Non-Traditional View of Halo

When it comes to injecting life and emotion into artwork, Bungie Studios, the makers of the XBOX franchise Halo: Combat Evolved, are very proficient. The story of the invading alien army, a blink away from snuffing the life from all of humanity, has been told hundreds of time; yet Bungie manages to make the concept fresh and engaging. Humans and aliens alike within their games have unparalleled character, easily capable of drawing the gamer into their stories, small and large, with ease and relish alike. The Master Chief, especially, is a testament to intriguing character and indefatigable strength, unquestioningly doing his level best to keep humanity from dying out in the face of the Covenant's overwhelming power. And yet, even with these examples of life and character within their games, Bungie Studios manages to bring forth new levels of emotion within their story, not in Halo 3, but in the Monument to New Mombasa. This Monument is not a part of the game, or indeed even animated; it is, instead, a massive work of art crafted over three years of intense passion and dedication to detail. The Monument depicts one of the last fights which the Marines and Master Chief are forced to endure, outside the city of New Mombasa in Africa. Hundreds of individually carved Marines and Covenant troops can be seen engaging in pitched battle across a bombed-out cityscape. While this in and of itself would be an impressive work of art, the details of the entire work help bring the creation to life. Sweat beads on the brow of a hidden Marine; desperate, animal fear is etched into the face of a sniper. A Brute shock-trooper clutches a fleeing man's wrist, hammer raised to strike a deathblow, while elsewhere a trench explodes into fire and ash. Everything from exit smoke flowing from a tank muzzle to stone dust settling onto rubble has been added to this work; the realism is simply overwhelming. It is through this level of detail that the battle truly comes to life, demonstrating an incredibly diverse range of human emotion and tragedy that is at once accessible to fans of the game and art students alike. Halo 3 may very well be a wonderful game; I haven't played it, so I couldn't tell you. I will, however, recommend an in-depth view of the Monument; the passion and endless facets of the battle lend more to the eye and heart than one might think. And if you're like me, and have to wait for Halo 3 for a little while longer, the Monument might very well help tide you over till then.