shinobi602
Member
I wouldn't be so quick to jump the gun. I still think
Cortana is alive
Halo 5 main protagonist is Agent Locke;playing as the "primary character", says actor
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
I think that, too. Cortana will be the 1st AI, that will live forever, thanks to the Librarian.
I don't even know who he is and I don't care. I liked the original idea they had in Halo 4 and I think that presence of MC as main character is mandatory to gave that plotline and decent ending.
That was obious I think, it's just seems to me that there may have been a major shift in the plot.
This could be very well what John is looking for in Halo 5--some device or location (a la a composer) that can render an AI essentially immortal, much in the same way the Forerunners themeselves were at least in terms of aging.
Much hope, such want. XD
Das Mookid
Banned
Ditching MC for Locke would make passing on the remaining Halo franchise (and for me, by extension, getting a bone period) incredibly easy.
If you don't want my money, MS/343, please go ahead with this. Sony seem very happy to have line of sight into my wallet these days anyway.
If you don't want my money, MS/343, please go ahead with this. Sony seem very happy to have line of sight into my wallet these days anyway.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
Yes, 'Halo 4' was the first chapter of a new story, and it set the stage for some serious change. They're not scrapping anything. The Chief and Cortana dynamic came to a worthy end in the last game. Just as the 'Halo 4' epilogue itself says: "The Master Chief must move on."
Cortana's time was running out, she was going rampant - but most importantly, her acceptance of her own "mortality" at the end of the game and her sacrificing herself to save the Chief's life brought her closure. There's nothing left for her to do in the story now that can't be done by other characters. And bringing in new characters like Locke, and old fan-favorites like the Arbiter (and possibly Blue Team) is a part of this changing the Chief's character dynamics in the game in order to help him as a character and the narrative as a whole grow.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
And how do you propose that will happen? After going rampant, splitting apart, having her chip destroyed, and then being obliterated by a nuke, as well as being confirmed as being dead in multiple canon materials? Not to mention how could it possibly benefit the story to see a character that got a meaningful death and closure brought back to life simply because of "super special snowflake" logic?
greenleafcm
Neo Member
And why would the Chief do that?
We've seen in 'Escalation' that he's fully accepted that Cortana is dead (he confirms it in no uncertain terms twice).
Also I think you're confused as to what Composers do. The ideas was to take living biological entities and store them as data, then reconfigure them back to a biological state, essentially helping the Forerunners outlast the Flood. However, the key point of this is that they couldn't get it to work. The results were always corrupted abominations (the Librarian's memory clearly states this). So the Didact eventually re-purposed the Composers to use them to create his Promethean army. We've never seen any type of Forerunner technology that can magically make an AI "immortal" (their own AIs are subject to corruption, and even rampancy after a very long time) - nor for that matter, could they make an AI out of thin air.
I didn't know the specific details of 'Escalation' aside from
the apparent "death" of the Ur-Didact (fo reals this time yo!).
I also didn't mean immortality in a true sense, but on a relativistic human scale. A sub-plot of John being able to resurrect Cortana on a much more "stable" platform. Hell, Guilty Spark along with his other monitors (presumably) lasted over 100,000 years, but you're correct in that even these "perfect" AI aren't truly immortal and susceptible to an eventual (albeit slow) descent into rampancy.
But still my best guess for Chief's role in Halo 5 is going to be
the slow reveal of the much bigger threat to the galaxy, the Precusors. Whether this comes in the form of the return of the Flood, or an entirely new threat from them (oh the horror) would obviously yet to be seen. The MCC reveal trailer shows Arbiter convincing Locke that humanity/his separatist Sangheili NEEDS the Chief, and I would have to think in that case the threat would have to be larger than Jul M'dama and his pithy army.
dragonelite
Member
Wouldn't be surprised if Master chief story will be with blue team and the Locke story will be more covert solo missions. Till Chief finds cortana again....
greenleafcm
Neo Member
Um okay...why? Do you have any logical, Halo-canon based reasoning to support this notion?
Because everything we've seen in canon thus far has made it next to impossible for Cortana to even be resurrected as an AI again - let alone as a biological entity. The devs themselves have confirmed Cortana is dead multiple times in official materials.
Also, how on Earth would such a ridiculous turn of events make the story better in any way?...And no, so Cortana and the Chief can "be together" is not a good reason. It's absolutely disgusting to twist their camaraderie into anything more than friendship considering that Cortana is a direct reflection of Halsey's consciousness - the Chief's mother figure. Oedipus complexes never end well.
Monocle
Member
Cortana is a great character and her story probably isn't over yet.
You seem awfully invested in the idea that she's definitely gone, and that her relationship with the Master Chief wasn't all that significant. Whatever. 343 isn't going to flush all of that history down the toilet just to give Halo 4's ending some dramatic punch. There's been way too much foreshadowing about Cortana's unique nature and the possibility of her escaping rampancy for 343 to suddenly drop her storyline after their very first Halo game. Why would they have her make contact with the Librarian of all people and then simply vanish from the Halo universe? Think it through.
So all the plot regarding digitalizing humans has nothing to do with Cortana? She's definitely gone?
Halo plots have never been complex. I don't think who wrote Halo 4 had in mind to retire Cortana and MC and also invested a lot on the Mc-Halsey relationship.
Then why Locke wasn't introduced in Halo 4? The main character of a trilogy is being introduced only in the second chapter?
Exactly.
It would have made more sense to control cyborg Cortana(lol) than another random Spartan. At least the Arbiter was completely different from the humans and gave another, interesting point of view on the war.
btw I expect to play Locke only in the first part of the game, the we will be back in control of MC.
GillianSeed79
Member
Good. I don't even know how MC can be considered a character. It's almost an insult to cardboard. And for the record I think the whole MC is supposed to be a faceless vessel for the player is a cop out for terrible characterization and writing. If they wanted us to feel like MC, he wouldn't talk. Instead the most defining aspect of MC's "character" is his helmet. He is a walking set of armor that spouts random mission objectives and military speak. I don't expect Locke to be much better, but anything will suffice.
Did... did you happen to play Halo 4 at all?
343i went a good distance to make gamers actually THINK about the actual human being behind the green suit of armor... more than all previous Halo titles combined, in my opinion.
Scorpion Soldier
Member
Usually I'm not completely against the idea of a protagonist change, but in this case I'm really not liking the idea, especially after the great job 343 did with Master Chief in Halo 4. Their portrayal of Master Chief was actually one of the things I think 343 outclassed Bungie in terms of writing.
EDIT: Didn't read the update, I'm really happy it's a dual-case at least.
EDIT: Didn't read the update, I'm really happy it's a dual-case at least.
SmoothRunningGun
Member
This actually made me more interested in the game...then the update took me back down.
Was it? Because I thought the worst part of Halo 2 was the Masterchief campaign.
FunkyPajamas
Member
Really?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN8ycE_NIQ#t=321
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN8ycE_NIQ#t=434
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN8ycE_NIQ#t=1022
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN8ycE_NIQ#t=1650
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN8ycE_NIQ#t=2032
Please. If you're going to come in here to troll at least try to appear informed. There is a well defined dynamic between MC and Cortana. He does more than spout "random mission objectives and military speak". You don't like the character? Fine, that's on you. An insult to cardboard? That's taking it too far.
Monocle
Member
That's not a cop-out at all. MC's character is mainly conveyed through other characters' reactions to him (at least in the earlier games). It's pretty effective in Halo 1 where all of the marines are impressed and encouraged by your presence. Bungie was obviously aware of the basic writing principle to show rather than tell.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
And why would her story not be over? There's nothing left for her to add to the narrative. As an AI she had to die once her expiration date had been reached, and she did so in a meaningful way. She used her rampancy to stop the Didact and her remaining power to save the Chief's life, said her goodbyes, and went out on her own terms at the end of 'Halo 4' and her character got closure - that's a lot more than most characters in this franchise have gotten when being killed off. Now we can explore the Chief more as an individual and see him develop alongside and interact with other characters.
And you seem awfully invested in Cortana getting to break every established canon rule for human-made Halo AIs simply because she's "special". As well as ignore every single confirmation we've gotten that she is indeed gone for good. Whatever. 343i didn't flush anything down the toilet. They gave a main character a logical and meaningful conclusion. How about they introduced the Librarian so they could explain the nature of the Didact and the Forerunner/Human/Flood war as well as her wish for humanity to take up the Mantle? It seems you're the one who's not thinking things through by being hung up on a dead character and not wanting the narrative to progress or change at all.
Poodlestrike
Banned
I'm inclined to agree.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
Yeah, I'm sure the part about digitizing humans was actually about the origins of the Prometheans, and had nothing to do with Cortana seeing as how she wasn't mentioned in that part of what the Librarian had to say at all. Also since every single piece of official material we've gotten since 'Halo 4', from guide books to comics, has confirmed her death in no uncertain terms - yeah, I have a very good reason to believe she's definitely gone.
Certainly no one here has been able to give a logical answer as to how or why a Cortana revival would: (A) benefit the story, (B) work within established Halo canon, (C) allow for the Chief to grow and interact with other characters, and (D) not completely cheapen her death and the closure her character got in 'Halo 4'.
I don't get what you're implying here. So what if Locke wasn't introduced in 'Halo 4'? The Arbiter wasn't introduced in 'Halo: Combat Evolved' either. New characters can be introduced any time (whether or not it's done properly is another matter entirely of course, but that's not what we're discussing here).
You can't be serious...How on Earth would it make more sense for there to be an AI-controlled-cyborg, something that we've never had in Halo before, rather than a Spartan-IV/ONI Agent? Also we don't know anything about what Locke is like as a person just yet, so it's best to reserve judgement on what value his perspective will provide at this point in time.
Based on some of Cortana's comments in Halo 4, such as the cutscene where she says they'll probably assign Chief another Cortana model, and "It won't be me, you know that, right?", I felt the proper progression would be for Chief to recieve a new Cortana model and struggle with having an AI of the exact same character and behavior and voice, but know that it's not her.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
I don't think so...If anything, Cortana's comments make a case for not doing that by stressing the fact that any replacement will never be as good as the original. Also there is no guarantee that any smart AI made from another cloned Halsey-brain would be identical to Cortana at all, it could manifest itself as something totally different. It would also totally spit in the face of her death in 'Halo 4' for them to just introduce a copy-Cortana. Also how does that help the Chief's personal story progress at all? It would not. I don't think fans would want a replacement either - it would be much better to just honor the original's memory and how she made the choice in her final moments to sacrifice herself so the Chief could live and move forward.
The Driver
Member
Are we ever gonna see anymore surviving Spartan IIs? I thought there where a few left besides Chief. I mean basically all the Spartans have going for them is their abilities since they are all so damn bland (outside of Halo Reach...sort of) so I'd rather see the best of the best i.e. more Spartan IIs rather than disposable Spartan IVs....
I don't know the lore of whether or not its a plausible scenario.
But it would definitely progress his personal story. It's like asking how a character having to listen to a clone of his recently deceased loved-one that doesn't understand what he's going through would progress his personal story.
It would do wonders for Chief's character to constantly deal with turmoil like that, ultimately rejecting her, etc. The possibilities for good character drama are endless I think with a haunting scenario like that.
And what's this about honoring memory? That's obviously what Chief would want, too, which is what would make it all the more terrible (but good for character and plot development) to have a new Cortana model forced upon him because it's known how well the duo achieves the UNSC's goals.
It's not about what would be good for a character's franchise legacy and what "Cortana wanted". It's about conflict, which is good for story. This would be inner-conflict, which is even better, and something severely lacking in the Halo franchise.
It would most definitely be a "spit in the face of her death" as you put it, but by the UNSC or whoever issues the new model, which would serve the story by pissing off both the audience and Chief, giving us more motiviation/personal investment in the emotion and plot of the game.
I think it would be chilling for both the player and Chief to listen to Cortana, knowing it's just a replica of the dead Cortana we love. Fake. Phony. Yet it seems so similar. And seeing how Chief reacts to this, how he disowns it, whatever he does, since he'd obviously have a very strong reaction, which is also something we don't usually get out of Chief.
I don't think this idea is too implausible, otherwise Cortana wouldn't have brought this scenario up in a very focused and emotionally-driven cutscene about this scenario possibly being the case if something were to happen to her.
Bornstellar
Member
greenleafcm
Neo Member
Well I suppose I should have mentioned in my initial reply that frankly, in terms of Halo canon, it's not. Cortana was well into rampancy by that time in 'Halo 4' when she mentioned being replaced in such a way, so I believe that dialogue was mostly to stress her own breakdown and fear over her imminent demise. As I said, you could 100% replicate the conditions of the experiments Halsey conducted to create smart AIs from clones of her own brain, but still get an AI with a different appearance and personality every time.
But for the sake of discussion...
I don't see how the Chief being hung up over what to think of a new!Cortana is exactly progress. That doesn't show him moving forward. Eventually he'd have to just accept the new AI for what it was. The Chief is both pragmatic and intelligent, he would very well know the AI was not the original Cortana and for him to somehow be unable to deal with that would be extremely out of character. Also that reduces Cortana to nothing but a cheap gimmick and would invalidate all the development the original had throughout the series that culminated in her sacrifice at the end of 'Halo 4'. Also I don't see how intentionally trying to make fans of the character upset for no valid reason other than "just because" is a good storytelling method either. There's so many other ways we can have conflict that has personal stakes for the Chief in future games without having to completely exploit and tarnish a main character's meaningful death.
Cross post from the community thread:
The news about Locke is incredibly interesting, far more so than the news about Halo 5's MP so far. Halo 4's lore, while combined with the EU, was a good effort, most of the fanbase did not appreciate it because they had no idea what was going on due to the extended reading that was required to understand the campaign, which unfortunately was not self sufficient.
Now this is an even bigger risk on 343i part. People didn't like playing the Arbiter, and as a result the Arbiter missions in Halo 3 were removed for a Master Chief only game. The fanbase* wanted to play as the Chief in the numbered Halo games. In my opinion?
. The rechargeable and actually useful active camo ability the Arbiter got in Halo 2 is something I still miss in Halo to this day.
The Arbiter missions had their downsides but also had their brilliant moments. It was a huge bonus to Halo's lore and frankly we have not seen anything in the games since. Halo 3's campaign, especially when we were on Earth, couldn't even come close. It's telling that most of the story in that game is concentrated in the latter half, because it felt like the first half was to shut people up about the lack of Earth based MC missions in Halo 2.
Make no mistake, this can go really well or really badly. I don't see a middle ground. Locke could present an interesting twist with proper stealth tactics, which can be very fun if applied correctly. Stealthing through entire missions as the Arbiter in Halo 2 is something we have yet to see in any other Halo game thus far. And it is incredibly fun, especially on higher difficulties where the risks of being seen are increased tenfold. Of course, you could always shoot your way out and mix things up a little, but approaching a set piece encounter with multiple ways to defeat the enemies is something always appreciated. That's why the big sections in Halo 3 were fun to play in; you could take on the Scarabs in multiple ways. And from a gameplay perspective, this is where Halo 4 lacked. Lack of ingame set pieces or the ability to approach encounters in multiple and actually fun to use ways. No, using different weapons does not count.
So my take? Bring it on. Just do it right.
----
To add onto this, I think a three pronged Campaign would be even harder to do if they decided to investigate the Arbiter's POV as well. Same principal applies, however.
For example:
Locke- New Spartan Abilities, enhanced Mjolnir Mark VI Gen 2 or even Mark VII armor
Chief- Broken, old armor with just sprint.
Arbiter- Elite armor and camo.
This could lead to an interest contrast between the three characters and more variety. It would be even more radical to have the ability to switch characters, e.g. imagine in Halo 3 during the mission "The Storm" you could possess either the Arbiter or the Master Chief similar to another player taking over the Arbiter in coop.
One thing to take away though is that the game seems to be focused on the Chief. Even when you don't play the Chief, he is still the primary target. That's a plus, but it can still go wrong: Let's note that a somewhat similar situation arose with Cortana in Halo 3, although to a much greater extent. She was shoehorned for most of the Campaign and only appeared in those annoying Cortana moments. That's really what 343i need to avoid.
There are multiple ways to approach this:
->Make Halo 5 longer than 6 hours while remaining interesting at the same time.
->Give Locke less than 50% of the playtime. I doubt this will happen.
->Make the Chief missions exceptionally long and fun to play in. The danger of this is that one character may end up as stale in comparison to the other.
The more I think about this decision, the more worrying it becomes. This is going to be very hard to pull off.
The news about Locke is incredibly interesting, far more so than the news about Halo 5's MP so far. Halo 4's lore, while combined with the EU, was a good effort, most of the fanbase did not appreciate it because they had no idea what was going on due to the extended reading that was required to understand the campaign, which unfortunately was not self sufficient.
Now this is an even bigger risk on 343i part. People didn't like playing the Arbiter, and as a result the Arbiter missions in Halo 3 were removed for a Master Chief only game. The fanbase* wanted to play as the Chief in the numbered Halo games. In my opinion?
Screw the "fanbase"
The Arbiter missions had their downsides but also had their brilliant moments. It was a huge bonus to Halo's lore and frankly we have not seen anything in the games since. Halo 3's campaign, especially when we were on Earth, couldn't even come close. It's telling that most of the story in that game is concentrated in the latter half, because it felt like the first half was to shut people up about the lack of Earth based MC missions in Halo 2.
Make no mistake, this can go really well or really badly. I don't see a middle ground. Locke could present an interesting twist with proper stealth tactics, which can be very fun if applied correctly. Stealthing through entire missions as the Arbiter in Halo 2 is something we have yet to see in any other Halo game thus far. And it is incredibly fun, especially on higher difficulties where the risks of being seen are increased tenfold. Of course, you could always shoot your way out and mix things up a little, but approaching a set piece encounter with multiple ways to defeat the enemies is something always appreciated. That's why the big sections in Halo 3 were fun to play in; you could take on the Scarabs in multiple ways. And from a gameplay perspective, this is where Halo 4 lacked. Lack of ingame set pieces or the ability to approach encounters in multiple and actually fun to use ways. No, using different weapons does not count.
So my take? Bring it on. Just do it right.
----
To add onto this, I think a three pronged Campaign would be even harder to do if they decided to investigate the Arbiter's POV as well. Same principal applies, however.
For example:
Locke- New Spartan Abilities, enhanced Mjolnir Mark VI Gen 2 or even Mark VII armor
Chief- Broken, old armor with just sprint.
Arbiter- Elite armor and camo.
This could lead to an interest contrast between the three characters and more variety. It would be even more radical to have the ability to switch characters, e.g. imagine in Halo 3 during the mission "The Storm" you could possess either the Arbiter or the Master Chief similar to another player taking over the Arbiter in coop.
One thing to take away though is that the game seems to be focused on the Chief. Even when you don't play the Chief, he is still the primary target. That's a plus, but it can still go wrong: Let's note that a somewhat similar situation arose with Cortana in Halo 3, although to a much greater extent. She was shoehorned for most of the Campaign and only appeared in those annoying Cortana moments. That's really what 343i need to avoid.
There are multiple ways to approach this:
->Make Halo 5 longer than 6 hours while remaining interesting at the same time.
->Give Locke less than 50% of the playtime. I doubt this will happen.
->Make the Chief missions exceptionally long and fun to play in. The danger of this is that one character may end up as stale in comparison to the other.
The more I think about this decision, the more worrying it becomes. This is going to be very hard to pull off.
You seem to want a very positive universe, a universe where the best possible outcome always comes forth, where characters are unhindered in their progress toward freedom, where sacrifice leads entirely to what the sacrifice warranted, where dying wishes are always granted, where a character's legacy matters to the powers that be within the universe where legacy to an audience is an irrelevant concept.
That's a lazy universe of uninspired storytelling.
But if you are going to belittle my points to "just because", then I will concede for the sake of ending discussion and say:
You're right and I'm sure somewhere in the depths of this convoluted universe is a wallblock toward these ideas, despite their reference in-game itself.
greenleafcm
Neo Member
Without having to blackout this entire post, I will just say that some very recent editions to canon make us seeing the Chief fight alongside his remaining Spartan-II teammates in the future a serious possibility...sadly we don't know for sure yet though.
I don't think it's fair to say the other main Spartan-IIs we've gotten to know are "bland" though. Just like the Chief, their characters may be heavily tied to their specific skills and their devotion to their duty as soldiers, but also like him they've all had some good character moments and there's room for a lot of development and interesting interaction for them going forward. Especially if they all end up being together in a game.
So if we're going to see anyone, it'll be the Spartan-IIs of Blue Team. We currently know that they're with the Chief and are running missions for the UNSC after the events of 'Halo 4' - and each one brings something different to the table in more than just their combat styles:
Kelly-087 - the fastest Spartan physically and mentally. She's also the most expressive Spartan in terms of personality and emotions; being sarcastic and witty, as well as sensitive and unflinchingly loyal. The fact that she's been the Chief's best friend since their training days makes her the perfect choice to be the character the Chief would trust the most to talk to about more personal issues. She also knows the Chief better than anyone, and could in turn approach him in ways others would not.
Fred-104 - the second best Spartan. Not by skill, as he's been mentioned several times as being just as good as the Chief in all combat and leadership areas, but by choice - due to a bit of a self-doubt complex. He's one of the only Spartan's we've seen get into a verbal disagreement with Dr. Hasley. And now that he has been promoted to a higher rank and is technically in charge of Blue Team, this could lead to some really interesting dynamics between him and the Chief, who Fred always looked to before to be the leader.
Linda-058 - the consummate sniper. She's the most quiet and mysterious of the Blue Team members, and is noted by Chief as being the only true lone wolf of the Spartan-IIs. It could be interesting to play this against the Chief, who is often inaccurately pegged by the fandom as being a lone wolf when he's actually all about being a team player/leader. Also any female character that can shoot Banshees out of the sky one-handed while also hanging upside-down from a suspension-cable I think deserves a little spotlight.
With the Spartans of Blue Team being the few remaining people the Chief trusts and cares about, having them for him to interact with would give us an opportunity to see more of his character as a man than we've ever seen in the games before. It ups the stakes of his personal story, and better ties everything in with his long-standing history outside of the events of the games. And seeing as Locke is apparently going to be pursuing the Chief in some form, this would give players a chance to see this dynamic play out from both an outside (when controlling Locke) and internal (when controlling Chief) perspective.
Kelly-087 - the fastest Spartan physically and mentally. She's also the most expressive Spartan in terms of personality and emotions; being sarcastic and witty, as well as sensitive and unflinchingly loyal. The fact that she's been the Chief's best friend since their training days makes her the perfect choice to be the character the Chief would trust the most to talk to about more personal issues. She also knows the Chief better than anyone, and could in turn approach him in ways others would not.
Fred-104 - the second best Spartan. Not by skill, as he's been mentioned several times as being just as good as the Chief in all combat and leadership areas, but by choice - due to a bit of a self-doubt complex. He's one of the only Spartan's we've seen get into a verbal disagreement with Dr. Hasley. And now that he has been promoted to a higher rank and is technically in charge of Blue Team, this could lead to some really interesting dynamics between him and the Chief, who Fred always looked to before to be the leader.
Linda-058 - the consummate sniper. She's the most quiet and mysterious of the Blue Team members, and is noted by Chief as being the only true lone wolf of the Spartan-IIs. It could be interesting to play this against the Chief, who is often inaccurately pegged by the fandom as being a lone wolf when he's actually all about being a team player/leader. Also any female character that can shoot Banshees out of the sky one-handed while also hanging upside-down from a suspension-cable I think deserves a little spotlight.
With the Spartans of Blue Team being the few remaining people the Chief trusts and cares about, having them for him to interact with would give us an opportunity to see more of his character as a man than we've ever seen in the games before. It ups the stakes of his personal story, and better ties everything in with his long-standing history outside of the events of the games. And seeing as Locke is apparently going to be pursuing the Chief in some form, this would give players a chance to see this dynamic play out from both an outside (when controlling Locke) and internal (when controlling Chief) perspective.
Same. The Arbiter was great in Halo 2 and 3.
I sure hope so (at least at some point in the comign saga). Fans have been clamoring for this very thing since the development of Halo 2 ten years ago and each entry since. [I guess you could say Reach already did this, but the Spartans in Reach were brand new characters to the Halo universe rather than Fred, Kelly or Linda.]
You know, it's funny. Around the time of release this was a much derided feature of Halo 2's campaign. But in the years following, people really began to more and more appreciate the view of the Covenant and Halo universe in general from another completely different character's (The Arbiter's) perspective. To the point that reviewers were actually DISAPPOINTED that Halo 3 didn't have one or two Arbiter-focused missions in its campaign.
I think that if Locke is introduced properly and his character/motivations are intriguing enough, he'll be a welcome addition to the overarching Halo campaign. Thankfully, we have an entire MOVIE, Halo Nightfall, to get to know him better.
Confirmed now in the latest GamesTM. Quotes from their preview and Kiki Wolfkill here: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/halo-5-gua...racter-jameson-locke-details-revealed-1469365
Don't know if that information is necessarily correct from that site/article. Does anyone actually subscribe to the magazine to verify any of this info?