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 The Halo 5: Guardians marketing machine is moving full-steam ahead with a tie-in TV show, fictional podcasts, and trailer after trailer. The game has some work to do in order to win back franchise fans who felt burned by the problems surrounding the Master Chief Collection, so there is a lot riding on this one.

Thanks to delays and the lack of a major Sony exclusive release this fall, Halo 5: Guardians is poised to be the biggest game of the holiday shopping season. Although lots of sales won't happen until the game is actually released, it's never too early to pre-order as far as some stores are concerned. As is the new (controversial) norm, pre-ordering at specific retailers will earn shoppers certain unique in-game rewards.

Although we are still almost half a year away from Halo 5's release date, GameStop is ready to start trying to win over the loyalty of Halo fans. Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, pre-ordering the upcoming sequel at GameStop will earn consumers access to the Spartan Locke Armor Set showcased in the latest trailer. The multiplayer-only armor set will be available from day one for consumers who purchase the game at GameStop.

Microsoft offered these details about the gear:

HUNTER-Class Armor: Sophisticated and lethal, HUNTER-class armor incorporates Watershed Division's latest warfighting technology.

HUNTER-Class Helmet: Though still considered a prototype implementation, the HUNTER's sensor suite enhances situational and threat awareness.

The offer is only valid in the United States and no details about other locations have been revealed yet. If this exclusive deal follows the trends that we've seen before, then it seems like a safe bet that the armor will later be available as either a DLC, part of a patch, or a Game of the Year edition.

It definitely is a little early to start the pre-order campaigns, but locking in sales early is a major part of GameStop's sales model. The exclusive armor should help give the brick and mortar retailer a fighting chance against the convenience of online stores like Amazon.

Spartan Locke will be a new character in this installment of Halo and the character is on a mission to hunt down Master Chief. Some of the mystery surrounding Master Chief's disappearance is currently being explored in the Serial-style podcast, Hunt the Truth. Halo 5 players will jump back and forth between control of the Chief and Locke while playing through the game's campaign.

Will you be pre-ordering Halo 5? Do you think the armor is sufficient motivation to get the game at GameStop? Let us know in the comments.

Halo 5: Guardians is set to release on the Xbox One on October 27, 2015.

Source: GameStop