The much-anticipated next installment of the successful futuristic shooter franchise Halo will come out on Oct. 27 for the Xbox One.
The release of the latest chapter of the franchise, Halo 5: Guardians, was announced through a TV advertisement that aired during the season finale of the hit TV show The Walking Dead.
The advertisement featured Agent Locke walking through a destroyed city toward a statue of Halo hero Master Chief. As Locke, he seemed to be talking to the statue in anger over what had happened and the destruction that had occurred.
However, as Locke approached the structure, Master Chief was revealed to be sitting at the base of the statue wounded, with a gaping hole in one of the shoulders of his armor. Locke blamed Master Chief, saying that he was once the savior of humanity, but now had become its betrayer. Locke equipped his pistol and drew on Master Chief right before the commercial ended with the logo of the video game and the release date of Oct. 27, 2015.
A second advertisement was also released an hour later, showing the same destroyed city but with roles reversed. This time, it was Master Chief walking to the statue toward Locke, who was sitting wounded at the statue's base. Master Chief asked Locke if it was all worth it, before Master Chief drew his pistol and aimed at Locke, ending the commercial.
The official Tumblr website of Halo 5: Guardians, named Hunt the Truth, shows a video of a rifle firing a bullet that has the word "traitor" engraved on it. The bullet smashes through Master Chief's iconic helmet, leaving behind more questions than answers that are not solved by the release of the two trailers.
Why has Master Chief, the greatest hero of humanity, been branded a traitor? Is Locke out not to bring Master Chief home, but rather to kill him? The story of the game's single player campaign may not be known until the release date of the title nears.
The beta version of Halo 5: Guardians saw 1 million players participate in over 20 million matches, allowing 343 Industries to gather a significant amount of information on what needs to be improved and changed before the title is released to the public.
According to a report, one of the major problems of the game's beta version was the new Spartan ability, which allowed players to sprint. However, it was found that sprinting was too fast, while strafing was too slow. Changes in the ease of using the scope of sniper rifles will also be made.
