'Halo' live action series launches, episode one now on YouTube

The live-action short follows Hastati Squad, a fledgling group of freshman soldiers en route to becoming hardened warriors -- but not without a few bumps along the way.

In particular, cadet Thomas Lasky finds himself attempting to balance not only those common duties towards squad, academy, and family, but also harbors an unexplained medical secret of his own.

The series leads up to the debut of Halo 4, which marks the start of a new trilogy, and one steered by a new controlling studio in 343 Industries: founding studio Bungie is now working for Activision rather than Microsoft.

And while Halo 4 is due on Xbox 360 on November 6, Activision's own blockbuster shooter franchise Call of Duty: Black Ops II arrives a week later on November 13 for 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Halo 4: Forward Until Dawn - Part 1 on YouTube: youtu.be/BfJVgXBfSH8
Official Halo site's Forward Until Dawn landing page: halo.xbox.com/ForwardUntoDawn