When 343 Industries took over for Bungie, a lot of fans were worried that Halo would change...and, to the dismay of many, it did. Halo 4 was a radically different beast from its predecessors: aside from its campaign structure, nearly everything about the series had been changed in some fashion. While there were a lot of fans who were happy with this new direction, a lot of fans pushed back, too - and, when Halo 5: Guardians was announced, many gamers were wondering if the studio would listen to its fans.
This apprehension only grew as 343 Industries revealed more and more of the changes they'd be making with Halo 5. A new lead character, aiming down iron sights, no split-screen...it was starting to sound like the Halo that so many loved would become something completely different.
Now that the game is finally here, only one question remains: is Halo 5: Guardians a worthy successor to one of the biggest franchises in gaming?
The story of Halo 5: Guardians takes place on two fronts: one follows franchise legend Master Chief, while the other follows series newcomer Spartan Locke. Despite what the game's marketing may say, Halo 5 isn't centered entirely around one character hunting another - in actuality, it's more about 343 Industries expanding upon the lore and characters of the expanded Halo universe.
Longtime fans of the series may be surprised to see that the Master Chief takes a back seat during the campaign. Halo 5′s story focuses on Spartan Locke for the vast majority of its duration - and, while playing as Locke certainly isn't a bad thing, the campaign is so far skewed that it feels as if pieces of the Chief's story are missing.
If anything, 343 Industries isn't afraid to shake things up. Huge, franchise-altering events take place during the campaign, and Halo 5′s ending almost feels as if it's channeling The Empire Strikes Back: the core story comes to a close during the game (no Halo 2 cliffhanger here), but there are some major threads left hanging for the inevitable sixth installment. It's good, but it's definitely not perfect, either: the story feels like all setup and no payoff, and one or two more campaign levels could have helped flesh out the game's relatively brief the ending.
When it comes to actually playing through the story, Halo 5 features some of the best level design in the series to date. It's still your standard Halo campaign, with players switching between on-foot skirmishes and long vehicular segments, but the variety on display is unlike anything else in the series. There are so many paths to explore and options to try out that even playing through the same section twice can result in two vastly different experiences. The only real negative are the repetitive boss fights: taking down the Warden Eternal on his own is fine, but by the end of the game, he's more than worn out his welcome.
Fans of the series will likely be split on what happens during the events of Halo 5...but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't have fun playing through it.
Simply put, the multiplayer portion of Halo 5 is a return to form. If you were put off by the Call of Duty-esque design of Halo 4, you'll be happy to know that nearly all of the changes that 343 implemented have been removed or completely reworked.
At its core, Halo 5 multiplayer is split into two camps: 'Arena' and 'Warzone.' Arena is based around smaller, more intimate matches, with close-range maps and eSports-friendly gametypes. It's all very fast-paced: if you missed the days of Rumble Pit or Team SWAT, you'll be happy with Halo 5′s Arena. Warzone, on the other hand, is all about huge stages and vehicular warfare, and it feels like the natural evolution of the series' Big Team Battle mode. Players attack enemy bases, roaming enemy AI and other players, all while unlocking more and more powerful gear as the match goes on.
Speaking of unlocking gear, the REQ system and its associated microstransactions have been under fire ever since they were announced. Thankfully, there's nothing really to worry about: unless you're extremely impatient, there's never really a need to buy REQ packs, and the game is pretty generous about doling them out. Also, aside from cosmetic items like helmets or emblems, REQs are strictly Warzone items - you'll never have to worry about a pay-to-win situation.
When it comes to connectivity, Halo 5 performs well. Matches can take a little while to connect to, but once you're in a lobby, matches tend to start immediately and with no trouble whatsoever. Lag can be an issue at times, especially if your connection isn't exceptionally fast - but, for the most part, 343 Industries has redeemed themselves after the horrible launch of The Master Chief Collection.
Halo 5, from a purely mechanical standpoint, represents the biggest jump since Halo: Reach introduced Armor Abilities, and these new gameplay additions are enough of a reason to play the game.
The new 'Spartan Abilities' are at the core of Halo 5′s gameplay, and they completely change how Halo 5 plays. Basically, everything is tied to the thrusters on your Spartan's armor: sprinting and dodging are essentially rocket-powered boosts, and the same thing goes for hovering and sliding. Even the more complex maneuvers, like ground pounding and shoulder charging, tie back into the thrusters - and from the minute you boot up the game, they're all incredibly fun to use. In fact, the campaign is worth playing a second time simply because of how many different paths and options the Spartan Abilities open up.
Thanks to the Spartan Abilities, Halo 5 manages to feel different from just about every other game out there - and while it's a shame that some of the cooler Armor Abilities have been cut (I'll always love you, Armor Lock), the flexibility that Spartan Abilities provide is more than worth the trade.
Other additions to the gameplay, while not as impactful as the Spartan Abilities, all feel at home in Halo 5. Anyone who was worried about the addition of aiming down iron sights can put their fears to rest, and the new weapons, vehicles and gadgets that players can get their hands on add to the already-huge Halo sandbox. Basically, it's the best parts of the Halo series' tried-and-true gameplay, mixed with some genuinely fun and inventive new mechanics. Halo 4 may not have pushed the franchise forward, but Halo 5 certainly does.
It should come as no surprise that Halo 5: Guardians is a beautiful game. 343 reintroduced fans to the world of Halo with the fourth installment, and they ran with that vision in Halo 5. The art design is fantastic from start to finish: weapons, vehicles, enemies, particle effects, animations - everything looks amazing. The environments are the crown jewel, featuring a wide variety of truly alien and surprisingly believable worlds.
The sound design, while slightly less consistent, is also incredibly strong. Most of the effects, from the voice acting to the explosions to the sounds of your armor, all sound great. On the other hand, several of the Covenant weapons have lost their punch, and the Forerunner weapons never really manage to stand out. Some of the game's enemies (namely, the Grunts and the Jackals) are painful to listen to, and some lines of dialogue have so many layers of effects that it can be hard to understand them without subtitles. That being said, these are minor blemishes - for the most part, Halo 5 sounds great.
From a performance perspective, however, Halo 5 doesn't hold up nearly as well. The game usually hits its 60 frames-per-second target, and it looks great when it's running smoothly - however, framerate dips and texture pop-in aren't all that uncommon, either.
Also, for whatever reason, some of the game's animations dip to 30fps during some firefights. Techniques like this aren't uncommon in games, but they're usually relegated to background elements - in Halo 5, it can happen just a few feet ahead of the player. It's not a game-breaking issue - none of Halo 5′s graphical troubles are - but it's distracting, and something that makes the game seem like it's running worse than it is.
It may sound like nitpicking, and at a certain point, it definitely is - but the 60fps target was supposedly the reason why 343 Industries cut split-screen gameplay from Halo 5. After cutting such a huge part of the Halo experience, you'd expect that the extra power would result in rock-solid performance all the way through...but that's not always the case.
Is Halo 5: Guardians the game that Halo fans are expecting? No, probably not - but that's a good thing. While there are a few rough spots - the story isn't perfect, and some of the design decisions are a bit backwards - the changes that 343 Industries has made to the series' core gameplay are definitely for the better.
And yet, despite all of the changes, Halo 5: Guardians still feels like a Halo game...there's just a lot more to it now. It's the sort of game that everyone should try at least once, even if you've already signed off on the series - you'd be surprised by just how much Halo has grown.
In short: for the first time in a long while, it feels like the franchise is moving forward again.
For more on Halo 5: Guardians, check out our guide to everything you'll find in the game on Day One.
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