[Author’ Note: Thanks for tuning in to yesterday’s livestream. You can watch a rebroadcast of it right here, and make sure to follow our Twitch channel as we will certainly be streaming Halo 5: Guardians’ Multiplayer Beta in the coming days.]
Halo is back in full force. After two years since the last original Halo release with Halo 4, 343 Industries has successfully reinvigorated the iconic First-Person Shooter franchise created by Bungie by making it a faster and more action-packed experience, all while keeping the satisfying Halo feel that has been established for almost 15 years now. Although there are some minor tweaks that make it feel like a different kind of Halo at first, it feels like a step up as it brings in another layer of depth to the gameplay that we have yet to see from the franchise at this point. I know I may be getting ahead of myself by saying this as it is all based on the five hours I’ve spent during the first day of a Beta for a game that is still far out, but Halo 5: Guardians could very well be in my Top 3 Favorite Halos of All-Time, and the more I play it, the better it gets.
Ready up, Spartans
Switching up the Halo formula doesn’t come without its price; the first hour of playing the Beta wasn’t as fun as I initially thought it would be as I was constantly fighting with the controls, which integrate new mechanics to the Spartans. The reason for that is because of the new Spartan abilities 343 has given to every player, which are what make Halo 5 feel faster and sharper.
First off, the Thruster Pack, which was previously implemented in Halo 4, is always attached to your Spartan, meaning there aren’t loadouts to worry about this time. By pressing the X button (I play Bumper Jumper, so controls may vary depending on yours) you’ll get a small omnidirectional boost that is great for evading enemy grenades, shots, and even traversing through the map in a timely manner. Plus, unlike its Halo 4 counterpart, the boost isn’t showcased through a Third-Person view, so it keeps you immersed in the action. Next, is the Clamber ability in which, by pressing the jump button near a ledge, your Spartan will be able to climb on top of it with ease. Once again, this facilitates movement and traversal immensely, even though it took me a while to get used to it. I grew more and more fond of the Clamber mechanic as it completely removes the frustration of missing frame-perfect jumps that I constantly struggled with in previous Halo games. Sprinting also made its return from Halo 4 and Halo: Reach, but time around, your shields do not recharge once you activate it. Yet again, this took a little time getting used to, but it adds another layer of complexity as it has you plan out your escape routes thoroughly instead of simply running away from the enemy until your shields are back up. Spartans also have Charge and Slide abilities, but I haven’t had the chance to try them out for myself quite yet.
The big controversy surrounding Halo 5’s Multiplayer when the first footage of it was shown was the fact that it implements Aim Down Sights, or ADS as it is commonly known as in the gaming community, when firing weapons. People thought that it would change the overall feel of firing weapons, as Halo’s shooting has only involved firing from the hip of your gun or zooming in with the press of the Right Stick for those long-range battles. Called Smart Scope in Guardians, it keeps the same purpose of its predecessors as it only furthers your accuracy when needed. The only thing is; instead of just having a reticule zoom, you now see the entire sight of your weapon, and guns like the Assault Riffles, which never had any zooming capabilities before, implement it as well. Although seeing the entire sight is cumbersome and awkward, you’ll most likely end up firing from the hip as enemy fire will descope you out of Smart Scoping.
Smart Scope changes nothing to the overall gunplay of Halo 5: Guardians
Lastly, is the Ground Pound, which is easily the most finicky and most annoying ability ever implemented in the Halo franchise thus far. Although it is very cool to completely crush your opponents with a devastating down charge, the slightest press of the Left Stick when jumping will trigger the ability. This makes it inherently frustrating because, in previous Halo games, crouching while jumping made a big difference when your were in an intense 1 on 1 battle, and now the Ground Pound completely removes that as you remain in the air when you do so. Plus, I found myself accidentally triggering it on multiple occasions, which was very disruptive.
Despite the steep initial learning curve, which is mostly due to the fact that, just like most Halo players, I was fresh out of The Master Chief Collection, Halo 5 is still as fun to play as any previous installment of the franchise. Though there will be some slight balancing to do on 343’s part on some of the weapons of the game, it still plays the way it should be. For instance, since the Assault Riffle can now be zoomed-in for better accuracy, its range becomes ridiculous as you can easily pick off an enemy from mid to long-range, something that was never possible to pull off previously. Plus, with Week 1 of the Beta being dedicated to AR starts, it can be annoying when getting killed by it from insane distances. Additionally, I found the Pistol to be incredibly overpowered as it can kill you faster than a Battle Rifle or a DMR during a 1 on 1 battle. Despite the fact, shot registration was on-point and I encountered little to no issues once I was in a game. However, I stumbled upon some long Matchmaking times, and rightfully so as it is a Beta, but not as bad as the ones when The Master Chief Collection came out (thankfully).
As far as maps go, only two of the seven maps available for the Beta will be showcased throughout the first week. Truth, which is the remake of the classic Halo 2 map Midship, feels a little bigger and more open than its original counterpart. That being said, I thought the lower part of the level was being vastly underutilized, mainly because core weapons and the power weapon, the Prophet’s Bane (the new name for the Energy Sword), were all located on elevated portions of the map. Additionally, because of its redesign, I had trouble distinguishing Pink Tower and Carbine Base because they both look so similar. Nevertheless, it is still a decent map that is filled with additional detail like its space background that looks exceptional. Plus, I could not get enough of the action-packed Thruster Pack and Sword push combinations as it made for some incredibly satisfying multi-kills.
The new Midship: Truth
The other map, Empire, is an original map that feels out of place in the Halo universe. It is crowded, has some bulky obstacles with the many structures providing cover, and has some questionable elevated positions. One thing I found absolutely mind-boggling about it was that there are two Snipers Rifles located on this small map and it is so hard to get a decent shot on anyone with them. I would’ve preferred something like a Shotgun or a Rocket Launcher as they would’ve felt more at home on such a limited map space-wise.
One interesting time 343 has added to the whole Multiplayer mix of Halo is that Spartans now communicate which each other in-game. Much like Call of Duty has done in the past, Spartans will now call out the enemy’s position if they see them by using the official callouts of the map, while also reacting to what is happening. It is an unnecessary feature, when you think about it, but it only adds more immersion to the game. I couldn’t help myself and laugh when I accidentally naded my teammate and his Spartan responded with “Watch the nade spam”.
Another thing they have added (which I am still forging my opinion on it as of right now) is that power weapons now have respawn timers, meaning everyone in the game will know when they are up for grabs. Halo has always been about controlling those weapons by positioning your team accordingly when they are about to spawn, but it was also all about timing them using the in-game match clock. Now, that element is removed and I know it makes the game more accessible, but at the same time, I feel like having a timer for power weapons removes a crucial aspect of Halo.
One thing I do want to investigate more on is the Ranking System as I still don’t know how it works, or how it will work in the future. Though, my intuition tells me it is going to be similar to Halo 4’s SR Ranks, which is not inspiring at all, it will be interesting to see what 343 will bring in and tweak depending on the player feedback it receives.
My first day with the Halo 5 Multiplayer Beta has been awesome. Just talking about it makes me want to go back and play more of it (which I will certainly be doing). I am loving the new feel of Halo and, despite my nitpicky Halo enthusiast complaints, this feels like a step in the right direction for the franchise. Be sure to tune it to Gamer Headlines all throughout the duration of the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta as I will consistently update my thoughts regarding the game.
Have you tried out the Halo 5 Beta? If so, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below and, as always, stay tuned to Gamer Headlines for all things gaming.
[show_avatar email=maximechiasson@videotron.ca align=center user_link=authorpage show_name=true show_biography=true max_bio_length=500]