Halo 5: Guardians  

Halo 5 Guardians

The Spartans Tough Enough To Work With Master Chief

by Ben Reeves

Master Chief has become one of the most iconic characters in gaming, but for Halo 5: Guardians he won't be riding solo. This time around, the Chief is joined by three of his fellow schoolmates that help make up Blue Team. In spite of Halo's wealth of transmedia, 343 Industries has stated that Blue Team probably has more lines of dialogue in Halo 5 than they have in all the books, comics, and videos released to date, so it will give fans a better look into the personas of some of Halo's oldest warriors. With that in mind, here is a quick introduction to the members of Blue Team.

Fans of Halo lore will recognize the members of Blue Team. These are the Spartans who were trained alongside Master Chief. In a way, Blue Team is Chief's surrogate family, and he often thinks of them like they are his brother and sisters.

Abducted at the age of six, all Spartan-IIs were taken away from the parents of various outer colony worlds and inducted into the Spartan program on the same day. This means every member of Blue Team has known each other since they were six. As a result, the members of Blue Team have developed a kind of sixth sense instinct that helps them anticipate each other's actions during battle.

343 Industries compares the Spartan-IVs to Nissan Skyline GT-Rs: every aspect of their armor is computer controlled, and every tool they have is state of the art. While the Spartan-IVs have some biological augmentations, they are simple, lower-level augmentations that were not nearly as invasive as those the Spartan-IIs received. Out of the suits, most Spartan-IVs wouldn't stand a chance against a Spartan-II, but thanks to their top-of-the-line gear, Spartan-IVs are theoretically as good as Spartan-IIs.

In Halo lore, there was actually a fifth member of blue team, named Sam, who sadly passed away under distressing circumstances while holding back an army of Covenant forces. "He's actually kind of a light around which they gather in terms of how the team formed and how they feel about their own mortality, because most of the Spartans are dead, killed or missing in action," says franchise development director Frank O'Connor. "Blue Team's teamwork and resiliency is one of the reasons they are alive. Their respect and shared brotherhood with Sam is one of the things they assemble around as well as the name Blue Team."

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117: Not much needs to be said about the Chief as Halo fans are already familiar with the series' iconic hero. Master Chief is considered to be the hero of humanity as he was a key player in helping humanity win the Covenant war. Eight months after Cortana's destruction in Halo 4, Chief is re-united with Blue Team - his oldest friends. The members of Blue Team are the last officially active Spartan-IIs in UNSC service. However, near the beginning of the game, something happens to the Chief and the entirety of Blue Team decides to go AWOL. 343 won't reveal details about this event, but it's significant enough that the United Nations Space Command forms a second team of Spartans - led by Jameson Locke - to hunt down Blue Team.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Frederic-104: An expert in strategy and battlefield command, Fred is actually the highest ranking member of Blue Team, and technically the leader. However, Fred often defers command to the Chief. 343 Industries thinks of Fred as a kind of producer for Blue Team, he's the guy who organizes the team and helps them focus on their strengths. He cares a great deal for each member of his crew, and is emotionally impacted when anyone under his commend gets hurt.

Petty Officer Linda-058: A highly skilled marksman, Linda is the quietest member of Blue Team and likely the most observant. In the Halo lore, Linda is known to take out multiple targets so quickly that observers don't know who she targeted first. A bit of a lone wolf, Linda is so good with a sniper rifle that she doesn't even use a spotter to help find her targets. Most impressively, she has taken down Banshees by sniping the pilot through the tiny slit below the vehicle's canopy. While players who assume the role of Linda will start with a sniper rifle, it's worth noting that players will never be locked into any of the starting weapons - each member of the team is functionally the same and most of the differences between the team are cosmetic or story-related.

Petty Officer Kelly-087: Blue Team's key reconnaissance expert, Kelly, is quick on her feet and adept at analyzing combat situations. While all of the members of Blue Team are close, Kelly might be one of the Chief's closest friends. In the game, Kelly will be technically as fast as the other members of Blue Team, but in the Halo lore, Kelly has been clocked running as fast as 38 MPH. Her speed also extends to her reflexes, which makes her a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Blue Team has been known to use Kelly as bait, having her lead enemies into traps set up by the rest of the team.

Learn more about Halo 5: Guardians at Game Informer