Halo 5 | Video Game Review
Note: For those who haven’t played this game for the campaign. This review contains spoilers.
I have been a Halo fan since Halo 2 it was my first Halo game, but how does it stack up against Halo 5? Does Halo 5 feel like a regular Halo game or does it not? Is that good or bad?
Let’s start with the good things about Halo 5 within the story mode. Firstly, the game has truly outstanding visuals and movie like cut scenes. If you need to watch how 343 made the game, you should check out their video series called ‘The Sprint’ where 343 shows off how the game was made from story mode, online, and the cut scenes. Secondly, the game is locked in at stable 60 fps and 1080p resolution, but it will downgrade if needed. The game will downgrade in resolution “when we want to get really crazy with vehicles, visual effects and combat we can trade some of the resolution in order to maintain the crucial 60fps” as stated by Chris Haluke from 343. Third, before you start a level you can choose which character you would like to be within the Spartan team of Blue Team or Fireteam Osiris that you are playing in that level. Its a neat feature and it allows everyone to play different characters for every mission you play… it gives a bit of variety. Fourth, the revives! AI and or your co-op buddies can now revive you when you go down. Basically another alternative to complete the level and not restart the checkpoint because one person died. Something that should stay in future titles.
Now the bad things within the Halo 5 story mode. First off, the campaign sucked… I mean to the point where it was only a 4 hour storyline (on Heroic difficulty) with 15 Missions (3 missions with Master Chief team, and 12 missions with Locke team) and the worst part is that the game ends with a horrible cliffhanger that leads to Halo 6. Second, in Halo 5 it makes Master Chief look like a traitor because he started to look for Cortana because he had a vision of her calling him. 343 makes him look like he is AWOL but, hes not a traitor towards the Spartans or anyone. And then, 343 makes this new character named ‘Locke’ look like a hero because he is trying to “save him/rescue him.” Third, the boss battles are kinda lame to be completely honest. You fight Cortana’s guardian named ‘Warden Eternal’ around 6 times throughout the game, which makes it very repetitive. It was shown in trailers that Master Chief and Locke are enemies, but not one non-cinematic battle between them happened. Only one battle happened and it was a cinematic between Master Chief and Locke… and Locke lost the fight.
Finally, let’s talk multiplayer. Mostly the only game modes I’m interested in are Breakout (one life CTF game mode kinda like SnD from Call of Duty), SWAT, and Warzone (a huge 12 vs 12 game mode w/ AI and boss battles) to be completely honest. 343 has stated that all DLC for the game will be free and Forge will come out in December (in 2015) so that is a plus for everyone. The game does have microtransactions the items are called ‘Requisitions’ in which you can use most of these items in the new game mode Warzone. But mostly the reason why people buy the packs it because they include character gear in which you can customize your Spartan with a new helmet, body armor, etc. The packs range from $24.99 to $1.99 per pack/bundle and they are NOT mandatory to play Warzone. You can earn ‘Requisitions’ in game within game modes you play and finish. Lastly, finding players for games is fast (better than the release of Halo: MCC) and it was needed for both the game and 343.
In conclusion, the horrible storyline within Halo 5 brought down the score and that is why I gave it a 8/10. Its a 4 hour storyline with a horrible cliffhanger that leads to Halo 6, very little and not good boss battles, limited story missions with Master Chief (that is one of the reasons why people buy Halo) and the game is mostly focused on the new character (Locke) and his team. Halo 5 does feel like a regular Halo but more fast pace and more competitive in that sense. Sorry 343, but you can do better or even a better job at starting a story for Halo 6. It doesn’t feel like a $60 dollar game.
My Review Score: 8/10
