Understanding the Hype

Halo has always been a divisive title that carried with it nostalgia and greatness.  These games flourished under their original creator — Bungee Studios — and Halo was made the official poster child of the Xbox, propelling it to new heights. 

Halo became a pop culture icon of the early 2000s. It has the ability to capture an audience with marvelous use of tone, gameplay, and story. Now that I said that, please understand that there will be two sides to this review: One for Halo fans and the other one for non-Halo fans (or those new to the series). This article is directed towards Halo fans.

The cardboard chronicle

For veterans of the franchise and those without any experience, I must note that the campaign is very depressing, not because of some powerful storytelling, but because I can say with certainty that it’s not good. Please keep in mind that I am restricting myself to school-appropriate language or else this would be a lot more hate-driven and expressive. 

In any case, why is that? 

Well, first off I hold many cherished memories of this game. However, it kind of lacks in the story department and the characters are so flat they put rulers to shame. There is seriously nothing substantive inside these characters. In the Halo franchise, there have always been memorable lines. 

I must say there is very little that is remarkable. I think there is one memorable line in Halo 5 compared to the previous games that had a memorable line every five sentences.

The story follows Master Chief as he “goes rouge” after his first mission. Then, Spartan Lock tries to capture him and bring him back. 

In this version of the review, you will notice that I have been comparing this game to its predecessors; that is because I think that Halo 5 is a great game, but a horrible Halo game compared to the rest. 

The campaign has very little sustenance.  It was a good idea with horrendously bad execution.

However, I must give credit that the gameplay is actually really fun. I think that the Developers drifted a little bit too far towards advanced movement with Halo 5, which is very controversial in Halo.

I definitely think they were trying to replicate Titanfall, and not Halo, which was popular at the time. This goes to show you should never sell out your identity. 

The multiplayer flows well, and the amount of options the game provides (in terms of making your own maps) is incredible — dare I say the best forge mode yet — making it the best map creator on consoles. 

I do think that Halo 5 did an above-average job of appealing to different types of Halo players.

In conclusion, I give it: 

My advice: Do not buy this now. Wait for Infinite which launches in December.

Stay tuned for a review in January.