There was rumor/talk for a little while that Halo 5 would see the retirement of Master Chief, and focus on a new main protagonist. That idea has apparently been shot down, and Master Chief is back. Yet again.

Halo 1 and 2 had me… Halo 3 I played for some multiplayer and that’s it. From there on out… meh. I was on board with Reach, because the game offered something fresh with its main cast, if not its gameplay. Noble team was new, and different, and their MJOLNIR armor was far and away more eyecatching than Master Chief’s old paintball/BMX helmet.

But I guess it didn’t take, because they always come back around to Master Chief. I imagine he sells games? Though I question if it can even be argued that Halo is the Xbox’s flagship franchise anymore. Halo and Halo 2 were system sellers, no doubt.

But this far into the continually Xbox-exclusive franchise, is Halo really the reason to buy the system anymore? Or rather is it just something that you know will be there as an owner of an Xbox.

Halo took off, I believe, because it was a great console FPS, at a time when first-person shooters were still mostly a PC oriented. It had great, accessible split-screen multiplayer that made it an instant party game. Nowadays, though, with as much competition there is within that genre, it just feels to me like Halo is a franchise that’s struggling to ride those glory days, as opposed to being a must-have game.