Delta Squad vs. Noble Team: A preview of what is to come

* updated with new category 
 Hello all! To answer the foremost question on your mind; Huaorani vs. Koa is coming closer to completion, and should be in the not too distance future. This is a small preview of a future matchup that I hope you will all enjoy, as it will a fight between two cultural icons. On one side is the Coalition of Organized Government's Delta Squad, the stars of the hit Xbox-exclusive series Gears of War, who are forced into a endless series of grueling battles against an ever evolving enemy (well, two) to prevent the annihilation of humankind's sole remaining government and of the species itself. On the other side is a star of Xbox's other great shooter exclusive, the United Earth Government's  Noble Team of the Halo Series, who are likewise forced into a desperate last stand against an unrelenting foe. These two teams have fought and beaten the odds countless times over their respective careers, but in this fight they will put to the ultimate test. For neither team has ever fought anyone close to the strength and power that they will now be more forced to confront. Two teams will enter the arena , only one will leave as  the DEADLIEST WARRIOR!

          (The title alone is an accurate description of the world the Gears live in. The Coalition fights a brutal three-way against the Locusts and Lambent, a war in which none of the sides show even the illusion of mercy to each other . A fourth faction, the decentralized Stranded clans living under the command of local warlords, tolerates C.O.G. presence only when the first two types of  monsters are in firing range. Otherwise, the C.O.G. soldiers (known as Gears) are forced to fight  off their fellow humans to defend both their equipment and lives. 


   The purpose of this preview is not to start off a great battle, but rather to hammer out some details. Namely, I have never done a modern squad on squad battle. While Sarah Kerrigan vs. Anakin Skywalker came to close, it was their supernatural capabilities that came to occupy the  spotlight  more then their firearms. This matchup is almost completely firearm related, and thus will require a new format. I realize that new formats can be a bit....messy and that is why I would like user feedback on both the grading scale, and final member selection. 

   (In the Noble Team's "Extended Hope" trailer, the fate of the previous noble team member, Thom-293, is revealed. The trailer focuses on war and the heroism shown in it, as well as loss. After valiantly fighting through a horde of Covenant forces in the midst of a major battle, the protagonist, Catherine B320, is seriously wounded by an explosive detonated near here. Seeing that she is no longer capable of delivering the Nuke, nearby Spartan teammate Thom picks it up and personally delivers it to the cargo bay of the massive Covenant ship. The ensuring explosion takes out the Covenant forces in the area, but Thom does not make it out the ship in time. ) 




Now without further ado lets start the show.




Super Long range: /60

The Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Matériel and the UNSC's sniper of choice on Reach. Though  very formidable and possessing a larger clip size then its C.O.G. equivalent(s) it remains to be seen if it can hold up in terms of pure lethality to the native Serans. 

    
    In such a battle as this, the person most likely to get the first shot in is the sniper.  Snipers are feared by all in a war, as the individuals that take up this profession (and succeed in it!) are often marked by unusual patience, perseverance, accuracy and an uncanny sense of knowing when the enemy is off guard.  Both Delta Squad and Noble Team have first hand experience of seeing someone in their group killed by a particularly attentive and skilled sniper.  For those reasons, I have decided that his/her weapon must be evaluated first.


Long Range:/100

MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System, a very promising weapon for the Spartans in this match. But can even this powerful rifle hold a candle to the weapon that is iconic to the Gears series? 

    The Assault rifles for this section dominate both C.O.G. and Spartan arsenals, with virtually each team member carrying one or two (yes, there will be AT LEAST two weapons for each side in this category). As the staple weapon of the match, I have no qualms with raising the point level here over the sniper rifle section to accommodate for its frequency of use.   

The M2 Lancer Assault Rifle, the weapon iconic to Gears and the signature rifle of the ordinary Gears soldier. Designed to be a replacement to the earlier M1 (which has a 50 % of appearing in this fight alongside its cousin), the M2 can fire 550 rounds in a minute and was designed for long range accuracy, precision, and lets not forget the obvious, close quarters fighting. Rest assured that the weapon's under-barrel attachment will play a big role in this fight.    

Mid range: /50
  

The Snub pistol, the standard sidearm of the C.O.G. Though looking unimpressive, any veteran  of Gears multiplayer will tell you this thing can be deadly in the right hands. 

 From what I have concluded since researching the arsenals of the two warriors, this category will be dominated by pistols, as they are the only weapons that can be classified into mid-range that hasn't been allocated into its own special category. All of the fighters in this battle will possess at least one pistol, so this category will be a backup for all. 


Close range: /40

This archaic blunderbuss looking weapon is one of the two variants of shotgun that the Gears will field against their Spartan opponents. Will having two different breeds of the same weapon type be enough to counter the Spartan's choice? 

   
 Being essential pieces of both armies(especially for the Gears, seeing as every soldier is assigned a Lancer and a shotgun), the shotgun shall hold a special place in this battle between giants. It pretty much demands its position as it is one of the few weapons that can blow both sides apart instantly. 


Melee: /20

The Spartan Emile and his Kurkri,. Appearances such as this is one of the reasons ordinary civilians fear him. 

      
  This stage of combat may not occur often, but given the melee focus of both sides this area of fighting will undoubtedly occur at one point or another in the battle .


 And now for a brief preview of both side's special melee moves....Gears executions and Halo assassinations! 

          ( To satisfy your inner love of Gore here is a small preview of Gears of War executions. Don't worry there will be many more to come-ones that make the deaths seen in this video PG in comparison!) 

 ( Not be outdone by the Gears, here are some Elites and Spartans brutally dispatching their foes).




Grenades: /30

M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade, standard to the United Nations Space Command. Just one of these is capable of ruining your day. 

  In regards to the underlined section header above, this fight will be absolutely full of them. Lethal and non-lethal will be both be in the battle. 
Laser Weaponry: /40 
Two weapons that need no introduction...

vs.

 Both Noble Team and Delta Squad have a prominent laser assigned to them- the Spartan Laser and Hammer of Dawn respectively.  Both are capable of instantaneously wiping out the other team. This tier will pit both weapons against each other to see which better helps their perspective squads. 

                   (Lets see how long you can listen to the song without getting pissed. )

Heavy Weaponry: /70

The Halo Rocket Launcher will be present in the battle, but to that formidable weapon  the Gears have an answer: the Silverback. 

    Ranging from mini-guns to grenade launchers to walkers, this category will be huge thus justifying the high amount of points allocated to it. 




Captured Covenant /Locust Weaponry:/40 

This grenade helped me get so many of a type of award on Halo....

 This category will be a bit limited as the entire arsenals of both genocidal factions is beyond the scope of the match.  However expect to see a few of these formidable instruments of war present in this bout. 

To fire back, the Gears bring in a nasty sticky weapon of their own, courtesy of the Theron Guard. 

Defense and Equipment: 

    This section I feel deserved the most fine tuning, as it is the final category is a bit... over-expansive. ..

Armor: /50

    This comparison is fairly standard, and will  be covering both Spartan and C.O.G.  bodyarmor. 

Shields and cover system + cover and revive system: /60

 There are a couple of things to clarify here. First and foremost the Gears will not be able to take a shot to the chest by a sniper and then magically brought back to fight by a teammate. The revive system will be applicable in reason. To compensate, the shield system of Halo will have a larger "lag" time in between recoveries. Finally how well each squad uses the essential ingredient  of cover will also be measured. 

(As Marcus Fenix demonstrates, if Gears cannot find cover themselves cover they will make cover. While a living Spartan would probably break his arm, I will not discount  them from using Spartan bodies as shields). 

Spartan Equipment vs. Horde Defenses: /80

 This huge category includes every from barbed wire to holograms to sentries to over-shield. It even has a robot! I am hoping I can split this into pieces. 

*Support: /50
      In the campaign for Halo and campaign and Horde for for Gears, both squads enjoy some support. This category will factor in the marines  of Noble Team, and Jack of Delta, as well as the Horde ability to call in the Onyx Guard. 

Arguably the most popular Delta Squad member, Jack comes to battle with cloaking and a stun gun. 

Intangibles (with credit to Vercingetorix) 

Health (with credit to Mike): /60

  Will measure a warrior's health aspects-speed, agility, reflexes, strength ect. Will deal with augmentations. 

Squad tactics: /70

Two temporary Delta members (one  of whom MAY appear in this battle) in a firefight with some locusts. Clayton Carmine lays down some covering fire for Sam Bryne, who skewers a locus on her Bayonet. 

  This category will measure group cohesion, how well they fight in a squad, what they do in these situations,  and a whole bunch of other factors. What else do you think I should judge in this category? 

Motivation: /40

                   ( Coalition Chairman Prescott's inspiring speech  on why the Gears fight. The basic premise is similar to the Spartan's reasons for fighting). 

           Whereas other categories measure "how" or "what with" this category measures why they fight, and how motivated they will be to finish the fight. 

Leadership: /50 (10) 

         

                  VS. 

      A squad's most effective piece is often its leader, and this category will measure the history, accomplishments, and failings of the leaders of the respective squads, Carter and Marcus. A small sub-heading will measure the "what-if?" scenario of having one of these two men fall and leadership falling to one of the second in commands, Katherine or Anya Stroud.  

       Vs.        

Training : /50

John 117 demonstrating his level of badassness, unsurpassed by any other Spartan. He'll need it for when he fight Mass Effect's Commander Shephard. 

    

Experience: /70

  

Marcus dueling Skorge, one of several Locust bosses who MAY appear in the sim. 

 The reason experience trumps training is that both simply have so much of it. For example, the experience of even the youngest Gear spanned about two decades of non-stop fighting. 

Past Opponents(including bosses) :/80

The formidable Locust general, recruiting agent and all around badass, General Raam! Yet another baddie that may appear in the sim. 

  A lot of you are probably wondering why I am rating this category so high. Well, this battle will operate under the assumption that in order to get to the main fight, both squads are going to have to get past some of the other side's most formidable opponents.  How they rate against these opponents will correlate to how they do in battle, and in theory its possible for one side to get completely wiped out by the other's monsters without having every met their main target (Delta or Noble)! Expect this category to be close. 

Both Delta and Noble are going to have their hands full before ever meeting each other....

Proven Weaknesses: -50

Must avoid crashing into this....

 This will measure the weaknesses each will have, like Delta's bad reaction to loss or Noble's tendency of not surviving missions (only slightly kidding here)... 

Martial Arts/Hand to hand: /20

Gears going ape-shit on their downed victims. 

 Will measure any martial arts they have, as well as overall fighting style. 

Encumbrance: /20

 Both the C.O.G. and the UNSC make sure that their soldiers, particularly their elite soldiers, are well stocked and supplied as often as they can. both sides will have access to "drops" from their relevant governments. So they will all be on the field somewhere. This category will measure how much each side can carry. 

Personal Contributions: 

Damon Baird originally wanted to be in the engineer corps, before being  forced into the army. Despite his sarcastic personality, he is respected by even the highest echelons of the C.O.G. government, including Chairman Prescott, Adam Fenix,  and Colonel Hoffman. 

 While previously the whole group was compared, this category will measure what each individual squad member brings to the game to help their team, whether its their own natural calming nature (Jorge and Cole), sniping skills, or unnatural ingenuity( Baird). 

Carter :/25 (leader) 

Katherine : /20  

Jun: /20

Emile: /20

Jorge: /20

Noble Six: /20

Gears: 

Marcus: /25

Anya:/20

Dom: /20

Baird: /20

Cole:/20 

Unknown Sixth: /20

And now there is one last issue to be solved.....who shall be the sixth member of Delta Squad! Each choice will bring something unique to the group that no one else will bring, so choose carefully....




The Candidates...: 


Clayton Carmine:

Clayton is a bit peeved that the Locusts killed his brothers Anthony and Benjamin. 

 Clayton Carmine comes from a long line of proud Gears, almost all of whom have died in combat. Clayton is the last surviving member of his family, and is undoubtedly the toughest and most bloodthirsty of all of them. Now fanatical , this man has covered himself with tattoos in memory to either one of his slain brothers or with an anti-Locust slogan. The man is strong enough to choke Locust with just one hand, and carry a giant mini-gun with the other. Having Clayton on the team will probably improve Delta's onslaught, as not only can this man dish out bullets but take them too (in the campaign he survived being shot down in a helicopter, falling over a thousand feet, being shot in the head and nearly crushed). 

Jace Stratton: 

Probably the youngest and most spiritual of Delta Squad

     Although not as strong or as bloodthirsty as the beserker above, Jace brings to this fight his keen, analytical mind as well as his kindness towards teammates. He is widely regarded as a hero, once going out of his way and risking his life to save a stranded family from a Locust onslaught.  Having Jace on the team will improve the team's tactics, as well as help lower the mortality rate. 


Dizzy Walin: 

Every group needs a member that looks like a cowboy...

 Dizzy Walin is the group's mechanic, as well as the main competitor to Baird in "the most outrageous comments category". Originally this man wasn't a C.O.G.; he joined in Operation Lifeboat, which was a C.O.G. recruitment campaign designed to lure in stranded in exchange for food and protection.He is a fair shooter, combatant, and an excellent mechanic, being arguably better at this then even Baird.  Should he join Delta for this match, I can see him repairing (to an extent) the Silverback mid-battle, as well fixing up Horde defense and Jack (though Baird does an exceptionally good job here, as he loves Jack). Basically what Clayton does to C.O.G. offense, he does to defense. 


Samantha Byrne 

Known affectionately as the "Lovely Duchess" 

     Samantha Byrne is a fighter that knows her combat, and fought with Delta throughout the third game. Samantha was noted to be a strong, aggressive fighter, with an expertise in explosives to the point where C.O.G. command assigned her to that division. She cares for all of her teammates, even the sarcastic Baird(who she  secretly has feelings for) and will do whatever she needs to do to save them. Sam in Delta will moderately boost their offense, as well as explosive skill. 

and finally 

Bernadette Mataki: 

She is used to standing next to destroyed cities

    Bernadette Mataki, known as Bernie, has seen 4 decades of combat as a commando, sniper, soldier, and manhunter. This woman has seen it all and had much of it happen personally to her. She is calm, collected, caring for her squad and a brilliant sniper to the point where her name is spoken in the same tones as legends are. She shows as much internal strength as external, and even rape didn't cause any real upset in her personality (though she did brutally hunt down the three who did it) . Bernie will bring to Delta her immense sniping knowledge, experience, and calming personality. 

So who do YOU want on the Delta Squad? vote on the poll above! 

















Any and all feedback is welcome. Do you think I should change around some categories, add or remove them? What about predictions for the overall match?


My next match will be Alex Mercer vs. Sarah Kerrigan, but following that I will start on this.