The Books
Halo was such an inspiring game that its story has reached bookshelves. What? A game and a book, what the hell? Well, its true. And whats most surprising is that the books, that is the three books, are actually entertaining and supply new background information that you could have never recieved from just playing the game. The three books in the series takes you from the planet called Reach to right before Halo 2 is supposed to take place. I am currently reading the second book in the series entitled Halo: The Flood by William C. Dietz.
The story takes place when a ship, the Pillar of Autumn, crash lands on a Halo, a massive weapon created by the Forerunners that can destroy all life. Here the Master Chief otherwise known as John, a super soldier (Spartan) created only to fight in the U.S. army, searches the planet for his superior, Captain keyes, while killing plenty of the covienent enemies on the way. The Covenant is an alien opposing force to the human race, who at present have been engaged in a 19 year war against the humans. Using their techniclogically superior weapons, ships, etc., they have been destroying the Human's ships and bases on different planets. The Covenant's only goal is to destroy all human life and they are searching for the Human's main base of operations called "Earth". The Master Chief eventually finds Captain keyes and rescues him. The book goes farther to where The Flood, the super powerful weapon that destroys all life, is released accidentally by Captain Keyes. The Master Chief has to then stop The Flood from escaping Halo, and he does so by blowing up Halo.
The book is a great read, and is definitly worth your time wether or not you have played the game. I suggest however you read the first book in the series titled Halo: The Fall Of Reach. Once I read all three books I will put up a summary of the whole story but until then this will have to do. Here is a list of the 3 Halo books and a description.
As the bloody Human-Covenant War rages on Halo, the fate of humankind may rest with one warrior, the lone SPARTAN survivor of another legendary battle . . . the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo--the fall of the planet Reach. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict. While the brutal Covenant juggernaut sweeps inexorably through space, intent on wiping out humankind, only one stronghold remains--the planet Reach. Practically on Earth's doorstep, it is the last military fortress to defy the onslaught. But the personnel here have another, higher priority: to prevent the Covenant from discovering the location of Earth. Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers seem to have little chance against the Covenant, but Reach holds a closely guarded secret. It is the training ground for the very first "super soldiers." Code-named SPARTANs, these highly advanced warriors, specially bioengineered and technologically augmented, are the best in the universe--quiet, professional, and deadly. Now, as the ferocious Covenant attack begins, a handful of SPARTANs stand ready to wage ultimate war. They will kill, they will be destroyed, but they will never surrender. And at least one of them--the SPARTAN known as Master Chief--will live to fight another day on a mysterious and ancient, artificial world called Halo. . . .
Halo: The Flood is the second book in the outstanding series by Bungie, telling the story of the mysterious ring world Halo and the secrets that it holds. For all of the fans who read the official prequel, The Fall of Reach, they will immediately notice the difference that the new author, William C. Dietz, makes to the story. Love it or hate it, Dietz has a very different style of writing than Eric Nylund. The book still follows the adventures of our hero Master Chief, or Spartan 117 as he is now known. There are many side stories, including the entire story of Captain Keyes� escape with his crew, the marines and Helljumpers who evacuated the ship, and even a Grunt by the name of Yayap and his escapades to try to survive the fight while his leader goes on a quest to kill Master Chief.
This sequel to both the Halo game and Halo: The Flood, details the events following the destruction of the ancient artifact called Halo.
The book starts off with the Pillar of Autumn already in system and being attacked by Covenant ships. Captain Keyes is forced to make an emergency crash landing on Halo, and is immediately greeted by Covenant ground patrols. The main storyline is still the exact same as the game, with all the text and locations unchanged. Unfortunately, that isn�t necessarily a good thing. While I found it interesting to read the same things I had just done in the game, it did get a bit tedious going through all the fight scenes. The game was designed with gameplay in mind, but the excitement of killing hundreds of aliens starts to become tiresome in the book. Fortunately the author realizes this and keeps many of the later action scenes short and to the point. One of the improvements is the toning down of Master Chief, and he doesn�t seem as godlike as in Fall of Reach.
One of the high points of the novel comes from the story of the hapless marines that set up on a hill and fend off Covenant and Flood in battle after epic battle. To keep things fresh there is also the story of Captain Keyes, telling everything from his escape, to the battle to fight the flood that has taken his body. You will discover the stories of countless other people involved in the backstory of Halo that never were mentioned in the game. This information alone makes it well worth the read, and helps to clear up many questions that were never answered in the game. Of course, it also brings up new questions.
The novel leaves off with the Spartan boarding the Longsword fighter and making his escape. It sadly doesn�t give any hints about what will happen in Halo 2, but the ending is effective nonetheless. In all, the book is exciting and will keep you intrigued until the last page. Even though you know what happens, it stays fresh and most important, entertaining. Even if you are not familiar with the game or have not read the prequel, it goes into detail explaining all the things in the Halo universe.
It begins on the planet Reach, which has been attacked and taken by the alien Covenant. Their usual method of conquest is "glassing" the entire world, but on Reach they don't quite finish the job: there is a section they need intact and captured.
It is here, in the "Castle", that several Spartan-II soldiers, enhanced genetically and equipped with high tech armour, have managed to survive. The Covenant are looking for something and they mean to find it first.
Meanwhile, in Halo's debris field, the Master Chief floats in his escape craft, believing himself to be not only the sole survivor of Halo but the last Spartan as well.
With no hyperdrive and no way to escape, all hope seems lost.
Then a Covenant fleet arrives carrying a dignitary who was supposed to inspect Halo. At the same time, other survivors are found by the advanced AI named Cortana, the Chief's longtime colleague. They turn out to be a Spartan, held in a cryo chamber, and a dropship full of Marines, hiding behind a piece of wreckage.
Using the added resources now available, the Chief and the others use the dropship as a decoy while they enter the alien flagship's cargo bays at high speed. Oddly, the huge ship has almost no warrior-caste on board, and with the help of Cortana's hacking abilities they capture the ship. While fighting off the rest of the fleet, Cortana discovers a new way of making Slipspace jumps, which could turn the tide of the war.
Escaping, they fly to Reach. There, they discover masses of alien troops on the ground, and the Chief is encouraged by the chance of seeing some of his fellow Spartans alive again.
Using the alien ship as cover, they fly to the surface and manage to penetrate the alien security, entering the Castle.
Here they find the Spartans, a fleet Admiral, and Dr. Halsey, who created the Spartan program.
They also find a mysterious crystal, which is the goal of the Covenant invasion. It seems to be able to affect gravity, radiation, and other forces yet unknown. They use its power to help them escape to orbit, and they take off with enemy ships in pursuit.
After much battling and with help from Covenant Engineers..who are not loyal to their masters..the captured flagship encounters a massive fleet headed for Earth.
It has to be stopped!
The Game
The video game called Halo, follows the plotline of Halo: The Flood, (read above). Besides that, Halo for the Xbox, made by Bungie is the biggest butt kicking game there is to date on the Xbox. You want action why not blast some aliens? Oh, so your more of a Resident Evil sort of player, why not kill some swarm? Maybe you just like good stories with solid graphics with great AI detail. Guess what? Halo has all this. Play the game! Infact, I do not know anyone who owns and Xbox and does not have a copy of Halo.
Wait a minute, you don't have an Xbox? First, that is sad and you need one. Secondly, your problem is solved. Halo is also available for the PC. Infact, going with the PC version of the game maybe better than the Xbox version since you can play multiplayer on the net.Also the multiplayer includes an extra weapon known as the flamethrower. Infact here is some extra information of the PC game provided by the Microsoft web site:
Bent on Humankind's extermination, a powerful fellowship of alien races known as the Covenant is wiping out the Earth's fledgling interstellar empire. You and the other surviving defenders of a devastated colony-world make a desperate attempt to lure the alien fleet away from Earth. Shot down and marooned on the ancient ring-world Halo, you begin a guerilla-war against the Covenant. Fight for humanity against an alien onslaught as you race to uncover the mysteries of Halo.
Halo, the award-winning and critically acclaimed science fiction epic adventure, is coming to the PC, courtesy of Bungie and Gearbox Software. Packed with action, Halo contains all the thrilling gameplay and rich story that made it a smash hit with gamers all over the world. Now you can take the battle online with all new multiplayer including new maps, weapons and vehicles available only on your PC!
Live the rich sci-fi epic adventure that is Halo!
Experience the ultimate Halo challenge with all new online multiplayer for up to 16.
Take on the world in any of the 15 multiplayer maps including 6 brand new maps never before seen!
Unleash destruction with incredible weapons and vehicles including brand new armaments for intense online multiplayer games.
