After a lot of teases and some viral marketing, Microsoft and 343 Industries finally released a new teaser trailer for Halo 5: Guardians. The new video features the Spartan Locke delivering a dramatic soliloquy. His audience? That of the wounded and near fallen Master Chief. It seems Master Chief is on the ropes at the scene of a brutal battle. Locke is preparing to dispense some apparent justice against Master Chief. Based on the new trailer, I believe this is a positive and dramatic new direction for the story of the franchise to take. So far, I believe this is a great direction for the next Halo game.
It seems Master Chief has been branded as a traitor. I would say it is pretty obvious that Master Chief is framed. The viral marketing seems to push that there are two sides to every story and that players have to “Hunt the Truth.” I cannot believe that Master Chief would become some immoral war criminal. Master Chief may in fact be a genetically engineered weapon of war, but he is not a robot. He still has a sense of morality, right and wrong. In Halo: Forward Unto Dawn, Master Chief risked life and limb to save a handful of surviving cadets from a Covenant siege. Master Chief refused to abandon these cadets with barely any resources and almost no backup. That is not the heart of a man who would fall to the dark side.
However, Master Chief is still a soldier and part of a complex military industrial complex. It would not be surprising if he was made a scapegoat or blamed for something that was not his fault. I do not believe Locke is a bad man either, but he is manipulated into believing Master Chief has become some sort of villain. However, Locke did come off as somewhat sinister and almost arrogant with his monologue in this video clip. That said, I like it. It makes it seem that the story will have a bit more drama and complexity than Halo has had in the past.
My only hope with the next game is that Master Chief is not thrown completely in the background. I do not mind introducing new characters or playable characters into the Halo universe, but not at the expense of Master Chief for the mainline Halo series. If you want to try a spin-off game to feature Locke, OK. But I would say take baby steps here.
Halo 5 is due out later this year for the Xbox One.
https://youtu.be/tHQiYPiNVEE
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