Following the world premiere of Halo 5: Guardians gameplay at E3 2015, developer 343 Industries has further elaborated on the story of the hotly-anticipated Xbox One exclusive.

During a jam-packed panel at San Diego Comic-Con, 343 Industries expanded on their bold and ambitious vision for Halo 5: Guardians. They also detailed how the game’s epic narrative is being enriched by interconnected stories told through other parts of the franchise, including the “Halo: The Fall of Reach” animated series, and a second season of the critically-acclaimed “Hunt the Truth” audio series.

What goes into the creation of one of the year’s biggest and most highly-anticipated video games? 343 Industries takes you behind the scenes in a new video documentary (ViDoc) that provides an in-depth look at the development of Halo 5: Guardians and the team’s creative vision. Built from the ground up to take advantage of the Xbox One and Xbox Live, Halo 5: Guardians features the franchise’s most ambitious campaign and multiplayer experiences yet, all running at 60 frames per second.

New Documentary Highlights Ambitious Vision for Halo 5: Guardians.

The entire ViDoc is available on the “Halo Channel,” which for the first time can now be downloaded on iOS and Android devices. The “Halo Channel” is also available on Xbox One, Windows 8.1 PCs and tablets, and a version for Windows Phone is currently in development and will be available at the launch of Windows 10 Mobile.

To download it from the iOS store, click here.

To download it from the Android store, click here.

To download it from the Windows 8 store, click here.

“Halo: The Fall of Reach” Animated Series Explores the Origins of the Master Chief and Blue Team.

343 Industries revealed the teaser trailer for “Halo: The Fall of Reach,” an animated adaptation of the beloved Eric Nylund novel of the same name. Told in three connected acts, the high-quality animated production is included with the Digital Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition and Limited Collector’s Edition of Halo 5: Guardians and can be viewed via the “Halo Channel” with the launch of the game on Oct. 27th, 2015.

The animation is produced and directed by SEQUENCE, the award-winning Vancouver-based animation studio responsible for the “Terminals” featured in Halo 4 and Halo 2: Anniversary, and this marks their most ambitious and high-fidelity Halo animation yet.

“Halo: The Fall of Reach” tells the dramatic tale of the origin and intrigue behind the SPARTAN program that propelled characters like the Master Chief and Dr. Catherine Halsey into the pantheon of “Halo” lore. The story reveals the events that brought Master Chief and Blue Team together, including their Spartan training and their daring mission to strike back at the Covenant during the first days of the deadly alien invasion.

Season Two of the Critically-Acclaimed “Hunt the Truth” Audio Series Launches in Spring 2015

 Season two of “Halo’s” popular “Hunt the Truth” audio series will launch this fall. When “Hunt the Truth” launched in March 2015, it took the “Halo” community by storm, generating more than 5.5 million podcast listens across its 13 episodes while garnering massive critical-acclaim from fans and media worldwide.

For those that haven’t tuned in yet, season one of “Hunt the Truth” was hosted by Benjamin Giraud (Keegan-Michael Key) and focused on his investigation into the Master Chief, humanity’s greatest and most mysterious hero.

As inconsistencies in the story emerged, Ben was faced with a choice to toe the government line or cut rank and break the conspiracy wide open. The first season of “Hunt the Truth” can be listened to here.

The post Details Revealed for Halo 5: Guardians Story appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

To compliment this revelation, Xbox has also released, not just one but two new live action trailers for Halo 5: Guardians, which we have here.

The Master Chief.  Spartan Locke.  Who is the hunter and who is the hunted?

Setting up one of the most epic showdowns in entertainment history – pitting the legendary Master Chief against the UNSC’s top manhunter in Spartan Locke.

The first trailer, titled “All Hail,” highlights Spartan Locke drawing down on the compromised Master Chief, questioning his legacy and motives.

The second, “The Cost,” shows the Master Chief with the upper hand over an injured Spartan Locke, delivering a powerful manifesto about the true price of being a hero.

But, which version is true?

“We wanted Halo 5: Guardians to be the game that pays off the epic promise of the Halo universe in scope and scale and drama,” said Bonnie Ross, Head of 343 Industries. “We want to amaze players with the sheer size of the worlds and battles they’ll experience, even as they question everything they thought they knew about its heroes, marvels and mysteries. #HunttheTruth is only the beginning and we can’t wait to debut the game to Xbox fans around the world at E3 this June.”

On March 22nd, 2015, Xbox and 343 Industries revealed “Hunt the Truth” – an episodic narrative audio series.

The series stars Keegan-Michael Key (“Key and Peele”) as Benjamin Giraud, a war-journalist who slowly unearths startling new revelations about who the Master Chief really is, forcing listeners to re-evaluate what they know about humanity’s greatest hero. Episodes are released each week via Tumblr and syndicated across multiple podcast platforms, leading up to E3 in June 2015.

Hunt the hunter, this coming October, only on Xbox One.

The post Halo 5: Guardians Releasing October 27th, 2015 – News appeared first on Shane the Gamer.