What if you bought a $60 AAA title game...

Games Halo 5: Guardians
#1

Disclaimer: I wholeheartedly enjoy Halo 5; This is in no way bashing it. If I were to give out a review, it would be an 8.8 out of 10. It will soon raise up to a 9.3 out of 10 once the rest of the content comes out in December – I have made a topic about this before, and I have raged about this before, but I must make it clear, this is a big deal.
Now**…** What if you bought a game. A triple A title, $60 full and $20 more for content being released later. Now what if I told you to access the majority of these features in the game, you must be Online at all times and have a paid subscription to Xbox Live Gold. Would you really feel like you owned the whole game?

… Well, personally, I’d feel a little disappointed. I wouldn’t feel like I owned the game.

Okay, now…

Realistically, I would be on the internet, I would have Gold; But hypothetically speaking, what if you just didn’t have the money for either? Or, you just didn’t have the time so didn’t see the need to renew Gold? Or, say you had a grandfather and he owned a cabin. There’s no internet connectivity at all and you want to play that $60 game? But sadly you find out you can’t. You can’t access custom games, you can’t access forge, you can’t access theater and you can’t even customize your spartan offline.

Like I said before, I understand that a lot of people are going to even wonder why you can’t just drop the extra $60 for a year long subscription to gold, but it’s not about not wanting to play online or not having the money. It’s not about that at all. It’s about the thought. It’s the thought that counts. Now hear me out here, I get I’m in the minority. To be that one person that doesn’t want to pay for Gold, but there are a lot of people that don’t play online at all. There are people that don’t play online, I know, it’s shocking, but that’s just the reality of the situation. Those that don’t play online don’t have access to these features. The game is sold short for them. Yeah, there is the story, but you can only play through the story so many times before it gets unbelievably repetitive. That and a lot of them are die hard Halo fans. I can only assume at least some of them took the time in previous Halo games to enjoy other features such as Firefight, Custom Games or Forge. Or even customizing their spartan, which you cannot do offline on Halo 5.

Yeah, we can go back to Reach or maybe even pop in Halo:MCC, but we want to play Halo 5.

I can only ask for a patch to be released some time after or before (Whichever) that will allow us to access these features offline. If not, then I don’t really feel I own the game. (Same applies for Destiny, Titanfall or any other game you can come up with that has online only features. Money is a serious issue)

Please guys, never forget where we used to be. Without internet, Forging and racing in custom games. Now please, LvUrFR3NZ.

#2

This is actually why I stopped playing Halo at Halo 4; the Gold requirement for EVERYTHING. In Halo 4 if I found a terminal in single-player and wanted to watch it, it required I go through Waypoint, which required a Gold membership. A Gold membership to access single-player content? Ridiculous!

After using both PC’s and Playstation systems alongside Xboxes I got extremely frustrated that if I wanted to watch Netflix, a service I’ve already paid for, it needed Gold on Xbox LIVE wheras it’s free to access the app on Playstation.

The only reason I picked up an Xbox One was that many of these restrictions were removed and far more content allowed access with a basic Silver account; Netflix, Halo Channel, Spartan Ops in MCC, etc.

I didn’t plan on picking up Halo 5 on release because Fallout 4 is my purchase for this month. If it’s true that so much is hidden behind the Gold paywall again then I will wait until I see a used copy second hand at 50% RRP. No point in paying more if it’s just the Campaign I’m getting. At least the MCC had A LOT of campaign to get stuck into, and ODST/Reach had other PvE modes.

I love the look of Halo 5, and can’t wait to play it, but without much beyond the Campaign for a non-PvP player like me it’s difficult to warrant a full price purchase when for the same price I can get games like Fallout, The Witcher, and The Elder Scrolls.

#3

> 2533274803693454;2:
> I didn’t plan on picking up Halo 5 on release because Fallout 4 is my purchase for this month. If it’s true that so much is hidden behind the Gold paywall again then I will wait until I see a used copy second hand at 50% RRP. No point in paying more if it’s just the Campaign I’m getting. At least the MCC had A LOT of campaign to get stuck into, and ODST/Reach had other PvE modes.
>
> I love the look of Halo 5, and can’t wait to play it, but without much beyond the Campaign for a non-PvP player like me it’s difficult to warrant a full price purchase when for the same price I can get games like Fallout, The Witcher, and The Elder Scrolls.

The thing that bothers me is that there was no indication you wouldn’t have access to these features. I really hope they patch this as I don’t plan to pay for gold forever and Campaign isn’t worth sixty dollars alone.

#4

Simple, come to the dark side, join PC gaming.

We have cookies and you won’t have to pay for playing online or simply playing some -Yoink- Spartan Ops.

#5

> 2533274812698627;4:
> Simple, come to the dark side, join PC gaming.
>
> We have cookies and you won’t have to pay for playing online or simply playing some -Yoink- Spartan Ops.

As much as I want to, I do want to play Halo 5, lol.

#6

honestly what do you expect? Campaign is the only offline feature of Halo 5. no split screen, so no need for offline customs.
spartan customization is tied to this too. has no need to be an offline feature, because it is not used offline. if money is so tight, you cant squeeze £20 ($30) a year for gold, you really should not be buying games.

#7

> 2533274836357090;6:
> honestly what do you expect? Campaign is the only offline feature of Halo 5. no split screen, so no need for offline customs.
> spartan customization is tied to this too. has no need to be an offline feature, because it is not used offline. if money is so tight, you cant squeeze £20 ($30) a year for gold, you really should not be buying games.

I never said money was tight. Please, read the post again.

*Some people just simply don’t want to play online.*What about those who want to play forge? These were features in previous games available regardless of whether or not you were online.

#8

> 2533274935286339;7:
> > 2533274836357090;6:
> > honestly what do you expect? Campaign is the only offline feature of Halo 5. no split screen, so no need for offline customs.
> > spartan customization is tied to this too. has no need to be an offline feature, because it is not used offline. if money is so tight, you cant squeeze £20 ($30) a year for gold, you really should not be buying games.
>
>
> I never said money was tight. Please, read the post again.
>
> *Some people just simply don’t want to play online.*What about those who want to play forge? These were features in previous games available regardless of whether or not you were online.

Exactly. It’s not like many of us couldn’t afford Gold if we wanted; it’s the fact that we shouldn’t need Gold for some of these features. I love -Yoink- around in Forge on my own from time to time. This is something I could do without issue in previous instalments. It looks as though I won’t be able to do this with a Silver account in Halo 5 (although time will tell).

It’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s just that Gold isn’t worth it for many of us, but some features that are still enjoyable on your own and shouldn’t need Gold to do so will require it.

#9

no but you DID say

> But hypothetically speaking, what if you just didn’t have the money for either?

so i replied taking that on board.
if you wanted an expansive offline game, you go buy metal gear or the witcher, or dragon age or something.
Look into the product before buying. ultimately, stuff like this NEEDS to be considered before purchase.
Forge however, we will have to see.

#10

> 2533274836357090;9:
> no but you DID say
>
>
> > But hypothetically speaking, what if you just didn’t have the money for either?
>
>
> so i replied taking that on board.
> if i wanted an expansive offline game, you go buy metal gear or the witcher, or dragon age or something.
> Look into the product before buying. ultimately, stuff like this NEEDS to be considered before purchase.

Oh, how dare people get some quality offline gaming with their money!

Online is completely free on PC and it works better somehow. Gold can be reduced in price and also in requirements.
It is not about being able to afford them or not, it is about making your money worth.

On PC, with just 60 dollars you can get all the singleplayer Deus Ex games (which are so much better than MGSV, the Witcher, and the horrendous Dragon Age games), Skyrim, and Crysis 3, which has a free multiplayer and a rich campaign.

See what I am getting at? I like Halo, but console gaming is too damn expensive for me. And it is not because I can’t afford it, but because there are better things at the same price.

Sorry to say it, but 12$ Crysis 3 has more content than 60$ Halo 5 without having to pay 60 extra annually.

#11

I see your Point there, but without such gamemodes as firefight or forge AND the possibility of playing split Screen on one console there is no sense in making them available offline. I know People who liked to Play around by them selfes in forge, but that’s rather the rare exception than the wide regularity.

I remember playing firefight in reach, my friend and I were playing for hours and hours, but that really required the split Screen setup

#12

> 2533274836357090;9:
> no but you DID say
>
>
> > But hypothetically speaking, what if you just didn’t have the money for either?
>
>
> so i replied taking that on board.
> if you wanted an expansive offline game, you go buy metal gear or the witcher, or dragon age or something.
> Look into the product before buying. ultimately, stuff like this NEEDS to be considered before purchase.
> Forge however, we will have to see.

I’m not asking for an “expansive offline game”, I’m asking for features that were in previous games. I understand the lack of split-screen, that doesn’t bother me as I normally mess around on maps by myself. I find enjoyment in exploring the maps on the game.

Not only that…

> Yeah, we can go back to Reach or maybe even pop in Halo:MCC, but we want to play Halo 5.

#13

it really is a vicious circle (Kind of): You can’t Play coop campagne offline → you Need Gold to do so, you can’t use forge offline → you Need Gold as well. It is all about having and not having Gold, which in my opinion is indeed -Yoink- of a choice, but we life in 21st century, who the hell lives without Internet or online gaming?!

#14

its the same as kids in school being made to do online homework. we historically had very patchy internet, so i would have to take my little brother to school and talk to all his teachers because they made him have online homework that he couldn’t do. and if i didn’t go in, they’d have punished him.

Its seen that internet access is a necessity nowadays. as i say gold is DIRT cheap. plus halo 5 comes with a 14 day trial. meaning you’d still have 6 days left on it if used on release day.

#15

> 2533274812698627;4:
> Simple, come to the dark side, join PC gaming.
>
> We have cookies and you won’t have to pay for playing online or simply playing some -Yoink- Spartan Ops.

Really, I believe I still pay for internet. Alot of games are requiring 15-25.00 to play them soooooo. Damn I guess pc gaming is just as lame.

#16

> 2533274812698627;4:
> Simple, come to the dark side, join PC gaming.
>
> We have cookies and you won’t have to pay for playing online or simply playing some -Yoink- Spartan Ops.

PC is much better.

#17

It’s a changing market. I expect games to be completely or almost completely dependent on online connectivity. I expect games to be fixed through patches. I expect additional content in the form of DLC. And I think games are better as a result of all these things.
It’s your job as a consumer to know what you are buying and it’s not wise to just rely on expectations based off of products that relied on tech from 3 yrs ago.
It’s only a matter of time before the majority of all AAA titles rely on constant internet connectivity.

#18

> 2533274801617953;15:
> > 2533274812698627;4:
> > Simple, come to the dark side, join PC gaming.
> >
> > We have cookies and you won’t have to pay for playing online or simply playing some -Yoink- Spartan Ops.
>
>
> Really, I believe I still pay for internet. Alot of games are requiring 15-25.00 to play them soooooo. Damn I guess pc gaming is just as lame.

Trust me, 90% of PC games won’t have you paying for online.

Paying for your internet provider is a completely different matter, buddy. And if you play on console, you will have to pay TWICE. Internet provider + paying the console gaming gods so they allow you to enter the temple of online interactions.