With Halo 5 Guardians game release quickly approaching, there is much related merchandise to be had. The Art of Halo 5 Guardians, is one such piece. Amazon has released a few pages from within.
Here’s the official blurb of the book:
In Halo 5: Guardians, game developer 343 Industries continues to enthrall fans worldwide with the exploits of the legendary Spartan super soldier, the Master Chief, as well as new characters in the Halo® universe, including Agent Jameson Locke and others. This deluxe art book chronicles the creative and breathtaking art of the worlds, vehicles, and characters of Halo 5: Guardians, with exclusive details behind the creation of returning characters, such as the Arbiter and the Master Chief himself. Complete with commentary from 343 Industries, The Art of Halo 5: Guardians is the ultimate exploration of the intricate creature design and groundbreaking gameplay that define the Halo experience.
Here’s the cover again to refresh your memory:
Now, here is something interesting. Note that Spartan Thorne is part of Osiris here. Josh Holmes of 343 has made this statement via the Entertainment Beyond forums:
“Thorne was originally the fourth member of Fireteam Osiris, but he was never intended to be the leader (that was always Locke). As the story evolved, Buck took Thorne’s place as his sense of humor worked well with the team. Also, we love Nathan. The cover image for the art book is one created in early pre-production when Thorne was still on the team and it’s one of my favorite concept images. It was painted by John Wallin Liberto and perfectly captures the epic sense of adventure that Halo 5 is all about.”
Okay, let’s look at those internal pages Amazon has released:
This is the first time that we go to the Elite home world, so we wanted to explore some of their indigenous culture–what their culture would have been like before the Covenant came to extend their influence over it. So we had a lot of influences emerging from ancient, unconventional, martial cultures in human history.
On the right it reads:
SANGHELIOS
The Elite home world, Sanghelios is a landscape almost unknown to human eyes. As the Arbiter fights to unite his people, this is the world where the Covenant make their last stand.
HFFL: As for the art itself, it’s fantastic. I personally can’t wait to explore Sanghelios. It’s been a long time in coming that we get to visit the Elite home world!
Text reads:
Locke is probably the most super badass guy in Fireteam Osiris. He’s also secretive, with a spy-like attitude. His goal is to search out and find Master Chief, so he reflects that visually. The design of his armor is very nonintrusive. He doesn’t have any bright tones. He’s gray and dark to amplify the very non disruptive nature of his armor. -Sparth
HFFL: Now as we know, this armor design has changed a little and now includes some lighter tones of blue. Still nothing bright persay though.
HFFL: Here we see one of the new weapons to Halo, the Plasma Caster. Most definitely a design that looks like it belongs in the Halo universe. As well at bottom left, we see a standard energy sword hilt and the Prophet’s Bane hilt. At right is the redesigned Needler. Hmm, I wonder if we’ll see that copper version in the game?
HFFL: And finally some shots of the interior of the Infinity, specifically the War Games arena. Hmm, does the pic at top right look curiously like the index from a Halo ring??
The text at bottom right reads:
Spartans train in the War Games simulator on board the UNSC Infinity. The Arena, a small 4-versus-4 scenario, is more game than training regimen. As such, it has bemuse a form of entertainment for the crew of the Infinity.
HFFL: I’d love to get this book. The cost on Amazon at the moment is $31.21.
If you’d like to pre-order the book from them you can go HERE.
-Sal
Sweet!
I absolutely loved the art of Halo 4, so I obviously can’t wait for this one!