343. You got it right this time

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Don’t usually visit forums much but since the beta is officially launching in a couple days I thought I’d have a look here at what the anticipation is like. Seems to be a lot of negativity from what I can tell at a brief glance.

Not sure how many of those who feel very strongly, in a negative sense, about Halo 5 right now have already had a chance to play the beta on the early access weekend, but since I personally did (and put about 12 hours into it), I just wanna say those of you who HAVEN’T tried it for yourselves yet should pump your breaks a little before going on these huge rants about how Halo is dead.

Halo is the reason I got really into gaming back when I was like 11 years old playing CE on my neighbours Xbox, so needless to say I’ve been a pretty big fan since the beginning. It’s as near and dear to my heart as anyone’s.

With that said, after one weekend with the Halo 5 beta, I truly believe it will be the best game in the franchise. It still completely feels like Halo to me in all the key ways, but it finally gives it the right step forward that it’s been looking for since Reach. Halo has been struggling for so long now to find the right way to modernise itself without upsetting the game’s identity. Reach failed, Halo 4 fell on it’s face, Guardians has it nailed. It took me a few minutes in the early going to find the right button layout, but after that, it just feels so instantly right.

I know it’s impossible to please everybody, but I just hope that people go into the beta without already having their mind made up that they will hate it. To me, I think it would have been easy for 343 to give up looking for a way to evolve Halo’s mechanics and just go back and make essentially a prettier Halo 2 or 3, and I applaud them for having the guts to push forward and innovate the formula in a positive way, because I really really love this game.

It’s a year out and already feels so good. I really can’t praise them enough for this, because after a weekend with Halo 5, and then going back to play some matches of Halo 3 on MCC…I mean it just felt like something from the stone age.

So ya, just wanted to add some positivity here, and say keep going like this 343. You’ve got a winner here with this game

2

I agree. Feels just like Halo but fresh in a way that it hasn’t felt like since 2004. I played the early access beta and I can’t wait to pick it up again on the 29th.

It isn’t perfect (I don’t like how dudebro the spartans behave, the music that plays everytime you die is obnoxious as all hell and I haven’t found a perfect control scheme yet) but I really belive this is a good way to go.

3

I agree,

While they have added to new mechanics, I feel like they’ve gotten back to what made halo addicting…

Fair starts, balanced weapons, tight gunplay, and skill based ranking…

I’m having withdraw after the beta… and h2a doesn’t feel as fun because of it…

4

Careful, soon others shall enter this thread saying that you were actually not having fun

I for one really do think halo 5 is the thing halo needs. A facelift that keeps the core elements there without loadouts!

5

Halo 5 played was amazing and I completely agree. But, they still have to win over a lot of the public opinion, as this game is getting trashed soooo early on by people who haven’t even played it. Trolls will be trolls but in the end they are the ones missing out.

6

Haven’t played it yet… but I agree with the OP and the following comments.

People always point at Reach and Halo 4 saying that they don’t feel like Halo, that they are too deep a departure from the classic games. In a sense, that is correct, but I think people fail to identify the true points that contributed to this change.

In Halo Reach, Bungie introduced Loadouts- allowing players to spawn with different weapons and Armor Abilities, creating a randomness that is at odds with one of Halo’s primal multiplayer pillars- ballance, equal starts. Now this guy can come at you with a gun you didn’t expect, or he could go invisible or he could jet up in the air. Not knowing what to expect at any given time shrinks the possibilities of a skilled player to be prepared for a fight, and it almost becomes a game of Rock Paper Scissors. If you guessed right at spawn and chose the right Loadout, you had a huge advantage.

Halo 4 took this feature and builded on it, adding some things to Loadouts which managed to be overpowered (the Boltshot), chaotic (carrying three plasma grenades) and even managed to neuter vehicle gameplay (the Plasma Pistol). With all these options in Halo 4, 343i decided that you don’t really need weapons on the map aside from the power weapons- and they even decided to make those random. So with the equal starts, Halo 4 also managed to lose the map control element almost entirely- another element that made Halo what it was as an Arena shooter (the rush for control of the power weapons and vehicles often decided the match).

Halo Reach also introduced Armor Abilities- a neat evolution of Equipment that is more useful and isn’t a one-off. The problem was in the execution- three armor abilities managed to derail the game: Jet Pack, carving new paths and this destroying map flow and map control. Active Camo, promoting camping and generally being really annoying in gameplay. Last but not least… Armor Lock. I won’t even start about that. Halo 4 mostly improved on this front- most of the AAs were merely small but helpful abilities. Thrusters were great, for instance. There were still three harmful ones, though… Jet Pack, nerfed as it is, still does the same damage. Active Camo was somehow made worse by forcing you not to move if you want to stay invisible (so essentially forcing you to camp), and Promethean Vision which is way overpowered (and pretty!).

Reach also fell where Halo 4 didn’t: the moment to moment gameplay took a nosedive back to Halo CE. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Halo CE, but Halo 2 and 3’s gameplay is much better in my opinion. But Bungie thought it was a good idea to reintroduce fall damage and worst of all the health bar and health packs. These things really changed how you play the game- when your health is low, you’re going to be extra careful because it won’t fully recharge. When you’re up on a platform, you can’t just jump down and remain unscratched, you have to go all the way around. Then there was the slow base speed and short jump height, too much bloom and even the sharp change of the art style (though that isn’t really related to gameplay). The gameplay felt slower and less satisfying than the other Halos, at least in my opinion.

Halo 5 fixes these issues by refocusing on equal starts, weapons on the map, map control, map flow (including some new traversal options that don’t create unintended shortcuts like the Jet Pack) and a competitive feel that was practically nonexistent in the last two installments. Yes, it has new features. Yes, the gameplay is different from any other Halo. But the core pillars that made Halo fun are still there, and the new features are (at least in my opinion) very promising.

7

From what I have seen it looks very good, but judgment shall wait until I have played it.

8

totally agree with op…all of u can add me if u want, so we can play together…the h5 community will be strong and proud ! ,/ ( >_<)

9

OP is lying and was not having fun at all.

10

I’m glad to finally see some positive comments about Halo 5. This is going to be the game that will revive Halo. In my opinion anyway.

11

> 2533274971502269;9:
> OP is lying and was not having fun at all.

Sarcasm man, is that you?

12

I’m stoked to play H5. Watching all the videos and streams I have is making me believe the hype.

13

I agree.

Halo 5 is what Reach and Halo 4 should have been.

14

i love halo 5 multiplayer it feels so right

15

I agree! This game is really amazing! Anyone watched “the sprint”- it is an awesome series on the halo channel about the production of halo 5!

16

halo 5 feels more like a halo 3 succesor than reach or 4.
right now the games go like these on which trully feel like halo:
halo ce
halo 3
halo 5

the ones that are good but are not haloish:
halo 2 (its multiplayer had little skillgap between players, it is more about having luck with your team than individual skill - this doesnt make it bad by any means)
halo 3 odst (changed the spartan gameplay for marines, provides variety to the series, it was a good addition)
halo wars (needless to explain)
halo spartan assault and strike (good mobile games, fun, dont look down on them because of not being AAA)

the ones that are decent but not haloish:
halo 4 (great story, and decent multiplayer after some fixes were made, but loadouts, perks, etc made it not feel like a halo game, instead a cod/halo cross game)
halo reach (good story, and decent multiplayer when 343 took in the series, but had terribly unbalanced perks even more so than h4)

17

Best Halo MP experience Since Halo 3, and it was a beta

18

<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please refrain from making non-constructive posts.</mark>

*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

> 2533274795030397;1:
> Don’t usually visit forums much but since the beta is officially launching in a couple days I thought I’d have a look here at what the anticipation is like. Seems to be a lot of negativity from what I can tell at a brief glance.
>
> Not sure how many of those who feel very strongly, in a negative sense, about Halo 5 right now have already had a chance to play the beta on the early access weekend, but since I personally did (and put about 12 hours into it), I just wanna say those of you who HAVEN’T tried it for yourselves yet should pump your breaks a little before going on these huge rants about how Halo is dead.
>
> Halo is the reason I got really into gaming back when I was like 11 years old playing CE on my neighbours Xbox, so needless to say I’ve been a pretty big fan since the beginning. It’s as near and dear to my heart as anyone’s.
>
> With that said, after one weekend with the Halo 5 beta, I truly believe it will be the best game in the franchise. It still completely feels like Halo to me in all the key ways, but it finally gives it the right step forward that it’s been looking for since Reach. Halo has been struggling for so long now to find the right way to modernise itself without upsetting the game’s identity. Reach failed, Halo 4 fell on it’s face, Guardians has it nailed. It took me a few minutes in the early going to find the right button layout, but after that, it just feels so instantly right.
>
> I know it’s impossible to please everybody, but I just hope that people go into the beta without already having their mind made up that they will hate it. To me, I think it would have been easy for 343 to give up looking for a way to evolve Halo’s mechanics and just go back and make essentially a prettier Halo 2 or 3, and I applaud them for having the guts to push forward and innovate the formula in a positive way, because I really really love this game.
>
> It’s a year out and already feels so good. I really can’t praise them enough for this, because after a weekend with Halo 5, and then going back to play some matches of Halo 3 on MCC…I mean it just felt like something from the stone age.
>
> So ya, just wanted to add some positivity here, and say keep going like this 343. You’ve got a winner here with this game

FLAGGED for trolling

19

> 2533274971502269;9:
> OP is lying and was not having fun at all.

agreed

20

> 2758454771785181;18:
> FLAGGED for trolling

Are you -Yoinking!- serious?