As one of the undisputed heavyweights of this year’s holiday season, Halo 5: Guardians will certainly act as Microsoft’s marquee title during the company’s E3 showcase in a few days’ time. And to trumpet the upcoming Xbox One exclusive, Game Informer has published its July issue, which features 343’s hotly-anticipated sequel as the cover star.
Beneath the striking sci-fi cover is the very first hands-on report of Halo 5‘s single-player campaign, which sees “Master Chief and Blue Team declared AWOL by the very military that made them.” From that point on, Spartan Jameson Locke – a playable character during certain segments of the sequel – will set out to rein in the fabled Master Chief, be that arresting him or killing him off for his alleged wrongdoings. In order to do so, Locke assembles his own task force known as Fireteam Osiris, one which will herald the return of Nathan Fillion’s fan favorite Edward Buck from Halo: ODST.
Alongside Chief for the space-faring adventure are Linda, Kelly and Fred, a trio of Spartan soldiers who have appeared in the franchise’s expanded universe. Halo 5: Guardians marks their first foray into canon, and it’ll be interesting to see how these characters are mapped out across both single-player and the shooter’s campaign.
Game Informer’s coverage extends to the title’s multiplayer component, too, with 343 teasing that Guardians will welcome “a new multiplayer mode never seen in a Halo game before.”
Halo 5: Guardians will touch down exclusively for Xbox One on October 27, and you can expect more coverage coming out of Microsoft’s E3 conference next week.
