Master Chief From Halo: His Abilities And Gear
Many major video game companies have at least one franchise game where their main character becomes a well-known fixture among video game fans. Nintendo has Mario, and Sega has Sonic the Hedgehog, characters that fit more with a family-friendly, cartoon image. In contrast, Microsoft’s most well-known character from their Xbox systems is Master Chief from Halo, a gun-toting super soldier. Thanks to the popularity of the Halo series, Master Chief has become a household name, so let’s take a look at what makes this popular video game character tick, from his body to his equipment.
A Military Man
The real name of Master Chief of Halo is John-117, a man that was enrolled in the SPARTAN-II project as a child, with the goal of creating soldiers able to handle any sort of military need. After receiving various physical and mental enhancements, much of it risky and holding potential to cripple the person being augmented, the super soldiers were given military assignments. In fact, Master Chief of Halo is called that because his rank is Master Chief Petty Officer. The physical augmentations that these super soldiers go through provide a basis to explain the physical abilities exhibited by Master Chief in the Halo games.
His Armor
The armor that Master Chief uses in Halo is known as the MJOLNIR battle armor, which contains various equipment to further enhance the abilities of the super soldiers. For instance, powered shielding was incorporated into the armor in order to provide better protection against enemy fire. The visor on the suit’s helmed contains a display that feeds useful battle information to the user. The suit also contained technology allowing the user to breathe underwater or even in space. Such technology suits a super-soldier who may need to operate in multiple environments.
Cortana
Although the focus of Halo is on Master Chief for the most part, another character remained with him virtually at all times through the Halo games, that of Cortana. What makes her unique is that she isn’t a human character, but a sophisticated artificial intelligence that resides in Master Chief’s battle suit. Cortana is, in a way, related to the SPARTAN-II project, as the basis for her thought patterns come from Dr. Elisabeth Halsey, who founded the project in the first place. She serves as a source of information and support for Master Chief in the Halo games. As we can see, with an enhanced body, armor, and even an enhanced support mechanism, Master Chief is set up to have the odds stacked in his favor, within the Halo universe.
