Halo, the franchise that can carry Xbox on its back has once again come good with a spectacular game, though it might not please everyone. 343 Industries was out to prove a point with Halo 5 Guardians and in my opinion they got most of it right.
The game starts off with a couple of straightforward missions that introduce you to both the Spartan squads; Fire Team Osiris lead by Spartan Locke and Blue Team consisting of Master Chief and his old Spartan II programme buddies. A lot of Halo fans will be disappointed to know that the Locke vs Chief angle fizzles out pretty soon and you end up playing as fire team Osiris for the most part, though the plot develops interestingly so it’s not really a big problem.
The campaign sees you travel across the galaxy for answers, visiting some stunning locations leading up to amazing set pieces and cutscenes; some of the finest the franchise has to offer. Despite the lack of my customary warthog chase sequence with drums, guitars and french horns in the backdrop I was quite pleased with the campaign, it wasn’t classic Halo but it was still very enjoyable. The fundamental changes to gameplay are evident from the campaign itself; there are tons of paths, added verticality for climbing up ledges and a lot of it is catered to coop play which despite the lack of local coop is amazing.
Halo 5’s multiplayer is divided into two parts, Arena and Warzone. Arena is where you find your classic pvp modes and playlists for competitive action. The mutlipalyer is fast, responsive and very crisp; The gunplay is probably the best it has ever been and there’s so much you can do with the new boost and mobility options. It’s also a lot more welcoming for new players with announcers telling you when weapons spawn and your teammates now automatically call out locations of enemies and objectives. Though I should point out, the multiplayer visuals feel a little bland and jagged as textures have been scaled down to maintain the 60fps performance.
Warzone on the other hand is more relaxed; it is a PVP PVE hybrid where two teams are dropped off on either side of a massive map with AI enemies with the goal of capturing 3 objectives to get victory points. Players can choose to use one time Req packs for weapon and vehicle drops for additional firepower. With random AI enemies and objectives popping up and a massive 24 man battle going on, it’s hard to keep track but it sure is a lot of fun with friends.
While the campaign wasn’t spectacular, it was fun and is even more enjoyable on higher difficulties in coop mode. Halo 5 multiplayer is Halo at its best, this is what the game needed and 343 delivered. Tons of modes, maps and playstyles all at 60 fps make it an amazing experience, especially with the new dedicated servers. While I am still disappointed at the lack of Master Chief missions in Halo 5, I do not regret spending the 20+ hours on campaign and multiplayer. Halo 5 looks gorgeous and plays great, an Xbox One no brainer.
