual, to being a cog in the war machine, or being part of a team of men. It creates a sense of hardship as to what is going to be coming ahead. Many of my friends tell me stories of Boot camp, Airborne School, or Ranger school, and how they try to break you down and strip yourself away from yourself, so they can make you into a soldier. There is an expectation that the character would have a development like this.
Now, I would like to discuss the final scene of the trailer, the drop and battles followed by the on field burial of a fallen comrade. First, the drop puts forward an image of the Airborne Drops in Normandy where bullets are flying everywhere, no real hope to live. Any who do live, it's not because of skill, but mostly luck. Any trooper will tell you, dropping into a hot zone is hell. This scene shows us dead troopers littering the ground, and an overwhelming enemy presence. It's a battle scene. A brute knocks Tarkov (the boy in the funeral and man in the training scenes) off his feet to the ground, signifying its advantage over the man, and growls at him. Tarkov thinks quick and shoots a Banshee out of the sky, it hits his opponent, and though he lives, he's left with two nasty scars. Cut to the on field burial of a fellow trooper. Tarkov takes a tattered ODST flag, stores it in his armor, most likely so he can pass it on to the soldier's next of kin. He scans the troopers under his command, throws his helmet on and runs off screen to continue fighting, and his men follow. This creates an expectation of togetherness in the fight, in the sacrifice, in the sense of hopelessness that the war creates. The battle makes me think that during the game, I'll be pitted against unbeatable odds. That there would be something at stake for me personally.
And last before I get to discussing the game, I would like to speak on the song that was presented throughout the entirety of the trailer. This is a rough translation of what is sung, "And my army of brothers went over the hilltops, drenched in blood we may be... but fighting is all left to me... together with my army of brothers... down we fall... darkness in all... through hell!" These are powerful lines, and the song is perfectly picked out to exemplify a feeling of hopelessness, while there's a feeling that we must push on through this to continue the fight, ultimately to fail in the pursuit of victory. There is an expectation of this army of brothers being pitted against these impossible odds, but fight anyway to their death.
Basically the trailer creates an expectation that there will actually be a deep amount of character development, environmental development, story development, psychological development, emotional development, etc. But were these expectations met?
Personally, I felt like I got the short end of the stick when I played the game. There weren't any moments in the game where I personally believed that I had some stake in the war against the covenant. I had no attachment to the character I was playing, I had not felt any sense of loss or duty that he may have felt. I didn't endure the rigors of training or the psychological strain from the war. When I dropped, there wasn't a great battle to greet me. I didn't even run into an enemy for a few minutes. I expected to be swamped and panicked by the onslaught of forces, and when I finally ran into some enemies, it was only small patrols of about 4 or 5 combatants each. As I played through the game, I just kept getting the feeling that I was just playing the typical Halo game without any new innovation aside from the multiplayer feature. There wasn't a deep story development or character development. The movement through each character's perspective was cool, but in the end, it seemed like I was playing as the same character under different names.
I don't know if you felt the same way. But add your comments below. Excessive flaming will be met by ridicule with extreme prejudice. I want civil discussions with reasons. Thank you.
First, I would like to discuss the opening scene of the military funeral. This scene brings up memories of an event I've experienced more than once in my life. A good friend or family member being buried in a manner that honors the dead that once stood in defense of their country. When I see the boy flinching with each shot of the 21 gun salute, it reminds me of my own bodily reaction to the sudden burst of sound after a generally silent service. Now, what expectation does this create for the game? It creates the expectation that there would be some sort of sense of sadness at the loss, maybe a desire for revenge against the enemy that took this person from me, and/or a sense of patriotic duty that I should now step up and take the place of this fallen soldier in defense of my country (or in Halo's perspective, Planet).
Next, I'm going to discuss the scene of training. This scene seems to follow exactly from the funeral. The boy who once stood at the funeral of a man of the ODST Unit, now is entering into the training camp that is designed to turn men into Shock Troopers. His hair is cut from his head, he is berrated for any mistake, and he is put on edge through a series of training exercises, all of this is done so he is prepared for the rigors of war. The Drill Instructor yells at the entire group while shooting the ground right next to them as they crawl in the mud through the barbed wire, "Do you want to die? Do you? Faster! Go! Go," to prepare them for the psychological pains that will come with being under fire. This scene creates the expectation that there will be some immersive area of the game where the main character goes from being some sort of individual, to being a cog in the war machine, or being part of a team of men. It creates a sense of hardship as to what is going to be coming ahead. Many of my friends tell me stories of Boot camp, Airborne School, or Ranger school, and how they try to break you down and strip yourself away from yourself, so they can make you into a soldier. There is an expectation that the character would have a development like this.
Now, I would like to discuss the final scene of the trailer, the drop and battles followed by the on field burial of a fallen comrade. First, the drop puts forward an image of the Airborne Drops in Normandy where bullets are flying everywhere, no real hope to live. Any who do live, it's not because of skill, but mostly luck. Any trooper will tell you, dropping into a hot zone is hell. This scene shows us dead troopers littering the ground, and an overwhelming enemy presence. It's a battle scene. A brute knocks Tarkov (the boy in the funeral and man in the training scenes) off his feet to the ground, signifying its advantage over the man, and growls at him. Tarkov thinks quick and shoots a Banshee out of the sky, it hits his opponent, and though he lives, he's left with two nasty scars. Cut to the on field burial of a fellow trooper. Tarkov takes a tattered ODST flag, stores it in his armor, most likely so he can pass it on to the soldier's next of kin. He scans the troopers under his command, throws his helmet on and runs off screen to continue fighting, and his men follow. This creates an expectation of togetherness in the fight, in the sacrifice, in the sense of hopelessness that the war creates. The battle makes me think that during the game, I'll be pitted against unbeatable odds. That there would be something at stake for me personally.
And last before I get to discussing the game, I would like to speak on the song that was presented throughout the entirety of the trailer. This is a rough translation of what is sung, "And my army of brothers went over the hilltops, drenched in blood we may be... but fighting is all left to me... together with my army of brothers... down we fall... darkness in all... through hell!" These are powerful lines, and the song is perfectly picked out to exemplify a feeling of hopelessness, while there's a feeling that we must push on through this to continue the fight, ultimately to fail in the pursuit of victory. There is an expectation of this army of brothers being pitted against these impossible odds, but fight anyway to their death.
Basically the trailer creates an expectation that there will actually be a deep amount of character development, environmental development, story development, psychological development, emotional development, etc. But were these expectations met?
Personally, I felt like I got the short end of the stick when I played the game. There weren't any moments in the game where I personally believed that I had some stake in the war against the covenant. I had no attachment to the character I was playing, I had not felt any sense of loss or duty that he may have felt. I didn't endure the rigors of training or the psychological strain from the war. When I dropped, there wasn't a great battle to greet me. I didn't even run into an enemy for a few minutes. I expected to be swamped and panicked by the onslaught of forces, and when I finally ran into some enemies, it was only small patrols of about 4 or 5 combatants each. As I played through the game, I just kept getting the feeling that I was just playing the typical Halo game without any new innovation aside from the multiplayer feature. There wasn't a deep story development or character development. The movement through each character's perspective was cool, but in the end, it seemed like I was playing as the same character under different names.
I don't know if you felt the same way. But add your comments below. Excessive flaming will be met by ridicule with extreme prejudice. I want civil discussions with reasons. Thank you.
