Halo 5 Guardians 8 years later...

[LITTLE LEVEL]

I recently felt a sudden urge to replay the Halo 5 campaign and though Halo 5 was so different that it could pass as its own separate game, I am surprised to say the game is still fun. So I thought I would review the state of Halo 5 Guardians 8 years later.

Customization: 

Halo 5 had a pretty bad customization system that is easily surpassed by Halo reach, Halo 3, and Halo 4. With only the option to change your helmet, armor, and color there was not much variety and even though it probably had the most customization items in any Halo it was lacking in actually good armor. I heard jokes about people saying Halo 5 spartans looked like power rangers and they were correct BUT Halo 5 did have some of the best Halo helmets of all time in my opinion. The Heliosgrill helmet was actually really cool and I still don't have that helmet today, The achilles helmet was sought after and cool looking, the Nightfall armor set was a cool twist on ODST armor, and there were other really good helmets. Overall the customization was a downgrade from 4 but it had some pretty amazing armors and helmets.

Req Packs:

The infamous req packs. A loot-box system in Halo was hated and yet 343 made so much money. In my opinion having almost all customization items be locked behind chance really took away the feeling of accomplishment of getting an armor. I didn't mind them putting weapons and vehicles in there but having customization items in there really took away the experience of unlocking a armor by beating a challenge or grinding to get a currency to buy it.

Weapons and advance movement:

Halo 5's weapons were unlike any Halo and yet they were really fun. Weapons like the plasma caster, Incineration Cannon, and the pistol were just a few good weapons added in Halo 5. Every weapon was fun to use and had a great feeling to it. Some weapons like the suppressor were terrible but I mean it can't be perfect. I honestly think Halo 5 had the best pistol in the franchise just because it was the most balanced. Now about the advanced movement. A lot of people didn't really like this addition but it actually made the game really fun. If you think Halo 5 had the best movement of any Halo at the time and it made the game movement based. The boost was any amazing way to get out off dodge and pull of a couple of shots without getting hit. The shoulder charge and Ground pound were really fun to use and made combat really fun. Now I know people hated Halo 5 movement but I personally loved it.

Campaign:

The campaign probably had the worst story in all of the Halo franchise. Master Chief in need of a savior and being an emotional wreck was not really a good fit for him. Fireteam Osiris was really terrible (other than buck and maybe lock) and the story felt all over the place. To get the full story reading the books explained a lot of the plot holes and that made the story a little hard to follow. The gameplay itself was fun but the story wasn't great. 

Warzone:

Warzone was actually really fun and added a cool twist on firefight. Warzone Firefight was my favorite version of Warzone. The req system was cool because it let you call in vehicles and weapons which spiced up firefight. The bosses made the game feel less repetitive. Overall I think Warzone is the superior firefight.

Forge:

Halo 5 forge was at the time the best Halo forge in the franchise. Coding in the game made maps more unique and tons of special game modes that didn't always have to be weapon based. The prefab system made sharing props so much easier and allowed for multiple creators to use props made by other creators. Also instead of having building pieces seem plain like reach there was tons of unique pieces you could use to build you map. Then the terrain building allowed for uniquely shaped maps. Lastly the weapon mixing glitch that was left in the game was amazing and made the game fun. AR's that shot grenades and shotguns that shot rockets made for some interesting gameplay. I am honestly glad 343 left that glitch in.

In Conclusion:

Halo 5 was hated or disliked by a lot of people and I have to agree there was a lot of flaws but I feel like a lot of people were blinded by the fact that it wasn't really like Halo. Yes Halo 5 was nothing like the other Halos but the game was really fun. The game had so many unique features and so many things were better then they were in other Halos. I think though my favorite part of Halo 5 was the experience though. Some of my best memories on Halo were made there. I made many friends because of Halo 5 and I continue to game with some of them today. Overall Halo 5 still holds up today even after 8 years.

[Recon Ryan]

Halo 5 was my third Halo game and I personally think it's better than some other Halo games. I see all the flaws and other things but I loved the way most armors looked and how you could intertwine armors and helmets. Sure it lacked total construction of suits but Infinite has a way worse way of getting literally anything.

Having to buy everything in Halo Infinite for customization is a big turn off. I have to buy the Pilot Helmet with the rest of the unnecessary armor pieces for $20ish bucks. If it were a system that I could buy the singular thing for $5 then I can get behind it. At least in Halo 5 I could play any game mode (outside Custom) and get points to get more armor.

In my opinion, Halo 5 was a great game! The campaign in 2015 had missions that were taken out a few months afterward and it made me a little upset because it added more things to do. I see why people don't like the campaign and I myself don't like it, nevertheless, it's still fun.

I wish more people played it now because it seems that I'm the only person doing ranked and the only UNSC/ONI Personal in the customs. I agree, people leaving and lagging others out isn't great, on older consoles. I know, people abusing the trait system (Deathless) and glitched weapons were not fun. Nonetheless, I sought after competitiveness in the game because there were many types of players and skill levels that really put skill into playing.

The Warzone mode was my favorite part of the game. You could go against other players for points or just eliminate A.I. for 5 waves and get massive amounts of potentially unnecessary XP and Req points. The Mythic extra was a great addition by adding skulls to Legendary enemies for a great challenge and more meaningless XP.

I see why people hate it but it's definitely Top 5 and maybe even Top 3 for me. I can't wait for more additions to Halo Infinite and the new Halo fan game: Branching Sickness!