Since the release of the Halo 5 Beta, the community has been split into two. One half of it accepts the changes and enjoys the fresh new experience, while the other half absolutely despises it with a passion. In my case, it was hard to like and adjust to at first, but once I got a feel for it, I found myself falling into the first category; I loved the game.
Halo 5: Guardians is not at all like Halo 2 or Halo 3, but rather an evolution of Halo multiplayer and, as much as I hate to say this, is what a person would and should expect from a modern FPS shooter. Classic Halo is there for everyone on Halo: MCC, and once 343i fixes that game, I’m sure the nostalgic can continue to have their incredible memories on there. (I know I will!) But the direction the series is headed is inevitable; 343i won’t keep Halo the exact same forever, and there’s nothing we can do to stop that. So instead of bashing at Halo 5, we should all work hard to find ways to balance everything. The game’s core gameplay itself can remain intact with change, and it pretty much does in Halo 5. That being said, there are definitely some things that need fixing, but that’s what betas are for. Now I’m not trying to persuade or force anyone to like the game. I’m simply introducing what it is that I like and what it is that I don’t like about Halo 5, which is no different from any other feedback thread, just my own personal criticism. Shall we begin?
1. Sprint
This ability was my biggest pet peeve in Halo 4 and my biggest concern for Halo 5. I hate the way Sprint is incorporated into Halo 4, as I do in any other FPS shooter; however, in Halo 5 you are punished for sprinting at the wrong time. The lack of shield recharge during sprint is the perfect balance for it and returns us to good ol’ no-running-away-Halo-combat. Quite often I found myself laughing hysterically after landing a headshot on a Spartan, who ran for miles in an effort to escape my teammates only to find me in his face right at the end.
Sprint fits into Halo at last.
2. Spartan Abilities
The only abilities that are commonly used are Clamber and Thrust, which are great to use and fit perfectly into the game. Besides that, I almost never see any Spartan Abilities in use. Charge? People are too scared to use it, and it’s not even that effective when they do. Slide? That’s just for showing off and does absolutely nothing. Ground Pound? People don’t have the higher ground to do it most of the time, and the ability itself is not as powerful as people might think. I also don’t mind the stabilizers because I can turn those off.
My point is that these abilities don’t hinder the game too much and are extremely satisfying to pull off. I love them.
3. SmartScope
I gotta say, I’m not a huge fan of this feature because of how “off” and unnecessary it feels. The field of view is more limited than in the past, which is something that bothers me.
I prefer the old scope.
4. AR Starts and BR Starts
I have no idea how 343i did it, but I’ve suddenly changed from being a BR starts supporter to an AR starts supporter in this game. This game variant actually proves how useful every weapon in Halo 5 actually is and works best with the game’s dynamics. This game was designed in a way that makes AR Starts the more viable option in my eyes. 343i just needs to remove SmartScope from the AR or at least nerf its damage when scoped.
I prefer AR starts way more than BR starts in this game specifically.
5. Weapons
Personally, I don’t mind the new indicators on the power weapons. It makes the game even more intense and pushes people to fight over power weapons a lot more than before. What I don’t like is the audible reminder “PTCHK Sniper Rifle in 30 seconds PTCHK”, because it’s pointless when there’s an indicator above the weapon anyway. As for the power weapons, I think they’re all perfect, except the Sniper’s zoom animation needs to be tweaked a bit and the Sword needs to make some kind of sound when it’s taken out by a player to alert people around corners in case the swordsman is camping. 343i should also bring back weapon images when approaching a weapon to pick it up.
Power weapons are great, but I can’t day the same for that annoying Spartan on the communications channel. My favorite power weapon thus far would have to be the Sniper Rifle, mainly because of how heavy and perfect it feels.
6. Spartan Chatter
Spartan chatter really doesn’t bother me at all. It’s just that random spartan that keeps talking about the power weapons spawning that really annoys me.
I can finally hear callouts from mic-less people!
7. Little to No Aim Assist
The game is much harder than previous Halo’s. It’s harder to earn your kills, which is great; however, there seems to be an animation that causes your Spartan to flinch when firing your weapon.
I love the difficulty in aiming. They just need to fix the flinch glitch.
8. Grenades
The grenades are slightly overpowered. They need to be toned down just a bit so that grenade spam doesn’t wreck you 24/7.
I think it would be best if they used the grenade blast radius from Halo 3.
9. Breakout
This game mode is great; it’s intense and extremely thrilling. My only problem with it is that you can pick up grenades on the map. I think everyone should be limited to one grenade.
The game variant is awesome, but it could use a few tweaks here and there.
10. Spawns and Respawns
The game’s spawns are a bit crazy, especially on Truth and Regret. I believe they should be altered to make spawn killing much less frequent than it currently is in game variants such as BR Starts. I also would like the option to have no killcam upon death. It doesn’t even show how I died unless it was by a grenade.
With better spawns, the game would be better balanced, and without killcams, many people would be happy.
tl;dr
- Sprint seems fixed.
- Spartan Abilities aren’t OP, but pretty cool actually.
- Old scope is better.
- AR starts is better only in this game.
- Weapons are awesome and indicators on power weapons work with the game.
- Spartans talking aren’t too annoying.
- Aiming is harder and therefore better.
- Grenade blast radius should be decreased.
- Breakout’s cool, but grenades shouldn’t be on the maps for pickup.
- Spawns should be fixed and killcams should be optional.
And there you have it, my feedback. Post your thoughts, but please, please be polite when replying to one another.
Let’s keep it clean, yeah?
