“Halo 5 Guardians” was shown at Microsoft’s press conference and showed that you can show an old dog new tricks. With its new take on the campaign and its new multiplayer mode “Warzones,” 343 industries is looking to shake up the “Halo” franchise in a new way.
In the demo, the most striking thing that occurred was that Master Chief was nowhere to be found. Instead the demo followed Locke, a new Spartan to the series, as he hunts Chief down with his squad. Among his squad is Buck, played by Nathan Fillion, who was one of the protagonists from “Halo 3: ODST.” The demo was filled with squad banter, as well as showing the ability to command your squad to attack enemies as well as heal fallen Spartans.
Having a campaign that parallels itself is an interesting move that seems to go even further than “Halo 2”’s narrative. By showing both sides of the story, it will be interesting to see how the effects of one character effect the other through both gameplay and storytelling.
Also shown was a brand new multiplayer mode called “Warzones.” This multiplayer mode tries to change things up by upping the player count to 24 and allowing for player vs. Player vs. environment. By creating a game mode that also incorporates environmental enemies, it ensures that all players are always doings something. Whether it is fighting other players or killing a Prothean to complete an objective, chaos is inevitable and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. “Halo 5 Guardians” releases October 27, 2015.