Halo 5: Guardians

After visiting 343 Industries’ offices ahead of and spending two days learning about Halo 5: Guardians for last month’s cover story, we thought we had more than enough intel on the upcoming game. We dove into the story, played a section of Master Chief’s campaign both solo and cooperatively, and jumped into the new Arena multiplayer. But 343 pulled out all the stops only a month later, showing gameplay of Spartan Locke’s side of the campaign and debuting the all-new Warzone multiplayer mode.

Battle of Sunaion

Locke’s Fireteam Osiris drops into the Covenant’s final stronghold, Sunaion, based on a tip he received from the Arbiter. Master Chief and Blue Team were last seen there and Fireteam Osiris must try to pick up their trail and win the race to the Guardians (whose function is still clouded in mystery). Locke uses the Artemis Tracking System to scan the landing zone and finds a point of interest. It’s Master Chief’s discarded assault rifle, meaning he has a head start on finding the Guardians.

As the team chats, we find out that the Arbiter is breaking the Covenant in the battle going on in the background, looking to end the civil war once and for all. As Locke emerges from a tunnel, we see a Guardian for the first time. Spartan Buck (played by a returning Nathan Fillion) ponders if Chief is onboard it, making us wonder if Guardians are more of a vessel than a living creature. The Guardian rears up and sends out an energy pulse that wrecks flying ships and starts cracking up the ground beneath Locke’s feet. Fireteam Osiris sprints ahead as the balcony starts to crumble.

Locke almost slides off the edge into the sea below, but catches himself at the last minute.

They battle a few Prometheans, and a new Phaeton ship takes down Spartan Vale. Showing off the new squad commands, Locke orders Buck to destroy the Phaeton and Tanaka to revive Vale.

In the next area, Locke scans and discovers a weapon cache up on a balcony. He and Buck head up there while the other two take the low road. Locke uses the new plasma caster on the unsuspecting enemies below. This fires plasma projectiles that stick to targets and explode just like the grenades we know and love.

Finally, they make it to the enormous Guardian, but a Promethean materializes in front of it. He claims to be the Guardian’s keeper and protector before knocking Locke to the ground with a sword slash. He claims that Master Chief has already been approved and let through, but Locke is denied. The last image is of energy blasts coming out of the warden’s eyes at point blank range.

Warzone

We played the all-new Warzone multiplayer mode on the show floor at E3. This 12v12 battle pits players against each other and enemy A.I. alike on a massive map four times the size of the biggest Halo map from games past. Teams are challenged to be the first to earn 1,000 victory points or to destroy the opposing team’s base power core within an 18-minute time limit. The Warzone scenario we played, called “Escape from A.R.C.,” took place at a shuttle launch facility in a rocky canyon.

Your team members jump out of a dropship and must retake their home base overrun by non-player Prometheans. Once it’s secure, it’s up to you what to do next to start racking up points.

You can attack or defend capture points, or track down powerful A.I. bosses that appear throughout the match. Capturing all the points unlocks the enemy base and exposes their power core. Killing a boss drops anywhere from 25 to 200 points depending on how challenging they are. While this may seem straightforward on the surface, you’re constantly trying to weigh what you think will help the team the most.

Will you attack your opponents while they’re fighting a boss, or form a temporary alliance against it? While you’re doing this, are other opponents capturing the garage or your armory? Should you just find a high perch and snipe players as they run through a congested area? All of these are valid strategies that allow players more flexibility to take on different roles than in the more traditional Arena multiplayer mode.

Anything you accomplish contributes to your requisition level, which can be spent at req stations to summon powerful weapons and vehicles if you have the specific req card in your inventory.

These card packs and cosmetic items are earned through ranking up in any competitive multiplayer mode. The choice here is to spend frequently on cheaper weapons and vehicles or save up for heavy hitters like the Mantis mech suit. This ensures that matches will start out low key and turn progressively more chaotic by the end with power weapons and vehicles everywhere.

Master Chief fought a lonely war. Despite marines and former foes by his side, he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. His only true companion, the A.I. construct Cortana, perished right in front of him. In Halo 5: Guardians, 343 Industries saves the Chief from the quiet left in her wake. He is not alone. Halo 5: Guardians feels like the rebirth its immediate predecessor was supposed to be. The Chief’s second trilogy began with Halo 4, but begins to come alive here. Based on the two missions we played, it feels like Halo 5 is a shift away from the series’ lonelier approach in previous entries.

Developer 343 Industries is telling two interwoven stories. Both feature teams of four Spartans, the UNSC’s elite soldiers. Master Chief is rejoined by childhood comrades Frederic, Kelly, and Linda. They go off the reservation, leading to pursuit by the other unit, Fireteam Osiris.

The galaxy-spanning war has two different angles, but both feel vibrant thanks to 343 dialing up the dialogue. The members of these two teams quip with one another, call out dangers on the battlefield, and signal for help should they take too much damage. The latter marks another significant change in the series; instead of dying immediately, teammates can often be revived during a limited window. You can still get spattered by a Ghost for an instant kill, but you spend less time reloading checkpoints.

With four Spartans on the field, 343 had to change the way enemies behave. In the two campaign levels we played, it was immediately noticeable how the Covenant forces have been tuned. The most impressive of these are the Hunters. The hulking worm colonies that always travel in pairs have become less imposing in each entry. They are terrifying once more in Halo 5. Not only are they more difficult to take down, they have become smarter about guarding their backs. They also now swat away incoming grenades, depriving series veterans of one of the tried and true tactics for taking them down.

Whether you’re playing with friends or commanding your team with the press of the d-pad, you should set up opportunities to flank. Our first battle with the Hunters felt more intimidating than they have in recent installments, requiring more strategy. The Hunters (and many other enemy types) also make an appearance in Halo 5’s most ambitious multiplayer mode, Warzone, which was introduced at E3 this year, blending player-versus-player, player-versus-enemy, capture points, and a collectible card system (with in-app pack purchases available). We had a chance to try out a new map, Raid on Apex 7. While one of the previously revealed battlegrounds, Escape from the A.R.C., is more linear in design, Apex 7 has a free-flow feel to it. There are two smaller warehouses to capture, but the center spire seemed to be the locus of activity, changing hands multiple times in a match.

Each Warzone map has its own tough-as-nails A.I. enemy spawns (heralded with countdown timers and audio cues) and different opportunities for vehicle and heavy weapon use. These are all empowered by the requisition system, which is where the collectible cards and microtransactions come into play. You earn requisition points just by playing, and you spend them by purchasing permanent cards (representing customizations) and consumables (which call in weapons and vehicles, or trigger boosts). Because requisition points come naturally, you can purchase new packs without spending money. Point-earning was enabled during the four games we played so we could see how the system works. We picked up packs as match rewards and earned enough points to buy another. Additionally, 343 says it will never give you the same customization item twice.

In addition to players' profile level (called Spartan Rank), Warzone features a MOBA-style in-match leveling system that resets each time you drop into a new game. The requisition cards are balanced in-game by being tied to the match-specific leveling system, and you can only cash them in when you reach the card’s printed level threshold. That means that experienced players won’t be starting a match with Scorpion tanks and fuel-rod cannons. While the requisition’s weapon cards don’t have an impact in the more traditional multiplayer offerings grouped under the Arena heading, your customizations do carry over.

Arena is where you find Slayer, Capture the Flag, and the new Breakout matches. This last type has seen some changes since the December 2014 beta; 343 noticed that players were too often ending rounds in a stalemate. Breakout now includes a flag in the center of the map, creating a new way to score. You can still eliminate the opposing team of four, but carrying the flag into the enemy goal also gives your squad the win.

In the approximately 30 rounds of Breakout we played, only two ended in a flag capture. Even more forced remaining players out of hiding into a confrontation that might have otherwise been entirely avoided until time ran out. The mode is even faster and more brutal now that players have to keep an eye on their goal. Halo 5: Guardians features enormous changes to the franchise’s 14-year history. Multiplayer is expanding to cater more directly to a loyal eSports community without leaving its popular modes behind. Campaign brings back fan-favorite characters and more closely unites this installment to the original Halo trilogy. The team at 343 Industries seems to be finding its rhythm and making the series its own in a way it hasn’t been able to before.

Halo 5: Guardians is an intense sci-fi first-person shooter and is the penultimate chapter in the prolific Halo series. Like previous Halo games, Halo 5: Guardians gives players an interesting arsenal of weapons and sets them loose on the aggressive alien species known as the Covenant. While Halo 5: Guardians delivers a classic FPS experience that many fans are desperate for, it also introduces a handful of new mechanics, both in solo and multiplayer gameplay. By embracing mechanics that players might expect in a new Call of Duty game, Halo 5: Guardians attempts to bridge the gap between its sci-fi roots and intense shooter action. It's no secret that Halo is one of the biggest and most respected FPS franchises of all time, and Halo 5: Guardians keeps the bar of quality high.

Main Game Features

• Solo campaign with 15 unique missions
• Highly replayable multiplayer modes
• New, modernized combat features

Story

The story in Halo 5: Guardians picks up about eight months after the events of Halo 4. As an advanced squad of soldiers known as Fireteam Osiris descends on a planet overrun with enemy combatants, including the alien Covenant race and the robotic Prometheans. During their mission, the team learns of an impending attack on humanity and must prepare to defeat those responsible.

Meanwhile, the heroic Spartan Master Chief leads his own fireteam on an equally important mission, but becomes distracted when a voice from his past returns. Choosing to abandon his duty, Master Chief leads his team toward a new planet, following the instructions of Chief's long lost friend.

In order to retrieve Master Chief and bring him back to his post, Fireteam Osiris sets out in pursuit. As players progress through the game, they switch control between Fireteam Osiris and Master Chief, commanding both teams. As Master Chief searches the galaxy for clues relating to his lost friend, they uncover an even bigger threat that may overtake humanity entirely. Forced to choose between his orders and his emotions, Master Chief must make several tough decisions.

Gameplay

Halo 5: Guardians offers a 15-mission-long campaign, guiding players through an intense series of firefights, stealthy recon missions, and more. For the most part, the shooting mechanics are similar to previous entries in the Halo series. Players can hold two weapons at a time, swapping them out for new guns when ammo runs low. There's a great variety of guns, including classic firearms like pistols and shotguns, along with a slew of alien weapons provided by fallen Covenant and Promethean soldiers. New mechanics include the ability to aim down your weapon sights, something many modern FPS games like Battlefield and Call of Duty offer. Additionally, players can pull off devastating attacks thanks to the new Spartan Abilities. Movement options have also been expanded, allowing players to clamber over walls and use a variety of traversal abilities.

As always, the Halo multiplayer experience is tons of fun and provides endless hours of enjoyable competition. Halo 5: Guardians makes a few unfortunate mistakes, namely the lack of local multiplayer options. However, a handful of new additions and great gameplay tweaks make up for this disappointment. There are over 30 unique multiplayer maps to battle on, whether you're enjoying a round of Team Deathmatch or a quick bout of the new Breakout mode. If you're a fan of large-scale battles, you can hop into Warzone mode, which pits two huge teams of players against each other. You can still expect classic modes like Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and more, adding some retro fun to the modern package.

Conclusion

Halo 5: Guardians continues the story of Master Chief in some exciting ways, although you might play as the heroic Spartan as much as you'd like. Once you've conquered the game's 15 solo missions, there's plenty of extra playtime available thanks to the competitive and modernized multiplayer.

Pros

• Colorful and vibrant graphics
• Intense shooter combat with lots of variety
• Both nostalgic and new

Cons

• Combat can be visually overwhelming
• Not enough Master Chief
• No split-screen or offline multiplayer options

Despite how Halo 4 ended, I remain unconvinced about the fate of Master Chief's sassy Al companion, Cortana. You don't upload multiple copies of yourself into a crazy, advanced alien computer system and not set up a Star Trek III: The Search for Spock scenario. I might not share the same, ahem, emotional investment in the increasingly sexual-ized construct that Halo's biggest fans do, but given her popularity, I'm certain that 343 Industries isn't prepared to truly kill her off.