First off, let me start by thanking 343 for ruining one of the best console shooters, ever. Halo once was the in thing everyone’s been talking about and c@ll of doody even pales in comparison in regards to multiplayer. Now, it’s just a piece of trashware that struggles in sales even against a remaster of the rival platform. Nobody gives a rat’s arsh about halo now. Which is such a shame to be honest.
I have tried my utmost best to love halo 5, as I did previous halos, 343. I really did.
The countless slanders and mocks of halo 5 I saw on youtube comments.
The reviews that overhyped halo 5 even though most notable reviewers haven’t even actually delve more than 2 hours into the game’s multiplayer. cough IGN cough
The disappointments from people who actually purchased the game and played it more than a day and never returned for a second round after.
The countless amounts of halo fans turned haters ranting about halo 5 on their youtube videos telling people to stay away from this game.
The mocking of xbox one as a weaker console even though the point was an exclusive(halo 5).
I’ve endured it, I’ve endured it all.
I know the last point was irrelevant, and that you just have to enjoy whichever console you’ve purchased and gamed on. But looking at how little enjoyment I got from the best console exclusive on the xbox platform, I am utterly disappointed.
Back then, I was unable to afford my own xbox. But Thank God Halo 1 and 2 were on PC. And you can’t imagine how much fun I’ve had then. Picking and joining custom lobbies, there was no rank or matchmaking back then. There was even no need for dedicated servers, people just played it for the fun. Stats are not tracked so people don’t have to go to your profile seeing your horrible kda making you feel like a loser. It was the most fun I’ve ever had gaming.
Sadly, 3, ODST, Reach and 4 never made it to PC. I was an avid fan of Master Chief, and still am to this very day. But then, I was also a Pea Ace fanboy and never thought of wanting to buy an xbox with the idea that most of its exclusives end up on PC sooner or later.
And after 10 years, waiting for halo 3 to get on PC, I’ve endured enough. So I got the XBO JUST for Halo 5, YES! You couldn’t imagine how big of a halo fan I was till this very day. I even pre-ordered halo 5 and if I had the money I would have definitely got the deluxe edition. Luckily, I didn’t.
I’ve played a considerable amount of matchmaking, and have never played any first person shooters on a console before in my life. But my Gosh is halo 5’s aiming horrible. I know they’re gearing the game towards e-sports and all. But I don’t find myself having such a difficult time aiming on previous halo games in the MCC and even c@ll of duty/d3stiny’s aiming is waaaay easier compared to the aiming system in this game and they also end up competitive as well! Even with the elite controller it’s difficult. Yes! I got the elite controller as well, just for this game! Imagine the disappointment I got when I came to the realization that this game is trash!
I bought this game for Master Chief and I got like 3 mission tops playing as him! If I wanted to play as Locke, 343 could’ve just release a Halo: HuntTheTruth or some other spin-off like reach because Halo isn’t Halo without the chief!
But still, I constantly convinced myself that multiplayer might be better and I could never have been more wrong.
The matchmaking is absolutely dogpewp. You almost always get teamed up with calibrating, non-ranked or ideeyots who have no clue what they’re doing or against an enemy team with a party or play like they’re 2 or 3 ranks above you. It’s so unfair, the game has turned too competitive in every aspect.
I know you might be saying some sheet like #gitgud or play more to improve but therein lies the problem. How can you get good when you don’t even find the game fun to begin with? The slope to become more skilled is too steep in this game, it’s either you make it or you don’t and being stuck in the middle is the worst. It’s like elo hell in Dota 2 and you have to pray to god that you get a decent team so you can carry yourself out of the losses.
As I am typing, I have been banned from Arena and warzone for a day. And I am proud to admit it. I keep leaving games because the matchmaking system keeps pairing me with clueless people against mlg 4 man syncronous swimmer-like shooter team communicating with mics and stuff. It’s absolutely pointless to stay in the game, after the score is 23/45. And it’s not once or twice, sometimes it’ll be like 10 matches in a row, it’s not even funny. You are indirectly forced to join a spartan company or pair up with others in a party to have a slightly better chance of winning, which I have not done till this very day because where is all the fun in that? Why not pair up the weaker ones with other weaker ones against other weaker ones so if they finally have an idea of what to do they’ll get paired with others who knows what to do against others who knows what they’re doing as well?
I really have no clue what 343 is thinking.
Also, in which part of the campaign, did I actually #huntthetruth? In which part of the campaign, did I actually supress the betrayer? In which part of the campaign was there an epic final mission? Did I bought the wrong version of the game? Was what I bought just a demo? I have absolutely no idea.
I really liked the free DLC, albeit being forge created maps. The improved graphics. The introduction of new enemies into the storyline as well as weapons. But at the end of the day, those are not the important components that make up a game when the very essence of it, the core, is absolutely horrendous. Anyone who read this wall of text can have a differing point of view but ask yourself truthfully. Did halo 5 really lived up to its predecessors? Would halo be better if it ended at 3?
TLDR: stay away from this game if you haven’t bought it, unless you REALLY want to experience the campaign story first-hand, but prepare for a massive disappointment heading your way when you start multiplayer.
And to 343,
You could’ve implemented custom match matchmaking/server list for people who just want to play for fun, but you didn’t
You could’ve added social playlists/more fun modes that don’t count into gamestats, so people could ACTUALLY improve their aiming there, but you didn’t
You could’ve implemented more user friendly controls to slowly get new players acquainted to it before they rise to the top, but you didn’t
You could’ve implemented forge WHEN halo 5 released, before the bad reviews started rolling in, but you didn’t.
You could’ve gave Master Chief more spot-light time, but you didn’t
You could’ve produced a perfect shooter with just some easily implemented tweaks and gameplay optimizations, but you didn’t
I will not pre-order your next halo and will never buy it if it’s the same as this pile of junk.
And you will never get my money if it’s as sheety and release on the new xbox.
If you’ve threaded the same path as me up to the point of deciding whether to buy a console JUST for halo 5.
Do not, I repeat, do not waste a single dime on this axe curr ment of a game.
