As Microsoft's 343 Industries sends the Halo 5: Guardians hype machine into overdrive, the developer is employing some savvy marketing campaigns to get fans excited for the fall release.
One of them is a kind of augmented reality thing that employs social media platforms like Tumblr and SoundCloud to tell an in-universe tale setting the stage for Halo 5's story. It's called "Hunt the Truth," and it follows one Benjamin Giraud, an in-continuity war correspondent and journalist, who is on an assignment to find the truth about the legendary Master Chief.
In the Halo universe, it seems that Master Chief – aka John-117 of the Spartan program – has taken on mythical status. He's essentially a superhero, and some members of the public have grown skeptical that he really could be all that.
The third of Giraud's "Hunt the Truth" podcasts (obviously inspired by "Serial") reveals some tantalizing hints about where the games' story may be heading. Specifically, it digs into Master Chief's past, his time in bootcamp training to become a soldier.
There are conflicting stories on what really happened, but some of it – frankly, the more interesting and exciting story – reveals that John's career at the Academy was colored by his abnormally large child's physiology. It tells of a dangerous incident he was forced into that resulted in two fatalities and severe injuries of two others.
Listen to it for yourself.
We've always known that there was something special about Master Chief, something different than other soldiers and other Spartan warriors. But where is 343 Industries going with this? Are we meant to believe that John was experimented on as a child, given Spartan "genetic augmentations" at a young age? How could he have survived?
And to what end?
Halo 5: Guardians arrives exclusively for Xbox One on October 27, 2015.
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