Video Game Review - Halo 5 - Guardians of the Galaxy

Developer 343 Industries
Publisher Microsoft Studios
Distributor Microsoft
Where we got our copy Microsoft
Genre FPS
Game modes Single Player, Multiplayer, Co-op
Players 1-16
Reviewed on

Available on

NiteFenix

Published November 25, 2015

Disclaimer: This review is a bit late, but I only managed to get my hands on a copy of the game about a week or so after it’s initial release. Another admission that I must make is that due to poor internet conditions I did not have the opportunity to review the multiplayer portion. Now I hear a lot of you clamouring that it is an important part of Halo 5 and yes I do agree. I will be adding my Multiplayer review once the internet situation has been remedied, which may take a few weeks. I will amend my review score once I have done this. In the meantime, here is my Single Player review of Halo 5: Guardians. Thank you.

The Halo Series has and always will be one of my favourite First Person Shooter series on the market. I fondly remember a time when my friend Louis and I would play the Multiplayer of Halo for hours on end, attempting to do things in the game that were not normally possible. I didn’t own an Xbox for many years after its initial release, but that didn’t stop me from playing the games at the before mentioned friend’s shop. I really got into the Multiplayer portion of Halo 3 and eventually Halo Reach, and to this day they remain two of my favourites in the series. I can firmly say however that after playing and completeling Halo 5, it has become the third in that list.

Halo 5 Guardians, same as its predecessors is an over the top action packed first person shooter, set in space. The story is a continuation of Halo 4 in that it takes place nearly immediately after the events of the previous entry. The key difference is, that you get to play as a new hero, Spartan Jameson Locke. A no-nonsense, get out of my face or I’m going to shoot you in it kind of soldier which was first introduced in the absolutely excellent Halo Nightfall TV series which was produced to coincide with the Halo Master Chief Collection that was released shortly after the Xbox One hit shelves. Forming part of Osiris Squad (which you get to order around), Locke is tasked with tracking down John 117 or Master Chief as he is more commonly known. Also part of Osiris Squad is Olympia Vale, a former UNSC Navy intelligence officer and xenoanthropologist, Holly Tanaka, a highly skilled engineer; former member of the UNSC Army Corps of Engineering and Edward Buck, a former Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and the advisor and mentor of the team, which you may remember from Halo: Combat Evolved as one of the guys who helped out Master Chief along his way.

As with some of the previous entries into the series you are thrown into a story that follows two protagnists. Spartan Jameson Locke as mentioned above as well as Master Chief himself. Master Chief, in his quest to find a character which you can guess but I won’t divulge, is joined by Blue Team, which is made up of Frederic-104 who is the leader/QCB Specialist, John 117 who acts as the de facto leader, Kelly-087, who is the scout and Linda-058 who is the sniper.

One of the most fun things that 343 Industries has added to Halo 5 is the team-based campaign. No longer do you fight alone, at least not like you have in all the previous games. Very much, but not quite as advanced as games such as Rainbox Six Vegas, you are able to order your team mates to assist you in battle. What makes Halo 5 better though is you don’t just outright die. You can go down and there is a chance that if one of your team mates are closeby, they can run towards you, after you’ve called for help of course, and help you up. The problem lies in the AI though. I found that while playing Halo 5, your team mates either ending up running straight through large clumps of enemies and end up getting gunned down themselves, or just plain don’t show up, despite the fact that they are mere feet away. In a lot of cases you end up going at firefights alone anyways because you feel that despite the fact that you have a team, they aren’t much use anyways due to the poor AI.

Another thing that 343 has polished is the actual combat. Once of the very first things that I noticed was that they have reworked the weaponry from the ground up. The weapons feel a lot more responsive and the bullets make a lot more impact. Nowhere is this more evident than when you are blasting away at a Promethean and chunks of their armour goes flying, thus of course rendering them more vulnerable to your next shots. I found myself using the Covenant Storm Rifle and the Promethean Incineration Cannon a lot more than the other weapons, purely because I felt they did the most damage in most combat situations.

Being the first Xbox One Halo title, Halo 5 on a graphical level is absolutely superb. The last time I saw graphics this good on the Xbox One was with the Ubisoft title Ryse Son of Rome. You can see the absolute detail that was put into both the world, the characters and of course the animation. What impressed me hugely was how they managed to not only recreate the faces of the actors playing the characters (Nathan Fillion anyone?) but they also captured their manarisms and facial movements to perfection. Something I haven’t really seen in any games until this one. Speaking of Nathan Fillion, how was that voice acting this game? Oh my lord. I loved every minute of dialogue. Even Steve Downes as Master Chief still nails it after all these years. I love how natural and fresh it all feels.

Lastly, I want to mention something that has always been near and dear to my heart in any Halo game. That is the music. The music in Halo has always been sublime and visceral and really adds to any Halo experience in numbers. This time the masters behind the soundtrack has gone the extra mile. Truly a memorable experience.

Disclaimer: This review is a bit late, but I only managed to get my hands on a copy of the game about a week or so after it's initial release. Another admission that I must make is that due to poor internet conditions I did not have the opportunity to review the multiplayer portion. Now I hear a lot of you clamouring that it is an important part of Halo 5 and yes I do agree. I will be adding my Multiplayer review once the internet situation has been remedied, which may take a few weeks. I will amend my review score once I have done this. In the meantime, here is my Single Player review of Halo 5: Guardians. Thank you. The Halo Series has and always will be one of my favourite First Person Shooter series on the market. I fondly remember a time when my friend Louis and I would play the Multiplayer of Halo for hours on end, attempting to do things in the game that were not normally possible. I didn't own an Xbox for many years after its initial release, but that didn't stop me from playing the games at the before mentioned friend's shop. I really got into the Multiplayer portion of Halo 3 and eventually Halo Reach, and to this day they remain two of my favourites in the series. I can firmly say however that after playing and completeling Halo 5, it has become the third in that list. Halo 5 Guardians, same as its predecessors is an over the top action packed first person shooter, set in space. The story is a continuation of Halo 4 in that it takes place nearly immediately after the events of the previous entry. The key difference is, that you get to play as a new hero, Spartan Jameson Locke. A no-nonsense, get out of my face or I'm going to shoot you in it kind of soldier which was first introduced in the absolutely excellent Halo Nightfall TV series which was produced to coincide with the Halo Master Chief Collection that was released shortly after the Xbox One hit shelves. Forming part of Osiris Squad (which you get to order around), Locke is tasked with tracking down John 117 or Master Chief as he is more commonly known. Also part of Osiris Squad is Olympia Vale, a former UNSC Navy intelligence officer and xenoanthropologist, Holly Tanaka, a highly skilled engineer; former member of the UNSC Army Corps of Engineering and Edward Buck, a former Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and the advisor and mentor of the team, which you may remember from Halo: Combat Evolved as one of the guys who helped out Master Chief along his way. As with some of the previous entries into the series you are thrown into a story that follows two protagnists. Spartan Jameson Locke as mentioned above as well as Master Chief himself. Master Chief, in his quest to find a character which you can guess but I…

Video Game Review – Halo 5 – Guardians of the Galaxy

2015-11-25

NiteFenix

Ballsey

Total - 8.5

8.5

Halo 5: Guardians will go down as one of my most memorable games on the Xbox One platform. From rich visuals, to fantastic animation and graphics and music that carries the game to good effect. The story is brilliant and really adds to the immersive universe that is Halo. A must have for fans and non-fans alike.

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Article Categories: Video Game Reviews