Halo 3's new "alternate universe" armour skins spark realism debate - and the memes have begun Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Halo 3's new "alternate universe" armour skins spark realism debate - and the memes have begun For honour! News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 5 Sep 2021 51 comments This week, Halo developer 343 began testing Halo: The Master Chief Collection Season 8 content for Halo 3 and Reach, giving players their first taste of new "alternate universe" armour skins - and it's fair to say they've sparked quite the debate within the community. Season 8 of MCC is called Mythic and showcases Halo "in a deliberately divergent way", 343 franchise and narrative writer at 343, Jeff Easterling, said in a post on Halo Waypoint. Watch on YouTube John Linneman, Rich Leadbetter and Alex Battaglia spend the best part of 40 minutes sharing their thoughts on the Halo Infinite technical preview. He's not kidding. Each of the new armour sets for use in Halo 3 multiplayer within MCC is focused on "reimagining the core Mjolnir armour as alternate universe amalgams based on legendary ancient warriors", including Greek and Norse mythology. We're playing as Spartans, after all! "We know it's wild," Easterling said. "We know it's 'out there'. And we think it's pretty neat." I'm getting a For Honor and Skyrim vibe from the whole thing. Here's a snippet of what's available: BELOS STHENO - Chosen who succumb to bitterness are blessed and cursed to never walk a path of peace. BLACKGUARD FORSAKEN DRAGON - There is no fall from grace, only an awakening to reality. BLACKGUARD CARRION CROW - Some are born to taste ill winds. BLACKGUARD SORROWFUL VISAGE - Fear can be honed to a sharpness keener than any blade. BLACKGUARD ASHEN CROWN - It is better to rule in the shadows than serve in the light. DRENGR VALDEMAR - War demands sacrifice of treasure and blood. The trick is to make sure that it's not yours. As you'd expect, some Halo fans have reacted with surprise at these new armour skins and said they're not in keeping with the Halo universe or what a Spartan should look like. Halo has for years now offered armour customisation, but it's largely in-universe customisation options that fit within the lore of Halo's time and space. But these new armour sets, as 343 says, are "alternate universe". Whatever side of the realism debate you land on with this, the Halo community has had its fun this week with plenty of memes. Here's a snippet: Imagine being a new Spartan, you've gone through years of training, dozens of surgical procedures, you're finally being deployed and this freakshow introduces herself as the squad's medic from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings New armors leaked!!! from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Halo 3 by season 10 from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Even though the helmets are wacky, I think the Covenant would be afraid of them from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings The new armor is horrendous and doesn't fit the halo lore. What the hell 343 I miss the bungie era of halo like this from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings For Hono... I mean Halo 3... is my favourite game from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Halo 3 lobbys gonna look like this in season 8 from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings I wasn't sure about the Season 9 armor, but with the right combinations it can look amazing! from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Nothing's worse than the Halo 5 multiplayer armor from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Indeed. from r/halo To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings "As a big fan of all manner of media, I've always personally enjoyed when a beloved franchise can be viewed through a unique lens, applying different themes, styles, eras, and more to create unexpected new experiences," Easterling continued. "Moments that can sit alongside a 'core' universe and give you a fresh little detour while keeping all of your beloved existing fiction and details neatly intact. Whether it's a samurai take on Star Wars or a steampunk take on Batman, seeing familiar elements given a wild and far-out twist can simultaneously give you a fun new thing to enjoy while also helping you appreciate the core reasons of why you love the original thing in the first place. The upcoming season for the MCC does just that, and also helps set the stage for more fun experimental themes to come in the future in this and other venues." I think that last line is key, and worth further analysis: "The upcoming season for the MCC does just that, and also helps set the stage for more fun experimental themes to come in the future in this and other venues." To me, these new armour sets are setting the stage for Halo Infinite to offer more "wild" customisation options. The multiplayer portion of the upcoming shooter is free to download, remember, with a battle pass and all the rest you'd expect of a live service. As Call of Duty has shown, even so-called modern day military shooters meant to offer a gritty, grounded virtual splice of life as a solder go off the rails when microtransactions are concerned. Realism be damned when there's a silly skin to be sold! And perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. This approach to skins feels like the natural next step for Halo 3, which, 14 years after it came out, took a page out of the Fortnite playbook and added back bling. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store