I played the early access beta. Addictively. My first impression is that Halo 5 is a successful attempt to reinstate old staples of the franchise’s multiplayer history. Halo 4 was a mess of ideas some half working or straight out broken then poorly weaved together.
I’m not making this a forum for Halo 4 criticism but I think it’s important to note the differences between Halo 4 & 5 and see the connection Halo 5 has to previous Halos.
*No loadouts
–Not that I don’t want loadouts. But in basic slayer I enjoy the balance that comes with the same set of weapons, abilities, and attributes.
*No perks
–These wouldn’t bother me so much in co-op. Customizing each Spartan for their adventure is fun. Dealing with the chaotic imbalance in multiplayer is not.
*No ordinance drops
–I don’t like the idea of score streaks in Halo. It removes the significance of map control and stagnates movement.
*No grenade indicators
–I’m fine with clear auditory clues. HUD elements identifying danger from grenades is not good for Halo multiplayer.
*Weapons on map
–Something to fight for. Allows for players to have more knowledge of the battlefield by being attentive to the location of each weapon and whether it’s taken.
You can tell they’re putting that MLG tester group to use. I’ve believed for some time that a game more friendly to competitive play is more desirable to all groups. Though there’s still some things I’m unfond of (say, killcam) I see this game as well thought out and its ideas properly implemented. Now, there are some things I can’t judge. There’s no vehicle combat in the early beta.
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Now that’s what isn’t. Lets talk about what is.
*Smart scope
–Not much to report here. It’s a fancy name for zoom and the time to ADS seems equal across all guns nullifying the animation’s significance. Some weapons have received an accuracy boost where previously they didn’t get under zoom in prior Halo games. This is properly balanced in my opinion.
*AI call-outs
–When playing with a group it’s just in-game chatter. Playing by yourself it’s very useful information especially with the apprehension people have to chat these days.
*Weapon timers
–It removes the advantage people have when they memorize the times weapons respawn. I like this addition.
*Parkour
–Clamber takes the place crouch jump. Yes crouch jump took more skill. Pulling off a successful jump was incredibly satisfying and gave a significant edge. And unless you can remove ground pound in options there is no crouch jump anymore. I’d normally be opposed to this if it weren’t for how it flows with the rest of the new movement abilities. It’s a fine tradeoff for this title and I think worth the risk of experimentation. The only area of concern for me is player found hidey-holes that 343 hasn’t identified. But that’s only speculation.
–Thruster ability may not be the only AA in the game but it sure is compelling now that clamber is implemented. I can’t tell you how many times I used thruster just to grab onto a ledge that was at an angle from the direction I was facing or just barely to far in front of me. In a game that has sprint and punishes you for using it when damaged, thruster is incredibly useful to break that line of sight or simply dodge an incoming attack. It’s not a moon walk either. It’s a punchy shove. I personally used it when sprinting from my attacker, climbing behind cover, and thrusting to break line of sight long enough to recover my shields.
–Shoulder charge / ground pound seems to be semi-lethal unless coupled with a sword. If you are undamaged a ground pound coming head on will likely result in the death of the person attempting the maneuver. It’s not sticky either. Think how annoying the shoulder charge is for Titans in Destiny. All they need to do is close the distance and the auto-lock for melee will do the rest. It seems if there is a stickiness to normal charges it’s very slight (unlike sword charging, however). I’m still not sure if I like this anyways. It’s a glorified melee. Perhaps I’ll see it differently in time.
–Hover is situational but I can see it being useful. I’m sure some people will customize this out of their character traits. I think it’s fine.
–Sword speed boost is good. Since the sword acts very much like the Halo 3 sword (which means it punishes you for a miss with a deadly cool down) it’s good I don’t have to worry about another Spartan running the same distance backwards before getting my lock which screws my chances for survival. Top that off with the effect thrust and sprint add. On Truth (Midship) a sword wielder is the only one who can leap from the base’s second floor to the middle of the bridge without taking the window. That cuts down on travel time to the other side of the map. NICE!
–Sprint. I hate sprint in Halo. It’s only because it fits the base attributes and has been balanced in respect to fleeing opponents that I don’t despise it. The negative effects have almost all been dealt with and I think people should move on after considering how it fits the vision for this new movement scheme.