Halo 5 Guardians: Lots of details and in-game material

[Victorious Secret]

 

 

 

 

Well, since gaming news is fair game for this section I figured I would give a fairly popular game a proper news post. Hell, if we're going to have gaming in Tech News, might as well do it right. 

Game Informer got a LOT of details ahead of the E3 reveal, most of which revolved around playing a campaign mission and getting some backstory on the events leading up to Halo 5s storyline. Looks like Blue Team is back (read the books, they're awesome, or go to Halopedia to learn more). There is just so much information that is bulletpointed below:

 

 

Story

- Solo Players accompanied by a team of 3 other Spartans from Blue Team, ability to give basic squad order ala Republic Commando.
- Drop in/Drop Out online coop
- GI played only the second mission titled ‘Blue Team’
- All Spartan abilities available in MP also present in SP
- Second Level ends (GI gets to play only 1/3 of the level, thanks Welfare) with Chief dreaming
- Your teammates can revive you, even in single player.
- You can command them to do a bunch of things such as target specific enemies, pick up specific weapons, use a turret etc.
- There will be multiple ways to complete a mission. In the example you could kill everyone, enable some turrets to help you out, go find a generator and destroy it etc. 
- There will be multiple side routes so it won't be completely linear, as in you can sneak through a vent Deus Ex style and go a different route.
- Locke's team has a Artermis Tracking System (ATS). (Visor mode?)
- Difficulty scales by the Number of Players.
- Chief has to deal with the loss of Cortana fom 4 and the 'ghost of Cortana' in 5
- Has alternate paths in campaign levels
- In coop each player is a different member of Blue Team, and players start with different loadouts, plus the final game will have different huds for each character
- Split screen not supported
- Xbox Live Gold for online co-op not needed.

MP

- Game will launch with over 20 maps (unknown how many are forge variants), their plan is to add 15 more by June 2016
- ALL DLC TO BE FREE
- Empire has been tweaked substantially since the beta
- A brand new underwater map revelead called Fathom, is symmetrical.
- BTB to be revealed at E3, or rather a ‘new epic multiplayer experience’, (please be Battlefield Halo).

 

 

 

 

Halo 5 will launch with 20 maps on disc, 15 more as DLC. But wait, FREE DLC! You heard that right. Free. Free maps. All being launched over a period of 9 or so months. Thats pretty awesome. We will have at least 35 maps for free, who knows how many more. They are also set to reveal a BTB evolved game type. Halo Reach was supposed to have something called "Global War" or something to that effect, maybe 343 is bringing it here. 

 

Battlefield + Halo + Republic Commando squad commands? Yes please. I ain't even mad. I want that. 

 

Below is from GameInformer directly, I recommend you guys go read their article (links are all down below):
 

 

 

You've played the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta. Now it's time to uncover the mysteries behind the story.

We went to 343 Industries to get the first hands-on with Master Chief's campaign. As you can see from the cover imagery, the Chief is now accompanied by the legendary Blue Team in both single-player and four-player co-op. Linda, Fred, and Kelly were abducted when they were six years old alongside John to be turned into Spartan-II super soldiers. This tight-knit squad grew up together and battled through many adventures in the expanded fiction, but this will mark their first significant role in a core Halo game. With the loss of Cortana in Halo 4, Blue Team steps up to interact with Chief, appear in cutscenes, and accept commands from him in single-player. In co-op play, everyone takes on a specific member, each with a different loadout unique to their specialty.

We played an early mission set before Master Chief and Blue Team are declared AWOL by the very military that made them. The flipside of the campaign follows Spartan Jameson Locke, seen in the Halo: Nightfall TV series, as he tracks down Halo's signature hero to bring him in or take him down. Locke recruits a team of his own, Fireteam Osiris, to do the job. This mix of familiar and new faces rounds out the team of high-tech Spartan-IVs, who all come from elite military backgrounds. See if you can spot a returning fan favorite in our coverage trailer below.

Our lengthy hands-on sessions also included plenty of time in the revamped competitive Arena multiplayer. In the cover story, we break down specific changes to the Empire map from last winter's beta and we debut a never-before-seen map called Fathom. This undersea base looks gorgeous and is loaded with all kinds of hidden tricks for experienced players to dig in and discover. 343 also teases a new multiplayer mode never seen in a Halo game before. Read about all this and more in the latest issue of Game Informer.

Halo 5: Guardians is set to release on October 27 on Xbox One.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, some images. I will link more albums but here is a taste. Frankie from 343 confirmed that these are in-game. Not CGI. Pretty damn impressive. Character models have some a long way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

NeoGaf 1 & 2

GameInformer Article

GameInformer Article Scans

GameInformer Images 1 & 2

[Albatross]

I am no fan of Halo but damn does that look good!

 

I think this will be the only Halo game I will attempt to get right off the bat. I really loved Reach and ODST, so here's hoping it is more like that than Halo 4...

[ShadowCaptain]

OOOOH I still need the new consoles. balls

[ZetZet]

Where is the PC version. Microsoft was promising more focus on PC gaming for YEARS now. 

 

Also FPS on PC just makes soooo much more sense.

[Albatross]

Where is the PC version. Microsoft was promising more focus on PC gaming for YEARS now. 

 

Also FPS on PC just makes soooo much more sense.

 

I highly doubt they will bring Halo to the computer. It would kill the Xbox.

[Victorious Secret]

Where is the PC version. Microsoft was promising more focus on PC gaming for YEARS now. 

 

Also FPS on PC just makes soooo much more sense.

 

Because MS doesn't give a shit about putting their multi billion dollar cash cow of a franchise on the PC. Deal with it. Get over it. It will maybe happen a year or two down the line when the game is old, but I doubt MS has any desire to port over their system seller anytime soon. 

 

MS gives you the OS and the APIs and the sandbox to make games. Get over not getting every franchise. It makes PC gaming fanboys sound obscenely petty. MS has plenty of focus on PC gaming.

[Guest]

I highly doubt they will bring Halo to the computer. It would kill the Xbox.

Very true. Those graphics are probably already killing the xbox though

[Albatross]

Very true. Those graphics are probably already killing the xbox though

 

ahaha

 

Maybe so, maybe so.

[cesrai]

Where is the PC version. Microsoft was promising more focus on PC gaming for YEARS now. 

 

Also FPS on PC just makes soooo much more sense.

Yeah cause them making a new API for PCs is not focusing of PC gaming at all /s.

---

Looks like a great game but I wonder how does it feel when playing.

[Victorious Secret]

Yeah cause them making a new API for PCs is not focusing of PC gaming at all /s.

---

Looks like a great game but I wonder how does it feel when playing.

 

Plays great, all things considered. Both under controller and with KBM. But that was last Winter, but I truly doubt the core mechanics have been altered much. The competitive nature of multiplayer felt perfect. 90% of the matches were well matched and made sense, weapon balance needed tweaking (SMG too strong, AR felt like it could snipe people across maps, DMRs scope took up a large amount of screen space). 

 

All in all, I would've paid full MSRP back then to own the game and keep on playing, so anything beyond that is gravy. 

[UnknownEngineer]

I am excited to see this game release, even though I will most likely NEVER play it myself. I am a bit of a halo fan but I am not going to get an XBONE for it, I just hope the game does well.

I am most likely just going to watch a playthrough of it, like I did with halo 4, I just need to find someone other than Tetra Ninja, he is fuking annoying.

And I also hope that Halo online will be at least some what acceptable if it ever reaches the EU market. 

[AlexGoesHigh]

i have to admit, halo 3 was the only reason i bought a 360 back in 08, at the time it was worth every penny, enjoyed the shit out of that game, yeah i also got other games on it to but halo 3 was the only thing that made me bought one, MCC was very close to that but given the launch issues the excitement died rather fast for it, and this is really making me consider to buy a xbone, i swear if the game is as good as this promo material makes it out to be, i'm going to cave in and buy one when i have the money

[cesrai]

Plays great, all things considered. Both under controller and with KBM. But that was last Winter, but I truly doubt the core mechanics have been altered much. The competitive nature of multiplayer felt perfect. 90% of the matches were well matched and made sense, weapon balance needed tweaking (SMG too strong, AR felt like it could snipe people across maps, DMRs scope took up a large amount of screen space). 

 

All in all, I would've paid full MSRP back then to own the game and keep on playing, so anything beyond that is gravy.

Everything below is serious no sarcasm or trolling at all, actually interested.

What did you compare the competitive nature to ??

If the matchmaking is as good as you say then it's great ( their ranking systems seems interesting ).

[werto165]

i have to admit, halo 3 was the only reason i bought a 360 back in 08, at the time it was worth every penny, enjoyed the shit out of that game, yeah i also got other games on it to but halo 3 was the only thing that made me bought one, MCC was very close to that but given the launch issues the excitement died rather fast for it, and this is really making me consider to buy a xbone, i swear if the game is as good as this promo material makes it out to be, i'm going to cave in and buy one when i have the money

Well I will probably get it and I tell ya if it's worth getting mcc and halo 5. Probably won't be a bad game but I've got so used to playing fps games with a keyboard and mouse it's hard to go back.

[Victorious Secret]

Everything below is serious no sarcasm or trolling at all, actually interested.

What did you compare the competitive nature to ??

If the matchmaking is as good as you say then it's great ( their ranking systems seems interesting ).

 

Matchmaking was very good. Tiered ranking system and it rewarded you for more than kills, which matters I think because not everyone on your team is a run and gunning kill earner, but others do get assists and do other things which when you're playing as a team, is very beneficial. So the system seemed fair in how it matched you. 

 

In so far as its competitive nature? It felt like Halo 2 or CS. Equal starts. Everyone on the same starting ground. No one has any distinct advantage with respect to abilities or what not. Everything felt properly paced. Hell, the "Breakout" game type felt like competitive Halo should feel. It just felt 'right'. All the armour abilities originally felt pointless, but they add to and make the fighting even more intense, giving you way more options to deal with other people. Smart players will absolutely trash players who run and gun, which IMHO is how Halo should've always been (Reach and Halo 4 went the opposite way with load outs and weapon drops, that stuff isn't competitive and its too random) 

 

[TopWargamer]

You have no idea how excited I am for this, especially since Blue Team is FINALLY going to be playable in a Halo game. Can't wait to hear more details!

[AlexGoesHigh]

Well I will probably get it and I tell ya if it's worth getting mcc and halo 5. Probably won't be a bad game but I've got so used to playing fps games with a keyboard and mouse it's hard to go back.

Yeah using a controller again for a FPS will be a PITA, though if i go back i don't think ill get annoyed to much, most of the games i played on my 360 were shooters also i'm having some hope MCC will be announced for PC soon given that MS is going to show up on the PC gaming show in E3, but that's just me speculating.

[UnknownEngineer]

Yeah using a controller again for a FPS will be a PITA, though if i go back i don't think ill get annoyed to much, most of the games i played on my 360 were shooters also i'm having some hope MCC will be announced for PC soon given that MS is going to show up on the PC gaming show in E3, but that's just me speculating.

I doubt that MS will ever give PC any ACTUAL halo game, I think they are going to talk about Halo online, if they are going to talk about halo AT ALL.

Think about it, if they so much as mentioned MCC on PC then it would essentially kill Halo online EVERYWHERE, even Russia.

 

SNIP

That game went really fast, sub 5 minutes for a full game.

[Victorious Secret]

I doubt that MS will ever give PC any ACTUAL halo game, I think they are going to talk about Halo online, if they are going to talk about halo AT ALL.

Think about it, if they so much as mentioned MCC on PC then it would essentially kill Halo online EVERYWHERE, even Russia.

That game went really fast, sub 5 minutes for a full game.

Yup. Breakout was very fast. No shields, no radar, no re spawns. Rarely did I have a round last more than a minute.

[werto165]

Yeah using a controller again for a FPS will be a PITA, though if i go back i don't think ill get annoyed to much, most of the games i played on my 360 were shooters also i'm having some hope MCC will be announced for PC soon given that MS is going to show up on the PC gaming show in E3, but that's just me speculating.

One can dream, Microsoft will be my favorite again if they release both halo and forza games on PC. Forza team have said that they would before but they "would make a game to that platforms strength" probably rules forza 6 out as it's already being advertised as exclusive to xbox one.

[Victorious Secret]

One can dream, Microsoft will be my favorite again if they release both halo and forza games on PC

 

MCC won't be ported because MCC is a coding disaster. The backend on that game is a downright nightmare, and they already cocked up a port to the Xbox One. Porting again to PC, dear god. I don't wish that task for any company. 

 

Halo 5 however? Chance. 

 

Halo Online being released globally? Far more likely. 

[themodernagenb]

You forgot the most important image:

[werto165]

You forgot the most important image:

Omg who is that guy? Im sure I've seen him before.

Damn just realised it's the dude from firefly

[werto165]

MCC won't be ported because MCC is a coding disaster. The backend on that game is a downright nightmare, and they already cocked up a port to the Xbox One. Porting again to PC, dear god. I don't wish that task for any company.

Halo 5 however? Chance.

Halo Online being released globally? Far more likely.

Well if they're touting it as a new competitive fps game I would doubt that they would release it on PC, unless they have options to only play with the other kbm users as I just feel like it's unfairunfa. With the success of counter strike on the pc you would think that they would do some port tho. (sorry for the random words here and there my phone doesn't like the forum placing the cursor left right and centre.

Regarding the mcc aren't they still doing beta patches or something silly and the game is like 3 or so months old

[UnknownEngineer]

Yup. Breakout was very fast. No shields, no radar, no re spawns. Rarely did I have a round last more than a minute.

*small shields* I saw shields flaring in the vid. (on a side note, IIRC the spartans in Halo reach should have had shields like that, only S2's had proper armor W shields)

Regardless I don't think breakout is going to be my game, I want something that lasts ~10min or more, also larger teams. So far H5 beta has only shown 4vs4 game modes. I also want to see if they have something similar to firefight, in ODST it was amazing, I can't remember playing it in reach all that much though...