Halo 5: Guardians is the Halo game we’ve been waiting for since Bungie’s departure.

Here is our review!

Compact, efficient storytelling gives us both epic adventures and intimate tales throughout.

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I wont spoil any part of the story for you that hasnt already been established in trailers.

Here lies the games biggest strength and weakness.

I found the teams chatter highly entertaining, carried in a big part by Nathan Fillions Buck.

He really is the standout Spartan, the only one that has any real personality.

But wait, I was talking about Locke.

Well, Locke really isnt that much different to Master Chiefthe stoic soldier determined to get the job done.

Locke is quiet for the most part, except with shouting orders to his teammates.

And when the mission is finally complete after about an 8-hour campaign, hes quickly pushed off stage.

Not that Chiefs portrayal in this game is much better.

Hes ever the quiet protagonist, nodding at his teammates during cutscenes or just standing there like a badass.

But we never hear his thoughts about a plot that should uniquely affect him.

Thats why Locke and the rest of Osiris perspectives are so important to the plot.

Its important to point out that you also spend a lot of time playing detective in this game.

When youre not shooting bad guys, youre looking for clues all over the battlefield and Forerunner structures.

The same goes for little hub sections that allow you to interact with NPCs for clues.

It almost felt like 343 was dipping its toe in RPG gameplay, but only for a second.

New thruster abilities are fun, but a bit unnecessary.

Guns, grenades, and melee are still king.

Theres also an interesting ground pound ability that I may have used all of one time.

Enemy AI has improved, especially when it comes to Prometheans.

Taking them down is very rewarding.

In contrast, friendly AI needs a bit of work.

Really, youre much better off driving that Warthog than letting Vale get you killed.

It doesnt help that button commands severly lack complexity.

Maybe some Go loud and Stay low commands wouldve helped or some kind of flanking command.

Maybe a team grenade attack.

Something more could have been done to fully implement this system.

Overall, Im happy that this game has finally added squad commands to the series, though.

And I absolutely never want that to change.

One change that survived fromHalo 4is sprinting, and thats great.

Im really excited to shoot more things in the coming weeks.

Going from point A to B, while mowing waves of enemies down, has never felt so good.

And its nice to return to a game where storytelling comes first and gameplay second.

We live in a time where checklist gameplay is all the rage.

ButHalo 5: Guardiansis here to keep the storytelling tradition alive, and boy, Im glad it is.

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Rating:

4 out of 5