I started playing the beta today the moment it went live. I sat and played for a few hours to get the feel of it and while I can say it’s not bad, I am struggling to see what’s good about it. I see so many people saying “Worst Halo ever!!” and then I see everyone else saying the exact opposite and praising it as “Best Halo ever!!”.
My question really is what exactly is it that makes this game so special? (or awful depending on your views). Personally I do not think I will buy Halo 5. I will try it a bit more tomorrow and maybe when they add more to it however for me at the moment it just feels completely generic, there is nothing that stands out as special to me from what I have played.
I will also share some thoughts on the new features in Halo 5. please keep in mind they are just opinion and there is no need to take fit over it. I would like to try get some real answers and opinions in this thread.
Sprint - I have no issue with this it works fine for me with or without it, sure it speeds up getting into action a little but It’s pretty balanced now.
Clamber - Not really a fan of clamber because it means the maps have to be planned around it, crouch jumping was far superior in my opinion because for some of the harder ledges you had to time it just right to pull it off.
Thrusters - I cant say I have any issues with this either, I find the thrusters work well in close fights and are also a way to dodge a sword user if timed right it adds interesting points to the game play but doesn’t ruin the experience.
Ground Pound & Shoulder ram - This is where it starts to become a problem for me. I never liked the AA in Reach or in H4 and although this is a little more balanced with the fair starts it still seems a little bit off. I think these abilities make the game feel more gimmicky and although it wasn’t the first to have them they remind me a lot of Destiny with the Titans abilities.
Smart scope - This one is the biggest one for me and probably the one that causes the most arguments. I know that 343I said it was purely graphical and that Halo always had it just in a different way. This how ever had been proven false as there is certainly a change in bullet spread when using smart scope, I personally do not like Smart Scope because it seems to feel less Halo like than ever before. I know that the DMR, BR, Sniper ect all had a scoping system and every non precision weapon used a binocular style zoom, However in the non precision weapons if you fired when zooming you would be brought out of zoom, This is not the case in Halo 5. is that a bad thing? no but it just doesn’t suit some peoples style of play. I am fine with smart scope but I would much rather it be 100% purely cosmetic.
I Have contained lesser changes in the spoiler below for those interested. (graphics, controls, voices and the like)
H5 Graphics and design
I have to say I am impressed with some of Halo 5s lighting and shaders. however sometimes can be overpowering (battlefield 3&4 effect) 343 has got a fantastic team of artists and as a 3D artist and animator myself I really enjoy looking around their levels and seeing what they have thrown together. I will point out however that there are certain parts of Truth (midship) that look very unfinished or muddy. I assume that this is temporary and that the game will be cleaned up, it is a beta after all.
I also am not a massive fan of the newer weapons designs, the Rocket launcher and BR sight in particular. I think they miss the true Halo vibe and have become a little to realistic or as realistic as a sci fi arena shooter can get.
I am really interested in seeing the new vehicles and covenant weapons if they make an appearance at all.
Controls
Controls are probably one of the most important things to get right in a fast paced video game, if the controls are a mess it will be hard to learn and overall inconsistent to people who do not play regularly, Halo 5 seems to have a classic case of too many actions for the amount of buttons the on controller.
I hope 343 can do some work to improve the layouts or even add the option for custom binding, its about time console gamers got the option to choose their preferred button layouts on the games they want to play.
Menus and features
Because we are talking about a beta here there is no real way to tell if this menu is anything like the final game however the 3d platform and characters walking around gives of a good hint that it is going to appear again only more expanded.
Still disappointed in lack of settings to change when it comes to audio, I also find that the menu has no way to leave a friends party if you join one. apart from that I think it is generally smooth.
sadly I was a little disappointed in the armour customization section. (again still beta) I find the lack of shoulder and leg customization to be a bit of a let down. I do however enjoy the new colour but the preview needs more lighting to render it visible. I also noticed reused armour models from H4 which was a bit of let down. place holders perhaps?
Audio, announcer and general assists.
Fist of all I will be the first to admit I wasn’t a fan of 343s sound effects in H4 or H2A, it never felt right for what I was seeing on screen and this follows onto Halo 5. while some things are slightly better I still find that the sound effects and very bubbly and plastic sounding which for me anyway is rather unpleasant to hear. Halos weapons have always had some very iconic sound effects such as the energy sword being drawn which since 343 took over it sounds a lot weaker like a rock hitting a plastic pipe and reverberating.
I also was originally worried about the callouts but after a few games I find some of the useful, annoying but useful. they really need to tone down on how frequently the Spartans speak and maybe make then speak a bit more serious and less " hey watch your nade spam!" I don’t know it just ain’t right in my books.
finally I would like to mention weapons on maps and the way the game displays this. I would really love it if the game didn’t have the power weapons up in big flashing lights. part of the fun of Halo for me was always racing to the power weapons when counting in the next spawn from experience not some voice telling me about it. Fair enough it makes it easier for people who are new to the game to learn the spawns but I still don’t think it adds anything to over all game play, just makes it feel a little less skillfull.
I would love to hear what over people think in detail about certain aspects of this game. I get kind of tired of seeing 1 line posts about something being good or bad with no real reasoning behind it.
So in conclusion I have to say while I do not think H5 is bad I do not see much in it either, somewhere along the line it seems to have blending in with the rest of the FPS games. there are things I love in it and thinks I despise in the end it feels like a decent shooter but for me anyway it isn’t a true Halo game in spirit even though it is miles better than Halo 4 I still think there is a lot to be improved.