Since this is for the most part a tirade, I'll keep it short. To a blunt point: WHAT THE **** DID BUNGIE DO WITH MASTER CHIEF!?To a finer point, where did our beloved (albeit faceless) Halo protagonist vanish to? Why has he disappeared (both from a story perspective and that of Bungie and Microsoft)? Will he ever return?

To answer the first of these questions, I take you back to the epic ending of Halo 3. Master Chief and Cortana (his computer program ally/sidekick of sorts) are floating through empty space, trapped in the rear half of the ship Forward Unto Dawn. Realizing that it may be many years before they are rescued, Cortana activates a distress beacon in case a search is mounted. Master Chief's final words are:"Wake me if you need me." Before he activates the pod and goes into cryo-sleep. [SPOILER ALERT]If you beat the game on the "Legendary" difficulty mode, you are rewarded with an extra scene that shows the rear half of Forward Unto Dawn approaching a mysterious, unnamed planet. Then it shows a memorial service being given for the heroes.Then the game ends. For most playing the game for the first time, a sense of incredulous outrage follows. What? What's that supposed to mean? Did they just die? Is this the end of Master Chief? And why, oh why, would Bungie choose to end the game in such a strange way. Is it supposed to be a farewell to the Halo franchise? Who knows. Until Halo 3: ODST is released, and we are faced with a prequel. A prequel for Schwarzenegger's sake! Again, the feeling of hopelessness towards ever playing as the Chief again deepens as you realize that another Halo game has come and gone without seeing a glimpse of our hero or learning of his fate. Now Halo: Reach is on the way, and although I'm very, very excited about it, I can't help but feel that no other character in the Halo universe will top the feats of Master Chief. I mean, what other character has THREE games of screentime under their belt? Not one. But why would Bungie do such a thing to our helmeted hero? Perhaps it's supposed to be a nostalgic farewell to the Chief. A sort of "he may not appear in a Halo game ever again, but he's still out there" mentality maybe? Or maybe Bungie decided to remove him from the picture for marketing reasons? Maybe they thought that he was just an overworn character that the general public was getting sick of playing as. Ridiculous, in my opinion. So what then,does the future hold for Master Chief? Mabye he's really not gone, and another game is in the works at Bungie that will showcase his glorious return (this is my favorite possibility). Maybe he will appear in future Halo games without being a playable character, or maybe in that phantom-like Halo movie that appears and disappears like Steve Jobs at a press conference. Maybe he will appear elsewhere, in some form not yet foretold. Or maybe he has indeed played out his final act in the world of Halo. A sad thought, I know. My opinion though, is that Bungie will not leave the Halo saga at such an unsatisfying end. I for one think that Master Chief is already making his return. The next best thing to his return, though, would be a game devoted to the Arbiter. Now that would be kick @$$!

-Please share your thoughts and feelings on this subject.