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***SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!***
I don´t know if it´s just me, but it feels like every time a new Halo title gets released there is more focus on the looks of Cortana than anything else (for most part). Well, at least for those who get triggered and offended by a sexy fictional A.I female (a “S.I “synthetic intelligence, to be exact). So I was not surprised to hear that “some” people (see Neogaf for some live examples) would complain over Cortana´s looks in 343 Industries “Halo 5: Guardians” (which got released to the Xbox One on the 27th of October), because most people thought that Cortana was nude throughout the whole game. Well, guess what? Apparently that is not the case . At least not if you choose to believe Halo´s Franchise development director Frank O’Connor, because when Gamesrader confronted Frank about Cortana´s “nudity” in Halo 5 earlier today. Frank responded like this:
“She’s not really nude … but that’s what it makes you think of,” O’Connor explained. “So one of the reasons she [chooses to appear without clothes] is to attract and demand attention. And she does it to put people off so that they’re on their guard when talking to her and she has the upper hand in those conversations.”
“It’s kind of almost like the opposite of that nightmare you have where you go to school in the nude,” O’Connor said. “You’re terrified and embarrassed and she’s kind of projecting that back out to her audience and winning intellectual points as a result.”– Fanchise director Frank O’Connor, via Gamesradar
Halo 5´s Cortana isn´t quite as nude as you might have thought.
So in other words, 343 Industries created Cortana the way they did in Halo 5 to give her an advantage over the players (by stealing all the focus in the room, and making the players somewhat embarrassed). Not everyone will buy Frank O’Connor´s explanation of course, as there are certain people who are looking for sexism in everything and nothing (I bet that a certain world-famous female feminist will create a video about this topic later on). Even so, that still won´t stop the fact that the players are really enjoying Halo 5 right now. And the game has received some truly good grades as well (85.41% via gamerankings.com for example). Nevertheless, I hardly doubt that this will be the last time that we will hear rants and complaints about Cortana´s looks and presentation in a Halo game though.
This is what Cortana looked like in Halo 1, 2, 3 and 4.
However, in the case with “Halo 5” most Gamers and fans simply don’t buy into the critique that´s been pinned down on 343 Industries regarding Cortana´s sexual appearance in Halo 5. Personally, I don´t understand what all the fuss is all about? I mean, if you compare Halo 5´s Cortana to MGS5´s Quite for example. Then Cortana looks like a nun in comparison. And if you ask me, SenjutsuSage (a Neogaf user) sure hit the nail on the head with his/her comment on this matter:
“I swear people whine about every damn thing. What exactly is wrong with a character in a piece of fiction choosing to use some form of sexuality or a form of nudity as a way to express herself or gain the upperhand in exchanges? I think she even chose that form as a way to get under Dr. Halsey’s skin since she’s technically a clone of Halsey. Hence, Cortana naked, for all intents and purposes, equals younger Dr. Catherine Halsey naked.
I think the problem people are having here is that there are so many of you who are still so immature when it comes to the most basic of things. And, no, finding it objectionable isn’t automatically the ‘adult’ or most responsible thing to do either, so quit trying so hard. She even picked Spartan 117 as ‘her Spartan’ largely because she knew deep down that John was Halsey’s favorite. Cortana likes to fuck with people. Big deal.” – SenjutsuSage, via neogaf
So what do you guys and girls think? Did 343 Industries go too far with Cortana´s sexiness in Halo 5? (was it a pure fan service kind of thing?) Or are “some” people simply making a lot of fuss over nothing? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.
Source:
gamesradar
Neogaf
Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
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Tags: 343 industries, Cortana, Halo 5, Halo 5 Guardians, Xbox One
