Friday 4 September 2015

Everything you need to know before Halo 5: Guardians

Halo 5: Guardians

We answers 15 of your frequently asked questions about the Ha-lore surrounding Master Chief’s latest outing

Even though 2015 is leaving us spoilt for choice when it comes to great new games, Halo 5: Guardians is still our most anticipated Xbox One exclusive. But for a newcomer trying to get into the series, four games’ worth of backstory can be pretty intimidating. Especially if you then start including the spin-off games, tie-in novels, TV series, ilovebees.com… So we’ve compiled this list, giving you everything you need to know to be prepared for Master Chief’s latest adventure.


15> WHO IS MASTER CHIEF?


Seriously? John-117, better known as the Master Chief, is a SPARTANII, a super-soldier working for the United Nations Space Council (UNSC). Trained since the age of six to be the ultimate soldier, John-117’s body was augmented, improving his reflexes, strength and eyesight, as well as giving him near-unbreakable bones. Despite a description worthy of the Terminator, John’s no robot – he’s incredibly protective of humanity and his other Spartans. He’s a loyal soldier and a hero, one who’s saved the universe many times. But in Halo 5, Master Chief has gone AWOL. It’s the game’s first grand mystery: why would the UNSC’s best soldier abandon his post?

Further Playing: The Master Chief Collection will bring you up to speed on the main series thus far – and it’ll do so on your Xbox One, to boot.

14> WHO IS CORTANA?


Being a Spartan gets all sorts of lonely, which is why Master Chief grew so very attached to Cortana – his AI partner and closest confidant. She’s a bit like the voices in your head that tell you to shoot things, but somehow not as worrying. This digital companion who helped out the Chief was with him for (most of) the first four games.

But not anymore. During Halo 4’s ending, Cortana tragically dies, but not before delivering an emotional farewell that doesn’t so much tug at the heartstrings as rip your heart out of your chest completely. Such a downbeat ending left Chief more emotionally drained than we’ve ever seen him, a state some speculate could have motivated him to go AWOL.

Further Playing: The perfect excuse to blitz through Halo 4 again.

13> WHAT IS THE SPARTAN-II PROGRAMME?


The original UNSC super-solider programme sought out children with extraordinary physical or mental gifts (John-117 had both, naturally). Then the UNSC abducted those children, replaced them with clones so that no one would know, and put them through vigorous training until they could barely remember their former lives. Ouch. And we thought not getting Halo 2 for Christmas all those years ago meant we had the bad childhood.

Benjamin Giraud is a journalist who’s interviewed several people who knew Master Chief. His hunt for the truth has revealed some of the more horrifying 
aspects of the SPARTAN-II program, including said cloning and abduction of children. Those who want to know more would be best to start with his work.

Further listening: Giraud’s nosey investigations are all chronicled on the Hunt the Truth podcast.

12> WHO ARE BLUE TEAM?


Cortana may be gone, but Master Chief won’t be fighting alone. For the first time in a Halo game, he’ll be fighting alongside Blue Team, legendary Spartans who will be familiar to fans of Halo lore outside of the games themselves. It means all four players will have their own individual character in co-op, and we hope their backstories will be fleshed out. The three other members of Guardians’ Blue Team – Fred-104, Linda-058 and Kelly-087 – were abducted at age six for the SPARTAN-II programme, and have known John-117 all their lives. Interestingly, for co-op to work, Blue Team will have to vanish along with him. What could be so vital that four Spartans are willing to risk their reps?

Further reading: Halo: The Fall of Reach is the first tie-in novel, and marks Blue Team’s first appearance.

11> WHO IS FRED-104?


Fred’s not an elitist. He’s never liked the special treatment Spartans get from humans, and doesn’t consider himself above baseline troops. While that’s a nice sentiment… come on, Fred. You’re widely regarded as arguably a better marksman than Master Chief. Those lesser troops aren’t fit to lick the mud from your boots.

Fred’s skills in combat, strong leadership and second-to-only-on-eat-most shooting make him worthy of his own series of games. But Fred doesn’t compete with Chief, and is happy for John to take the Blue Team’s lead. All those skills, and he’s still gracious? We’re starting to hate Fred.

Further reading: Novel Halo: Last Light has Fred-104 in a starring role, and is out in September.

10> WHO IS LINDA-117?


If you want the best sniper, look no further than Linda. She’s the quietest member of the team – who wants a loud sniper? – but underestimate her at your peril. She once took down two assailants so fast, Master Chief himself couldn’t tell which she’d shot first. Often she’s referred to as the ‘lone wolf’ with regard to her habit of taking her own path and watching the team’s back from afar. Basically, if you have a back, and would like someone to watch it there’s none better.

Further reading: The Halo: Fall of Reach comic adaptation Boot Camp shows the childhoods of John-117, Kelly and Linda. They had it rough.

09> WHO IS KELLY-087?


Kelly was always quick, but then she got augmented. Now she’s the fastest Spartan, which makes her easily the fastest person in the world (take that, Usain Bolt). Her speed gives her a natural advantage on the battlefield, but she excels in other areas of combat, too. Notably, she’s shown an incredible tolerance for pain, successfully recovering after several critical wounds. Kelly also has a very cynical sense of humour – justified when all you’ve known is war, we suppose. Should help spice up Halo 5’s writing. Cortana’s relationship with Master Chief helped humanise him in the previous Halo games. We expect the presence of his trusted chums to have the same effect here.

Further reading: Again, the Halo: Fall of Reach comic is best if you want to learn more about these Spartans and their gruelling training regimes.

08> WHO IS SPARTAN LOCKE?


You’re not just playing from Master Chief’s perspective in Halo 5; you’ll also step into the role of the Spartan tasked with hunting down the universe’s toughest soldier. Jameson Locke is one of the best field operatives that the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) ever produced – He’s cautious, logical, a man who can handle himself in a fight but prefers to resolve conflict through negotiation. Hey, Deus Ex called – it wants its protagonist back.

Locke’s distrusting nature and nonconfrontational approach contrasts with John-117’s all-guns-blazing methods. Although it’ll feel odd playing as your opponent, he’s fixing to be a worthy adversary for the Chief. And hey, maybe they’ll be pals by the end.

Further watching: Locke is the lead in the Halo: Nightfall TV series. You can watch it on the Halo channel in The Master Chief Collection.

07> WHAT IS SANGHELIOS?


The Covenant, a religious and militaristic order determined to wipe out the human race, were the main antagonists of the original Halo trilogy. They had to start somewhere – Sanghelios, legendary home world of the Sangheili race, the origins of the Covenant and the planet we probably associate with peace the least. It was mentioned way back in Halo 3, but Guardians will be the first time we get to visit the planet. Being the first new-gen Halo, which we’re promised will be the biggest yet, we’re expecting a world of incredible scale. But considering his history with its people, we don’t expect the Chief to receive the warmest of welcomes.

Further reading: Sanghelios features heavily in the novel Halo: Glasslands.

06> WHO IS THE ARBITER?


Thel ’Vadam, probably better known as the Arbiter, has had his differences with Master Chief (to say the least). But these former adversaries buried the hatchet during the events of Halo 3, as the Arbiter learned the truth about the Covenant’s plans. In the years since, the Arbiter has been off touring the states of Sanghelios, making the difficult case for permanent peace between the Sangheili and humanity.

That’s a pretty noble, non-violent goal – so just why is the Arbiter seen chatting with Spartan Locke about his mission to track down Master Chief? If the Arbiter believes he must be taken down, it’s hard to know who we can trust any more.

Further Playing: Halo 2 and 3 are just as much the story of Thel ’Vadam as they are John-117.

05> WHO ARE FIRETEAM OSIRIS?


Locke’s assembled Fireteam Osiris from a whole new pool of Spartans, some recognisable to diehard fans of the series. Most familiar is Buck, a fan favourite after his standout role in Halo 3: ODST, making a longawaited return here. We’ve already seen him provide some welcome comic relief in what was running the risk of being the most sombre and serious Halo yet. Interestingly, Buck held off becoming a Spartan for several years because he didn’t want to abandon his battle-hardened crew. We wouldn’t be surprised to find ‘LOYALTY’ tattooed across this guy’s biceps.

Further Playing: Halo 3: ODST is an underrated gem and the perfect introduction to Spartan Buck. It’s also just been released as an addition to The Master Chief Collection.

04> WHO IS HOLLY TANAKA?


The remaining members of Team Osiris may not be as recognisable, but they’re more than worthy of their posts. Holly Tanaka’s homeworld was destroyed when she was a child, meaning she had to grow up fast. Forced to adapt quickly, Holly developed a wide range of skills to help her fellow survivors, but also learnt how to take on – and beat – a superior foe. Basically, she got her whole SPARTANIV training before the programme had even heard of her. Tanaka has shown a nobility in saving others and refusing to leave survivors behind. Not hard to see why that kind of loyalty would appeal to Spartan Locke and friends.

Further reading: Halo: Escalation issues 17 and 18. The ‘Glass Horizon’ storyline covers Tanaka’s origins.

03> WHO IS OLYMPIA VALE?


Note to self: call future daughter ‘Olympia Vale’ to guarantee offspring awesomeness. More than just a cool name, Vale is a diplomat, completely fluent in Sangheili. She prides herself on her ability to form interspecies relationships. When an adversary threatened to activate the Halo array in a previous adventure, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Earth – always a good trait to have in a Spartan. Olympia’s more verbal abilities are an interesting contrast to the speed-power-sniping prowess of Blue Team. You can see why Locke would want someone of her skills on Fireteam Osiris, especially with their first stop being Sanghelios.

Further Playing: The novel Halo: Hunters in the Dark should be enough to convince anyone of her credentials.

02> WHAT ARE THE GUARDIANS?


They’re legendary Covenant technology, apparently back to begin an ‘Age of Reclamation’. Destroying the universe to start anew? Yeah, that sounds like a threat worthy of a new Halo game.

We’d seen a Guardian in the reveal trailer, but we didn’t expect to see one in the E3 demo, bursting out of the sea to take the whole Fireteam by surprise. Nowhere is safe. Guardians are capable of concealing themselves underwater, under lava, and can produce mighty shockwaves that make short work of buildings and Covenant aircraft. They’re colossal in size too, all 1.4 kilometres of them. The kind of big bad most games would save for a final boss? That’s how Halo 5 introduces itself.

Further watching: You can watch the whole E3 demo – and the initial reveal trailer where we first saw a towering Guardian – online.

01> WHAT IS HALO 5?


Ah, the big question. It’s a sci-fi firstperson shooter. Single-player or up to four-player in co-op, showing every other game in its genre how this should be done. It’s a shooter where every weapon has a purpose and everything is perfectly balanced. It’s a hugely popular PvP multiplayer series, that’s also yet to have a truly bad singleplayer campaign to its name. It’s the same 30 seconds of fun, over and over, but now with new-gen power and scale behind it. Get reading/watching/listening/playing, because the Xbox One’s next essential exclusive is just around the corner.

Further Playing: Halo 5: Guardians. If you have a copy lying around, mind letting us borrow it?