So, how 'bout that Halo 5, eh?

[Foolery]

Spoiler: Fire Team Osiris Opening Cinematic

Spoiler: Fire Team Osiris Campaign

Spoiler: Blue Team Opening Cinematic

Spoiler: Blue Team Campaign

So I thought I'd make a post about this, since no one else has so far. I think.
I've been Halo-ed out ever since 4, but I got a Xbox One recently, and the Blue Team teaser got me mildly hyped. Honestly, I don't care much for Locke and his crew, I'm just happy to see Linda, Fred, and Kelly in the games for the first time. Bummer about that lack of splitscreen but, the co-op looks genuinely fun. Also, Spartans look like they have a hell of a lot more mobility now with dodging and such.

 

[TheSapphireKnight]

There are definitely things I like about, but I am definitely going to let others jump in first after the disaster that was, and to a degree still is, the MCC.

That being said I am still pretty excited about the Campaign, as I've wanted to see Blue Team in game for a while now, especially after the excellent Hunt the Truth audio series preceding it. Though I still have problems with a lot of the mechanical changes in Halo 5, at the very least it is the first Halo game to not follow the trend of being worse than the last game as far as multiplayer is concerned.

Killstreaks, loadouts, perks, etc have been removed from standard Arena multiplayer or otherwise segregated to Warzone.

My biggest concern at the moment is about features. We've still haven't seen anything about Forge or Theater, there are a lot of classic gamemodes that have not been confirmed such as oddball and KOTH. With the lose of Splitscreen every bit of content count and given recent trends with shooters, reduction of content is a big concern.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Augh.
Not gonna lie, I wasn't excited about it but lately it was building up and I was about to get an Xbone...
Then I got let go and getting a new console falls firmly into the "things-I-shouldn't-do" folder.
Anyway.
I hadn't seen the Blue team intro until now, not as cool as Team Locke's intro but still kinda cool.
I thought it was kinda funny when the airlock was starting to suck them back out.

*Crash* "Alright, let's do this." *airlock* "Hey, wait a second!"

And you know, watching the Locked intro again, The Avengers theme started playing in my head during the fight.
Just sayin'.
Bye-bye.

 

[Mutant1988]

You mean that game that removed the splitscreen feature that has been a staple of the series since the very first installment.

Nah, never heard of it.

 

[Foolery]

And you know, watching the Locked intro again, The Avengers theme started playing in my head during the fight.
Just sayin'.
Bye-bye.

Yup, it is very Avengers-esque. I don't mind. Blue Team is less flashy, still a fun cinematic. Thematically, 343 is all about showing contrast between the two. Even in the music, Blue Team had a classic theme, and Osiris a new one. Honestly, you're not missing out much with Xbone. Halo. That's it. And Gears, I guess.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Fred! Linda! Kelly!

*swipes two fingers across face*

I'll admit it, seeing that Blue Team trailer stirred my inner old-school Halo fanboy. I remember reading The Fall of Reach as a teenager and fervently hoping John's squadmates would make an appearance in one of the Bungie games. Seeing (and hearing!) them in action like this almost makes me want to dive back into the series again. Almost.

 

[Hawki]

I've got one word, and one word only for Halo 5 - "meh."

Yes, I'm jaded. I never saw a need for the series to continue post-Reach. I don't like 343's take on the universe (subjective, I know). Halo 4 I found to be mediocre in both story and gameplay, and stands as my second least favorite Halo game. And everything I've seen of Halo 5 so far...well, "meh." Blue Team is nice and all, but them being in the game doesn't mean anything to me - they were fine in the novels, but I'd argue that a lot of the charm in the Halo games came from being on one's lonesome as much as being allied, as it could capture both epic scale and isolation rather well (Halo 2 and 3 are both good examples of this). Osiris is a bunch of unknowns - yes, they've been fleshed out in EU works, but I've fallen behind in that realm since 343 took over. I'll give Halo 5 credit in that unlike Halo 4, the path its story will take isn't obvious, but again, I ask myself, did this story need telling? And the gameplay, while not bad, doesn't generate any excitement from me.

I've pre-ordered Halo 5, much to my shame, admittedly. And if Halo 5 is good, if Halo 5 is the best damn Halo game there is, I'll be the first to admit it. But in all honesty, I'm not counting on it.

 

[Cold Shiny]

Halo's splitscreen is literally the only reason the xbox even continued past the original. Its the only reason Microsoft stayed in the game industry.



But yeah, let's get rid of it.

 

[Zhukov]

Meeeeeeh.

Really not feeling it. Maybe those videos were just unlucky choices, but the action looked sluggish and dull and shooting looked utterly average. The four player co-op made things feel oddly crowded. Besides, watching people bunny hopping and mock-meleeing each other in an elevator is not what I picture of when I think of a Halo campaign.

Eh, I dunno. Maybe I'm being overly harsh. My opinion doesn't matter anyway, since I don't have an XboxOne and don't intend to buy one. But as someone with fond memories of the first Halo game, this leaves me utterly unimpressed.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Halo's splitscreen is literally the only reason the xbox even continued past the original. Its the only reason Microsoft stayed in the game industry.



But yeah, let's get rid of it.

They got rid of split screen because you can't maintain 60FPS with split screen. 343i and Microsoft required that the game run at 60FPS at all times no matter the mode, and you'd have to sacrifice way too much in order to make that work for split screen. Split screen is such an unused feature in modern gaming it's not a surprise it got cut.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Well personally Halo 2 was the last one I ever really enjoyed as 3 pretty much killed the series for me even if I could appreciate things reach did.

So yeah Halo 5 I really dont care much tbh. I was unaware they had removed splitscreen however but that is going to kill it for a lot of people I know especially one friend who plays pretty much all his shooters splitscreen (never plays em alone as he does not get much enjoyment out of them apparently). Online just is not the same as couch coop and deathmatch.

It will be hard to tell how it effects sales though and the longevity of the game. Personally I think they should have scaled the detail more to allow splitscreen 60 fps just to at least give people the option.

I must also add in order to put my view in a bit more perspective that I have not really enjoyed many FPS since Halo 2 I have just been mega burned out on them tbh.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Also, if you're going to put up Halo 5, put up what everyone is really coming for; multiplayer.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Well I'm excited for it. I'm planning to get a Xbox One once they get that backward compatibility up and running, and this game is first on my list to pick up. I loved Blue Team's intro. Locke's team was all flash, and while it certainly looked impressive, it really did come off as, "We're the newer, cooler, better Spartans! Look at how awesome we are! Those old guys have nothing on us!"

And then Blue Team's video came out, and it just shut Locke and his team down cold. No show boating. No flashy tricks. Just get in, get the job, and go. Their actions were miles above the other team.

 

[Kiardras]

Really want it, I freaking love halo. I don't know why, I accept its not the greatest set of games in the world, but I love them. The campaigns, the story, the setting, I just love it.

That said, I ain't buying a console thats so inferior to my pc just for one game. Its not worth the money. I'll either have to wait and pray it comes for PC, or something.

 

[Foolery]

Also, if you're going to put up Halo 5, put up what everyone is really coming for; multiplayer.

Eh, I'm primarily a campaign player. Haven't cared much for the multiplayer since 2, when I lugged the original ol' tank Xbox to my friend's house for lan games. Warzone looks promising though. Kind of a Firefight/Big Team Battle hybrid.

Well I'm excited for it. I'm planning to get a Xbox One once they get that backward compatibility up and running, and this game is first on my list to pick up. I loved Blue Team's intro. Locke's team was all flash, and while it certainly looked impressive, it really did come off as, "We're the newer, cooler, better Spartans! Look at how awesome we are! Those old guys have nothing on us!"

And then Blue Team's video came out, and it just shut Locke and his team down cold. No show boating. No flashy tricks. Just get in, get the job, and go. Their actions were miles above the other team.

Spartan IV's always felt kinda dudebroish to me, essentially marines with an armour upgrade. Though it was Jun from Reach who started recruiting them along with another Spartan II. I'm looking forward to the interactions with Chief and Blue Team, they're essentially his family.

 

[Hades]

The Halo games are the modern shooters I respect the most. I never agreed with people lumping it in with Call of Duty.

That said I just don't respect Halo 5 at all. The game now represents something I find wrong with modern games, the erasure of splitscreen for no good reason. Online is just not a replacement for splitscreen. Playing online with people you never met is a very different experience then going through the whole campaign with your brother. Why should one be sacrificed for the other? As someone who rarely played Halo online I would happily ditch it for Co-op.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Well I'm excited for it. I'm planning to get a Xbox One once they get that backward compatibility up and running, and this game is first on my list to pick up. I loved Blue Team's intro. Locke's team was all flash, and while it certainly looked impressive, it really did come off as, "We're the newer, cooler, better Spartans! Look at how awesome we are! Those old guys have nothing on us!"

And then Blue Team's video came out, and it just shut Locke and his team down cold. No show boating. No flashy tricks. Just get in, get the job, and go. Their actions were miles above the other team.

Spartan IV's always felt kinda dudebroish to me, essentially marines with an armour upgrade. Though it was Jun from Reach who started recruiting them along with another Spartan II. I'm looking forward to the interactions with Chief and Blue Team, they're essentially his family.

Agreed. Palmer's reaction to meeting the Chief summed up everything about them in my opinion. "I thought you'd be taller." She doesn't say it in an awe sense, or a sense of respect, or anything. She says it in a condescending way, like, "Yeah, I know you were important, but you're just last year's model now." I mean, she just met a living legend, the person that made the Spartans into legends, and I might point out someone everyone until that moment thought was DEAD, and her first reaction is to be snarky.
That says a lot about the Spartan IVs in my eyes. Buck seems to be the only one who still respects Master Chief.

 

[Foolery]

The Halo games are the modern shooters I respect the most. I never agreed with people lumping it in with Call of Duty.

That said I just don't respect Halo 5 at all. The game now represents something I find wrong with modern games, the erasure of splitscreen for no good reason. Online is just not a replacement for splitscreen. Playing online with people you never met is a very different experience then going through the whole campaign with your brother. Why should one be sacrificed for the other? As someone who rarely played Halo online I would happily ditch it for Co-op.

Can't disagree with you there, newer games on newer hardware with less features than their predecessors is a gaming tragedy. But I can also see why it might not be a big deal to some. I have a difficult time getting people together in one room to play video games. Regardless, the option should definitely be in there. I don't really like the excuse of "Well, it's to maintain graphic fidelity"; I'd take a hit on the graphics to keep features that have been a defining part of the series.

It does look good but I don't have a Xbox one and don't game enough nought to justify getting one. Still I can dream.

One thing I noticed about a advert for it though, it was one of those cool lime action ones they do and it had a news report on the death of Master Chief. In previous cannon Spartans were never reported as dead, always MIA, when did that change?

Oh, ever since the Office of Naval Intelligence needed propaganda to keep the colonies in line and to cover up any unsanctioned operations they might be running. ONI has never strictly been the good guys. As a quick example, the SPARTAN-II's were originally designed to fight insurrectionists.