About a month ago we got a chance to see a glimpse into the upcoming events in the much anticipated Halo 5 Guardians, with a release of twin trailers. With these trailers 343 Industries has not only given us a brief look at the narrative for the upcoming game but they have also made us scratch our heads in wonder at the events that might befall the Master Chief.
Each of the two trailers plays out the same for each of the games 2 main characters, the Master Chief and Spartan Locke. Each trailer starts with one of the two protagonists approaching the battered statue of the Master Chief in a bombed out city, while at its foot lies the other character who appears to be mortally wounded. While approaching the statue, the characters have a monologue in regards to the events leading up to this as they reach for their side arm, with which they intend to give the coup de gras to the now severely injured man at the foot of the statue.
Halo 5 Guardians Spartan Locke Trailer
Lets start here with what Spartan Locke is saying as he approaches the Master Chief. “Let us remember our sworn protector and not the one who gave us this!” he says as he waves his hand at the war torn landscape around him. Spartan Locke goes on to talk more about how they must continue to see the Master Chief as their protector and saviour, while at the same time the bitterness and anger in his voice speaks volumes of the betrayal and hate he now feels towards the Master Chief. As he raises his pistol and takes aim at the severely injured he says “…. and now I must save us from you!”, meaning that Spartan Locke has either been lied to or is the agent of some greater force.
Halo 5 Guardians Master Chief Trailer
Now for the Master Chief, as he approaches the statue with Spartan Locke at its base. He asks “Is this what you wanted? Is this what you are looking for, was everything you compromised, everything you’ve done, worth it?”, you can certainly hear the tone of anger in the Chiefs voice as well, suggesting that he too was betrayed. The statue suggests that when the Master Chief came back to earth, that there were much better times, but now as he approaches he only speaks of the things that Spartan Locke did to lead up to this moment. As he raises his pistol the Master Chief says “You’ve completed your mission Spartan Locke. Mine is just beginning.” which only hints at what is really going on.
With the duality of the these trailers its hard to tell who is in the right or who is in the wrong. One thing to keep in mind however is that the Halo series is no stranger to main characters changing sides. A great example is the story of the Arbiter throughout the events of Halo 2. Also the Halo series has seen its fair share of criptique ads or showing players just enough to get them excited and engaged in the series outside of the games. The I LOVE BEES campaign is a good example or even the find the capsule ARG they did for Halo Reach, albeit the latter was a little easier to figure out. Now the #HuntTheTruth tumblr and podcast series, is doing just the same with the lead up to Halo 5 Guardians.
I highly recommend looking into the #huntthetruth audio files on soundcloud. They offer an interesting look into the future world of Halo and how it would pertain to today’s media. The series recounts a UNSC paid journalists trials as he seeks the truth behind who is the Master Chief John-117 and the actual process of him becoming the iconic soldier and humanities saviour.
Regardless of what you think of these trailers, Halo 5 Guardians looks to be shaping up nicely and getting tons of hype along the way. Feel free to let me know your theories of what’s going on in these trailers in the comments below. Be sure to check out the info from the Multiplayer BETA that shipped with the Master Chief Collection here and be sure to pre-order your copy of Halo 5 Guardians.
Pre-Order Halo 5 Guardians Limited Edition
I’m really torn about these trailers. For one thing, we barely know Spartan Locke, so it’s difficult to rally behind and root for him. Does he have good intentions? Bad intentions? Who knows. Now Master Chief obviously we’ve seen him grow over the last 14 years into humanity’s greatest saviour, so naturally it’s easy to be on his side. That it’s so natural to want to see Master Chief come out on top makes me really suspect of what’s really going on here in the videos—could neither of them be the truth? Could both contain partial truths? Hmm…I’m very intrigued.
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