Halo Legends DVD

I've been wanting to review this one for quite a while now and since we're less than a week away from the release of Halo Reach this seems appropriate. I just wrote the review on this while I was re-watching it, but it got corrupted when I was transferring to my other computer. So I'm most likely going to forget a lot of the things I wanted to talk about and I'm kind of pissed about that. I'm going to try to avoid spoiling anything but some stuff I just need to mention.  To begin you have to keep in mind that I don't view these stories of actually ever happening within the Halo universe (except Origins I and II). There is just too many contradictions and overall weirdness that makes me believe they never were intended to take place.

For some reason Target got an exclusive Senitype with Warner Brothers on the DVD release. A Senitype is a single CGI frame from the film footage on a 35mm reproduction placed inside a postcard with concept art on it. The Senitype of on the right here is of the concept art of the Booster Frame from "The Package" along with a frame featuring it. I guess that's kind of cool to get along with the 2 disc special edition.

More review after the jump.

- Origins I: This takes place right after the end of Halo 3 which is pretty cool. You obviously don't learn what happens next in Master Chief's story, it is more of Cortana speaking to him in cryo-hibernation about the past. The style of this episode is more like comic book art. Except for when the battles are taking place the animation during those parts really remind me of Voltron or Robotech. Speaking of 80's cartoons the designs of the Forerunners remind me too much of the costumes from Battle of the Planets. Cortana speaks of the downfall of the Forerunners and the birth of the Halo rings. It's pretty interesting to see all the Covenant aliens in their natural habitats at a primitive stage of their societies.

- Origins II: Cortana then shifts towards the history of mankind's evolution and hunger for war. There is actually a lot of philosophical theory behind this episode. It is mostly about the primitive urge of living beings wanting to fight. I love that they show the Spartans of 300 for brief moment. Mankind was always having wars until we looked towards technology and the conquering of outer space. Then once we got bored of other planets, the fighting has begun once again. The fighting between humans didn't stop until the Covenant appeared. During the battles Master Chief, Sgt Johnson, and the Arbiter make an appearance. I never took notice of the parallel of the UNSC and Covenant coming together to fight against a common enemy like the humans before the Covenant.

- The Duel: This episode is done in a Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X style (surprised I even still remember those series). They were going for a visual style of Japanese paintings but they added an extra layer of effect over the mixture of drawings an CGI. This effect layer really just muddy everything up and just makes it look really bad. This story is about the downfall of an Arbiter and the beginning of the position turning into a mark of shame instead of honor. It bothers me that the Elite's speak with their bottom mandibles together like a normal mouth and not apart like they normally do. For some reason there's a giant Hunter in this episode and I mean giant. It would be pretty awesome trying to fight one of those in a game. I'm pretty sure a Plasma Sword can cut through a metal sword, but maybe that's just me.

- Homecoming: The artwork of this one reminds me of Blue Gender (another one that surprises me that I remember). Also whoever drew the Mjolnir armor really does a bad job of it. To begin just remember "Spartans Never Die" with that being said you really need to read Halo: The Fall of Reach to understand everything in this story. The editing is well thought out and makes the story more interesting by the way it mirrors and repeats upon itself (originally had this worded better, but I can't think of how I wrote it before). Doctor Catherine Halsey makes an appearance in this story the way she is supposed to. I'll elaborate on that later. Give this episode a chance because it actually tells the story really well.

- Odd One Out: You can't take this one seriously at all. Right off the bat, this story follows a Spartan named 1337 and he falls out of a Pelican. They definitely "Dragon Ball Z"d the shit out of this episode. Complete with a very hungry child, powering up, mention of "Kamahamaha" (I didn't hear but it was listed somewhere and it doesn't surprise me), and Shoop Da Whoop! Hell, the Prophet Truth even reminds me of Frieza. I really want to know why there is a Yamcha and Android 18 look-a-likes that fight exactly they're straight out of Dragon Ball Z. Not much more to talk about this one except it is completely ridiculous and the Halo ring at the end makes no sense. This whole episode has to be a parody.

 - Prototype: It's time for the Gundam version of Halo. This episode contains my favorite character in the Halo Legends series. Sgt Ghost is such a badass and actually has some character development to him. Why would you ever have a Self-Destruct sequence like the one inside the prototype suit? It makes no sense at all but whatever. The prototype suit is basically what you would get if Gundam Heavyarms and a Mjolnir suit had a baby. This really is a pretty awesome episode.

- The Babysitter: This episode focuses mostly on the relationship between the Spartans and the ODST. In the novels, the ODST's resentment and hatred towards the Spartans is much more obvious unlike the games. Dutch from Halo 3: ODST is featured in this episode. The story is fascinating by the role reversal that takes place throughout it. When one of the ODST's HEV pods land in the swamp and the Spartan pulls it out, I can't help but think about the Degoba system. They talk about the Forerunner architecture not being like human or Covenant, but it clearly has the feeling of a mixture of Feudal Japan and Mayan buildings. The last 10 seconds is way too cheesy.

- The Package: Here's the climax of the Halo Legends series. This one is produced in high-quality CGI. The look is true to the Halo series and looks amazing. The battle scenes are marvelous and fast paced. I love that they block out Master Chief's face twice in this episode. Kelly and Fred from the novels take part in this episode too, which makes me really happy. The Arbiter is also present before he gets his armor. I absolutely hate what they did with Dr. Hasley in this episode. They completely changed her personality, appearance, and meaning. I know Cortana is supposed to be like Dr. Hasley but they Cortana the crap out of her. The dialogue between Master Chief and Dr. Hasley is just terrible and way too forced. They definitely designed Dr. Hasley in the "man's eye" for this episode. She is supposed to have power through intelligence and not sex-appeal like they did. In Homecoming she appears how she is supposed to be: a intimidating, intelligent, brunette. Instead in The Package she's a stupid, slutty, blond. I don't know why they decided to change here so much for no reason. Not too mention they force way too many Cortana quotes in there. Other than that this episode is really good, but maybe it's just because of the visuals.