‘Halo 5’: Agent Locke Will Be Playable, ‘Nightfall’ Returns To Original ‘Halo’ Setting [SDCC]


The Halo 5: Guardians key art teased it, but a 343 Industries panel Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con 2014 confirmed it. The all new Agent Jameson Locke character will be playable in the upcoming Xbox One sci-fi shooter. We also learned new details about the Halo 5: Nightfall series and where it will be set.

343 Industries confirmed that Agent Locke will be playable during a SDCC panel today (via IGN). The character first appeared in the key art for Halo 5: Guardians that was released prior to E3. During Microsoft’s press conference at the annual game conference, he and the Arbiter were featured in a trailer for Halo: The Master Chief Collection as they both viewed the Chief’s past actions through Halo 1 through Halo 4.

What’s not clear yet is exactly how Locke will be a playable character in Halo 5. Halo 2 switched the action between Master Chief and Arbiter. However, Halo 3 kept the Chief as the main playable character throughout with co-op players taking the role of the Arbiter and two additional Elites.

Also to be explained is whether Locke is a friend to Master Chief or an enemy. The E3 trailer suggested that the Oni Agent is tracking the Chief down, but the purpose has not been revealed.

“We’ll answer that question one year from now in this very room,” Franchise Director Frank O’Connor said during the panel Q&A session.

There’s also the question of if Agent Locke will bring additional abilities to the table that Master Chief does not possess. In Halo 2, the Arbiter was able to use the Elite’s active camouflage armor technology, which was a much more useful ability than the Spartan’s flashlight.

It was also revealed that Halo: Nightfall actor Mike Colter will be doing all of the Halo 5 voice acting and motion capture work for the character.

Speaking of Halo: Nightfall, 343 Industries revealed that the live-action series will take place on a broken section of the Halo ring that was destroyed at the end of Halo: Combat Evolved. This is depicted in the Nightfall key art that you see above. O’Connor also described the live-action series as “a superhero origin story” for Locke and how he grows into becoming a Spartan. Coincidentally, Halo 4‘s Commander Palmer also received an origin story explaining how she became a Spartan, but in comic book form.

Halo: Nightfall will also be tightly associated with Halo 5: Guardians. There was a tie-in between Halo 4 and the live-action Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, but 343 Industries says the tie-in will be even closer this time around and contain interactive elements that will be revealed at Gamescom in August.

Halo: Nightfall will be released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection this November 11. The collection includes Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, all running at 1080p and 60 fps (with one possible exception). It also includes access to the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta due to launch in December. Nightfall will also be available through Xbox LIVE for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 as well as Windows Phone and Surface tablets.

[Image via 343 Industries]

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