Abandon Bob Hope Trivia Quiz

Answer: "The Pillar of Autumn"

"The Pillar of Autumn", the first level of "Halo", introduces the player to the Master Chief, the character you control. In the level, Captain Keyes, captain of the ship, gives you your orders. The purpose of the level is to get the Master Chief and Cortana off the ship before it explodes. Of course, no matter how long you remain on the ship, it never explodes until after you trigger the evacuation scene.

Despite the fighting being easy compared to the remaining levels, and limited to brief skirmishes, a newbie like Bob surely can't survive long!

Ten minutes later, we return, fully expecting to find the computer on the floor and Bob disgustedly flipping through TV channels. To our astonishment, he has finished the level. Apparently, he ran about blazing away randomly and somehow made it through. Mildly annoyed, we send him into the next level.

Answer: They die in a crash

After level 1, the escape pod carrying the Master Chief is shown hurtling through space. The pilot is forced to crash land on Halo, an enormous ring. The impact kills the pilot and soldiers, and the Master Chief is alone once more.

Level 2, "Halo", requires the Master Chief to infiltrate the Covenant's defenses and extract any soldiers who survived the ship's destruction. Then, he has to hang about waiting to be evacuated because the soldiers, assuming they're alive, all board a Pelican and abandon him.

"Bob'll never evade those Covenant troops for long!" was the general consensus as we march out of the room. Soon, we hear whoops coming from the room.

"Hey guys, come back!" Bob yells. "These enemies are so stupid! All I need to do is sneak around and run like I did in those 'Road' films, and they never twitch. Why this is way less stressful than in 'Road to Utopia'!"

Sure enough, Bob has somehow dodged the scouting parties and is now happily careening about in a Warthog.

Answer: To save Captain Keyes

"It's definitely a hopeless task," we assure Bob. "The three sections of the level are insane, with invincible enemies hidden in stifling rooms and gloomy tunnels. Not to mention, you are abandoned by your Marine companions somewhere along the line. You should probably quit."

"Nonsense! I'm very hopeful," Mr. Hope retorted, then guffawed over his pun. "This is very fun, and I shall certainly make it through. And as for my companions deserting me, you'll see! They won't."

After awhile, I check on Bob again. To my exasperation, I discover that he has not moved from the point where the Marines, as programmed in the game, announce that they will remain there, thus abandoning him. Hope apparently grabbed the mouse and used it as microphone to sing "Thanks for the Memory" to the screen, in hopes that the song will goad them into action. I found him lustily singing the song for the umpteenth time. Disregarding Bob's protestations, I take over and coldly shoot the Marines to death, then force march the Master Chief through the rest of the level, until the scene where the rescued Captain Keyes flies away to safety.

"Hey, there was no need to do that!" Bob argues. "I always sang that song to soldiers during the war. These are no different."

Answer: An island

"The Silent Cartographer" is the only level in which the Master Chief fights on the ground on the island. In subsequent levels, he enters the Covenant structures beneath the island.

Bob is delighted with the island, declaring that he is feeling a wonderful sense of deja vu, thinking back to his "Road" films shot on islands. He promptly hikes about, discovering that he can walk or drive into the ocean, and also perform stunts with his Warthog.

My friends and I watch, having abandoned any hope of Bob getting disgusted with the game. I cringe as I watch Bob doing the same things I used to do out of sheer boredom. For instance, a glitch allows you to drive into the ocean so far out that the water covers the Master Chief's head, but neither he nor any Marines who might have come along will drown. Also, when the Master Chief leaves the structure containing the Cartographer, he goes to the other building on the island to override the security. Along the way, there is an enormous tree stump beside a low hill. As I recall, watching Bob repeat the stunts, it is possible to jump onto a Warthog and then onto the tree stump. Or, you can drive the Warthog to the top of the hill, and if the speed and angle is correct, you can jump the Warthog and passengers onto the stump. Why anyone would want to do so is an entirely different issue.

It is possible to do perform many other glitches in this level, including walking on thin air. However, my friend whispered to me that he wanted his laptop back, and at that rate he'd never get it back, so I shooed Bob away and reluctantly finished the level, finding the Cartographer and getting out of there.

Answer: Yes

Near the beginning of the level, the Master Chief saves some groups of Marines from the Covenant. Later, a dropship arrives and evacuates them, leaving the Master Chief behind, abandoned by his allies. To top it all, he is far from alone; all around him are Covenant Grunts, Jackals, and Elites with their alien craft.

To prevent Bob from making the Master Chief detour and harangue the Marines about abandoning him, I take over the controls for awhile. By now, I have become rather interested in Bob's progress, cheering him on. I get so excited that I shiver along with Bob when Cortana tells the Master Chief to hurry and save Captain Keyes before something catastrophic happens. My friends think differently, however. They leave us engrossed in the game to plot more ways to make Bob leave.

Answer: "Two Betrayals"

"Attack on the Control Room" is the fifth level. We play levels six and seven for Bob, so when he resumes playing it is on level eight, "Two Betrayals".

In an extended cutscene of "343 Guilty Spark", the Master Chief is introduced to the Flood through a gruesome video of the Flood infecting Keyes' party. Then, he gets a shock as doors crash and the Flood enters.... "The Library" finds the Chief battling through seemingly endless Flood-infested rooms.

Bob is fighting fairly well through "Two Betrayals", in his element in the snowy weather as it reminds him of his capers in the Klondike in "Road to Utopia". However, he is saddened when his allies 343 Guilty Spark and the Sentinels abandon and betray him.

Answer: "The Maw"

Level ten, "The Maw" has the Master Chief blowing up the "Pillar of Autumn" to trigger a reaction that will destroy Halo. He completes this in the first two parts. The third segment, "Warning: Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Convicts", has one, unique objective: get off the ship before it explodes. Depending on the difficulty, the Master Chief has 5 - 6 minutes to drive or walk more than three kilometers to a hanger where he can fly away.

I have no idea how Bob got his driver's licence. He drives so erratically and unpredictably, no wonder the fleeing troops are frightened. Since he keeps banging into walls and pillars, he wastes a lot of time, keeping us in agony of suspense. Finally, however, he finishes.

"That was great!" Bob exclaims. "How about trying that in Legendary mode?"

My friends and I groan in unison. Bob really needs to quit so we can play properly together!

Answer: Blood Gulch

Blood Gulch is the map provided in the "Halo: Combat Evolved" demo version. The basic layout is a flat plain surrounded by mountains. Two castles stand at each end of the plain. Two banshees, two Warthogs, and two Scorpions make up the map's vehicles. However, the map can be altered with mods.

The wrong answers are all "Halo" maps only available in the PC version. Death Island is a modified version of the island found in the campaign level "The Silent Cartographer". Gephyrophobia is a vertigo-inducing map in which one misstep will cause the player's character to fall to his death. Infinity is based in the mountains, with very long ladders and bridges across chasms.

Our plan backfires, however. Bob is perfectly happy exploring every nook and cranny of Blood Gulch. Our patience runs out before his does, and one of my friends moves that we go to the next phase of "Operation Abandon Bob Hope".

Answer: Slayer

"Slayer" is a basic free-for-all mode in which players try to kill as many others as possible. There are no teams, everyone is an enemy. One variant of "Slayer" is "Team Slayer", in which there are teams. In "Slayer", the player with who reaches the maximum number of points wins. Alternately, the player with the highest score when time runs out wins.

The incorrect answers are all various other game modes with different objectives from "Slayer".

To our chagrin, Bob discovers the spawn points, and by driving over them repeatedly kills players as they respawn. Thus, he amasses enough points to win.

Answer: CTF

"CTF" stands for "Capture the Flag". In "Halo", there are only ever two teams, a red team and a blue team. A team must capture the enemy's flag and take it back to their base. However, their own flag must be at their base for the capture to count. While individual kills by the members of the team count towards the postgame statistics, only flag captures contribute towards points.

Of the answers, "CTF" is the only team mode. Variants of "Oddball" and "King of the Hill" can be found in which there are teams.

Our plan enjoys some success as Bob gets frustrated by being unable to reach the enemies' castle, or being deliberately teamkilled by teammates. However, we let our guard down laughing at him, and he scores a point. So much for trying to abandon him!