I will start off by saying that i am (or should i say was…) a big fan of the Halo universe. I have played all the games (with the exception of Spartan Assault) completing them ALL on legendary, own and have read most of the books/novels. I loved the whole uniqueness and mystery that the story gave.
I will be giving my opinion on the campaigns mostly, as that is what i feel Halo is/should be about first - the story, as that is what drew me into the whole universe/lore, MP is just gravy on the main course.
The first 3 games are by far my favourite of the sega. Reach was OK, but not as good as the first 3 IMO as the campaign felt a little off to me, though i had some fun in Multiplayer. But it is after Reach and after 343i took over - (coincidence…?) that (at least for me) the Halo universe that i loved took a nose dive…
Halo 4: I was so hyped for this game, especially after finishing the Forerunner trilogy of books and learning about the Didact etc. The whole marketing campaign around 4 was that the Didact had returned (an ancient threat, i believe they used in the ads). But when the game launched and i had completed it, i just felt a bit empty inside. Sure the Didact had returned, but how many times in the game do you actually see the Didact? The answer is 2, and both times it is a short cutscene. That was disappointing.
Also overall i didnt get that ‘Halo feel’ about 4, to me it felt like an imitation of Halo, and the music didnt help to immerse me either. The gameplay was very repetitive too: go to an area fight some enemies and push a button, go to another area fight the same enemies and push another identical green button, and thats almost the whole campaign. I just didnt feel like i was playing a Halo game, dispite the fact that i was playing as MC the whole way through.
Oh and now there are even more Spartans, making Spartans seem less special than they once did… At this point i felt that the Halo universe i loved was starting to slip away.
But i knew that this was 343s first ever attempt at a Halo game, so while i was disappointed i thought i would give them the benifit of the doubt and hope they get it right the next time.
Halo 5: Guardians: My hype for this game was a lot less than for Halo 4, as i thought that after 343s first effort (and all the stuff with MCC) i just didnt want that same feeling of disappointment, so lowered my expectations.
Even after lowering my expectations though, i still find myself very disappointed yet again. I just dont feel like i am playing a Halo game anymore, instead feels like im playing some other mediocre title. This game is not Halo to me. After 4 i thought/hoped they would get it right and bring back the Halo that i loved, with all the mystery and great story and lore, but these have been all but lost. You cant just stick MC and a bunch of aliens in a game and expect it to be ‘Halo’, it just doesnt work like that - Halo is more than just the sum of its parts, you just ‘know’ when you are playing a Halo game, you dont just play it, you feel it - and thats feeling has completely gone. What once was, is no more.
As for the ad campaign, well that was just a lie wasnt it…? Hunt the truth eh? None of that in this game. (see spoiler for details).
The music is a little better this time, but still not quite Halo for me.
Also why is my character constantly running through the game? I dont mean sprint, just normal speed feels too fast.
Also, and maybe its just me but - i think legendary difficulty on this game is a bit too hard, heroic seems easy by comparison. Ive already finished the game on legendary and there where times i felt like giving up because it seemed impossibly hard in some sections.
To sum up, i have all but lost interest in Halo, i do not like the direction they are going, and the story just leaves a lot to be desired IMO, i find the story to be less than compelling and playing through the game felt more like a chore - though it gave me something to do.
Halo has always been about the story first, MP later - but now it seems that most of the focus is on MP, with the story taking a back-seat. I actually find that i just cant get into MP on this game for whatever reason, just doesnt feel right to me, doesnt feel like Halo but just another shooter, and i dont like the REQ system either.
As far as im concerned 343 have lost me, i gave them another chance and they blew it. So this will probably be my final Halo game… I certainly wont be preordering and buying day one again thats for sure.
SO DISAPPOINTED 343, you have ruined Halo for me and for others like me. In your attempt to make the game more appealing to the mainstream audience you are losing us that love the Halo universe with all its mystery and lore. There was a reason that people like me kept coming back to Halo, but now that reason is all but lost. I will stick to the earlier games and books because if i dont, Halo will become dead to me… Its ashame. 343i’s you have not done well in taking over the mantle of responsibility that is the Halo universe.
EDIT: Just thought I would add a suggestion for 343i… If you are listening 343, then for the next Halo game make sure you hire someone who can write a good story, because honestly this one is mediocre at best, and certainly isn’t what I have come to expect from the Halo franchise. Two suggestions for the story writer would be Eric Nylund and Greg Bear, if you could get one (or both, maybe a collaboration) of those individuals to write the story that would be great as both have a good track record when it comes to writing and narrative and could put together a much better story than has been delivered in Halo 5.
Oh and please stop copying other games (cough, COD AW, cough), Halo used to be unique, but you have just copied from other fps games. Halo used to set the standard for fps games, but now just copies others.
Please 343 get your act together, you are destroying the universe that I love.
All it is, is MC disobeys an order and decides to go after Cortana, then you spend most of the rest of the game as Locke trying to bring back an AWOL MC, they have one brief fist fight then join forces near the end of the game and thats it… Seriously.