Sarge and his Pelican buddies sway peacefully in the breeze as the battle rages…

(2:28) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Heroic. This shows Johnson and fellow Pelican buddies taking it easy in the first ground attack by the covies. It relates to Seven extra Marines and a hog in terms of the set-up work (I triggered the battle by going through the door after getting a delayed checkpoint, with a Banshee waiting so I could join the Marines quickly), but the intent here is purely amusement in watching and listening. Turn up the volume and enjoy the atmosphere!

Released December 21st 2010, gameplay recorded December 16th 2010.

I think we'll let Sergeant Johnson set the scene for this one.

Ok you greenhorns, Pelican's comin' in to land now so listen up. After flyin' us into this snowbound hell-hole, guess what they got planned for us. You there soldier, you got an answer for me?

Sir, is it milk and cookies, sir!

No it is not milk and cookies mister. It was not milk and cookies last time, it ain't milk and cookies this time, and it's never gonna be milk and cookies. This is the Marine Corps dammit, not the Milk And Cookies Division. Did you sign up for the wrong outfit by mistake son?

Sir, no sir!

I'm mighty relieved to hear it soldier. The last thing we need is a milk and cookies fool on the team. Now does anyone else have an idea what they got planned for us?

Sir, a horrible death at the hands of overwhelming Covenant forces, sir!

If only they had the decency son, but it's not even that. I'll tell you what they got planned for us. Turns out we're supposed to die before the battle has even begun! That's right men, apparently you ain't worthy of fightin' the cause. The Chief's gonna come out that door down there and we're all supposed to be lyin' around on the ground by then. Now, normally I don't mind dyin'. Hell, I died three times before I got off the ship and I didn't even blink! It's all in a day's work for me. But being flown into battle and killed off without even getting a chance to fumble a grenade down my own britches is just a kick in the teeth. Am I right or am I right men?

Sir, yes sir!

Uh huh, damn right. And not only that, they canned my extra special super-duper all-clear speech into the bargain, even after I'd gone and memorized the damn thing. Like, "Hey Sergeant Johnson, here's your longest lines in the entire campaign. Oh, and by the way, WE'RE KILLIN' YOU 'FORE YOU CAN SAY 'EM! That's just mean, am I right men?

Sir, yes sir!

So we ain't playin' along with those particular orders gentlemen. We ain't gonna do nothin'! That'll show 'em. Soon as this bird hits the ground, I want you all out there in the snow doin' nothin like your sorry lives depended on it. Stand tall men, and think of your dignity. Or milk and cookies if you really must. And no dying or it's double duty cleaning my laundry, do I make myself clear?

Sir, yes sir!

Uh huh. Now everybody out and let's see some inaction!

00:02 Johnson and two Pelican buddies get things off to a start with some synchronized swaying. Look at 'em go! That's what I call teamwork! The other Pelican guy is further back.

00:14 Spot the grunty fool hopping about in the background. I'd overturned his Shade in advance so he wouldn't pester us with plasma fire. Little fella still didn't want to leave it. If he had any sense he'd use one of his plasmas to try and get it the right way up again, but this is a Grunt we're talking about. He's too busy hopping.

00:21 The Elite turns up in his Ghost but prangs it almost immediately. Silly fool is comically seen running back across the shot a few moments later, looking a bit sheepish - how embarrassing. Meanwhile we get some classic Marine bravado: "I'll take you all on - GAAAKK!". Yeah, that's telling 'em buddy.

00:40 Watch that motion tracker. Two successive Wraith blasts appear to send the Ghost flying, based on those big yellow blips. Must've righted it, because then there's a cry of "Show time!" and a Marine goes hovering into action. Help, loose Marine in a Ghost! Nobody's safe!

01:00 A Wraith blast sails in and give the Pelican guy on the right a nasty jolt. Steady now soldier, hold your nerve - and no dying remember!

01:08 Judging from the big blips on the tracker, Private Hoverboy has got into a bit of a tussle with the Elite, who presumably went back for the other Ghost. What would you give for his chances?

01:28 From sound and the tracker, I'm pretty sure the final Jackal has to dive clear of the covie Ghost as it cruises around, hee hee! A few seconds later, it seems like he gets taken down by the one remaining active Marine on foot.

02:04 Just before a Wraith blast hits, an explosion can be heard which I think is either the Elite's Ghost getting fried, or maybe both Ghosts getting fried, as there's no sign of a large yellow blip thereafter. Not quite sure how they managed it, but the Marines seem to've won the day without a jot of cyborg aid! As well as that, the Pelican guys got through alive and Sarge didn't even get touched. Course, it did help that those guys were invisible to the covies. After a few moments of restful peace, my flashlight goes out. Lights out gentlemen, time for bed.

Closing remarks While working on Elite fireworks I noticed that in one my base saves, three of the Pelican Marines were in a neat line, and were even doing synchronized swaying. I thought they could make for an amusing and quirky little movie, filling the frame nicely - and this is the result.

From the relatively static shot you might think this movie was easy to do, but actually it was quite a pain. For one thing I had to keep my left thumb down to maintain the dramatic crouched camera angle, and that gets to be quite a strain after a while. Also I had to keep making minor camera movements to avoid having the idle animation kicking in, which would've been distracting. In the majority of plays the active Marines got wiped out or the Pelican Marines got decimated by a Wraith blast, or the neat line of three had already been disrupted by friendly fire even before I was in position. Sometimes the Pelican guy on the right activated as I arrived, giving me a greeting on behalf of the Marines, so that was no good either. Then there were all the times I got my head taken off by a Ghost as it swept around. All of which meant a lot of repeat playing! It would've been more suitable to use Normal or Easy to give the Marines a much better chance of winning out, but I had this Heroic save handy so I just went ahead with it.

This particular play was a bit low on Ghost action (that Elite was normally hovering around in view a lot longer), but featured a nice ending in which things fell silent after a rare Marine victory, and then my flashlight expired - which was completely unplanned but seemed just right to me.

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