Halo 5 review: Halo 5: Guardians Review — IGN — Mitspielen — Vampire Live in München

Halo 5: Guardians Review — IGN

Halo 5

By Brian Albert

Updated: Nov 24, 2018 7:03 pm

Posted: Oct 26, 2015 7:01 am

In almost every way, Halo 5: Guardians is bigger than the already large and excellent games that came before it.

Watch the first 18 minutes of Halo 5 above.

Developer 343 Industries has engineered the strongest combat Halo has ever seen, with tons of excellent weapons, varied maps, an expansive and intense new multiplayer mode joining a host of returning greats, and some game-changing new mobility. At the same time, Guardians repeats Halo 4’s mistake of telling a story that can’t stand on its own without Halo’s expanded universe. This hurts, but doesn’t ruin, its otherwise impressive cooperative campaign.

I Need a Hero

Make no mistake: though Spartan Jameson Locke and Master Chief share the cover of Halo 5, Locke is the main character. You play as him, leading Fireteam Osiris, in 80% of the campaign’s 15 missions, but he doesn’t have the charisma needed to fill that role. He falls into the same trap that ensnares many similar military-type main characters: Locke doesn’t really want anything for himself; he just wants to complete the mission that someone else gave him.

Locke doesn’t really want anything for himself; he just wants to complete the mission…

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The lack of a hero with a cause to root for costs Halo 5’s bigger story dearly, which wastes some good potential. Though the plot is overly complicated and unclear at times, it’s interesting that the new threat is less black-and-white in its motives than the Covenant, the Flood, or the Forerunners.

One great thing about this new story is that, after spending so much one-on-one time with Cortana in previous games, it’s refreshing to hear new voices share their stories about Halo’s universe. Learning backstories, such as how Osiris’ 22-year-old Spartan Vale came to learn the Elites’ language, is a neat, believable touch that’s well conveyed just through background chatter. Unfortunately, Master Chief’s Blue Team doesn’t get the same treatment.

Watch our profile on Master Chief above.

If I didn’t know them from Halo’s expanded universe, I’d have only a weak idea about who Fred, Kelly, and Linda are, where they came from, or why I should care about them. What should be a meaningful reunion for Chief – a chance to again fight alongside the few who truly understand him – feels like business as usual, except with three extra guns behind his back due to lack of context. 343 has released an animated Fall of Reach series alongside Halo 5 that explains the origins of Blue Team, but it’s only included with pricey special editions.

Divide and Conquer

It’s surprising the characters’ backstories weren’t worked into audio logs or something, considering how dense the seven-hour campaign is with other important stuff and secrets I missed at first glance. After a battle, I’d wander around Halo 5’s diverse locations looking for the thoroughly hidden skulls and realize I hadn’t even seen whole other rooms, hidden pathways, weapons, vehicles, and more. Halo 5’s levels often aren’t physically as big as areas in, say, Halo 3, but they’re so dense with things to discover that I didn’t miss the breathing room.

There are many more options available than “point four guns at the thing and shoot.”

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This kind of design makes Halo 5’s campaign ripe for replaying, and well suited for the convenient drop-in, four-player (online-only) co-op it’s clearly made for. You and your friends can spread out, grab a variety of weapons, and use these levels to their fullest – maybe have one person sniping priority targets from the high ground, another sneaking off to activate auto-turrets, and the other two people engaging the rest of the enemies in mid-range fights. There are many more options available than “point four guns at the thing and shoot.”

When playing solo, the new squad commands for your AI-controlled team (mapped to the D-pad) are about as simple as possible: stand over there, get in that vehicle, or shoot that enemy. This is a great quality-of-life improvement over past Halo games, where the only communication you could have with your NPC helpers was “Gimmie that gun you’ve got.”

In addition, they seemed to know what I wanted them to do. I spent very little time waiting for allies to jump on my Warthog’s turret, or getting them to hop into a spare Ghost for some extra firepower and mobility. The targeting command is useful for taking out elusive enemies, especially if you and your teammates are spread out and have different angles on the same area.

Watch a full multiplayer match of Halo 5 above.

The one issue I had with squad commands is that sometimes teammates just didn’t listen. I get it: If I run out into the middle of the enemies, die, and need to be revived, that’s a dumb move on my part and no sane teammate would want to make the same mistake. At the same time, when they sometimes decide to let me bleed out, it’s game over. .. so it’s frustrating when they inconsistently decide they don’t want to take one for the team.

Old Guns, New Tricks

Halo 5 also has the most satisfying arsenal in the series going for it, thanks to returning classics and design facelifts for guns that used to feel worthless. Old favorites like the battle rifle, Spartan laser, and trusty assault rifle look and feel great, and work in new ways with the new hover mechanics. One unexpected standout is the Suppressor, a Forerunner assault rifle that’s mediocre in Halo 4. It now fires homing projectiles, which are perfect for hunting down Halo 5’s quicker enemy types.

I was constantly trying to fit three or four really cool weapons into my two slots.

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A few weapons are disappointing, like the new Hydra Launcher. That monstrosity looks huge and menacing, but the homing rockets it fires don’t do enough damage to warrant a spot in my holster – especially since the campaign is so generous with handing out great guns. I was constantly trying to fit three or four really cool weapons into my two slots, which is a great problem to have.

You’ll have plenty of things to shoot, thanks to Halo 5’s strong enemy variety. Forerunner troops are highly mobile and will dodge slower projectiles if you’re not careful. The annoying flying enemies that provide shields are much less prevalent than they are in Halo 4, so they still provide an occasional challenge without becoming overbearing.

Watch Halo 5’s launch trailer above.

The major negative standout here is the series of boss battles with a similar enemy type, who really drives home that Halo 5 is a co-op-first campaign. This guy’s weakest point is on his back, which is hard to shoot without a real human being helping to distract it. In co-op it’s fine, but if you’re playing solo there’s no way to spread out your AI to get different angles, making it more frustrating than fun.

Invisible Elites have much more convincing active camo. ..

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Old-school Covenant soldiers are as strong as they’ve always been, with tough enemies like sniper Jackals and Hunter pairs. One major improvement is the invisible Elites, whose much more convincing active camouflage effect is one of the benefits of Halo 5 being native to the Xbox One. I was taken out by surprise much more frequently by the stealthy warriors, but not so often that it felt cheap – it was nice to be surprised and outsmarted.

Of course, Halo 5 also looks better in all the ways you’d expect from a generational leap forward. The campaign takes us to an eerie abandoned research station, a backwater planet ripe with odd, gorgeous life and vegetation, ruins with ancient and worn-looking monuments, and several other excellent looking locations. There is detail everywhere, and it contributes greatly to the fantasy.

Get Reqt

Where single-player has its successes and failures, Halo 5’s multiplayer is one big, sustained high point. The new headliner mode is Warzone, and it’s so fun and full of exciting tension that I could ignore the rest of the modes and be satisfied with Halo 5.

Think of Warzone as an expanded, 24-player version of Halo’s old Big Team Battle playlist – but in addition to fighting the other team, you’re racking up points by capturing locations and killing roaming NPC bosses like tank warlords or super-strong Hunters. Two different victory conditions – either earning 1,000 points before the other team, or by destroying the enemy team’s base – make it dangerous to get complacent when you’re way ahead in either race. Great comebacks are entirely possible.

Watch a video explanation of Halo 5’s REQ system above.

Warzone’s maps are up to four times larger than the biggest previous Halo maps to accommodate so many players and vehicles, but are cleverly designed with several close-quarters pathways and hiding spots to give infantry a fighting chance. These matches are often 20 to 25 minutes long, and require a new aspect of combat that Halo’s classic modes don’t have: resource management.

Hey Big Spender

That frugal enemy might turn the tables by rolling into your base equipped with a Scorpion tank.

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Each player slowly earns REQ points over time, which can be spent on power weapons, vehicles, power-ups, and more. If you spend a few points each time you spawn, you’ll probably have better weapons than the average enemy you square off against, making them relatively easy targets. However, that frugal enemy might turn the tables 10 minutes down the line by rolling into your base equipped with an expensive Scorpion tank while you have only enough money for a battle rifle.

It’s well balanced: no strategy seems dominant, and nothing can trump good old-fashioned mechanical skill. A good player could approach that tank under cover, dodge a shot, land on the tank, and destroy it with a grenade and a few punches. Smarts and skill will still win the day.

Watch Halo 5 Warzone gameplay above.

But of course, Warzone is just one mode among many. Arena is classic Halo at its finest: 4v4, with well-designed maps that don’t heavily favor one strategy over another, and a broad variety of modes like Slayer, CTF, and the fan-favorite fast-kill mode, SWAT. Its slew of maps and cosmetic armor customization options is impressive, and the addition of visible timers above power weapon spots creates exciting clashes like clockwork.

Halo 5’s new mechanical improvements apply to multiplayer as well as campaign. The most notable of those mechanics (which include the ability to quick-dash in any direction) is the hover jets. In previous Halos, jumping launched you on a predictable trajectory, essentially giving adversaries free time to line up headshots or toss a grenade on the area where you were about to land. Halo 5 shakes that up by introducing hover jets that activate when you aim down your sights while in the air, and now I don’t know how I played Halo without them.

After using the new hover jets, I don’t know how I played Halo without them…

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This tool allowed me to make new lines of sight at will, avoid explosions, and use splash damage weapons much more efficiently. Even better, it’s immensely fun to outsmart enemies with unexpected moves: you can pop out from cover – not just at the right or the left, but above it – get in a surprise shot or two, and then fight or run. Finally, it lets you set up the tough-to-execute ground-pound move that sends your floating Spartan crashing down on enemies below in a spectacular but risky finishing move.

Clambering is a huge addition to your mobility as well. As long as you get within a reasonable range of a ledge, your Spartan will grab onto the ledge and quickly hoist itself up. Not only is this mechanic much simpler than the old duck-jumping trick, it also cuts down on the number of failed jumps when trying to get somewhere quickly. In game modes where time matters, this improvement is especially useful.

In its 14 years, Halo has never felt so good to play. An updated arsenal and great new mobility mechanics give both campaign and multiplayer and modern touch without sacrificing Halo’s classic feel. It fails to introduce its new Spartan characters in a meaningful way, and the story does make some odd logical leaps, but it’s still fast, beautiful, and fun – especially with four-player co-op. Guardians’ multiplayer harkens back to the Halo 2 glory days with tons of balanced maps and fun modes, and the tactical new Warzone mode absolutely steals the show.

Halo 5: Guardians Review

amazing

Halo 5’s story is too confusing at times, but the shooting has never felt better, and the MP is the best since Halo 2.

Brian Albert

Review: Halo 5: Guardians – Destructoid

Halo really grabbed me back in 2001. I had just won an Xbox from a Taco Bell contest (no joke), and I was getting ready to sell it when a friend told me about a little old sci-fi shooter from Bungie. After playing Halo at a demo kiosk at EB Games, I came back home and immediately unpacked my Xbox. From there, my enthusiasm was infectious. I used my network engineering class to forge a 50-foot Ethernet cable, and my group of friends proceeded to play Halo for months on end nearly every weekend across two consoles.

Over the years, my love for Halo waned. Not only did the campaigns cease to grab me as time went on, but a lot of my fireteam companions have moved away, and I’ve had to play with them online instead. Halo 5: Guardians hasn’t done a whole lot to pull me back in, but those of you who are still content with Master Chief and his wacky adventures across the galaxy will likely walk away satisfied.

Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One)
Developer: 343 Industries
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Released: October 27, 2015
MSRP: $59. 99

While Guardians may have a no-nonsense intro that places you immediately into the fray, it already assumes that you know a ton of the franchise’s backstory. There’s so much lore at this point, spanning comics, web series, and other shows, that it’s hard to keep up.

The basic gist this time around is Master Chief is missing, Jameson Locke is sent to find him, and the Forerunners are still the big bad of the franchise. Everything else in-between is kind of a blur. The campaign features 15 missions in all, and is heavily built around the concept of fireteams — which means you’ll have three other characters following you around at all times, ready to take orders by way of AI constructs, or as player characters.

If you’re going the solo route, you can order your team to move to certain locations, or attack specific targets. It’s rudimentary at best, as the only command you have is a single d-pad stroke that does either of those two options, but it’s very cool to see your team banter and blow enemies away by your side. Your teammates can also revive you if you’re down (though there are still insta-kill mechanics and pitfall deaths), getting you back into the action faster.

Halo 5 features linear, more Call of Duty-style levels, with the occasional miniature sandbox or mid-sized arenas distractions. What I like about the campaign mechanically is it’s always forcing you to switch weapons (between the human, Covenant, and Forerunner variety), which constantly puts you out of your comfort zone. There are a ton of weapons in the franchise at this point, and it feels like 343 didn’t skimp out or remove any — so you expect somewhat of a learning curve.

When it comes to the campaign though, nothing blew me away outside of a few select missions. The first five are table-setting affairs, as it stands, but even after you progress through those, the narrative never really goes anywhere. The story is rather annoying in a way, as it relies heavily on past games to a fault. I really enjoyed the original tale of Halo: Combat Evolved, with the simplistic story of the conflict between Covenant and humans, with the Flood in the middle, but this “new” trilogy isn’t really doing it for me. Sure, the action is spot-on, but the Forerunners aren’t a compelling enemy, as far too much of their history is billed with mystique, and I couldn’t be bothered to care about any of the cast members outside of a light amount of nostalgia for Chief.

I also had a few technical issues during my playthrough. There were some weird instances where progression didn’t trigger and a door didn’t open because there was an enemy stuck in a far corner somewhere. Also, on a few occasions my team didn’t revive me even though they were right there, or outright refused to move or take orders. Guardians features drop-in drop-out multiplayer, which is great because the four-person campaign component never feels forced, but the lack of split-screen is an utter shame. For reference, it took me roughly six hours to finish the story on the standard difficulty setting.

How does it play? So well that you’ll often forget about how mediocre the campaign is. The gameplay has changed significantly, mostly due to new mobility options and the power to aim down the sights of your gun (also known as ADS or Iron Sights). Players can also press a button to boost, which works both on land and in the air, and hold the melee button to slam down to the ground, or press it while running to trigger a dash attack. It feels like a quicker, hybrid arena shooter now with all these changes.

Warzone, however, is leaps and bounds more fun than the story. It’s billed as a 12v12 mode that features a massive base tug-of-war, with enemy AI meddling on the side. In short, it feels like a bite-sized story mixed with multiplayer, and accomplishes most of the goals it sets out to achieve. For example, at the start of a match, you’ll have to clear out your own base — there’s no downtime involved. From there, Warzone constantly throws things at you, from sub-objectives to boss fights, with plenty of PVP action injected for good measure.

12v12 is by no means a massive amount of players, but it gets the job done, especially when coupled with the aforementioned PVE mechanics. There’s always something to do, and always players to kill. The large map size also brings something to Halo that really hasn’t been done before, as they’re roughly three times bigger than past locations in the series. Because of my time with Warzone, I’ve felt inspired to find a group of people to play with down the line. I think this mode has potential for some really memorable matches. There’s a straight non-AI variation available as well, if you prefer that.

So that’s Warzone. On the other end of Halo 5‘s PVP component, you have Arena — traditional deathmatch game-types across a handful of different modes. There’s Team Arena (with CTF, deathmatch, and Stronghold variants), Slayer (FFA), Breakout (one life), free-for-all, and the classic SWAT mode (no shields, no radar), with promises of more playlists post launch. You can also create custom games online if you wish, with specific rule sets. Once you acclimate to ADS, it’s basically the same Halo you’ve played many times before, for better or worse.

The levels in Guardians are decently balanced, though. There’s 15 at launch, and the pool is admirable, consisting of several different locations and layouts. “Plaza” is one of my standout favorites, as it’s an entropic map that’s vertically inclined, and both stylish and practical. There isn’t one map that I’ve groaned at (outside of the Midship remake, which is a good arena, but one I’ve played constantly for over a decade), and if I was ever bored of the small to mid-sized layouts, I just went back to Warzone.

As for the multiplayer experience as a whole, there’s a strong emphasis on dedicated servers, which the game prominently informs you it’s using during every matchmaking sequence. It’s been smooth sailing so far, but if there’s any changes we’ll provide an update after launch. This doesn’t factor into the review, but all Halo 5: Guardians maps (15 planned so far) will also be provided for free, presumably due to the sustainable funds generated from the microtransactions. Additionally, Forge mode will be released sometime in December.

So how about those “REQ” microtransactions? They’re pretty painless, actually. While they provide power-ups, such as single-use vehicles or weapons for Warzone play, they’re entirely optional in Arena, and provide cosmetic upgrades (skins, and animations) or experience boosts — think Mass Effect 3. You can basically choose to ignore the system entirely and still excel, or slowly accrue in-game currency to buy them. Either way, it doesn’t really impact the experience as a whole.

If it weren’t for Warzone, Halo 5: Guardians would probably be somewhere on the lower end of the franchise spectrum for me. It’s still a fantastic and well-oiled machine, but the story falls flat, and the shift in gameplay mechanics result in the loss of some elements that made the series so unique in the first place. Still, if you’re looking to shoot some dudes online, Guardians is your huckleberry.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

Halo 5: Guardians Overview | Stop Game

Transferring the fate of the Master Chief from Bungie to 343 Industries was received negatively by many fans of the series. The game changed its visual style, we were presented with a new set of monsters and weapons, and the gameplay lost some of its «sand» component. However, most critics liked the new concept of the series. In Halo 5: Guardians , the developers did not stop there and continued to break traditions. nine0009

The Energy Sword is one of the most powerful weapons in Halo 5. The main thing is to have time to run up.

Red vs. Blue

Halo 5 takes place a few months after the end of the previous game. It is difficult to say anything about the plot without spoilers, since the main intrigue, around which the entire scenario is built, spins already in the second mission. For some reason, one day the Master Chief ignores the instructions of the UNSC and goes in search of a notorious character. The authorities are worried about what is happening and send for John-117 the Spartan Locke. nine0009

So the story is not entirely linear: we are told two stories — one about the Blue Team led by the Chief, the other about the Osiris squad led by Locke. This scenario technique allows you to look at the same events from several angles. However, both heroes have to solve similar problems — to destroy hordes of Covenants and Prometheans.

Not everything goes smoothly in the story, and the motives of some characters raise questions. The plot develops rather sluggishly and slowly, but interest in what is happening remains, because a new threat looms over humanity, which has arisen from a rather unexpected side. Unfortunately, all the fun begins already towards the end. Still, we won’t have time to repulse the new evil — our heroes will do this in the next part. nine0009

This is Sparta!

You will have to play for two protagonists, and most often for Locke. However, this does not affect the gameplay in any way — in both cases we have the same «Spartan» set in the form of self-healing armor and a couple of grenades. The costumes of the fighters against the Covenant were also equipped with new abilities — for example, now we can deliver a crushing blow to the ground when falling from a height or cling to a ledge that cannot be reached with a normal jump. nine0009

Such gigantic creatures will cover the horizon for a good half of the game.

The new items came in handy, since most of the combat locations are very extensive and have a branched structure. Increased space for vertical gameplay. There are almost no dull corridor skirmishes in the game, during skirmishes we will constantly jump onto different platforms, climb on a hill, look for workarounds and attack the enemy from the rear. All this makes the process more dynamic and tactical, and the battles themselves look big. nine0009

How to fight and how to destroy the enemy is a matter of personal preference. Levels abound with different modes of transport. It is not necessary to use it at all, because you can almost always fight on your own two, but the very opportunity to ride across the expanses on the Vepr, and then transfer to some kind of fighter and shoot heavy enemy equipment from it is perceived with a bang. «For show» they will let you climb into the super-armored «Scorpion» tank once and ride a large mech. It is difficult to come up with more mossy shooter clichés, and therefore there is no particular fascination in these episodes. nine0009

Haloween

The enemy ranks are mostly made up of the familiar Halo 4 Prometheans and Covenants. Mechanical dogs, «knights» with light rifles and energy blades, small harmless unggoi — ninety percent of the time we will be engaged in shooting these creatures. The local «boss» Overseer will generally be asked to kill five times throughout the game.

Halo 5 is a shooting range, and a shooting range with old targets. Although the opponents have become much faster and more agile, sometimes the gameplay seems rather monotonous — yet another dozen hours of constantly firing at familiar enemies from familiar “guns” is a bit tiring. AT Call of Duty , for example, this problem is solved with infinite cutscenes and QTEs built into the gameplay. There are videos in Guardians , and they are excellently staged, but they fail to dilute the gameplay that develops according to the scenario “clear the area and go to the next location”.

Alien Disco Thrower.

Halo 5 has a few fresh ideas, like the Sentinel vertical run sequence, but there are very few of them. What 343 Industries succeeds unequivocally well and what even diversifies the adventure is the graphics. The high-tech design of spaceships and stations is replaced by the beautiful surroundings of the planets Sanghelios and Meridian. Locations differ from each other and pleasantly surprise with a well-balanced style and clarity of textures.

It’s fun to walk together…

You can also complete Halo 5 in co-op. True, the joint mode is available exclusively through the Xbox Live service — you won’t be able to play the new part with friends on the same TV. If you do not find comrades, artificial intelligence will take their place. nine0009

In Guardians , we will never be alone in our entire playthrough. Both Locke and Chief are constantly accompanied by a group of three fighters, who in every possible way demonstrate their usefulness and involvement in the course of the battle. If the skills of our colleagues raise questions (out of a dozen enemies running around, they will be able to shoot at best one), then they do an excellent job with the safety net function. The bobbleheads are good at diverting the enemy’s fire to themselves, and if the protagonist receives a critical wound, they, despite fear and danger, will run up to the hero and put him on his feet. nine0009

The appearance of companions is a fairly significant innovation that affects the perception of battles, which now seem to be more massive and large-scale. We can give the group orders like «take this position», «kill that monster over there» or «raise this weapon».

Fans of multiplayer Halo can have fun in the Arena and Conflict Zone modes. If the first one is rather prosaic and is a standard team Deathmatch, then the second one is a real reason for the pride of the developers, because in it, according to them, they combined all the best that was in series Halo . In the «Conflict Zone» teams fight for key points on huge maps. By holding them, they get points. However, in addition to people, enemies and allies under the control of computer intelligence participate in the battle. Unfortunately, due to technical problems, I was not able to try out the multiplayer in the press version, but we will definitely tell you more about it in the video review. The material is already available or is about to appear in the appropriate section.

Whatever the yellow substance under the armor is, in human language it is a «vital organ». nine0010

Halo 5 is, of course, a pipeline product that uses many of the clichés of both the Halo series and other contemporary shooters. But the product is quite high quality. Although the campaign is poor in fresh solutions, it is delivered very well. In addition, in the fifth part of the battle seem to be even larger than before.

Pros: battles have become larger and more dynamic; varied level design; nice graphics.
Cons: lack of new ideas; The single player campaign is a bit boring in places. nine0010

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Guardians — the dark side of the Chief

The plot flies downhill, the Master Chief appears on only three missions out of fifteen, the graphics are one big compromise. But it’s still a solid shooter with good multiplayer.
nine0010

It’s not enough for certain games to be good. It’s not about high expectations and not about the unsurpassed quality of its predecessors. These projects should sell not only themselves, but also the platform. And if Halo 5: Guardians somehow copes with the first task, then difficulties arise with the second. The absence of one fundamental component of past series and a controversial campaign with a short storytelling separate this chapter of the space opera from the status of a game worth buying an Xbox One for.

The Master Chief did the unthinkable. He disobeyed the order of the command and, together with three comrades, went in an unknown direction. The Osiris detachment, led by the Spartan Locke, was instructed to return the fugitives home. He and his subordinates seem to be destined to become the ones everyone hates. After all, they agreed to arrest a living legend and the repeated savior of mankind. Alas, the promising plot seems like a clumsy attempt by the authors to draw more attention to the game.

The Guardians script was written for the most dedicated fans of the universe, who thoroughly studied all the material on Halo, including books, comics, television series and cartoons. Otherwise, one cannot explain the lack of a clear representation of the characters and the study of their characters. It is aggravated by the fact that there are no interesting relationships between the characters. Moreover, Chief was demoted to the status of a «guest star», and most of the story is reserved for Locke and his partners. Of the latter, only Nathan «Buck» Fillion is remembered thanks to a recognizable face. nine0010

Don’t expect a tense hunt for a great Spartan, a reinvention of the Chief’s image, or a brutal conflict between two heroes eager to kill each other. The creators were only worthy of another round of the war for freedom with a one-time villain, characters from past games sewn with white thread, and a final twist with an undisguised hint of a sequel. It was like watching an episode of an ordinary series without vivid images and extraordinary decisions.

But the studio 343 Industries has not spoiled the basis of Halo. Locations delight with huge spaces with a large number of paths. It is almost always possible to bypass the fortifications of enemies from the flank and assess the situation from above. Small spaces and narrow corridors are at a minimum in Guardians. Surprisingly, the game, being a linear shooter, is not perceived as such due to the variety of tactical possibilities in spacious arenas. nine0010

Heroes now grab ledges and climb onto them. They also learned to bounce to the sides, break through certain obstacles with a run and dive from a height on the tops of enemies. All weapons have an aiming mode. This adds excitement and speed to duels with frisky representatives of extraterrestrial life forms. But there is no need to talk about a new round of franchise development. Moreover, the inability of Locke, Chief and their partners to shoot from two hands, as well as the obvious secondary nature of the «innovations», are not the biggest problems. nine0010

In Halo 5, there are obscenely few changes to the established formula. The Spartans deal with old familiar Prometheans and Covenants. No new races have appeared in this endless universe, just as there is no semblance of a zombie flood. Previously unknown types of opponents, weapons and equipment are almost a few. Because of this, what is happening resembles rather a modest addition to the fourth part, rather than a full-fledged continuation. In addition, the Covenants do not fight on the side of the Prometheans, as they did in Halo 4. Therefore, the campaign remains content with the alternation of these two groups. nine0010

During the battles with the bosses, more precisely with one repeated five times that way, you dream that the authors did not show imagination. A huge knight with a sword in his hands needs to shoot at a painful point on his back and simultaneously fight off endless minions. This is where the cooperative essence of the game manifests itself, and at the same time it becomes clear why the hero always runs in the company of three partners. Without a well-coordinated team, emerging victorious from a fight with such an enemy becomes an impossible task on a difficulty level above normal. nine0010

Unfortunately, it is forbidden to switch the difficulty at any time. You need to return to the menu and go through the previous mission again. In other words, playing alone and with unprepared people on the «Heroic» or «Legendary» difficulty levels either comes down to endless attempts to cope with force majeure, or inevitable repetition. Silicon companions are able to help only in simple situations, and in half they carry out a couple of orders like “attack the target”, “come here”. At the same time, you get to the end of the campaign on the “Normal” difficulty level in about five hours without difficulty. Maximum five hours! nine0010

Worst of all, Halo 5 doesn’t have the ability to play with at least two people on the same screen. But this feature, among many, brought popularity to the series. But co-op for four is available exclusively online. The connection is generally stable and the search for fellow travelers is not delayed for a long time.

Such shifts devalue the Guardians in the eyes of those who liked to overcome well-ordered trials alone or in the company of friends on the same couch. Now it all comes down to a dilemma between gathering a strong team of four comrades online and an unobtrusive walk with the mass murder of familiar enemies. However, this is not all bad news. nine0010

Yes, the game produces a stable 60 frames per second. Yes, the scope of the arenas is surprising. Yes, four heroes run together all the time and face hordes of enemies. But the price of this is too high. All beauty is limited to attractive views in the distance and a sharp change of scenery, like a spaceship or a distant planet with ancient buildings. It is worth lowering your gaze from heaven to earth, and empty areas with almost no details, muddy textures and objects covered with “ladders” appear at a short distance from the hero. Even with all the advances 343 Industries makes in terms of optimization, Halo 5 looks depressing in places, and no excuses work. nine0010

Competitive multiplayer is divided into two parts. In the Arena, teams of four Spartans each fight in a variety of modes, whether it’s a hunt for the flag or intense confrontations, where one life is given out per round. The authors in this aspect did not follow the fashion and abandoned the system of development and preliminary creation of classes. Everyone starts in equal conditions, with the same weapons. The skill of the players and the ability to control the map decides, at different points of which powerful and not so powerful guns periodically appear. The levels are well adapted to this format of showdown. It can be seen that the game was honed for cybersports, pointing all the «extra» elements to the door. But the arenas look depressingly sketchy. It’s like loading the same map over and over again, only the color of the walls changes. The impressive variety of past games in the series has evaporated. nine0010

The real gem of the game is the large-scale Warzone mode, where teams of 12 people converge. At impressive levels, there are aliens controlled by artificial intelligence, and mini-bosses. Ground and air equipment is being used. Here the team with the fastest score of one thousand points wins. Points are given for a variety of actions: from destroying enemies to capturing points. These are wonderfully collected ideas from different games and genres into a single system. It turns out exciting shootouts in the style of Halo with a befitting scope. However, this is not without criticism. nine0010

For successful actions, the hero earns points called Requisition. They are spent on the purchase of an analogue of «chests» containing bonuses. This can be a decorative element of armor or one-time cards that are activated during a duel in Warzone and allow you to summon vehicles or special weapons to the battlefield. Of course, «chests» can be bought for real money. Additive with greetings from shareware games looks here, to put it mildly, inappropriate. There is not enough content to force users to pull it out with such efforts. nine0010

Requisition points are earned slowly, and decorative items drop randomly. Yes, unique rewards for, for example, completing the campaign on the «Legendary» difficulty level have evaporated. In some previous parts of the series, the creators encouraged the players, encouraged them to take new heights. Therefore, armor was a kind of indicator of outstanding merit. Now the theory of probability rules the ball. If you see a fighter in beautiful armor, then the local «one-armed bandit» was favorable to him. nine0010

The authors are going to add the Forge map and mode editor in December of this year.

Diagnosis

Halo 5 does not make you admire yourself, but that’s not so bad. The plot flies downhill, Master Chief appears on only three missions out of fifteen, playing alone is either very simple, or what is happening resembles masochism (at high difficulty levels). The graphics are one big compromise. The split screen mode was not delivered. It’s still a solid shooter with fun battles against smart enemies in spacious arenas and support for 4-player co-op. Multiplayer, even with reservations, pleases with massive shootouts and tense confrontations in small arenas. This game should be advised to fans of the genre, those who have already purchased an Xbox One, but it makes no sense to spend money on a Microsoft console for Halo 5.