Microsoft and 343 Industries unveil the first episode of their live-action web series for Halo 4, Forward Unto Dawn, teased earlier this week. The series follows the Hastati Cadets, a group of trainee soldiers readying to fight in the United Nations Space Command's war.

The series is directed by Stewart Hendler, ("H+," "Sorority Row") and written by Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing, who have worked on "Smallville" and "Spartacus." Four more episodes are slated to debut, and will air on Machinima, YouTube and Xbox live. They act as a prequel to the Halo games and are set at the beginning of the human-Covenant war.