Halo 5: Guardians
Microsoft’s shooter megafranchise needed a comeback after last year’s Master Chief Collection ended up not going in their favor. Glitches and connection issues didn’t sell people on 343 Industries taking the reigns from Bungie, and it got to the point where 343 had to publicly apologize and offer all Halo 5 DLC for free. While that’s a great move, it wouldn’t be enough to get people on board with the series going forward. Only the actual Halo 5 game would be able to achieve that.
It’s a saying that gets thrown around a lot, but Halo 5 really does feel like the biggest game in the series. The story mode is certainly no slouch on the action or scope of the story, constantly coming at you with action sequences that don’t let you rest. Regretfully, some of the biggest action occurs in cutscenes instead of player input, but there’s no denying there’s awesome to be had either way. The addition of three extra Spartans as your co-op partners or AI teammates has definitely increased the number of enemies you face, but it still maintains the classic flow and balance that Halo’s been known for.
But multiplayer is truly where the game needed to sell itself, and it is awesome. Fans who weren’t into the loadout and ordinance drops of Halo 4 will be glad to hear that those have been wiped away in favor of putting everyone on an even playing field. All Spartans can aim down sights, sprint, clamber, and use thruster packs in what helps to provide more mobility and combat to things, and each map is thankfully tuned with these new mechanics in mind. Halo games have always thrived on multiplayer, and in that regards, Halo 5 is more than a worthy successor. Well done, 343.
