So Halo 5 came out yesterday as I'm sure a lot of you are aware. And there's something about it that people and reviewers have glossed over that really, really, REALLY bugs me. But more on that later. I have more than negativity to offer in this post. So, to start, let's move on to our first part.
The AWESOME:
After Halo 4, many Halo fans were at least a little disappointed. It was a real grab-bag of both good and bad. A realization of some hidden potential in Halo and at the same time, a waste of it. Some things like Firefight were also needlessly dropped for other, less desirable things, and etc.
Now, the first thing that strikes me right off the bat with Halo 5 is how... Utterly polished this iteration is this time around. The experience is much more focused and is very solidly built. Movement was completely revamped and added to, and it's been, overall, a resounding success. It looks like 343 has done what was once thought impossible. They've successfully brought together the new in with the old. Having all of the old systems virtues but with new fresh elements to liven up both the Campaign and Arena combat both.
The Campaign has also received an overhaul. Gone are the days of wandering through tight corridors most all the time. Now levels are super wide-open with multiple ways to get to and accomplish your objective and co-op just making it even better.
Warzone, the new gamemode added, has replaced online Firefight and many agree, it seems to do a remarkable job, being infinitely better than online Firefight or even many Big Team Battle modes. And to top it all off, free map packs. FINALLY. Now all paid for with some mostly harmless microtransactions in Warzone. Gone are the frustrating days of not being able to play on some playlists because you didn't spend enough money. Gone are the days of being forced to play the base maps over and over and over again. Did I ever tell you the definition of- Oh, forget it.
And finally, the graphics are smooth and silky. 60 FPS. 1080p. As promised. Multiplayer servers are running without a hitch and MP connections are smooth. Glitches are minimal to nonexistent. All of this a far cry to the formerly disastrous Master Chief Collection. The whole game is focused, polished, and smooth as silk.
Now for...
The TERRIBLE:
Right off the bat, you can see that Halo now has 0 split-screen support. Nada. Nothing. Now, to be fair to 343, this was not intentional in the slightest, and, engine wise, since it relied so much on the game running at a constant 60 FPS ALL THE TIME, split-screen was simply an impossibility and had to be cut or else they would have had to scrap the entire engine and start all over again from scratch which would probably have costed millions in extra needed funding. Obviously unacceptable.
Having said that though, it still sucks MASSIVELY. Halo has ALWAYS had split-screen. Always. It was one of those games that you used to be able to pick up, knowing for a surety that at least 2-player co-op and 4-player split-screen capability awaited. Now, too bad. It's online or you're playing by yourself.
Which actually wouldn't even have been that bad! Had they included a decent offline mode besides Campaign. Or how about some offline multiplayer bots? I've been asking for that since Halo 3. But they have not even done that. So, needless to say, this hamstrings Halo 5 right out of the gate.
Furthermore, Forge will not be shipped with the game at Launch. Yes, it doesn't even have Forge yet. They say they're continually working on and improving it all the time and will be releasing it next month. But you know what? I'm still paying $60 for a game here. And that game is starting to look really sparse.
Even the playlists have taken a huge hit. There's now only 4 playlists. Don't like it? Tough. Oh and, offline gametypes? Only 4. Yes. Only 4 offline gametypes. No Juggernaut, No Race. No Infection. No VIP. Nothing. And the custom games options? They're even less than Halo 4. And no playable Sanghelli in any mode. Spartans 24/7. So they ignored literally the two BIGGEST threads on the waypoint Halo 4 board. Completely brushed it off. I guess Warzone was more important...
Sorry, starting to get angry. Anyway. Like Forge, they say they're gonna add these gametypes in later. But do we have to wait a month for each new gametype? How about the abysmal state of custom games options? Are they even going to look at those? Do they care? Some people didn't over at 343 apparently or else they would have been in at launch.
-
I can't help but think back to when Phil Spencer [http://www.geekwire.com/2015/xbox-leader-phil-spencer-on-the-sony-battle-minecrafts-future-microsofts-esports-plans-and-more/] was recently talking in an interview about the Xbox One launch. How he said the big problem a lot of people felt with the console was, a lot of people (rightly) didn't think Microsoft cared about them at all. And I can't help but echo his sentiments here. 343, do you even care about us offline players? Is Microsoft making you do these things? Why must you hurt us in this way?
But anyway though. Halo 5 is a solid polished game for sure. But compared to its past iterations, it's also the most stripped one yet. If you're OK with that, hey, that's fine, but please don't just gloss over it and say it's nothing. Thank you.
The AWESOME:
After Halo 4, many Halo fans were at least a little disappointed. It was a real grab-bag of both good and bad. A realization of some hidden potential in Halo and at the same time, a waste of it. Some things like Firefight were also needlessly dropped for other, less desirable things, and etc.
Now, the first thing that strikes me right off the bat with Halo 5 is how... Utterly polished this iteration is this time around. The experience is much more focused and is very solidly built. Movement was completely revamped and added to, and it's been, overall, a resounding success. It looks like 343 has done what was once thought impossible. They've successfully brought together the new in with the old. Having all of the old systems virtues but with new fresh elements to liven up both the Campaign and Arena combat both.
The Campaign has also received an overhaul. Gone are the days of wandering through tight corridors most all the time. Now levels are super wide-open with multiple ways to get to and accomplish your objective and co-op just making it even better.
Warzone, the new gamemode added, has replaced online Firefight and many agree, it seems to do a remarkable job, being infinitely better than online Firefight or even many Big Team Battle modes. And to top it all off, free map packs. FINALLY. Now all paid for with some mostly harmless microtransactions in Warzone. Gone are the frustrating days of not being able to play on some playlists because you didn't spend enough money. Gone are the days of being forced to play the base maps over and over and over again. Did I ever tell you the definition of- Oh, forget it.
And finally, the graphics are smooth and silky. 60 FPS. 1080p. As promised. Multiplayer servers are running without a hitch and MP connections are smooth. Glitches are minimal to nonexistent. All of this a far cry to the formerly disastrous Master Chief Collection. The whole game is focused, polished, and smooth as silk.
Now for...
The TERRIBLE:
Right off the bat, you can see that Halo now has 0 split-screen support. Nada. Nothing. Now, to be fair to 343, this was not intentional in the slightest, and, engine wise, since it relied so much on the game running at a constant 60 FPS ALL THE TIME, split-screen was simply an impossibility and had to be cut or else they would have had to scrap the entire engine and start all over again from scratch which would probably have costed millions in extra needed funding. Obviously unacceptable.
Having said that though, it still sucks MASSIVELY. Halo has ALWAYS had split-screen. Always. It was one of those games that you used to be able to pick up, knowing for a surety that at least 2-player co-op and 4-player split-screen capability awaited. Now, too bad. It's online or you're playing by yourself.
Which actually wouldn't even have been that bad! Had they included a decent offline mode besides Campaign. Or how about some offline multiplayer bots? I've been asking for that since Halo 3. But they have not even done that. So, needless to say, this hamstrings Halo 5 right out of the gate.
Furthermore, Forge will not be shipped with the game at Launch. Yes, it doesn't even have Forge yet. They say they're continually working on and improving it all the time and will be releasing it next month. But you know what? I'm still paying $60 for a game here. And that game is starting to look really sparse.
Even the playlists have taken a huge hit. There's now only 4 playlists. Don't like it? Tough. Oh and, offline gametypes? Only 4. Yes. Only 4 offline gametypes. No Juggernaut, No Race. No Infection. No VIP. Nothing. And the custom games options? They're even less than Halo 4. And no playable Sanghelli in any mode. Spartans 24/7. So they ignored literally the two BIGGEST threads on the waypoint Halo 4 board. Completely brushed it off. I guess Warzone was more important...
Sorry, starting to get angry. Anyway. Like Forge, they say they're gonna add these gametypes in later. But do we have to wait a month for each new gametype? How about the abysmal state of custom games options? Are they even going to look at those? Do they care? Some people didn't over at 343 apparently or else they would have been in at launch.
-
I can't help but think back to when Phil Spencer [http://www.geekwire.com/2015/xbox-leader-phil-spencer-on-the-sony-battle-minecrafts-future-microsofts-esports-plans-and-more/] was recently talking in an interview about the Xbox One launch. How he said the big problem a lot of people felt with the console was, a lot of people (rightly) didn't think Microsoft cared about them at all. And I can't help but echo his sentiments here. 343, do you even care about us offline players? Is Microsoft making you do these things? Why must you hurt us in this way?
But anyway though. Halo 5 is a solid polished game for sure. But compared to its past iterations, it's also the most stripped one yet. If you're OK with that, hey, that's fine, but please don't just gloss over it and say it's nothing. Thank you.