14 DAY TRIAL // The teaser site that was recently launched for Halo 5: Guardians has received an update which suggests that it will start to offer a deeper look into the story of the single-player campaign of the title, with the first installment hinting that Master Chief is actually a traitor and that gamers might at one point need to hunt him down.
The Hunt the Truth site is written from the perspective of a journalist and war photographer named Benjamin Giraud, who claims that he was writing the profile of the heroic character when he began to find a series of details that persuaded him that not everything was what it appeared to be.
His official description states, "I’m a journalist and war photographer. I've seen the absolute worst of humanity. But I've also seen the best. I’m now onto something big. What it is, I’m not sure. Join me as I hunt the truth."
The audio diary and the entry of text that have been revealed do not introduce too many details, but it seems that more info will be added each week and that fans of the Halo universe will be expected to use their own skills to find new information.
It's unclear whether 343 Industries and Microsoft will deliver just new info via the Tumblr or if they are planning a bigger Alternate Reality Game to promote Halo 5: Guardians.
Microsoft has used ARG concepts before
Way back in 2004, the company launched the I Love Bees campaign for Halo 2, which managed to generate unprecedented involvement from the community and to get the community more interested in the story of the title than a series of classic reveals.
Hunt the Truth might be designed to do the same for Halo 5: Guardians, but it's unlikely that the same impact can be achieved.
So far, no clear info has been offered about the single player of the new title, but the actor playing Agent Locke, first seen in Nightfall, claims that his character will have a major role and will influence the Destiny of Master Chief.
It would be interesting to have a campaign which involves, for the first time, more than one viewpoint, challenging the monolithic approach to Halo that was used when Bungie was in charge of the series.