Halo 4 is the beginning of a new trilogy for the vaunted sci-fi shooter franchise, but it's also a continuation of one its driving relationships. NBC News spoke with Cortana voice actress Jen Taylor about what has changed both within the game's narrative and how that narrative was recorded.
" I was given very different work to do this time," Taylor said. "The character is going through some big changes. She has quite a different journey in this game from what she's ever had. So I got to do some different things."
Halo 4 will see the Master Chief and Cortana on an alien world, fighting the Prometheans as well as the Covenant when it releases on November 6. Changes are coming from within, as well: Cortana's existence as a post-expiration-date artificial intelligence on the edge of rampancy will play a significant role in the story.
The strain Cortana's transition will impose on her and the Chief's relationship could be all the more apparent, as the two actors were placed in the same sound stage to act out their lines for the first time.
"To have somebody go through any kind of an emotional scene there with you--it makes it more real somehow," Taylor said. "It feels more authentic to work off of somebody. Even the happy-go-lucky scenes and the wry scenes are more fun. Steve [Downes, the Master Chief's voice actor] and I get along incredibly well. So it made it more emotional, more intense. Everything is more heightened because you are experiencing the journey with someone else."
