Ahhh Halo! The game that has given my some of my favourite ever gaming memories, from the local gaming sessions in a friend’s attic with networked Xbox’s, to spending far, far too much time playing Halo 3 online, and the fantastic campaign in an interesting universe that Bungie created. Yes, Halo is up there with my favourite games of all time. So, expect a slight smidge of bias when reading this review. All that being said, I (along with so many others) was very concerned when the mantle was handed to 343 industries for Halo 4. But was pleasantly surprised with what they did, they created a genuinely good campaign and a solid multiplayer, while pushing what the Xbox 360 could do graphically, a win in anyone’s books. And they’ve managed to outdo themselves with Halo 5.
I’ve been excited by this game for a long while, and with the recent titillating trailers teasing a Master Chief that is being hunted as a traitor of the human race by Locke. Making me ask questions of what on earth has he done? Surely there must be a mistake? Has Chief really become the enemy? And I’ve got to say, as an overall story package, I was left disappointed, because it didn’t live up to the potential it built itself up to have. That’s not to say the campaign isn’t good by any stretch, but while the story narrative is decent, it is also a bit all over the place, it doesn’t make sense at times, and it just doesn’t live up to the stories told in previous Halo games.
So what’s gone wrong then? Well, I don’t think the story of betrayal as portrayed in the build up to release is really as relevant as it is made out. It isn’t sold very well by Locke (who is a poor lead character), and it just doesn’t feel as ‘big’ as it should have been. There is also the issue of the story drawing on a lot of Halo lore that isn’t addressed in any other game, or even this one. So without having read or watched anything on the lore, you may well end up being a bit confused. Like, who are these people with Master Chief? A protagonist that has historically been the one man army typed hero now has 3 others in his ‘Blue Team’. It is very briefly mentioned that they are ‘like a family’ but there is no real explanation as to why, or what they have been through, and why we should care. There is also some strange decisions throughout the game – why is a fist fight between Chief and Locke and even contest? Going by the lore that the game is so heavily relying on, this should be a one way fight in the way of the Chief, but not so. There are also a few other moments throughout that leave you scratching your head. I think 343i have tried to explore too many places and ideas with the campaign, and while the main story itself is fine, and has led to what could be a superb Halo 6 campaign with its ending, the journey to get there feels thin on the ground. And they could have created a more focussed game to make the story itself a better achievement. I loved Halo 4’s exploration of Master Chief’s more personal side, and his relationship with Cortana, so to go from that to what we have in 5 seems a stark difference.
It is important however to look at more than just the story narrative while assessing the campaign, because it is actually very fun to play. And this is down to fantastic gameplay and level design, and of course the co-op ability of the game. The new gameplay elements – boosting and clambering have been implemented seamlessly into the Halo feel. And it’ll make you wonder why you couldn’t have it before. And the level designs make great use of these new features. The verticality of the levels is great and the ability to tackle situations from different vantage points thanks to multiple routes feels like a breath of fresh air. And the levels also allow for interesting explorations to nooks and crannies to find every last skull and piece of Intel. And it’s fun to do! The Halo mantra of shooting, jumping and throwing grenades is still here aswell, and it feels better than ever and rebalancing and changing some weapons now means that each weapon feels like it can make a difference. This might actually be the best gameplay Halo has ever had.
And that fantastic gameplay transfers over to the quite frankly superb multiplayer. It is clear 343i have taken inspiration from early Halo games for its multiplayer. Everything is so well balanced and it puts everyone on an even playing field. Let’s take a look at Arena first – classic Halo if you will. Playing everything from Slayer to SWAT gave me tingles of excitement. Everything has been sped up and uses new gameplay elements to bring Halo to the forefront of modern shooters while staying true to what made is special in the first place. Everyone starts with the same loadout and abilities, and this allows for the classic fight for the power weapons dotted across the map. By sending everyone out like this it makes it feel like an even playing field from the get go. A big shout out to the arena mode I’ve spent the most time on – SWAT. Going with just battle rifles or just pistols was a great shout. It is a tense and exciting game mode where accuracy is everything. I can’t remember the last time I player an online shooter where I’ve had such a feeling of achievement than when I manage to get a triple kill with three quick fire head shots. And in the same vein the shout of frustration when I lost out on a head to head quickest finger to the trigger moment. This is Halo as I fondly remember, and I can’t wait to get back to it and play again.
Arguably the new mode Warzone is the best of the lot, combining elements of PVP and PVE along with elements of different game modes and genres to great effect. There is a bit of a Titanfall feel with the AI grunts to kill at each base to capture (hello Domination) but they actually pose a threat rather than serving as a pure easy kill enemy. The AI enemies are turned up a notch with the VIP’s. Neutral bosses within levels that you need to team up with other to take down for big points bonuses, it almost feels like a mini-raid from an MMO. You’ve also got the expected slayer elements where you score points for killing the other team. There is an incentive to capture all the bases to open the enemy’s core and destroy it for an instant win. All these different point scoring options allow for varied games, and also allow for each team to have a genuine chance of winning. Losing by 100 points? All seems lost because the other team have all bases? Go kill that VIP for 150 points and suddenly your team have the upper hand. It is a completely different look on Halo, but a formula that is working very well. To top that off, you can also use ‘REQ’s’ in order to use better weapons, armour upgrades and vehicles. While you play through the game you open up different levels of REQ’s depending on how well you are doing, and it’s a tactical choice of weather you use your points quickly for a slightly more powerful weapon, or save up for a vehicle that could make a world of difference. The REQ packs that you need to open to unlock the different weapon/armour will have completionist around the world hooked trying to get every last piece of armour and weaponry to take to the battle.
Halo 5 is a massive game for Microsoft and 343i. And it is a massive success. It has arguably the best gameplay and multiplayer the series has seen to date, and deserves the attention of every Halo fan, and online FPS fan that own an Xbox. This is a must buy, must play game, that hits every nostalgic note when it comes to the multiplayer, it is just a slight shame that the campaign can’t live up to the expectation.
**Thank you to XCN for the opportunity to review this game**