Lets get a couple things out of the way: First, in my opinion Halo 5 has some of the best multiplayer of the franchise. 343 learned lessons from H4 and implemented those lessons well. Arena is great, Warzone works for those looking for something else. I don’t have many complaints in the multiplayer realm.
My feedback on the campaign side of things is a little less positive. I thought I would share my thoughts and ask community members to share theirs. It’d be great if in your responses you can include a moment from past campaigns you really liked and tell us why. Also talk about if you Halo 5 had similar moments or evoked similar feelings in you as a player.
I’ll just jump in to the one thing that drove me crazy, the squad mates AI. I remember hearing a developer really bragging up their AI system for teammates in Halo 5. After playing it through I felt like they were either really disconnected from the process or blowing smoke where it doesn’t belong. Has anyone ever played Star Wars Republic Commando? That is probably one of the best Squad AI systems I’ve ever played. Orders were smooth with quite a few options. The squad felt helpful without getting in the way. 343 squad AI guys need to play this game. I was stoked for a squad mechanic in Halo 5, but it utterly disappointed.
The story arc felt incomplete. The ending for me felt much like the feeling I had when finishing Halo 2. That’s it? that’s how it ends? It was very unsatisfying as a player, too many things were left unresolved. I used to joke Halo 3 was actually Halo 2.5. Too many times game makers (and movie makers) split up the story too abruptly in order to make more games/movies. In my opinion they should complete the story arc to a large degree, don’t leave the major plot points unresolved. I think it much more clever to leave a few lingering questions and build the sequel from there, rather than carry on with the same story…its lazy and leaves players feeling underwhelmed. The conflict between team Osiris and Blue team was not the major story in the game, despite their effort to play it up as that (which may have been an effort to not reveal things on Cortana). This minor conflict was essentially resolved, but everything regarding Cortana was left hanging out there at the peak of the story arc. We were left hanging at pinnacle without any resolution.
Gameplay and level design was pretty good, although we are still playing essentially linear missions. Halo CE had some great moments where you had multiple objectives to move through in any order. Recent versions have left this part behind. It would have been much better to build upon that idea, giving slight consequences to chasing one objective over another, instead of leaving it behind completely. An example would be in the assault on the Elite capitol you have two choices, pursue taking out the Anti air cannons first or assist in concentrating on thinning infantry resistance. The end consequence could be in the ending encounter with the Warden, if you took out the anti air cannons it means more allied banshees survived who take out two phatons over the Warden. If you chose to focus on thinning infantry you get some added infantry help against the Warden but have to deal with the Phatons. These are simple options that add layers and replay value to the campaign. Another example would be on the glassed planet instead of a very linear level moving to the mining colony and assisting along the way, the Governor could have provided various points to travel to and eliminate or reinforce defenses which could be completed in any order and may or may not have an impact on the encounter at the gate.
These are just a few things I have considered about the campaign. Weapon and gameplay wise its smooth and enjoyable. They nailed the mechanics, IMO.
A few of my favorite moments from past Halo’s.
Halo 2 when the Breaking Benjamin song kicks in on the Covenant home. Everything slows and then that song kicks in and you get into one hell of a fight with some hunters. It screams “its go time!”. Maybe the one moment of that in Halo 5 was on the way into the Covenant city on the Phantom…but it didn’t quite evoke the same feeling.
Halo CE, when I first discovered the flood. I did NOT see that coming and it sent a predictable sci fi shooter to another level. Very cool moment. Halo 5 had this build towards Cortana, but the entire time it was questions…the whole story. Even after the story concluded I am still asking questions. There was never this moment of clear bad guy or direction. I’m still left wondering if Cortana has other things in mind…there is a lot of backstory relying on the novels. Backstory is good, the novels are fun for those who want to learn more…but the game’s story and its completeness cant rely on them.
Halo 4 the pacing for the final stage was great, a sense of urgency was felt, the music created a good backdrop to the level.
There are plenty more but its been a while since I played through all of them (need to get through MCC). Long post, but I thought if I’m gonna criticize I can do so constructively and hopefully start a conversation. Thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts!