Rating: 16VL
Published by Microsoft Corporation
Developed by 343 Industries, Inc.
Released: Oct 27, 2015
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Action
Perspective: 1st-person, Behind view
Gameplay: Gambling elements, Shooter
Interface: Direct control
Vehicular: Automobile, Flight / aviation, Mecha / giant robot, Tank, Vehicular combat
Setting: Sci-fi / futuristic
Narrative: War
 
Description
Halo 5: Guardians is a first-person shooter, the fifth main game in the futuristic Halo series. It is the second game in the Reclaimer Saga, a new sub-series created by 343 Industries after they took over development from original Halo developer Bungie. The game is set in 2558, eights months after the events of the Spartan Ops game mode of Halo 4. The game's story relies strongly on the player's knowledge of the lore, past events and spin-offs and does not rehash what has happened before.

The main campaign consists of fifteen levels that can be played alone or with up to four players online with drop-in/drop-out multiplayer and four difficulty levels. It is played from the alternating perspectives of two Spartan fireteams. The first one, the Spartan-II Blue team, consists of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, Linda-058 (sniper), Kelly-087 (scout) and Fred-104 (CQB Specialist). The second one, the Spartan-IV Osiris team is led by ONI agent Jameson Locke and consists of Holly Tanaka (engineer), Vale (pilot and translator) and Edward Buck (trooper). When playing alone the team mates can be issued commands to attack specific targets or to move to certain locations. They will also revive the player character when down. In cooperative multiplayer each player can freely choose and control a team character with specific skills and weapons. The game opens with the Osiris team eight months after the destruction of the shield world Requiem. They need to infiltrate enemy lines to extract the criminal Doctor Elizabeth Halsey who wishes to defect back to UNSC and has information about a new threat. Meanwhile the Blue team investigates the ONI research station Argent Moon that has been occupied by The Covenant. After a series of events the Blue team goes rogue, disobeying orders, and the Osiris team is ordered to hunt them down as a larger plot unfolds with the Forerunners as the main enemy.

The game has a linear design, with several open areas linked together, combined with scripted sequences. Although played entirely from the UNSC side the game is designed in such a way that the player often needs to use weapons and technology of the Covenant and Forerunners as well. During missions, optional collectibles such as skulls and mission intel can be picked up. The gameplay focus for this title is on faster mobility. Next to many different vehicles and turrets that can be manned by the team, the armor abilities have been replaced by Spartan abilities. They provide a thruster pack with a boost that can be used for omnidirectional movement both on land and in the air. A character can dash, quickly vault ledges and jump into cover. Sprinting is still present with charge and slide abilities, but shields do not regenerate while sprinting. A first for the series is iron sights while aiming called a "smart scope" in the game. Next to grenades and ranged weapons there is a melee attack and a move to slam enemies down into the ground.

The main new multiplayer mode is Warzone. It supports matches with up to 24 players, optionally combined with AI characters, as a tug-of-war with many missions in succession on a very large map. Other, more regular game modes are Arena (traditional deathmatch types), Team Arena (with variants of capture-the-flag, stronghold and team deathmatch), Breakout (one life), SWAT (no shields or radar) and Slayer (free-for-all). Optionally games with custom rulesets can be created and dedicated servers are used. The game has microtransactions with real money in Warzone for power-ups and single-use vehicles or weapons. There are also cosmetic upgrades with new (weapon) skins and animations, helmets, visors and emblems, and money can be used to pay for experience boosts to level up quicker. Almost everything can also be unlocked or gained through regular gameplay by earning enough of the currency.