So Ive seen reviews and rants on both sides of the pole when it comes to halo 5 and I honestly just hate that there is just no pure non-biased criticism out there from people who play the game. Usually the reviews Ive seen have been pure bogus and are just stupid complaints cause of minor details that either don’t exist or are not annoying to the point of where its game breaking. Now Im not saying Halo 5 is perfect though. It has a few flaws but Im sure they will be fixed later but Its good to point them out. This review is not biased or straight from the words of another review… This is my Review on Halo 5 Guardians. Also Spoiler warning ahead.
Story:
The story was perhaps the best halo story I have played. Halo 4 had a good story but it never really expanded much on the lore of the halo universe like Halo 5’s did. In the story we see all these characters and all these stories unite in one game and finally see them all together and prove that everything is connected.While at times some references require reading some lore or playing some of the past games they were all pretty easy to get and nothing was too hard to understand. Fireteam Osiris is probably one of the coolest characters to exist in the halo universe. All have them have had different upbringings and yet the chemistry between them all is so perfect. Locke demonstrated that he was a true leader and a fighter not willing to give up and isn’t ready to give up. This can be shared with Chief except with Locke it feels more realistic. Vale and Tanaka are also great characters. Coming straight from Halo lore these two had so much unique abilities and personalities that really make them stand out. Vale who is a translator for sangheli and Tanaka who is the brains of the group and has a real fighting spirit to her. And then we have our old friend Buck returning all the way from ODST. What more can I say? He was the greatest choice to add to Locke’s team. It was about time he had more of a role in the main halo story rather than being known as a side character. As well as offering comic relief he represents how human the team is compared to other characters. And of course we had a bunch of returning characters but some of the newer ones were very surprisingly good like Exuberant, Governor Sloan and the Warden Eternal. Now as for Chief and Blue team I kind of feel a bit let down by how they turned out. It wasn’t the fact that they only had 3 playable missions it was more of the fact that Blue Team didnt seem to have a purpose in the story. I do agree that it was their time to be shown in a game but they should of had more time to shine with their personalities like Osiris did. To me it just felt like they were pure robot character who shoot first and ask questions later. Im guessing this was done on purpose but I still feel Blue Team should of had a better purpose in the story. And now as for the villain(s) of this story, Cortana and Warden Eternal. I did not expect the twist with Cortana being the main enemy of the game all along. It was obvious that she wasn’t the same as she was but I totally didn’t expect what came next. The Warden Eternal was also a great villain as well as an intense boss battle. It definitely makes up for the missed out fight with the Didact. And then there are the Guardians themselves. I thought they were very impressive creations but I feel like more about their origins should have been explained. I don’t know if there was perhaps a book or two that I missed but I had no clue to what the Guardians purpose was until Exuberent told me in the level Genesis. Another thing I liked was the chance to go on Sanghelios and reunite with Arbiter. Those levels were perhaps my favorite of the entire game. For too long I have wanted to see the home world of the elites and now I finally have seen it and was amazed by it. All the other worlds and set design was beautifully done too but I felt Sanghelios took the cake. Now as for the ending of the story I can understand why some people might be upset about it but Halo 2 did the same thing and this is after all a trilogy. I liked how Chief and Locke were finally on the same side now rather than at opposite ends and I also liked how the next game would be set up. Overall it was a really great story but I think a few rings could have been changed in it.
Multiplayer:
The multiplayer has been extremely smooth and beautiful so far. While MCC was botched from the start Halo 5’s launch was an exact opposite from MCC. The only issues I have encountered (and this comes from the machinima part of me) is that theater is missing key issues and weapon lowering is glitched. But other then that it is real fun and I look forward to seeing forge and the game types we will be getting in the months to come.