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[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

After the final scene, a still image of Master Chief as pictured on the cover is on the screen. Just as it seems the game is over, a droplet falls unto the picture, and reveals it is under a body of water. The camera pans back to reveal a single tear rolling down the cheek of a young boy. He is sitting on a bench at an asylum, holding a tin can, colored green by markers, with a small part of the can's original orange color left alone.

"Come along now John," says the nurse, "it's time for your medication." As John passes by, he notices the other inmates. Old Man Johnson was a nice man. If he managed to take his pills and stay calm, they let him smoke his cigar. He loved those cigars. He would wear his old marine hat. A dusty, green thing, but when he had his hat and cigar, he seemed to be back in his glory days. He was good friends with Mr. Keyes, as they both loved to talk about wars and guns. If Mr. Keyes wasn't with Johnson, then it was the rare few occasion that his daughter Miranda visited. His eyes would glow, no matter how few times a year she visited, nor how cold she was.

John noticed his old friend as he passed through the second hallway. He always wondered who was behind that little camera lens. He knew the men in room 343, under the camera, were always watching him. They're always watching, and the seem to know all. No matter what John did, they had already known, and already been watching. The floating eyes seemed to follow him step by step.

John finally made it to his room, accompanied by the nurse. He knew what time it was. It was time for him to go to sleep. They would wake them up when they needed him, he knew. When they needed someone to stand up. "This won't hurt one bit," she said. As John started to doze off, everything around him started to blur...he could barely make anything out...the nurse bumbled something out that John couldn't hear. Something about going into shock. He didn't know. He always thought that she was odd. Courtney-Anna was nice though, she always cared for John....he looked to the left at his green and orange painted tin can....a glance at his nature poster that he got from his mother...he hated that poster...he hated all the animals on the poster as well, the monkeys, the squids, they were all despised...then John remembered his father, and looked to the poster to the right...right by the can...they were his and his father's favorite team when he was still alive....they would go to every single Spartan game, always dressed in green and orange...but no more...John decided to glance up for one last time...he saw a water-stain in the roof that he always had noticed...it looked like a halo.

Is it just me or...?
http://www.abload.de/img/teaser-poster-12jul20vfdwt.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]Heh, one of my friends also said this. Not that taking inspiration from a Batman movie would be a bad thing. :P

[quote="Petrichor, post: 37896046"]if anyone from 343i / MS is lurking. Take note, this:

[IMG]http://www.abload.de/img/morelikeitfecc3.jpg[IMG]
looks better than this:[/QUOTE]Yeah, I have to agree. Even though I like that the Chief armor is green, the scale is thrown off and the increased brightness blurs out some of the fantastic detail. Hoping for at least a reversible cover.

 

[phosphor112]

Not a fan of Halo anymore, but looks nice.

 

[DopeyFish]

if anyone from 343i / MS is lurking. Take note, this:

looks better than this:

Not just a bit better... Way better.

 

[GodfatherX]

Not just a bit better... Way better.

im pretty sure the coloring on the other one is completely off, like not on purpose, the case, xbox logo and banner are all much brighter then they should be leaving me to believe somehow before this was released somebody goofed with the brightness

 

[dilatedmuscle]

For those hating on the composition. The contrast composition is actually really good. Regardless of it being such a busy image, they set the contrast so that master chief pops and he is the first thing your eye goes to. The contrast on the background commotion isnt as deep so to me it was more an afterthought although it looks awesome when my eye eventually wanders to that area after it has already shot straight into the high contrast points.

This is definitely a marketable image, the "less is more" adage isnt a good idea for this project when they are trying to relaunch a franchise. You want it to be a universal attention grabber.

 

[hwalker84]

Dat gorgeous boxart

I really think this will be the best one since Halo: CE

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

I just really hope the final boxart isn't the one with the modified colors.. the original art is leagues better, super eye catching and just fantastic use of colors and texture.

 

[kittens]

I don't mind the color change, but the cropping stinks.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Not a fan of Halo anymore, but looks nice.

You quit being a fan of Halo? What the Heck for?

Did Reach turn you off or was it one of the earlier games? Does this mean you'll pass on Halo 4?

Just curious. Glad we can at least agree on this box art looking nice.

 

[Gazzawa]

........dat boxart
looks great.

 

[Gui_PT]

I like how non Halo fans have to say they don't appreciate the game or are not interested before complimenting the cover

 

[Izick]

Come on, you can't tell me your mind wouldn't be blown by that ending. It's some real St. Elsewhere snow-globe type of shit.

 

[DopeyFish]

im pretty sure the coloring on the other one is completely off, like not on purpose, the case, xbox logo and banner are all much brighter then they should be leaving me to believe somehow before this was released somebody goofed with the brightness

It's not just the brightness

My comment was directed at the terrible lack of respect of the source art

 

[WrikaWrek]

Boxart looks awesome, and more vibrant colors are a studied decision to stand out more in the shelves.

 

[daedalius]

I don't mind the color change, but the cropping stinks.

Agreed, the crop is removing the ability to see important details in the cover; heck you can't even see the opening in the world very well.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Boxart looks awesome, and more vibrant colors are a studied decision to stand out more in the shelves.

Eh, if they wanna make it stand out they could always make the giant glowing opening be reflective, and possibly have his visor and Halo 4 logo reflective as well.. That way they don't need to mess with the colors.

 

[GhaleonEB]

if anyone from 343i / MS is lurking. Take note, this:

looks better than this:

Yup, so much. Remarkable how much harm the relatively small tweaks did to the official cover; I really hope that's not final and they use the art released yesterday.

 

[Lakitu]

You'd think it would be impossible going by that art to fuck up the boxart but by golly they still did.

 

[danwarb]

I'm a Halo fan and this box art is nice.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

To be fair, that could just be a bad image. The Xbox bar across the top is almost neon green, and we know that's wrong.

 

[Petrichor]

To be fair, that could just be a bad image. The Xbox bar across the top is almost neon green, and we know that's wrong.

It's not just that though, its the cropping and adjustment of the image (you can't even see the entrance to requiem, and I don't think it's just due to contrast)

 

[zlatko]

After the final scene, a still image of Master Chief as pictured on the cover is on the screen. Just as it seems the game is over, a droplet falls unto the picture, and reveals it is under a body of water. The camera pans back to reveal a single tear rolling down the cheek of a young boy. He is sitting on a bench at an asylum, holding a tin can, colored green by markers, with a small part of the can's original orange color left alone.

"Come along now John," says the nurse, "it's time for your medication." As John passes by, he notices the other inmates. Old Man Johnson was a nice man. If he managed to take his pills and stay calm, they let him smoke his cigar. He loved those cigars. He would wear his old marine hat. A dusty, green thing, but when he had his hat and cigar, he seemed to be back in his glory days. He was good friends with Mr. Keyes, as they both loved to talk about wars and guns. If Mr. Keyes wasn't with Johnson, then it was the rare few occasion that his daughter Miranda visited. His eyes would glow, no matter how few times a year she visited, nor how cold she was.

John noticed his old friend as he passed through the second hallway. He always wondered who was behind that little camera lens. He knew the men in room 343, under the camera, were always watching him. They're always watching, and the seem to know all. No matter what John did, they had already known, and already been watching. The floating eyes seemed to follow him step by step.

John finally made it to his room, accompanied by the nurse. He knew what time it was. It was time for him to go to sleep. They would wake them up when they needed him, he knew. When they needed someone to stand up. "This won't hurt one bit," she said. As John started to doze off, everything around him started to blur...he could barely make anything out...the nurse bumbled something out that John couldn't hear. Something about going into shock. He didn't know. He always thought that she was odd. Courtney-Anna was nice though, she always cared for John....he looked to the left at his green and orange painted tin can....a glance at his nature poster that he got from his mother...he hated that poster...he hated all the animals on the poster as well, the monkeys, the squids, they were all despised...then John remembered his father, and looked to the poster to the right...right by the can...they were his and his father's favorite team when he was still alive....they would go to every single Spartan game, always dressed in green and orange...but no more...John decided to glance up for one last time...he saw a water-stain in the roof that he always had noticed...it looked like a halo.

 

[Ruze789]

That's some fine lookin boxart.

 

[KageMaru]

The cover looks nice, the art is great, and the composition fits. However it's bit too busy or loud compared to past Halo boxarts. I guess this will help to make the game case stick out when placed along other game on the wall.

I like how non Halo fans have to say they don't appreciate the game or are not interested before complimenting the cover

It is puzzling considering we know very little about the game and have seen little more than a minute of gameplay. It's always suspect when people write off a game before we really know enough about it.

 

[phosphor112]

You quit being a fan of Halo? What the Heck for?

Did Reach turn you off or was it one of the earlier games? Does this mean you'll pass on Halo 4?

Just curious. Glad we can at least agree on this box art looking nice.

I stopped a while ago. I used to own all the books and everything. Played Halo 1 so much I joined any local competition that existed. Halo 2 then came out, played that a lot... then 3...etc. At that point, I feel that the games didn't do the story justice. It's fun to play but not fun as it used to be to me. I grew up playing Tribes and Counter Strike, so the straight forward "easy" gameplay got tiring to me. I still play it at my buddies house from time to time, but I won't be getting 4... mainly because my 360 has been dead for many years now.

I like how non Halo fans have to say they don't appreciate the game or are not interested before complimenting the cover

You sound upset. :lol

The cover is great though. Gives me the same vibe I got when I first looked at the covers of the Halo books.

 

[bangai-o]

pretty cool gaming cover. I can probably buy an xbox 360 now.

 

[Gui_PT]

You sound upset. :lol

The cover is great though. Gives me the same vibe I got when I first looked at the covers of the Halo books.

Naw, I said "I like" as in "i find it funny"

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Much better than 3. I still actual like the tin case for Halo 2 a lot.

 

[MafiaMusic]

yeah, the halo 2 CE tin was great.

the single collector's edition that started collectors editions.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

yeah, the halo 2 CE tin was great.

the single collector's edition that started collectors editions.

Would love 4 to do this, simple, clean.

Although I'm already in for Legendary. I just hope whatever comes with it is awesome. As much as people riff the "cat" helmet I think it's an awesome item. Heck, I'd be cool with 4 coming with a much more detailed Chief helmet that looks more "real."

Or a voucher letting you get a replica helmet of your in-game multiplayer character once you decide on it.

 

[Liamario]

I'm not a huge fan of Halo; not to say the games are bad. It was suffering a bit of repetition.
This box art is easily the best in the series and with a new team behind the game, they can potentially rejuvenate the franchise.

 

[-viper-]

my 360 is broken. i might buy a new one, second hand that is, but what other good 360 exclusives are coming out? one game is just not enough to justify the repurchase of this console. I haven't played Gears 3 either. In fact, I haven't finished Gears 2. Can I transfer my old hard-drive to a new 360 including my game saves? I really don't want to restart Gears 2 from the beginning. I'm half way through and I've had to force myself to play it..

 

[HigherLevel]

my 360 is broken. i might buy a new one, second hand that is, but what other good 360 exclusives are coming out? one game is just not enough to justify the repurchase of this console. I haven't played Gears 3 either. In fact, I haven't finished Gears 2. Can I transfer my old hard-drive to a new 360 including my game saves? I really don't want to restart Gears 2 from the beginning. I'm half way through and I've had to force myself to play it..

Yeah you can transfer your saves as long as you have the old HDD. As far as recent 360 exclusives go there's Halo Anniversary, Gears 3, Halo 4 in the fall, Forza 4, Forza Horizon(arcade racer), Twisted Pixel's new game, Witcher 2, and MGS Vancouver's new shooter.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

I think another thing that bugs me about the official box art is that it cuts off the AR. Unacceptable! Ideally, I'd want it to be the same scale as initial art, remove those supposed "cables", and make Chief's armor the green it is in the box art.

 

[LosDaddie]

Lookin' good!

I still need to preorder Halo 4.

 

[Shtof]

Actually, it looks great. Will sell many copies.

 

[Marco1]

yeah, the halo 2 CE tin was great.

the single collector's edition that started collectors editions.

This takes me back!
I can remember working through the night and instead of going to bed, I waited until the store opened so I could buy this straight away just in case they sold out as it was limited.
I walked in and there must have been over 50 of these sitting, limited indeed!
I now wait until the CE's are bargain bin although still waiting to see what the LE halo4 brings. I liked the H3 helmet LE but hated the reach statue.

 

[Conor 419]

my 360 is broken. i might buy a new one, second hand that is, but what other good 360 exclusives are coming out? one game is just not enough to justify the repurchase of this console. I haven't played Gears 3 either. In fact, I haven't finished Gears 2. Can I transfer my old hard-drive to a new 360 including my game saves? I really don't want to restart Gears 2 from the beginning. I'm half way through and I've had to force myself to play it..

Halo 4
Forza: Horizon
MGS: Vancouver Title

The entirety of XBLA

 

[Etrian Oddity]

yeah, the halo 2 CE tin was great.

the single collector's edition that started collectors editions.

Whoa boy, I just had some flashbacks of launch day. XD

 

[Truant]

Halo 3 boxart was as bland as the game itself. This looks a bit different, and still feels like Halo. I like it.

 

[UnlovedJew]

I hope the logo stays at the bottom. Makes the scope of space seem larger as well as giving off a more cinematic, space opera-y vibe. Why not have the logo be in a different position?

 

[Apath]

Does it matter? Battlefield 3(with HD package) looks like shit on consoles. Reach looks way better than BF3, so I imagine Halo 4 looking better wouldn't be that crazy.

I disagree. BF3 looks fantastic on consoles and blows Reach away.

Much better than 3. I still actual like the tin case for Halo 2 a lot.

The Halo 2 CE was amazing. Halo 3's was such a colossal piece of shit, I seriously have no idea what Bungie was thinking. Between the bulky case, the ugly box art, the shit quality of it all (discs not staying locked in, slip covers being too small), I'm amazed the person who oversaw the design of it wasn't fired. It was the first "big" Collector's Edition I bought, and I felt so burned on it, I haven't bought a single CE since (save for PC releases, such as SC2).

 

[JdFoX187]

Halo 3 boxart was as bland as the game itself. This looks a bit different, and still feels like Halo. I like it.

Wow, someone's opinion on Halo 3 that I agree with perfectly. As for this cover, it does look nice.

 

[ghibli99]

Boxart looks great!

 

[Creamium]

That looks amazing. One of the best boxarts this gen.

 

[watership]

I'm a Halo fan and this box art is nice.

What? Wrong thread. You're supposed to say "I don't like/play/care about Halo..."

 

[AlStrong]

hm... needs more halos. One around his head and one for the light source.

 

[Conor 419]

Chums! Chums! Come quick!

http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/05/16/The-Halo-Bulletin-51612.aspx

 

[MonkeyKnuckle]

I've just been sent a load of Halo 4 wallpapers and such. Anyone want me to send them on?

I have Twitter backgrounds, Facebook cover photo (like I'm using on my FB page here) and wallpapers covering:

1024x768
1280x1024
1600x1050
1920x1080
1920x1200

If anyone can show me where to host them then I'll stick them up for anyone to download. They're all of the box art, just in varying sizes.

 

[grindamasta]

Animated cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQAG3gMfHAk