Halo 5 Guardians Review

Eight months after the destruction of the shield world Requiem, the UNSC deploy Fireteam Osiris, an elite team of Spartan-IV’s which consists of ONI Agent and squad leader Jameson Locke, Army Engineer Holly Tanaka, Navy Translator and Pilot Olympia Vale, and the veteran ODST trooper Edward Buck to the Covenant controlled planet Kamchatka to extract the rogue Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, who wishes to defect back to the UNSC.

While the team is successful in retrieving Halsey and eliminating the Covenant leader Jul ‘Mdama, Halsey informs them that a new threat is about to emerge.

Elsewhere, the Master Chief, still grieving over the loss of his AI companion Cortana, leads his surviving Spartan-II colleagues, Blue Team, on a mission to the ONI research station Argent Moon where the Covenant have occupied it for an unknown purpose. Members of the team include Kelly, the team’s scout and Chief’s closest friend; Frederic, the team’s CQB specialist and second-in-command who worries over John’s well being; and Linda, the team’s sniper who is confident in Chief’s ability to lead. In their investigation of the Covenant’s objective aboard Argent Moon, Blue Team discovers an advanced stealth ship and other prototypes being looted by the Covenant, deducing that the Covenant’s war against the Arbiter’s forces is starting to become desperate.

After the scenes at the end of Halo 4 where we defeat the Didact from using the Forerunner to destroy humanity, With Cortana sacrificing her dying self to save Master Chief we find a new foe/ally part of the Spartan team Osiris and their leader Locke who is a newer model of the spartan army.

Straight from the off the opening scene is like something out of the latest Avengers film (Age Of Ultron) all members of team Osiris kicking the absolute crap out of the covenant, teasing all of the their new moves like smashing through rocks and their amazing combat skills…all of which we can’t do?!?! Why not?

As soon as you land you will feel comfortable with the controls as Halo has never changed them unless you change them yourself, there are a few added moves which adds so much to your character’s movement. Some of the new features are the Sprint and Melee which is a Spartan Charge and has it’s own little animation which is cool, the jumping is so useful now with the ledge hopping and if you press the B button your thrusters send you in the direction of your choice which is really helpful when you’re in a tight squeeze.

Locke has the motion sensor used with the D-pad down it portrays a small scan of the area which will ID your nav point and also nearby ammo, Master Chief has the same button combination but not as techie as Locke, the nav point just pops up for him, shows that Locke is a newer model with better features.

“When Master Chief enters the game it is picture

perfect, the legend takes out 5 elites all with energy

swords without even confronting them…I’ll leave to

you to witness and enjoy.”

Visually the game is remarkable and for its first official drop on the next gen console it had a lot to live up to. 343 have jumped leaps and bounds from the previous four games, the water ripples look amazing and the level of detail in the weapons has been revamped to the max, the backdrops and level of detail in the maps are on point and look stunning. I remember playing the first Halo CE and looking down at the grass and seeing the realistic visual at the time was amazing, over the course of time things have only got better, the texture of in the environments are truly remarkable.

The major upgrade the game has been given is the fact you have three other people that can be AI controlled or controlled by your pals, they can help you up if you’re downed or if you target an enemy or object to destroy they will do so on your command, but if they’re busy with something they will let you know.

Even the pop in and pop out of the weapons has had a re-hash with each weapon having their own visor it really gives that different approach to the different styles of weapons from UNSC to Covenant to the Prometheans. The team that works with you also have their own customised weapon which is really cool. Cutscenes are up there with animated movies 343 have really rescued the series after the cluster game that was Halo 4.

The sounds, oh boy the sounds, the UNSC weapons sound so realistic i felt like i was in a warzone with aliens. The shotgun was so accurate and the battle rifle just keeps getting better and better, i was using my Turtle beaches (500X) which really made it come to life, but even through my TV speakers it captured the realism of a battle taking place in my room. 343 really captured the realism with Guardians who in my opinion remind me of transformers, Master chief doesn’t talk as much as he did in Halo 4 and having Locke in the game without his mask really made you connect with the character more.

The game controls responded really well with what i was doing apart from the sprinting which at time was a pain as it didn’t seem to register, I had to get a run up to start the sprint which was quite annoying but nothing to make you not want to play the game. However Master Chief seemed slower than Locke.

343 did introduce a move where you can Spartan Charge through walls to open up the map so you can get the upper hand on your opponent which i found to be a breath of fresh air in the franchise. The map you’re playing looks restricted but a few wall smashes and it’s open like a 24hr Mcdonalds.

With the campaign spanning over 15 missions and with the intel to collect in them the campaign was slightly short to be fair, i’d say I put 8hrs in and i was finished but  it was an extremely enjoyable experience, adrenaline pumping action scenes, great cinematic music as always for Halo and a crap loads of drama added to the story. The story switch between Locke and Chief works really well and has done in separate games in the past.

“The map you’re playing looks restricted but a

few wall  smashes and it’s open like a

24hr Mcdonalds.”

Multiplayer in Halo over the years, well since Halo 2, has been hit and miss with Halo 2 being one of if the best shooter multiplayer games i’ve played ever. Since then it has been a huge cluster bomb of disappointment. Halo 5 seems to have added to the cluster but has made a real improvement on the last few Halo games.

Warzone is a really good addition to the game and has a small story attached to it and is 12 v 12. You’re sent to a warzone where you basically play a mixture of deathmatch, horde and headquarters. First you have to clear out your base of A.I. controlled Covenant and then head to the nearby base and capture that, all the while the opposition are doing the same.

With the addition of dropping A.I. controlled aliens some just small drones like Grunts and Promethean Crawlers then Guardians and Elites…thankfully i haven’t had to come up against any Hunters who by the way are a lot stronger in Halo 5. As you level up in the game you gain access to more weapons and vehicles to use but if you use your credits then you have to wait for them to generate over time, so be careful and don’t do what i did and get the spartan laser and then immediately die and lose it. I’m more of a Campaign player than Multiplayer – it is a nice addition just when you play it is extremely hard as most spartans take at least a clip of the rifle to kill and by the time you’ve reloaded, you’re dead as well. It feels like you spawn, kill, die and repeat. Teamwork is a must and with 12 v 12 this is hard especially if you’re in a lobby with 10 year old kids that want to express their love of my mother and if no one is on the same page as you.

They have added the original Slayer, King of the hill and all that jazz but another great mode is Breakout which is thrilling and new and adds so much more to the game than Warzone. It is a Capture the flag type gamemode with each player having one life so the madness of dashing to the flag and bolting out is gone, you need to make sure the coast is clear. The main Online mode for me is co-op and this time it’s 4 player co-op which really will make the battlefield intense, especially against them Guardians and Krakens.

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