New 'Halo 5: Guardians' Plot Details Confirmed

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Shadows of the past threaten to wholly consume the Master Chief as he mourns his lost allies...
Game Informer have this week provided the world with a much-needed additional insight into the narrative of Microsoft Game Studios and 343 Industries' upcoming science-fiction video game Halo 5: Guardians.

The fifth main chapter in Microsoft's beloved ongoing franchise of first-person-shooters, which is expected to be revealed in greater detail via a game-play demo of some kind at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this coming week, was first announced at E3 2014 in the form of a remarkable CGI trail that teased protagonist the Master Chief's quest to move past his AI companion Cortana's demise, yet since that impactful opening preview, we've seen next to nothing barring a couple of further gameplay-free videos (both of which can be relived below) focusing on the Chief and a Spartan warrior known as Locke who's intent on hunting his prey down sooner rather than later.

What with E3 being just around the corner, more plot details are sure to surface in just a few days' time, but until then, Game Informer's cover article on Guardians certainly more than suffices as a worthy alternative. Rather than forcing the Halo-worshipping members of our readership to plough through an entire magazine article for the key narrative tidbits that they're seeking, though, we've instead rounded up all of the vital bits of information into one comprehensive list of bullet points, all of which are available for the inhabitants of this humble planet (and indeed the rest of the Nine Realms) to see for themselves below:

• Whilst on the run from Agent Locke, the Master Chief will band together with a squadron of SPARTAN-II soldiers known collectively as Blue Team, each of whom are doubtless well known to those Halo devotees who've read some of the franchise's various tie-in novels such as Halo: Fall of Reach, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx and / or Halo: Glasslands. More notable still is the new gameplay feature which enables the Chief to issue commands to his team-mates (though once other players are introduced into the equation via the core campaign's co-op options, this particular aspect of Guardians will retreat into the metaphorical shadows temporarily).
• On the opposing side of the playing field will stand Jameson Locke, whose début in last year's Halo: Nightfall will most likely pale in comparison to the journey that lies ahead of him and his back-up, Fireteam Osiris (one member of whom is none other than Edward Buck, an ex-ODST who first appeared in the 2009 spin-off video game Halo 3: ODST and who's once again voiced by Firefly's very own Nathan Fillion here). As was the case with Halo 2 (which allowed its audience to control both the Chief and his foe-turned-accomplice the Arbiter), players will have the opportunity to adopt the mantles of Locke and the Chief; however, the regularity with which control will shift between these two warring defenders of galactic justice has yet to be officially confirmed.
• What's not in question, however, is the extent to which the untimely passing of Cortana (aka the Chief's trusted artificial partner-in-crime, the demise of whom has seemingly prompted the aforementioned SPARTAN hero to take leave of the United Nations Space Command) in 2012's Halo 4 will have a bearing on John-117's already-fragile psyche from here on out. Yes, as if his indoctrination (of sorts) at the hands of Doctor Catherine Halsey as a youngling wasn't enough to send his mind through the rabbit hole and beyond, the Chief's soul will most likely find itself put through the wringer once again as Locke gives chase and forces both John and Blue Team to presumably tackle their individual psychological demons in the process of their sure-to-be explosive confrontation.

Once Microsoft's (hopefully) revelatory E3 2015 press conference is done and dusted on June 15th at 3pm GMT, fans won't have long left to wait until the Chief's greatest battle comes to light, since Halo 5: Guardians will blast exclusively onto Xbox One this October 27th.