Halo 5: It Both Exceeds and Fails to Live Up to Expectations

Halo 5: It Both Exceeds and Fails to Live Up to Expectations

Griffin Gudaitis '18, Staff Writer

The Halo universe is one of the largest in all of gaming. With more than a dozen games and books written about it, the franchise establishes itself at the forefront of the Xbox consoles. Halo 5 has improved upon things that other Halo games have left out. Halo 5 is also one of the best feeling games of the Halo franchise; however, the campaign is dry, and I could hardly empathize with the characters.

Hands down, the combat system is great in Halo 5. The new game features new armor abilities that give players the ability to climb walls and evade incoming fire. Also, the creators of the series included new games modes such as War Zone where 20 players are thrown against each other head to head. Not only are the 20 players fighting with a plethora of new, highly polished gadgets, but there are enemies from the campaign incorporated into the new game mode. If a team is able to defeat those computer enemies, the team gains points, which the team may use to purchase strong vehicles and/or greater firepower.

The setting of Halo 5 is beautiful. The game really feels like a first gen type game. It flows smoothly with few glitches in multiplayer, and it throws the player right into the action. There are few dull moments in the multiplayer; Halo really outdoes itself in that regard.

The campaign in Halo could use a lot of work. The developers decided to incorporate two protagonists in the campaign. The two protagonists are after each other and, in a sense, both are the anti-hero. I could never get myself attached to Agent Locke, who is the other protagonist of Halo 5 after Master Chief. There is little to no background given about Agent Locke unless you have watched the Netflix series titled “nightfall,” which is the story of Agent Locke and Osiris Fireteam.

The story is dry for Halo 5, and I was not sure what direction the developers wanted to take the game. Sure, they created a great game to play, but it does not have as much substance as the other games do. In Halo 4, the creators made a game with a compelling story and a great multiplayer that is fast-paced and fun to play. Halo 4 is perhaps the best ever Halo game because the player sees the emotional side of the Master Chief. Halo 5 fails to live up to the barometer that Halo 4 had set for the Reclamation trilogy (Halo 4, 5, and 6). At no point in the campaign was I as interested in the past campaigns. I felt that the campaign failed to live up to expectations, and the creators should take some serious steps in order to make sure the next Halo game continues the exceptional story that is the Halo video game franchise. The entire campaign of Halo 5 is eight hours total with only 45 minutes of cutscenes. Compared to the other Halo campaigns, this campaign is too short. Also, the game features teammates who accompany you through the entire campaign. At many points in the campaign, I became frustrated with the bots because they made such irrational decisions of which I could not even fathom. If the main player is down, the AI bots make it their automatic priority to come and revive you (the main player). When the bots come to aid the main character, they completely disregard their surroundings including whether or not an enemy is about to vaporize them.

Overall, I would give Halo 5 a rating of an 8 or less. The multiplayer gameplay is great, and I became fully engaged in the new, polished gamemode called Warzone. However, I could not overcome the disappointment that the campaign rendered me with. I highly recommend new players to the Halo franchise to completely disregard the campaign and to just go straight to the multiplayer. Otherwise, if you want to spend your money on a campaign that does not fail to live to expectations, go buy Halo 4. That version is the best Halo I’ve played and possibly the best video game I have ever played.