I've noticed that a lot of people like that, but for me it's one of the worst dialogue moments in the entire series. It feels extremely forced and doesn't flow very well at all. Way too much "grr I'm a Halo 3 angry villain rawr" going on, and not much else. I've disliked it since first I heard it, perhaps even moreso than Keyes' hilarious "to war" line that follows.
I haven't played H2V, though any "smoke and mirrors" aspects of it seem pretty blatantly obvious in the original Xbox version as well. I suppose the texture quality could let it down in HD, as some stuff (especially the stonerunner objects on DH/Regret) feel rather sad even with 480-line visuals.
But I'm still waiting for CE to get a really solid high-performance port. Halo PC is decent at being a PC game, but it's a sloppy port of CE, and CEA is a mediocre port of HPC. This is a big part of why I still keep an original Xbox hooked up. :/
I admit that in-game it doesn't have nearly the effect it did in that trailer for me. Probably because compared to the trailer the first part is spoken at breakneck speed. And especially cringe-worthy with that line by Keyes, who's 12 year-old Halo 3 voice actor was terrible compared to the hotness that is Julie Benz (Rita from Dexter, and Darla from Buffy, for the Whedon fans).
Wincott was just such a pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mGYPj7nh6Y#t=245
I felt the delivery was really well done by Stamp, though, every little intonation, grumble, and pause, the way he says "Vermin" and "Glass"... I dunno. I just liked it. And the part where he says, "Your destruction is the will of the Gods! And I? I AM their instrument!" is such fan service, I'm pretty sure in the lore that was the first very thing that the Covenant said to Humans when they made first contact just after the glassing of Harvest, if I'm remembering correctly (could have changed in media since then, not sure) - though it sounds much more fearsome when it is said "
We are their instrument". During that scene, I was remembering that line from the Fall of Reach with "We" instead of "I" and the change made me realize just how self-absorbed and disillusioned Truth really was.
Bungie really liked that line I think, it was also used in the crazy first trailer from E3 2000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXVArrf-W0#t=502 edit: I bet it was a Staten line, sure sounds like it
I actually can't find an HD version of that Halo 3 trailer on YouTube, it should be the one released during E3 2007, best I could find in 360p potatovision:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4dh_V_G-YM but there is an HD DL on this page:
http://halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=ethreeblowout
compared to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2u-PFgnc4#t=453 (dat Fillion line out of nowhere!)
The pacing of the monologue is much better in the trailer. And the setup of the scene in the game was very "Mars Attacks" haha.
I still remember the shivers I got when that phantom flew overhead the forest. Looked so beautiful. Was it the first gameplay shown? I don't remember... Can't believe it's been
7 years since then, on the eve of this new E3.
Still not as good as the first reveal trailer from '06 though. Thinking back, the best part of the Truth character was his "propaganda speeches" that were broadcast echoing throughout High Charity in Halo 2 and on the Ark and around the Portal in Halo 3. The best line I think is probably still that one that was used at then end of that Halo 2 TV commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7dZsa4oPwQ
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I'm still only on Earth for Halo 2 PC, but the first thing that stuck out to me was the very first cutscene where you see the broken Alpha Halo. It is just full of scribbles! Doesn't look destroyed at all! You can kind of see it here (in 1440p!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3qvrb77y3A
It's kinda fun to see that stuff, because I never really noticed it on the Xbox. Just makes me want a proper remake version. I really don't think it would be possible to just go over the original game with a "sexy layer" like they did with Halo CEA, but I'm no expert.
And yes, the graphical anomalies in Halo CE PC and Anni are annoying for purists like yourself, among other things. Hopefully one day they get that right, but I'm not holding my breath
That original Xbox will probably forever stay connected!
Wow... this post turned out much longer and with many more videos than I had planned. Can you tell I'm in hype mode? Oh well!