Halo 5: Guardians News: Is Master Chief a Traitor? New Trailer to Reveal More on March 29
The release of "Halo 5: Guardians" is many months away, but the game's creator 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft Studios are ramping up the game's promotional campaign online. Over the weekend, the teaser site kicked off what most call an Alternate Reality Game or ARG around the main character in the game called Master Chief.
The site features a bullet with the word "TRAITOR" on it, and a sound clip with a hashtag Hunt the Truth. The sound clip features the voice of a fictional journalist named Benjamin Giraud who "has begun a brand-new investigative series that promises mystery, drama and some tantalizing intrigue." Giraud is supposedly working on an in-depth profile of Master Chief and he is inviting fans to check the site weekly for new episodes.
The first audio episode on the Tumbler site huntthetruth.tumblr.com, entitled "Episode 00.PRIMER" has this summary: "What began as a high-profile story quickly turns into a full-blown investigation. Sources claim they know the 'real Master Chief:' The boy, the soldier, the hero … the traitor? But who's telling the truth?" A new episode is due on March 29, which can provide additional clues to the mystery.
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Microsoft is known for "experimental marketing campaigns" such as these. For "Halo 2," they launched the ILoveBees campaign that had players investigate a website, solve puzzles and put the pieces of a narrative together, according to a report in Polygon. It is likely that this is the same strategy that Microsoft is doing for "Halo 5."
"Halo 5: Guardians" is part of the "Halo" franchise. "Halo 5" is a first-person shooter video game. The game's main characters who continue from "Halo 4," are Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and Spartan Locke. Master Chief is said to be on the run and Locke is tasked to hunt him down.
The game will be playable only on the Xbox One, unlike older games of the series which were playable on Xbox 360 as well. According to a Wikipedia entry, the game will run at 60 frames per second and will make use of Xbox One's dedicated servers.
