Forward Unto Dawn, Episode 5: Review Part 1 Awakening

Once again a new episode. And unfortunately for we fans, the final full new episode of Forward Unto Dawn. As always it stars out with Cortana aboard the drifting Forward Unto Dawn.

She’s on red alert form being scanned.

She’s still talking to herself, now mocking herself for having to wake up Master Chief when needed. It’s interesting that the Rampancy has flowed over into being resentful of Master Chief. We got this vividly in the last episode. Now it’s there just more subtle.

She starts to dematerialize herself from her orb form. This is something new that we haven’t seen before. It’s quite well done.

She condenses her form to a very small ball then bam like the big bang she explodes, but what comes of it is the familiar form of Cortana that we all know and love. Well 343’s version, which I think is very stunning.

This final shot of the opening scene is fantastic. If we are treated to graphics nearly as good as this in the game, then we’re in for something very special. To note, the face of this version of Cortana was taken directly from Mackenzie Mason ” @mackenziemason .” I asked her about this. She said that 343 captured her face. So what you see there is Mackenzie. The the body is not hers though she says stating the proportions are different.

Of all the opening scenes of the series, I’d say this is my favorite. While part 4 was good, and had a nice Halo ring reference, seeing Cortana in her human form just can’t be topped, in my book.

Next review of Episode 5: Part 2, FASTER!

HaloFanForLife Forward Unto Dawn contest…

Okay folks, I’ve got an easy contest in the works. Stay tuned later for the specifics of the contest.

You MUST be a registered subscriber of the BLOG (not Twitter or Facebook) to win.

The prize will be a Halo McFarlane Master Chief (as seen in Forward Unto Dawn)

Here’s a pic from the McFarlane site:

Yes, I know it says from “The Package” which was an episode in the Halo Legends cartoon. However, it is the same armor as seen in Forward Unto Dawn.

Shipping will be free to those in the lower 48 states. If the winner is outside of this area, the will need to pay for shipping. (Sorry folks, I’m a bit crunched so I need to ask that of you) If the winner chooses not accept the prize on that condition, then I may award the prize to the second person who answers the contest question correct. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Again, look for the contest question later today…

-Sal (HFFL)

McFarlane Halo Master Chief Vs. Hunter resin statue (limited to 500)!

Forward-Unto-Dawn-Resin-Statue.html

Okay folks, want to own what is surely to become a holy grail of Halo collecting? This resin statue is up for sale at the link above for $225. You won’t get charged right now for it. (But will about a week before shipping which should be around the first week of December)

Only 500 total will be made. So this is VERY limited.

This isn’t plastic. It’s SOLID. The resin statue is a whopping 14lbs. Shipping is free. (Thank goodness as a 14lbs anything would cost a lot in shipping-I guess they took that into account when pricing the statue.)

If you do get it, shoot some pics my way, PLEASE. I’ll feature them on the blog. I unfortunately won’t be able to afford this beauty. Super SADFACE… 🙁

-Sal (HFFL)

Forward Unto Dawn (unofficial) Graphic Novel: Episode 4

Friday I brought to you my 11-part review of the fourth episode of “Forward Unto Dawn.”

I’ve taken that a step further and made a 56-page graphic novel of the fourth episode. My biggest to date. Using the 343 screenshots I took as well as typing out some the dialog, I added Photoshop effects and laid out the project in InDesign.

Feel free to download this as it’s FREE. If you repost this anywhere, PLEASE give me credit as: Designed by Sal Salerno of HaloFanForLife.com
And please link back to my original post here.

Click on the first page. When the new window loads up, click the image to get to the next page, etc…

Without further ado:

This was an intese labor of love this time around as I had to deal with illness and Hurricane Sandy knocking out power three times. I really enjoyed making this though. Again, if you have any comments, please feel free to respond here, on Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail me at: [email protected]

-Sal (HFFL)

NEW HALO 4: FORWARD UNTO DAWN LIMITED-EDITION STATUE

Text from Spawn.com:

NEW HALO 4: FORWARD UNTO DAWN LIMITED-EDITION STATUE
Statue Reveal & Pre-order On November 2nd
October 30, 2012
Copyright 2012 TMP International, Inc

McFarlane Toys has teamed up with Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries to bring you a new iconic collectable from the Halo universe.

Leading up to the highly anticipated release of Halo 4, Microsoft created the live-action digital series, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. This online epic live-action digital series delivers an exciting story of heroism and sacrifice taking fans back to the beginning of the Human-Covenant War, leading into the events of Halo 4, the biggest entertainment event of 2012.

To commemorate this riveting action story, the McFarlane Toys Collectors Club is offering the first-ever Halo resin statue exclusively on the McFarlane Toys online store. This highly detailed, hand-painted, cold-cast resin statue depicts a pivotal scene from Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn that is a MUST have for Halo fans.

The statue will be revealed by Todd McFarlane, McFarlane Toys’ creator, during the final episode of “Halo After Dawn,” airing on Machinima Prime and Halo Waypoint this Friday, November 2 at 10 am PST.

The limited-edition Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn statue stands more than 14-inches tall on a base spanning 13” wide by 7” deep. Only 500 pieces have been produced and each statue and its box are sequentially numbered. As an added bonus, each statue will include a Certificate of Authenticity hand-signed by McFarlane.

The Statue retails at $225 with FREE Shipping (Only available in US and Canada). Preordering will begin at 10:15 am PST on Friday, November 2nd.

The Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn statue is planned to ship December 2012. Customers will not be charged until the order is ready to ship.

Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of Halo history!

End Copy/paste

Thanks to my buds VaderRx and Big_Matt for posting the info.

Working hard to get the FUD ep4 graphic novel done…

I was a bit ill today, so my progress on the Forward Unto Dawn episode 4 graphic novel ground to a halt for about 12 hours. It’s late now, but I had plenty of sleep, so I am going to work on it now.

I hope to have it done late Sunday (my time-Eastern US). Though it may be early Monday instead due to the illness.

This one looks to be the biggest yet as I took 343 screenshots of the episode. While there isn’t a ton of dialogue, I do want to show the action sequences as best as possible in graphic novel form.

Please, if you’ve check out the previous episode graphic novels, let me know if you like them, or even if you don’t, of might have suggestions. All I ask is be courteous with responses and I’ll be sure to get back to you all.

Thanks,
-Sal (HFFL)

Let’s speculate about Forward unto Dawn episode 5.

So now the speculation of what happens in episode 5 (the last full episode) takes place.

With there being only 4 cadets left: Laksy, Chyler Silva, “Sully” Sullivan, and April Orenski; who will die next if any?

I’m going to take a wild guess and say both the women. At this point Orenski has run her course in the series. Though I’d love to see her come back as a commanding officer of a ship, in a novel, if she survives. Chyler though…a tough call to kill her off, but I think it’s practically necessary. For Lasky it will be the final straw for him. Chyler is the last person he really cares anything about. Losing her would make him a hardened career military man for sure. And, of course this is basically what he has become as we know he’s in Halo 4.

Sullivan is the only other cadet I can see making it through. Yes, he’s wounded from the needle round to the leg from this episode, however, he’s a very popular character. Being a bit of a wise-ass as well as an ONI spy in the making, Sully has huge amounts of potential to show up in other areas of Halo, be that novels or the next game(s).

Oh and did you guys watch the credits at the end of this episode? One word: HUNTER
(Go see for yourself)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_xn889cSk&feature=plcp

Go to 15:23 of the episode and pause…(or just look below)

On that note, back up just a few seconds and my theory of Chyler dying could be correct. You see Lasky running. Behind him you see Chief kneeling with Orenski and Sully seating against a tree, but no Chyler. Is Lasky running to save her? Maybe, or he could be looking to avenge her death?

We’ll know in a week, but in the meantime, I like trying to figure out where this is all going to end up for the series (not including the fact that Lasky is in Halo 4 and of course Master Chief lives).

Forward Unto Dawn, Episode 4: Review Part 11, Super Hero?

So here we are at the last review for Episode 4.

Lasky gets the hog running!

Pop pop pop goes the Jackals, the Jackals!

 

Why it’s Master Chief of course, in this short sequence that is sure to become iconic to the series.

Are Chief’s shields down? Wait a sec…

Achievement Unlocked 117G: Most badass leap off a balcony EVER!

GO!

(Um, yes sir…)

DRIVE!

The end…well of this episode and review.

In watching this for the first time it all just seemed to flash by. When this last shot came up and then the episode was over, I literally said out loud, “NO!” I couldn’t believe it was over so quickly. Yet there it was nearly 16 minutes later. Wow, times sure flies when you’re watching Master Chief kick arse!

By far THIS is my favorite episode. Okay, so I have a bias for Master Chief. But then, who wouldn’t? Yes, I know this series is about Lasky and the development of the characters has been impressive given the short time allotted for the series thusfar. But come on, we all know that for most of us, this was about seeing Master Chief in LIVE-action.

I do want to say though that that in no way diminishes the performances of the other actors in the series. They’ve all done a remarkable job. Every character believable, none over the top. Direction is superb, special effects are great, lighting fantastic, editing, music. The whole production is AWESOME!

Whew, if someone asked me a month ago if I could pull this off in a day, well…I might still say yes, but I’d be doubting myself. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to stick with it. Now on to the graphic novel for episode 4!

Strap yourselves in for the final push. Only one more episode to go.