Halo to drop must-buy new Master Chief collection this week that’s perfect for fans old and new

After 25 years of Halo, the Master Chief has earned his place as one of the most iconic video game characters of all-time, and now he’s being honoured with yet another story collection.

We’ve already had Halo: The Master Chief Collection which compiled Chief’s adventures from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 4, but the universe is so much larger than those core games.

Like other enormous sci-fi IPs like Star Wars and Warhammer 40,000, there’s an entire extended universe waiting to be found in the form of novels, and now Chief is getting an omnibus of his best stories.

It’s simply titled Halo: The Master Chief Omnibus and it’s due for release on November 10. You’ll find the collection on Amazon and other major booksellers, with its 1,376 pages protected by a glossy, gorgeous hardcover.

PURCHASE HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF OMNIBUS: AMAZON UK | WALMART

As someone who’s read all three of three of the below stories, it’s a must-buy for new and old Halo fans.

What’s included in Halo: The Master Chief Omnibus

Gallery Books

Kicking off the omnibus is Halo: The Fall of Reach. This is the first of Chief’s many adventures and delves into his origins, including how he ended up in the UNSC’s Spartan program.

It also explains what he got up to during The Covenant’s invasion of Reach, in the events that lead up to Halo: Combat Evolved, or Halo: Campaign Evolved depending on which version you like best.

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Since Activision took over the series, it’s been rumoured that the next Halo game will be an origin story for Master Chief, and while that sounds dreadful on paper, if it was an adaptation of The Fall of Reach instead, it might be pretty good.

Next we have Halo: The Flood. This is essentially an expanded version of Halo: Combat Evolved that covers Chief’s arrival on Alpha Halo, his war with The Covenant, and the discovery of the ring’s dark secret.

It’s a good read as it fills in the gaps left between missions, and even includes a sub-plot of an Elite who’s hunting Chief throughout the story. You even canonically kill him during the game’s final mission.

The Flood are also handled really well. It dives even deeper into what a horrifying threat they are, and the fear Chief was feeling when he first fought them.

Finally, Halo: First Strike is a story that takes place directly after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, but before the events of Halo 2.

It follows Chief and other Alpha Halo survivors stealing a Covenant ship and returning to Reach, fearing the alien threat had finally discovered the location of Earth.

First Strike’s a bit of a weird story in the grand scheme of things. It could have never been tacked onto the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake, nor factored into the story of Halo 2. It also couldn’t have been its own game, as it's far too short.

However, had Halo Studios been allowed to move forward with a remake of Halo 2, it could have definitely been a set of prequel missions like what was seen in Halo: Campaign Evolved.

All together these three stories make up one of the most-important parts of Master Chief’s life. They’re the events that not only shape who he is as a person, but elevate him to the legend he was destined to be.

Those who haven’t read them should definitely pick-up this omnibus, but for a simplified way of digesting these stories, check out Audible.

Halo: the Master Chief Omnibus is available from November 10 on Amazon and other major booksellers.

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