The halo franchise has been great throughout the years but halo 5 has been really disappointing in advancing the franchise and it looks bad compared to the other titles. I see why halo 5 was made though, because Bungie wanted to make a halo game with a lot of multiplayer options and it succeeded but the campaign felt short and customization options were not very great to customize your character. Overall it's honestly a great game.
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mauricioecaballero13 December 2018
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LeJonofX26 June 2019I wish the ending wasn't so cliffhanging and the Warzone Firefight had more enemy types, such as Brutes, etc.
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higginsonjoel-546291 January 2017The original three halo games were fantastic and really well designed. The story was simple and to the point but executed superbly, the soundtrack was one of the best game soundtracks made. Characters were well developed and memorable (even if sometimes slightly goofy) Every level had a different kind of challenge with different unique music that went alongside it, the games were always interesting.
Halo 4 was very different to the original three. This game started out pretty great but then fell kinda flat half way, but made it up for it with a great ending.
Halo 5, however is a totally different story, it's suffers greatly from a confusing plot that's over explained in a very emotionless and Unenthused kind of way. The soundtrack is generic and forgettable and doesn't really add tension or feel to the game.
Characters are boring and emotionless. You only play as Master Chief for THREE missions! The new antagonist who's name I forgot, feels very out of place in a halo game.
They ruin Halo 4s ending by bringing back Cortana with a very stupid and nonsensical reason for her survival, and if that wasn't bad enough they ruin her character by making her all of a sudden become evil.
The campaign missions are flat out boring and repetitive. And last but not least, the multiplayer feels way too much like Call of Duty for a Halo game and to make matters worse, Req points and Weapon packs are now a thing...
Why 343, Why?!
6.0/10 -
dominic-holmes-halo1 November 2015Halo 5: Guardians is the latest instalment in the Halo franchise and a direct sequel to Halo 4. It sees Master Chief go rogue for reasons I won't spoil here and then get hunted by Spartan Locke, sent by the UNSC. Coming out three years after Halo 4 and a great marketing campaign, promising a rivalry/battle between Chief and Locke and hinting at an antagonistic Chief, does Halo 5 deliver?
First off, I have to put it out there that I am a huge fan of the Halo series and that is for its campaigns more so than the multiplayer. I will always complete the story before moving onto the multiplayer because I am invested in the character of the Master Chief and always excited to see where his character will go or how he will develop emotionally, especially after a rather sad ending to Halo 4.I actually really like Halo 4 contrary to other people's opinions because although the multiplayer had clear, undeniable issues, the campaign was amazing, technically and story-wise.It was almost like a character study of Chief and Cortana as it put them at the forefront so I was hoping for Halo 5 to continue this in its story.
Unfortunately, whilst Halo 5's campaign is beautiful, graphically at a constant 60fps, and has better level design and is probably more fun than Halo 4, its story is a real weakness which dampens an otherwise perfect Halo game. You may be wondering why this is 'unfortunate' since it still sounds pretty great, but if you were hoping for a great story and further development for the Master Chief,you may be disappointed.
The cutscenes, while stunning and impressive to behold, are too short and feel unfinished as they suddenly fade to black, and sometimes it felt like some cutscenes were removed. For example, you never see Locke's team get assigned to tracking down the Master Chief and it is just thrust upon you all-of-a-sudden. The game tries to add a new element which just feels out of place in a Halo game as you go up to people and press 'x' to talk as if it's an RPG game like Skyrim. The problem is this element never goes anywhere and just feels like they were too lazy to make it a cutscene.
The story also feels rushed and is frustrating in the way that it has so much more potential that it never fulfills, but I'm not going to talk about what it should've been, I'll talk about what's there and the problems with it. Firstly, Chief's reasons for going rogue just don't feel near sufficient or important enough to truly get invested in his story and the way he goes rogue is just so anti-climactic and offhandedly done. Moreover, you only play as Chief for three missions out of the 15 missions in the campaign so obviously there's not much time there for proper development of his character.
The rest of the story is with the dutiful, but dull Spartan Locke who, with his team, hunts down the Chief. It starts out that way, but I won't spoil it so all I'll say is the ads and the marketing campaign lied to you. Hell, even the front cover lies to you as this game is not really Chief vs. Locke. Team Osiris, while more interesting than Blue Team in this game, are never fleshed out and have no emotional ties to their mission to hunt down the Chief as they see it as "just another target" as Lock puts it so how are we supposed to care whether they find the Chief or not and root for them. I won't spoil any returning characters in case you don't follow the trailers and advertisements, but it was good to see them, albeit briefly.
However, if you don't care for the Halo story and don't bother with cutscenes there is still lots of fun to be had in the gameplay. The level design is amazing with beautiful scenery and HD graphics, especially on the plant Sanghelios which features great towering stone- statues of Elites that are nothing if not impressive. You also fight a Kraken...enough said. There is not a dull mission and there are a lot of great standout moments in the gameplay which you just have to stop to take in. Although a boss fight with a certain character is repeated quite a bit it doesn't detract much from the fun of it. Also, your teammates do revive you so if you die it's not a definite respawn unless your teammates are all dead and they fail trying to get to yo, which can be frustrating.
I haven't got much to say about the multiplayer, but I had lots of fun on it and it is much better and more balanced than Halo 4, though I've been playing Arena more than Warzone because I just prefer it, but that's just my opinion. I've heard Halo fans who've been playing since 2004 when Halo 2 came out and are saying this is the best Halo multiplayer since then, which must be a good thing.
In conclusion, if you like Halo, this is a must-buy because although the campaign has a weak story, it has some standout moments such as an awesome hand to hand fight between Chief and Locke, but there is also lots of fun and memories to be made in the gameplay. Also, the multiplayer is great which just shows Halo is back baby! If you are not a Halo fan, you will not care about the weak story and you will find lots of enjoyment in the gameplay as well as its impressive graphics and 60fps fluidity so I'd say this is definitely a game worth checking out.
Oh, and the soundtrack is amazing! -
AOGameNuts23 October 2019Although the multiplayer had some very good parts (more later), the campaign was lacking entirely from being anything close to ok and did not even feel like a Halo game. The entire campaign was just constant chatter on radios describing things that you could already see, like the game was seeing the player as two years old. The music was uninspired and just lacked the greatness that the original bungie games, and maybe even halo 4, had. Adding insult to injury the heart breaking ending in halo 4 was just thrown out the window as in the first cutscene you see Halsey bring Cortana back to life. As well you are just left on a cliff hanger ending that makes you wonder what you just played through and whether it was worth your time.
On the bright side, multiplayer as well as forge were in my opinion were a great improvement from halo 4. Gone are the pre-set loadouts form halo 4 now coming back to a more traditional halo fashion. The forge was brilliant adding much needed features to the game, and the custom games-that the game has an endless supply-of is great fun with friend or even strangers on the customs browser. As well many of the original game modes like infection feel nicely polished and are great fun to play in your free time. Although one aspect I don't like is the advanced mobility features which made map design weird for a Halo game as well as most fights being won because one players was in a thrust or clamber animation.
All in all in 2019 the game for about £8.00 is worth it for the multiplayer features especially if your looking for a game just to mess around on with friends, although the story and lore aspect is not worth your money as your probably get out as much if you just watched a playthrough. Bare in mind I did not look into customization, microtransactions and many more problems with the game to not make this review drag. 6/10, good multiplayer and forge-terrible campaign. -
pk123315 June 2020I am not sure why so many people are hating on this game. Sure it does not have the best story of any Halo game, but it is not terrible either. I think people just expect the same thing over and over again. They want another Halo 3, but what game franchise will last if it is simply the same over and over again? The gameplay here is perfect, the mechanics and graphics are amazing, and the multiplayer experience is by far the best I have played in any FPS. People are constantly complaining about microtransactions as well. However, I was able to move up through the ranks pretty easily without spending an extra dime. And if you do not want to unlock anything, just play arena as everyone gets the same gear there. I absolutely loved Halo 5 for its multiplayer experience (especially Warzone) and the campaign was not bad either. Time to stop complaining about a 2015 game being different from a 2007 game and start enjoying the greatest FPS gameplay of all time.
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toddaarondouglas20 December 2018A poorly executed storyline finds itself awkwardly lodged in a very short and uninspired series of missions that exist for nothing more than to include content at the games 2015 launch; because there sure wasn't any to be found in the multiplayer at the time. However, credit where it's due, over the course of a year, free updates (unfortunately a rarity in the modern game industry) gradually added to the variety of the matchmaking and it became a pretty fun and addicting side-attraction to whatever other game you might've been playing. The unbalanced and unappreciated in game micro transactions took away from the fulfillment of getting new gear for your multiplayer spartan that can be found in the pre-2012 titles in the series. 6/10. Only slightly above average.
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heroblitz17 November 2015This game is fantastic. I loved it. I have seen the game get a lot of hate by people because of the bad false advertising making the campaign feel "Mediocre". IMO, there wouldn't be too much hate if it was advertised as a game about hopelessness and betrayal like it was. The story was properly the darkest Halo due to its themes. The twist that Cortana has been the villain this whole time was a sad twist and it added a whole new sense of hopelessness to the game. The campaign may have been short but it was a great ride and gets me excited for Halo 6.If there is any flaw with it, it is that the fireteam revives made the game kinda "Too easy." which would put my score down, but the multiplayer is fantastic. The multiplayer is easily the best part of Halo 5. It is very addicting and brings the Halo vibe back from what Reach and 4 sacrificed.
Should you buy this game, yes. It is a great ride through the campaign and the multiplayer is fantastic.
This is my game of the year 2015. -
giticomi2 October 2021Halo 5 has an amazing fast paced multiplayer,but has a bad campaign.
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jacklalonde23 March 2020Horrible campaign and didn't even have split screen co op
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annmarc-734408 November 2015until now, halo 2 was my favorite halo game. this is because of it's interesting characters and showing that all beliefs eventually leave members with doubt but this instantly became my number one. the game did what halo should do with it's story. develop new characters and challenge already developed characters. the cliffhanger at the end did not bother me because it made me feel the lost hope the heroes where feeling. my only problem with this game was that it was marketed as a master chief vs Locke game when it is a game showing the lost hope of the characters. this does bug me but I still enjoyed the story. I don't really care for the game play because the story was much more interesting. and the cut scenes are amazingly shot, amazingly voice acted and amazingly animated.
I loved this game -
As much as I really don't care for the multiplayer game type selection, armor customization and rank progression, it's probably the only redeeming aspect to this game. I do enjoy the big team battle, warzone and firefight modes when the servers can actually stay populated- which just seems to stop after being several minutes into a match.
Been running through the Halo games in preparation for Infinite and my excitement has now been stomped into cautious optimism after this stark reminder of a campaign.
The story relies heavily on details never mentioned in the games, flat and meaningless dialog and just piss poor choreography. Seriously though, what was that intro? The entire campaign doesn't even make a single reference to a Halo ring. Even 4 managed to do that. By comparison, this makes 4 look like a masterpiece. The over the top abilities of Locke's team devalues all the crazy stunts Master Chief pulled off in previous games and insults the audience that's old enough to remember the original trilogy when they were new. They then become completely useless when Master Chief is standing right in front of them. I hope the lead writers never touch a Halo project again because they're simply an incompetent group.
A few final constructive criticisms are the music is easily the worst of any Halo game, the T rating and lack of any blood is not a good trade-off just so kids can have easier access to it (I played CE when I was 7, I wonder how?) and finally- and I completely forgot this prior to replaying it, but you only play as Master Chief for 3 missions. If Locke was as well written as the Arbiter back in Halo 2 I could forgive this point, but I literally couldn't care in the slightest for him or his team. I don't remember the names of the two females (promise I'm not sexist) but their involvement in the game meant nothing to me. At least Buck didn't come out of left field with meaningless details sprinkled here and there. Don't get me started on the Chief's team, they simply should NOT have been in the game.
Here's to hoping Infinite doesn't suffer from several of the same mistakes- and believe me, there are many more.. -
smitch-3588420 August 2023It's hard to rate video games because unlike movies and TV you have to take into account not just writing, cinematography, acting, editing, soundtrack, sound design, script, screenplay, theme, characters, plot, etc but also graphics, gameplay, balancing, gunplay, forge mechanics, community relationships, and multiplayer as well. To succinctly and accurately summise all of these things is a hard thing to do so I will be as quick and efficient about it as I can be.
All in all it has the worst story out of any of the Halo games but the best multiplayer and custom game community of any Halo game. -
ronin11383 August 2021Is from halo 2, the ability to duel wield certain weapons, especially the needle, that thing is awesome! Also would be good to determine what weapons your team has on campaign.
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alanpiaskowski3 September 2021Making a halo campaign with master chief not being the main character should be a sin!
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zsbiw4 July 2023Halo 5 has awesome levels and weapons, a lot of action, colorful and good graphics, a good story, etc.
It has several new features, such as being able to send your team wherever you point to. In Halo 5, you always have a strong team of Spartans with you. The Marines in Halo games are weak, so it's nice always having strong Spartans with you in this game.
I think the best thing about Halo 5 is the levels and weapons. The indoor levels are good, but the outdoor ones are especially good. I sometimes just stared in awe at the levels rather than actually play the game.
I have played Halo 1, 2, 3, 4, and Reach, too. Halo 5 is the best one. The gameplay, levels, and weapons seem to be at their peak in Halo 5. In some ways, Halo 5 makes the past Halo games look bad. Halo 5 is the funnest one.
The only negative I can think of is lack of split screen. -
supertaco-3083115 February 2021I've played almost all the halo games and to me this one has the worst story. Don't get me wrong, I still play this game and enjoy it but in my opinion, the multiplayer is the best part. I love the new controls better than the way that the older games are played.
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brickobot24 November 2022Halo is a great franchise and all the other games are good to great, however, Halo 5 is the outlier, the game is ok, with some boring bits in between, however, the story is weird. Some sections are fun, most are Okish, and then there is the boring 10% of the game where you just run around and here dialogue. As a PC gamer who had beaten all other Halo installments (on Master Chief Collection), and was excited for the upcoming (at the time) Halo Infinite, but to my surprise, Halo 5 is an Xbox console exclusive. Luckily I had just acquired Game Pass Ultimate, so picking it up was a breeze. The game is controller only, beware PC gamers. TL;DR: Get it, only if you have game pass.
Infinite is great. -
samtimoney-7975823 July 2020Disappointing end but still one of the better halo game and there's finally a better aiming system which you'd think would be quite good already on a shooter game as successful as this. But no, only now are they making a change, a good change
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iizjfkt18 December 2021I never give a 1 star rating, because I reserve it for things that honestly never should have been made and the world is only worse for them existing. This game hurt my enjoyment of the franchise I grew up with by doing a disservice to the characters and angering me repeatedly. This deserves 1 star.