With it being several months after the launch of halo 5, and plenty of time to reflect on the campaign, I have decided it is time for me to review what I believe the missions of halo 5 guardians got right, and what could use some improvement. I will also use these pposts to rank what I believe are the strongest missions, and what they bring to the table. Keep in mind, I will be mainly focusing on what goes on while you are actually controlling your spartans. That being said, let’s start with mission 13, Glassed.
Glassed starts off on an interesting note, as you take the orbital elevator down to the surface, while witnessing the decimation brought on by the prometheans. It serves as a good set up for Meridian, and gives us our first look at a world outside UNSC control. The infantry and the mayor do a good job at showing their distaste for the spartans, but realize they’re in dire straits.
After opening the door to the elevator, Locke and company are introduced to a massive battlefield crawling with prometheans. The amount of verticality provides interesting gameplay, as the spartans move towards the bottom. In addition, various routes, weapons, friendly infantry, and even turrets allow this battle to play very differently to each player.
After making it through that battle, we get in our vehicles, and race around while blasting prometheans who just keep teleporting in. Honestly nothing to right home about. However, there was a moment that caught me off guard, and that is when a couple of soldiers hijacked a warthog and used it against me. This was a cool moment, and it got me thinking, why weren’t we fighting promethean controlled vehicles more often. This mission could definitely use it.
Instead, the rest of the mission drags on as you slowly trundle around in a tank, shooting enemies who spawn right in front of the tank. The mission finishes as we are forced to fight wave after wave of prometheans in a little rocky area. Not only is this battle uninspired, it is downright ugly. The scorpion becomes useless as players are forced to back away from spawning enemies, and attempt to line up shots in a dull firefight.
Overall, Glassed starts off strong with an interesting atmosphere and great first battle, but it gets very stale in the second half, as vehicle combat turns into a shooting gallery for the player. Perhaps had more vehicle vs vehicle combat had occurred, this short and forgettable mission could be redeemed.
That’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts on glassed, and what you wished 343 could have done to improve it.