WATCH THIS: Forward Unto Dawn

The Halo game franchise is gearing up to make a big comeback this holiday season with the return of series star Master Chief in Halo 4. Before that can happen, however, publisher Microsoft would like to introduce some new characters to their sprawling sci-fi universe.

So they’ve turned to YouTube (wha?) and game culture mega-site Machinima (that’s more like it, Mr. Gates) to launch a live-action web series set in the Halo universe.

Here’s what may or may not come as a surprise to you, depending on how much you know about Halo. The series takes itself fairly seriously, and it is very, very good at what it does. You’ll find the first episode of the series above, and the second episode hit the ‘net today. We’ve got a lot to say about the approach Microsoft is taking to relaunch the game franchise in an upcoming post, but figured you might as well get into this series now.