Post by Blade Runner 07 on Jan 1, 2015 20:35:56 GMT -5
First off I just want you to know that I'm a bit of a Halo purist. I think it was at it's best as the Original Halo Trilogy. That was when it was still an arena shooter that was balanced and refined with each new game.
Gameplay:
Lets get the elephant in the living room out of the way. The ADS doesn't break the game, it just drastically changes it. Because despite what they said during the gameplay reveal, ADS DOES improve accuracy and THAT, to me, is deal breaking. Thats right folks. I'm sorry to shock you with this news but Halo 5 is essentially the Goldeneye Reloaded of the franchise. It plays at revisiting the series roots in the days of Halo 2 and gives you Call of Duty: Tank Armored Space Marines. Even the default control scheme is modeled after the default controls of COD, going as far as to map the scope to the left trigger. It makes for a mishmash experience that feels more like a cheap COD clone than Halo we know. Still no duel wielding as far as I can tell either. The menus and interface are bland and restricting too. Between games you cant do anything besides stare at the roster of guys your playing with. They make the 3D flashcard roster viewing in COD: Advanced Warfare look like legit advancement in the genre. In Halo 5 when your between matchmaking games you cant back out without leaving the party and to see your stats or anything of the sort. You are forced to just stare at a roster as another game is loading up. I know it's just a beta but judging by the condition of the beta, it's gonna take every minute they have to to make this game look impressive by the end of this year.
When you get right down to it, Halo 5 feels like a natural evolution away from Halo 4 and by that I mean, there is nothing I recognize from the heyday of the series. Whether you think that was ten years ago, five years ago, or today, this games feels vastly different from the early Halo games and as I observed with Halo 4, in Halo 5 everything just looks too clean and feels synthetic. I'll explain that.
Graphics:
Still, this engine hasn't evolved to cater to things that would make this either feel like old Halo, or next gen. The devils in the details and the fact that there are none, is really off-putting. I would say 90% of the surfaces in these levels don't show bullet holes, nothing done in the maps effects lighting and the style of everything just looks generic and uninspired. It's just bland like were playing in some isolated, static world. I know it's supposed to be a Wargames Simulator, but it's friggin Xbox One. I think if they can build an advanced A.I. like Cortana, they can find a way to simulate better than this. These levels are boring. Really, this is making Halo as a series look like a stupid space-man paintball fight, instead of the story inspired (but not recycled ala Reach) maps that made you wonder about their story and it's secrets.
Customization:
The armor customization is worse than ever too, when in previous games you could customize your avatars head, chest, arms, legs, visor, and color, Now the level of customization is cut in half. In previous games it was always fun to unlock new armor for in-game accomplishments but now I don't see any incentive to play other than for more experience towards your rank.
Sound:
Hell, even the announcer guy is starting to sound like less of a raspy-voiced space marine and more like a game show host. Speaking of in-game sound. The best thing about it is the menu music. They have pushed so hard to make all these battle sounds to come off as heavy and powerful that it's hard to really distinguish the details and it just becomes noise. Then you have the COD style radio-in when weapons respawn on the map and the constant chatter from your teammates avatar telling you their reloading or commenting on the close call they had. Never mind the actual chatter coming from the mics of other people in the game.
Overall:
I guess coming off of the Master Chief Collection into this is a bit jarring. This is 343 industries Halo, not Bungies, and it's apparent that any Bungie DNA that maybe found it's way into Halo 4 is all but washed out in Halo 5. This is not Halo! I just don't see Halo being relevant in 5 year when Halo Reach Anniversary arrives. Even for that game, sales will be lower than expected. I know Microsofts going to throw alot of money at Mountain Dew, Doritos, and Burger King to try and keep Halo in the public conscience on launch day but something tells me nobody's going to care accept the Halo lifers that have statues of Master Chief in their house.
Gameplay:
Lets get the elephant in the living room out of the way. The ADS doesn't break the game, it just drastically changes it. Because despite what they said during the gameplay reveal, ADS DOES improve accuracy and THAT, to me, is deal breaking. Thats right folks. I'm sorry to shock you with this news but Halo 5 is essentially the Goldeneye Reloaded of the franchise. It plays at revisiting the series roots in the days of Halo 2 and gives you Call of Duty: Tank Armored Space Marines. Even the default control scheme is modeled after the default controls of COD, going as far as to map the scope to the left trigger. It makes for a mishmash experience that feels more like a cheap COD clone than Halo we know. Still no duel wielding as far as I can tell either. The menus and interface are bland and restricting too. Between games you cant do anything besides stare at the roster of guys your playing with. They make the 3D flashcard roster viewing in COD: Advanced Warfare look like legit advancement in the genre. In Halo 5 when your between matchmaking games you cant back out without leaving the party and to see your stats or anything of the sort. You are forced to just stare at a roster as another game is loading up. I know it's just a beta but judging by the condition of the beta, it's gonna take every minute they have to to make this game look impressive by the end of this year.
When you get right down to it, Halo 5 feels like a natural evolution away from Halo 4 and by that I mean, there is nothing I recognize from the heyday of the series. Whether you think that was ten years ago, five years ago, or today, this games feels vastly different from the early Halo games and as I observed with Halo 4, in Halo 5 everything just looks too clean and feels synthetic. I'll explain that.
Graphics:
Still, this engine hasn't evolved to cater to things that would make this either feel like old Halo, or next gen. The devils in the details and the fact that there are none, is really off-putting. I would say 90% of the surfaces in these levels don't show bullet holes, nothing done in the maps effects lighting and the style of everything just looks generic and uninspired. It's just bland like were playing in some isolated, static world. I know it's supposed to be a Wargames Simulator, but it's friggin Xbox One. I think if they can build an advanced A.I. like Cortana, they can find a way to simulate better than this. These levels are boring. Really, this is making Halo as a series look like a stupid space-man paintball fight, instead of the story inspired (but not recycled ala Reach) maps that made you wonder about their story and it's secrets.
Customization:
The armor customization is worse than ever too, when in previous games you could customize your avatars head, chest, arms, legs, visor, and color, Now the level of customization is cut in half. In previous games it was always fun to unlock new armor for in-game accomplishments but now I don't see any incentive to play other than for more experience towards your rank.
Sound:
Hell, even the announcer guy is starting to sound like less of a raspy-voiced space marine and more like a game show host. Speaking of in-game sound. The best thing about it is the menu music. They have pushed so hard to make all these battle sounds to come off as heavy and powerful that it's hard to really distinguish the details and it just becomes noise. Then you have the COD style radio-in when weapons respawn on the map and the constant chatter from your teammates avatar telling you their reloading or commenting on the close call they had. Never mind the actual chatter coming from the mics of other people in the game.
Overall:
I guess coming off of the Master Chief Collection into this is a bit jarring. This is 343 industries Halo, not Bungies, and it's apparent that any Bungie DNA that maybe found it's way into Halo 4 is all but washed out in Halo 5. This is not Halo! I just don't see Halo being relevant in 5 year when Halo Reach Anniversary arrives. Even for that game, sales will be lower than expected. I know Microsofts going to throw alot of money at Mountain Dew, Doritos, and Burger King to try and keep Halo in the public conscience on launch day but something tells me nobody's going to care accept the Halo lifers that have statues of Master Chief in their house.