I don't know about the Halo population and the ending of the game, but I know that I was tearing up harder than I thought a game could induce. The end of Cortana was extremely sad, but that part I thought was most sad was when she touches Chief's chest saying "I always wanted to do that..." That one there yanked a tear out.
shareI'm been contemplating posting this question somewhere, thank you for doing it for me :). I agree with everything you said especially 'Made me cry more than I thought anything fictional could'. I'm shed a tear here and there but this was full on blubbering.
After all they've been through, leaving her, finding her, her journey into insanity and then sacrifice, the bond they have after all they've been through, that they have each other as the only constant in each others lives, etc.
Every single line hit me so hard I don't know what was sadder: Her acceptance of the situation or his refusal of it (to the point of even begging her to stay). Also you can hear it sounds like she's about to cry at certain points.
Master Chief and Cortana's personal journey, and the sacrifice they both had to make at the end of this campaign is the main reason I'm actually putting the campaign of this this game above Halo Combat Evolved (the game I always thought would be my number one in the series).
The fact that they've been through so much together, and she finally had to sacrifice herself to save him did actually make me tear up massively. That being said,I don't know if I would have had the same reaction had I been new to this series, so I'm glad I wasn't.
In my opinion Halo 4 is the most personal of all of the Halo games, and honestly, it's the one where I feel I was able to connect the most with BOTH of these characters. I definitely think it was the most I've ever heard Master Chief talk.
On the subject of Villains, I really feel they maybe could have shed a little more light on The Didact, but I have a feeling they're saving that for Halo 5. Given that this was the first of the trilogy, the little that we do know about him at this point is fine. Plus, he's got one of the BEST introductions of a villain (in my opinion) since The Flood.
I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story is heading.
I feel the Didact will return. I mean The Composer transfers flesh into data, and in some instances (Prometheans) robots and it looks like the Didact fell into that so he could be all Darth Vadar and return as a machine of some sorts.
Aside from that I'm convinced Cortana will return as a villain leaving Chief with the impossible choice whether or not to save/kill her. Of course he will try to save for as long as possible but how long does he hold out? How much damage does he allow he to do before he has to put his foot down?
They said Halo 5 would be darker so I don't see any other way to do that other than Cortana being all red colored/rampant/crazy and Chiefs rival.
I did see many things about Halo 5 being the darkest game. I feel like nothing could be worse than Cortana dying except Chief dying. I'm going to hate the AI that is assigned to him in the next game just for the sole fact that it isn't Cortana.
shareI agree on all points. I feel like Halo 4's purpose was to convey a final bond between Cortana and Chief before the game ended and that the next game will concentrate more on the enemy than on the relationship between Cortana and Chief.
shareThe parts where she seemed like she was going to cry hit me hard as well, especially since it shows just how human she really is. Her using the last bit of her sanity to become a physical form just for the chance to touch Chief just once was sadder than ever.
shareI'm pretty emotionless but I have to admit, while I didn't cry, the end was gut wrenching. Truth is, I've seen enough scifi stuff that I should've known what was coming but maybe because Cortana has been one of my favorite game characters I just wanted to pretend 343i would go in a different direction.
shareI was hoping that they would get to Dr. Halsey the entire game, but as the game was getting closer to the end, I knew it was going to happen.
shareNo. Because you can't convince me that I should have any feelings for an AI. I thought that was the weirdest part of Halo 3 and 4, the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana. I mean, there didn't seem to be any feelings between them at all in the first two, but all of a sudden in 3 there is. Not to mention the fact that as far as the timeline is concerned, the two weren't together for very long. Doesn't the beginning of Halo:CE and the end of Halo 3 only cover a time frame of about a month?
She's basically a robot, and while she was cool in what she does I wanted to laugh at all the emotional parts they put into the story. I felt the same about the relationship between EDI and Joker in Mass Effect 3. It's like, have fun *beep* a robot.
That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
You have completely misunderstood John and Cortana's relationship then.
shareThere's also the part where Cortana is a clone of a human. She's like a human trapped in a computer, and you could only imagine how depressing that would be. She is an AI, but she's also human.
shareSure Cortana first met MC in 2552, but Cortana was created from the mind of Catherine Halsey and as such retained all of her original memories and experiences (stated several times in the novels and shown specifically in Halo 3 when Cortana speaks Halsey's words from before Cortana was created). So in a sense Cortana has known John since he was 10 years old. Of course Cortana becomes her own individual with her own experiences but her affection for him carried over. While Halsey may have seen John the way a mother would, Cortana develops an affection the way good friends would sharing a foxhole, so to speak. As for John's affection for Cortana it appears to be a bond developed through carrying out his mission to protect her from falling into enemy hands (as per the Cole Protocol). And it is shown that all of the Spartans held a deep respect for Halsey (example Jorge in Halo Reach and the other Spartan II's in the novels), so it isn't much of a stretch to see those feelings mirrored in the way Chief feels for Cortana.
A little hint to their developing friendship from Halo 1 and 2:
Halo 1:
Cortana: [she turns to the Master Cheif] Sleep well?
The Master Chief: No thanks to your driving... Yes.
Cortana: So you did miss me.
Cortana: Hmm. Your architecture is a quite similar the Autumn's.
The Master Chief: Don't get any funny ideas.
Halo 2:
Cortana: [looks at Master Chief during the Medal ceremony] You look nice.
The Master Chief: Than...
Sergeant Johnson: Thank you.
The Master Chief: [looks at Sergeant Johnson]
Cortana: I know what you're thinking, and it's crazy.
The Master Chief: So, stay here.
Cortana: Unfortunately for us both, I like crazy.
Cortana: [Sergeant Johnson has just delivered a Scorpion tank to the Master Chief and Cortana] Thanks for the tank. *He* never gets me anything.
[The Master Chief is forced to leave Cortana behind on High Charity.]
Cortana: Chief, when you get to Earth, good luck.
Master Chief: After I deal with Truth...
Cortana: [Sadly] Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.
So the idea that all of a sudden they seem to be good friends only shows up in Halo 3 seems misguided.
I do understand you not caring about something non-living. As Brought up by Roger Ebert for the film AI, feeling sad for David is akin to feeling sad for a toaster. But it's not always about what something is made of, but what value it has to a person. I have seen many people upset after losing something of great sentimental value, like a grandfather's watch, or a book of photos. Well Cortana may have been like those things, but she had the ability to interact in ways that only other living beings can. I would imagine that would make for an emotional parting.
I'm not implying that they didn't joke around and seem unfriendly toward each other. It's just that in Halo 1 and 2, Master Chief only speaks a little bit and Cortana is mostly there as a useful tool who will occasionally throw out wit to lighten the mood. But then during Halo 3, her well being is all of a sudden put in the forefront and to me it seemed like a strange departure from her role in the first 2. Even her staying on board High Charity at the end of Halo 2 didn't seem like a huge sacrifice on her part because of the way in which she agrees to answer the Graveminds questions in the scene after the credits.
But in Halo 3 we keep hearing these flashbacks and see what an ordeal she's been through, and how desperate Master Chief is to get her back. I just honestly didn't think there was true emotion in their relationship because in Halo 1 and 2 the joking just seemed more like dry humor than anything else.
As for any additional information on Cortana, being as I don't read the novels or other fan fiction, I really don't know much about what she really is. So my knowledge is based mainly on what we know from the games. Was it mentioned in Reach that Cortana was a clone of Dr. Halseys mind? I don't remember.
That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
The novels came out in 2002 after Halo: CE and 2 years before Halo 2. So while it may have been intended as playful banter in Halo 1, Halo 2 certainly used information from the novels to inform their relationship from Halo 2 forward. As for fan fiction, who said anything about that? Halsey can't admit that Cortana was based off of her because the process Halsey used was highly illegal. So she didn't tell anyone in-game. It describes it in the novels and in Halsey's Journal which came with the special edition of Halo Reach (the one with the plastic statue). I get it. The game didn't pay any emotional dividends because it relies on the immediacy of the situation and doesn't stop to drone on with exposition. They allow the books to do that for them. So I can see how someone who has only played the games wouldn't see why the attachment of the characters is so strong. But, I suppose, until games get more serious, you play games for fun, you read books to enjoy characters. And you do both if you love the the universe the game is set in.
shareI agree with your final paragraph, scripe. Made me think of Tom Hanks' bonding and emotional dependency with the basketball 'Wilson' in the movie Castaway. When he loses Wilson, it is one of the most emotionally affecting moments in any movie for me. After that, bonding with an AI construct in the form of Cortana doesn't seem such a strange concept at all.
shareNo. Because you can't convince me that I should have any feelings for an AI - I wouldn't necessarily call her an A.I. in the traditional sense though, from what I remember she is a clone of a human brain in data form, not programmed or created in any way. I see Cortana the same way as a human mind in the matrix.
I mean, there didn't seem to be any feelings between them at all in the first two, but all of a sudden in 3 there is - They always seemed pretty friendly to me? I can't come up with exact examples but I remember it was hard for them to say goodbye at the end of Halo 2.
Not to mention the fact that as far as the timeline is concerned, the two weren't together for very long. Doesn't the beginning of Halo:CE and the end of Halo 3 only cover a time frame of about a month? - True but fictional (and probably factual) people have formed strong bonds in shorter timelines when paired together in extreme circumstances. Quality can solidly relationships better than quantity sometimes.
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It pissed me off while watching xplays review of this and them being like. "Oh the interactions between the two are awkward" but in reality that's what made the game and I am extremely saddened by the way it ended.
shareYeah, it got a little dusty in here when I played it. Jen's voice acting is amazing.
/ and let's face it, Cortana is kinda hot
Her voice acting is one of my favorite things about both 3 and 4, especially when she's flipping out as the Gravemind interrogates her in 3, and as she slowly loses her mind in this one. It's especially sad because it's so similar to the way relatives with Alzheimer's just sort of slip away from us. And Ms. Taylor handled it magnificently!
And yes, Cortana was always hot, but this new, performance-captured one, holy crap! It looks so much more real, the difference between this and the animations in the first three games is like night and day. Hell, ALL the characters look and move so much more realistically in this one.
When a loose cannon flogs a dead horse, there's the Devil to pay!
I CRIED WHEN I REALIZED I PAID 60 BUCKS ON A RUSHED HALO GAME, THAT I FINSHED IN A COUPLE DAYS ON LEGENDARY. LAME! I JUST FINISHED FAR CRY 3, IT TOOK ME 2 WEEKS, WAY BETTER THAN HALO 4, AND I'VE BEEN A HALO FAN SINCE THE XBOX FIRST CAME OUT, THAT WAS THE FIRST GAME I GOT WITH IT. 343 HAS A LOT TO LEARN, I MISS BUNGIE!!!! THE MULTIPLAYER IS THE ONLY REASON TO GET THIS GAME, AND THEY BAN YOU FOR HAVING AN ADULT CONVERSATION FOR A WEEK. HALO SHOULD JUST BE SOLD TO NINTENDO.
shareIt was sadder than i thought it would be, especially since she's just a computer. Thought she was gonna be saved at the end too. Guess we can't have another tease like 3. Tip my hat to her excellent voice acting over the years.
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