A few weeks after its official debut, the highly anticipated Halo: Campaign Evolved is back in the news thanks to the coverage of Game Informer magazine. After taking a look at the additional missions of Operation: METEORITE during the last XBOX Games Showcase, American journalists visited Halo Studios, revealing a lot of information about the three prequel missions included in the remake and officially confirming a rumor that had been circulating for several months.

The element that immediately caught the attention of fans is the cover of the new issue of the magazine, created by artist Sam Wood. The illustration shows well-known faces such as the Master Chief, Cortana and Sergeant Johnson, but also introduces a mysterious unpublished female figure in ODST armor.

This image confirms an old rumor released in March by Rebs Gaming, according to which the new missions would introduce a Helljumper soldier to explore the historically tense relationship between the UNSC's elite troops and the Spartan supersoldiers. Although the developers have not yet presented it in detail, its presence in the foreground now removes any doubts about its introduction.

These three unreleased chapters will take place about a year before the events narrated in Halo: Combat Evolved, allowing us to explore a time period never touched before in the video games of the series, even anticipating the first historic meeting between Master Chief and the artificial intelligence Cortana. Creative director Max Szlagor explained that the team's goal was to deepen the bond between the protagonists, as Chief and Johnson had known each other for some time when the story began. Jeff Easterling, head of narration, also pointed out how this content will finally give Johnson the space he deserves, showing his evolution to become the hero we all remember. For the writing of the plot, the studio collaborated with Troy Denning, author of several novels in the saga such as Halo: Silent Storm, who revealed that the story will see us collaborate in the search for navigation coordinates to locate the home planet of the Covenant.

The gameplay details promise great news. In the first mission, entitled Boarding Action, we will board the ship Triumph of Tolerance to recover enemy strategic data; here we will be able to appreciate a Master Chief slightly more expressive than usual, even ready to exchange a few jokes with Johnson. During these adventures we will also be able to wield weapons introduced only in the later chapters of the saga, such as the Battle Rifle, the Needle Rifle, the Energy Sword and the Fuel Cannon. On the enemy front we will get to know the Brutes, introduced by the Prophet Harmony, who will become a constant threat and will radically change the pace of the fights compared to the classic clashes with Elite, Grunt and Jackal to which we are accustomed. There will be highly spectacular moments, including a huge Covenant training arena full of guns, much larger and more open environments, and a memorable final space battle inspired by what was seen in Halo: Reach.

We remind you that Halo: Campaign Evolved will be available from July 28, included in the Game Pass Ultimate. Keep following us for all the news!