For anyone who had concerns about Halo 5: Guardians after The Master Chief Collection, I?m happy to say that 343 Industries has really redeemed themselves here. While TMCC was a bit of a mess, and stayed that way for a lot longer than anyone would have thought, Halo 5: Guardians is about as polished and well-crafted as one could hope from a modern day first-person shooter. Featuring both an excellent campaign that builds upon the mythos nicely, and a really fun take on the classic Halo multiplayer formula, I think fans and newcomers alike are in for a treat when Halo 5 releases this week.
Halo 5: Guardian?s campaign is split between two protagonists, series mainstay Master Chief, and former Naval Intelligence officer turned Spartan Jameson Locke. Following the events of Halo 4, and featuring both the Prometheans and Covenant forces, you?ll spend time jumping between the narratives of Blue Team led by the Master Chief, and Osiris Team led by Locke. There?s a whole host of familiar faces that?ll pop-up throughout the campaign, so there?s a decent amount of payoff and callbacks for franchise fans here.
Halo 5: Guardians also looks absolutely gorgeous, both in-game and through cutscenes. Everything runs at a buttery smooth 60 frames per second, with virtually no hang-ups or technical issues that my naked eye could discern. The only time I noticed the game hiccup in the slightest is when loading in Warzone matches for multiplayer, there?s a short sequence of ships flying in that gets a little choppy, but that could be a network issue of some sort. But still, coming off of all the technical issues that plagued The Master Chief Collection, I think it?s commendable to see how technically sound and visually stunning 343 has managed to make Halo look here.
One big change to Halo?s multiplayer this year is the movement control, aided by a short boost function that effectively speeds up the combat in a way we haven?t seen in Halo before. It honestly takes a bit of getting used to, I still find myself forgetting that I have the option to boost away or to the side in firefights, but there are plenty of people out there that are already finding effective uses for this new function. Other abilities, like the new charging melee attack, certainly have their uses too. The only new ability that I?ve struggled to be effective with is the jump/ground pound, which seems to take a little too long to charge and really leaves you open to attack when using it. The environment traversal, where you can clamber over edges, is built with the new maps in mind, with plenty of shortcuts to be found to higher levels throughout the campaign and multiplayer modes.
I don?t think it?ll be a stretch to call Halo 5: Guardians a system seller this holiday season for Microsoft, and thankfully those that do pick up an Xbox One in conjunction with this game won?t be disappointed. It?s a well-crafted Halo experience with enough new bells and whistles to turn around even the most jaded Halo fan, and feels exactly like what you?d want a next-gen Halo game to be. There?s a hefty amount of content to explore here across the campaign and multiplayer modes, with a large map variety at launch and an enjoyable story to uncover. And it all looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous, with fantastic enemy and map designs on top of the excellent technical groundwork behind it all. I?m suitably impressed with Halo 5: Guardians, and I think you will be too.
With Black Ops 6 out in the wild for a bit, it's nearly time for…
Dancing to the same song is sometimes alright!
The event kicks off today for anyone who wants to swing by and check out…
Cal Kestis’s latest adventure should look better with Sony’s latest half-step console upgrade.
All aboard the Brothership in this week's eShop update!
With the more powerful PS5 Pro now available, it's time to check out the visually-enhanced…
This website uses cookies.