Top 10 New Features in Halo 5: Guardians
Three years after the return of Master Chief in Halo 4, Xbox gamers are ramping up for
343's second addition to the Halo series.
Welcome to the skilled channel and today we're looking at Halo 5.
The Didact may have been defeated, but we know Covenant rebels and Promethean warriors
are teaming up for something that can't be good � and Chief has gone missing, along
with the remaining Spartan II's of Blue Team.
It's up to Fireteam Osiris to track down the UNSC's hero, but both teams are in for plenty
of plot twists.
Meanwhile, the Halo multiplayer experience has doubled-down on previous successes and
taken inspiration from other gaming franchises.
Are you excited yet?
Here's the top 10 new features we're most looking forward to:
No. 10: Master Chief's Fireteam.
We know he's a hero who can do it all alone, but sometimes it's nice to have him work with
people who aren't going to get eaten by the Flood or blasted away by the latest Forerunner
assault working alongside you.
And with this being our first real post-Cortana experience with the Chief, we'll get to see
how he develops as both a person and a soldier in his tactics while working alongside Blue
Team.
This will be the first time players consistently get to be Master Chief and work in a team
setting with the same squadmates.
Might come in handy when deciding to play through a mission on legendary...except they
can actually get taken out and you'll have revive them, bringing us to the next point.
No. 9: Revives.
Similar to what many Destiny players know, if you or your teammates take too damage damage,
there is now a small window of opportunity to revive them and get that firepower back
in the battle immediately.
There is still the ability to respawn teammates while hiding in a safe location just like
previous Halo titles, but the ability to revive downed squadmates brings a risk and reward
scenario into each battle that may determine if you end up relying on that last checkpoint
you passed five minutes ago.
No. 8: Infinite sprint.
If you just said �Finally� when you heard about sprinting, then you're not alone.
Halo 5 is the first in the franchise to make it standard instead of a limited ability or
being unable to sprint at all.
Games in general have made this an expected feature, with Call of Duty leading the way,
and Halo 5 delivers on this expectation.
One catch, though: Your shields won't recharge while you sprint, so you'll have to be able
to run and hide to get your defenses back up.
No. 7: New thruster packs.
It looks like these packs may be standard in arena modes, but now instead of providing
just an extra boost in the air, they can also push you side-to-side to give you more lateral
ability.
If you're looking to make any sort of assault, then quickly tap-dancing your way past enemy
fire using these boosters will make your day.
No. 6: Four-player co-op.
Following in the footsteps of rival Call of Duty, for the first time you'll be able to
take on the campaign with three of your best friends at once via Xbox Live.
But as Josh Holmes, 343's Studio Head noted on his Halo: Waypoint developer's blog, you
don't need all three friends to play co-op.
The campaign is built so each of your three squadmates are AI-controlled, and replaced
with friends whenever they jump into your mission.
Or jump out.
343 plans to have dedicated servers for these co-op missions in an effort to create the
smoothest experience possible.
You'll always have four active squad members and the mission can continue, even if one
of your friend's connections drops off in the middle.
No. 5: Two stories.
Halo veterans have primarily enjoyed whatever crazy-odds endeavor Master Chief is undertaking,
but have also played in the shoes of the Arbiter and an ODST in first-person experiences.
While Halo 2 gave us a chance to play as another main character, the newest installment will
carry that theme throughout the campaign, providing a stark difference from previous
titles.
Players work through the story of both Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris in different missions.
They'll go back and forth between the two squads while playing through the campaign,
providing two distinctly-different team and mission experiences within the same overarching
story until the story arcs come colliding together.
If there's a potential Spartan vs. Spartan throwdown waiting for us, then that only gets
us more pumped to find out what happens.
No. 4: Squad commands.
Mass Effect and Ghost Recon may have showcased the art of putting your squad in a position
to succeed, but Halo 5 brings it to the forefront.
Using real-time commands allows you to send AI teammates to revive others, attack specific
targets, move into a particular area, and more.
This represents a new set of tactics you can choose to take advantage of while progressing
through the campaign.
No. 3: Requisition cards.
You know you were tired of camping where the Mantis would spawn three minutes from now,
hoping to hold out long enough to snatch it and turn the game in your team's favor.
Now, you can bring in your own Mantis...or tank...or banshee....or even weapon of choice
once you do well enough on the battlefield to unlock the chance.
Requisition card packs will give you weapons and vehicles that you can summon from terminals
within the game, and you'll be able to bring them to the front lines once you've leveled
your requisition level within each individual game.
The better you're doing in the match, the more options you'll have available to call
in.
The best part is while someone is getting their first sniper rifle, another could be
firing up a rocket launcher or energy sword.
It's all up to each individual player's preferences and available cards at the unlocked requisition
level.
The longer the game goes on, the stronger the weapons and vehicles you'll see, providing
a more intense experience as the match moves towards it's end.
Let's be honest, it's always an encouraging sign when the game devs � in this case,
Chris Lee, 343's Director of Production, says �No more fighting for that one spot on the
map where the scorpion tank spawns � now I bring my scorpion tank in with me in my
req collection.� There's more details on the making of Warzone on the Halo Waypoint
site.
No. 2: Awesome beatdowns.
Sure, it's nice sneaking up behind your buddy and cracking his back while laughing, or shooting
him a couple of times before smacking him down.
But now, you can ram a multiplayer opponent with Shoulder Charge � potentially one-shotting
him if he isn't paying attention � or pound the ever-loving crap out of him with Ground
Slam.
You know you'll be smiling the first time your friends yells in surprise because you
took him out in style.
No. 1: Warzone.
As 343 Industries' Creative Director Tim Longo says, Warzone, Halo 5's brand new multiplayer
experience, is aimed at combining all of the best aspects of Halo into one arena.
While there will still be your typical 4-on-4 showdowns in other playlists, Warzone brings
together an ultimate combination of player vs. player and player vs. environment � at
the same time.
Featuring elements of Dominion, Slayer, Big Team Battle, and more, this high-octane experience
will give players a huge set of choices to make in how he or she will contribute to the
team.
If you want to defend your base, you can.
If you want to wipe out the opposing team up front or from a sniping position, you can.
If you want to take down the AI bosses that spawn at various times, you can.
Did I say AI bosses?
That's right, 343 has introduced an AI element that changes how your team ratchets up it's
score.
Depending on the map and spawned characters, you can get a score boost by taking the bosses
out � but you'll be battling your live opponents at the same time, providing even more chaos
to the mix.
You even have new options when it comes to how you win, which can be achieved by the
usual first-to-one-thousand points via kills and bases, or by destroying the enemy team's
core � providing a way to win even if your team is outmatched on the kill-to-death ratios.
Just capture the three control points to expose the opposing team's core, take it out, and
victory is yours regardless of what the scoreboard says.
Outtro: With new game modes, weapons, campaign play, and ways to make your friends cry �uncle�
Halo 5 stands to make a mark on the Xbox One platform.
We've never seen a franchise potentially redefine itself so much from one game to the next,
but Halo 5: Guardians may be just the title to show us how it's done.
And considering how much of success Halo 4 brought as 343's first foray into our consoles,
we can't wait for the next great game coming out in October.
What are your favorite features in Halo 5?
Let us know in the comments and subscribe to the skilled channel for more coverage on
Halo and other cool action games.