Home Gaming What the first three missions of Halo 5: Guardians say about the rest of the game

What the first three missions of Halo 5: Guardians say about the rest of the game

3 min read
4

Halo 5: Guardians Preview Header

Halo 5: Guardians is just over a week away, and reviews should start pouring in around this time next week. Most press around the world already have their hands on the game though, and we’re one of the few that have managed to actually get through the entire campaign already. Although we’re not at liberty to talk about any of that yet, I am able to talk about some of the various changes that Halo 5 is bringing to the series – most of which are on show in the game’s opening levels.

If it sounds like I’m holding things back, it’s because I am. So don’t worry about any spoilers for the campaign here, because there aren’t any. Partly because I’m not allowed to talk about them, but mostly because nothing really happens in the first three missions of Halo 5’s campaign.

Halo 5 kicks off with a rather entertaining first mission featuring Spartan Locke and his Osiris team of four. Locke is, if you haven’t been paying attention, a new protagonist that you’ll control throughout the campaign, with the story switching between him and the iconic Master Chief from time to time. Having a team with you opens up the game to co-op – a feature we haven’t yet been able to test but one that Halo 5 seems to like a lot.

It’s plain to see in the levels you’re dumped in, with the first three featuring rather well designed paths that fluctuate between narrowly dangerous walkways to breathing open spaces for you all to split up and cause chaos. Glassed – the third mission with Locke and his team – is a particularly pleasant throwback to the almost sandbox areas that the series so wonderfully forces on you, with a variety of vehicles and weapons to suit any sort of engagement.

Halo 5 Guardians Preview 1

The story jumps between Chief and Locke at certain times, although this has no impact on the way the game plays. Despite being generations apart in Spartan Suit hardware, Locke and Chief both have the staple shield, regenerating health and Spartan abilities at their disposal. If it wasn’t for Chief’s helmet taking up an abnormal amount of screen space, I’d struggle to tell the difference.

The gameplay is as fluid as Halo has been yet, and echoes the thoughts I had with the beta earlier this year. Spartans can now sprint, do short little boost dashes in any direction and even hover in mid-air if you choose to aim down the sight mid-jump. This applies to every single weapon now too, although any direct enemy fire will immediately pop you out of ADS and into hip-fire. So it still feels like Halo, but with a few tweaks that let the gameplay flow in a manner that has been missing in the past.

Halo 5 Guardians Preview 2

That’s just from the first three levels though, which themselves felt like oddly slow burners for something far greater waiting ahead. It was a little disconcerting that almost nothing is explained from the get go, with introductions to both Osiris and Blue squads falling into the lap of lore players, I assume, are meant to seek out for themselves. Not narrative breaking yet, but not exactly too welcoming either.

But it’s only a fifth of what Halo 5 has to offer in its campaign so far, and still only a single component of what 343 Industries is no doubt hoping will become a big player in the eSports scene. We’ll have access to the multiplayer and co-op later this week to keep you updated, with the final review dropping this time next week Monday. Until then, it’s good to take away the fact that Halo 5: Guardians, despite the changes, still feels like Halo in play. It just feels a little bit more polished for a change.

Last Updated: October 19, 2015

4 Comments

  1. The first 3 missions were “oddly slow burners??”
    From what I’ve seen and from what everyone else has said, they’re anything but slow. Obviously some parts of each mission are more deliberately paced, but that’s how pacing works in a game. You have your quiet exploratory moments and you have your firefights. The entire game isn’t going to be one big Michael Bay non-stop explosion-fest, if that’s what you’re looking for.
    And if you played the previous halo games, I don’t see how the story and introductions would be difficult to follow. it’s called halo 5, obviously, implying it’s a sequel, so you should at least be brushed up on the in-game stories that took place before.
    And Lasky makes it abundantly clear as to why you and your team are on Kamchata and the other colony world. Same goes for the chief mission and his Blue Team.

    Also, it isn’t called ADS in Halo 5 as the spread doesn’t function like more traditional ADS. Might want to brush up on the correct terms before doing a write-up.

    Reply

  2. Pandrew Ance

    October 20, 2015 at 09:12

    sounds a little bit boring to me 🙁

    Reply

  3. Im_On_a_Drug_Called_Charlie_Sh

    October 20, 2015 at 09:20

    That they suck, and so does the rest of the game. By the way I like how 343 are so lame they had to use Nathan Fillion who already does the voice of a character in Destiny. LOL

    Reply

    • Francois Knoetze

      October 21, 2015 at 12:14

      Obvious troll is trolling I see o.O…you know that Nathan Fillion has been part of Halo way before Destiny?? Get you facts straight kid.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Xbox Series X Restock Update Today: Track on Twitter, Walmart, Best Buy and More

New consoles are on the horizon, and while Sony and Microsoft have spoken plenty about wha…