Strike fighter
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
- Marcus Lehto: "I think it was the Strike Fighter, right? It was like a defensive fighter for the... the... uh..."
- Robert McLees: "Earth Space."
- Marcus Lehto: "Well, it just didn't fit into our game play, either. We didn't have any kind of purpose for this thing"
- Shi Kai Wang: "Unless it's cinematics."
- Robert McLees: "Yeah it'd be a cinematic-only thing, and there wasn't enough time to add it in."
- — Staff at Bungie discussing the strike fighter.[1]
The UNSC strike fighter was planned to be used as a heavy fighter aircraft for the player to use in the opening stages of Halo 2, but it was never added to the game.[1]
Overview
The strike fighter was intended as a defensive space fighter for use by the UNSC during the Battle for Earth. The vehicle would have little place in actual gameplay, and instead be a cinematic-only vehicle, similar to the Longsword seen in the final game. For gameplay, the designers needed more of a "Black Hawk-type vehicle", likely referring to the cut Falcon UNSC aircraft.[1]
Early storyboards for the levels Cairo Station and the cut level Covenant Ship show some more usage of the strike fighter; in the cut sections of Halo 2's early story, the strike fighters would have filled the role shown by the Longsword in the final game - performing an attack run on a Covenant carrier.[2]
The strike fighter notably bears a strong resemblance space fighters designed by Bungie in the late titles; specifically the YSS-1000 Sabre in Halo: Reach and the jumpships of the later Destiny.
Gallery
Concept art for the Strike Fighter.
Concept art for the Strike Fighter.
Sources
- ^ a b c YouTube - Bungie, Cutting Room Floor Weapons Vehicles and Characters: Official Bungie upload of the BTS video from the Halo 2 Collector's Edition (Retrieved on Dec 17, 2020)
- ^ ArtStation, Halo 2 storyboards
