Halo 5: Guardians

 Xbox One
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3713 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,945 out of 3713
  2. Mixed: 747 out of 3713
  3. Negative: 1,021 out of 3713
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  1. capthavic
    Nov 14, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Basically just an extremely underwhelming disappointment.

    For starters all the advertisements pushing a conflict between MC and Locke...that doesn't happen. Not really. Locke and his team do go after Chief but that conflict lasts all of one mission only to be immediately dropped. While that was annoying I wouldn't have minded if the story we did get was any good...which it isn't. Most of the cast are utterly bland with no charisma or interesting dialog, with only Buck and a new Monitor providing any sort of relief. Cortana as the new villain is spoiled early on, making me expect a twist, but there isn't. This turn came out of left field for me, doubly so because the previous villain (the Didact) was killed between games which is never explained in this game. You wouldn't even know unless you kept up with all the ancillary media lore. That is inexcusable to me and is a failure in story writing. Not that the rest of the writing is any better, with no real explanation why Cortana was chosen, why she wants to rule the galaxy with an iron fist, or anything else really. I'm willing to overlook the some plot holes but you have to give me something decent to work with.

    As for the gameplay...well...it's mostly solid but with some big problems dragging it down. Shooting and such still feels pretty good and easy even with the changes they made. Aiming down sights is nice though you can get by just fine without using it most the time. Same with the ground slams and dashes. Switching to a team focus over being a solo affair is the first big issue,at least when playing alone. Let's be honest the friendly AI has never been good (read:brain-dead incompetent) but at least they were never a liability. Now you are forced to drag the morons along with you the entire campaign. Most of the time they are just unhelpful and be ignored since thankfully if they die it doesn't count against you. Where it REALLY sticks in my craw is during the numerous "boss fights" (for lack of a better term) against the exact same copy/paste enemy who can one hit kill and requires being shot in the back. You can only issue a laughable two commands (ie "attack this" and "go here") neither of which helps your clueless team do anything actually helpful. Oh and when you get downed don't worry, they will never fail to blindly run right into enemies and probably get killed. Sure all of that is mitigated by playing with other people, but it makes playing solo one of the worst game experiences of my life.

    Oh and speaking of the copy/paste boss, that is without a doubt the absolute worst part of the game. An utter failure of game design as it is blatantly lazy and cheap. It only poses a challenge due to poor team AI when trying to solo it. They reuse way too much. Making you fight multiple at once and/or with minion support is the only way they can think to increase the challenge. Even when playing with a friend it was still not fun or interesting, it just didn't take us as long. This is the kind of thing I expect from first year game design students not supposed professionals. To everyone involved with making the Warden fights, you are an absolute failure at game design, and as someone who rarely gets personal when judging a game that is not something I say lightly.

    Not that the rest is anything great either. The whole game felt like it was just going through the motions. It looks nice enough and is sure to appeal to the multiplayer/co-op crowd. But for me even with modest expectations it was a pretty big disappointment.    … Expand
  2. YourOnlyFriend
    Oct 29, 2015
    4
    Overall a disappointment. The production values are very high and the character models look amazing especially in the Story mode. However the the story is lackluster and none of the new Spartans get any character flushed out. The multiplayer is where this game falls right on its ass. The ground-pound is one of the most useless moves you can do. To anyone who has played any Halo game inOverall a disappointment. The production values are very high and the character models look amazing especially in the Story mode. However the the story is lackluster and none of the new Spartans get any character flushed out. The multiplayer is where this game falls right on its ass. The ground-pound is one of the most useless moves you can do. To anyone who has played any Halo game in their life, it's just a perfect chance for them to pelt you with bullets (combined with Radar and the dash move, a way to see the player and evade). The game focuses on power weapons, telling you when they spawn, and encourages good play with them. So to returning Halo veterans, all that skill with the Battle rifle and grenades is almost worthless. Power weapons require very little skill to use and usually amount to 45% of all kills in one match. Most other kills amount to spraying the assault rifle with a bunch of your team mates nearby. Power weapons were important in other Halo games, but they were balanced. Now you just camp in the area of the strongest weapon and constantly get more ammo for it. The multiplayer maps feel a little too small for 4 vs 4 and their layouts can range from simple design to maddening confusing. I completely dislike the zoom-in feature on most guns. In old Halo games it zoomed-in so you couldn't see your hud but got a better shot. The zoom-in feature in Halo 5 is useless on most guns as it lets you look down the sights. This would be helpful... in Call Of Duty, but it's worthless here. Your radical doesn't change in Halo, there's no point. The new req system is... lame. It's a direct clone of Counter - Strike: Global Offensive. This would still be fine if it wasn't used only in one game mode. If you're going to commit to a new system of unlocking, you should apply it to everything. Take a chance, believe in your new system! But they chose to take the safe route, only for those who want to try it. Then why even have it in the first place? So you can drain another $3 from impatient gamers? The multiplayer mode amounts to plenty of sticking together, bullet spraying and camping. No strats, just point, shoot and camp. Does that sound like fun? Overall, Halo 5 tries to change up it's multiplayer but fails to commit to it. Halo is desperately trying to lure Call Of Duty players back to Halo. And as someone who detests the CoD series since Black Ops 1, I can honestly say Halo 5 is almost as bad as CoD: Ghosts.… Expand
  3. nakattack99
    Nov 4, 2015
    4
    Multiplayer: As the most important part of a Halo game the multiplayer should come first. My friend played the Halo 5 beta and him along with everybody who played the beta said that everything was basically perfect. From the beta until release 343 has taken it upon themselves to screw up the auto-aiming and aim acceleration, the graphics (which look horrible), and the maps (which are allMultiplayer: As the most important part of a Halo game the multiplayer should come first. My friend played the Halo 5 beta and him along with everybody who played the beta said that everything was basically perfect. From the beta until release 343 has taken it upon themselves to screw up the auto-aiming and aim acceleration, the graphics (which look horrible), and the maps (which are all basically bad and unmemorable). I couldn't believe when some of the maps loaded and the lines were jagged and the textures look unrendered. The Spartan armors are not shiny or aesthetic at all and look matte, the textures of each character look Xbox 360 era. Although there is a good variety of maps, each is divided into its own playlist so really you will be playing the same 3-4 maps over and over again. And let us not forget wonderful new micro-transactions!

    Forge: Nonexistent so the 343 can release its own DLC maps to preserve the longevity of the game rather than letting the community creating its own maps.

    Storyline: Campaign is incredibly short and dull. Played it solo normal in 5-6 hours and have no desire to play it again. The ads and opening cinematic are more epic than the entire campaign. If you haven't read the books or looked at any of the lore, Master Chief's Blue Team is unfamiliar and the player doesn't really seem to care about the members except for Chief. Locke and his team is boring so all the protagonists seem to be uninteresting. Also you ending up fighting the same boss throughout the game about 6 times. Literally any other Halo had a much more compelling story compared to this.

    Menu: Looks horrible and hard to navigate. Halo has always excelled with party systems and pre-game lobbies, this game throws it out the window and makes these two components horrible to look at. There is a separate screen to see who is in your party and when you back out of a multiplayer playlist it kicks you back to the main menu. Sometimes you and your friends' Spartans won't load when you are viewing them when you want toview or customize.

    Hopefully through updates and DLC this will be a decent Halo game but as of right now, at launch, it is one of the worst. On a brighter note, Warzone and Warzone Assault are two very fun gametypes.    … Expand
  4. PunisherLH
    Nov 25, 2015
    4
    Jumped into the game after waiting years for it to install.

    Started with the Campaign, like every Halo Player should. I start the Campaign as someone that isn't Master Chief? A bit different to start with. The gameplay during this mission was horrific and I didn't engage with the story. Tried to continue but the Campaign bored me to tears. The Multiplayer Arena was alright I guess,    Jumped into the game after waiting years for it to install.

    Started with the Campaign, like every Halo Player should. I start the Campaign as someone that isn't Master Chief? A bit different to start with. The gameplay during this mission was horrific and I didn't engage with the story. Tried to continue but the Campaign bored me to tears.

    The Multiplayer Arena was alright I guess, but anybody that's looking for Halo from 10 years ago, it's drastically changed. This isn't a nostalgia act anymore. If you hated Halo 4, you'll hate this one.

    Warzone was pretty good. 1 Game mode doesn't keep a game fun for long though.

    No Forge? Oh dear.    … Expand
  5. matdevine21
    Feb 22, 2016
    4
    What can I say about a game that feels half finished!

    The biggest change to Halo was to make this game a squad based shooter rather than the more usual lone wolf but the way it was implemented makes your character feel super weak by being taken out easily by minor enemies then needing to rely on the hit and miss (mostly miss) AI to revive you. Story length is shockingly short and    What can I say about a game that feels half finished!

    The biggest change to Halo was to make this game a squad based shooter rather than the more usual lone wolf but the way it was implemented makes your character feel super weak by being taken out easily by minor enemies then needing to rely on the hit and miss (mostly miss) AI to revive you.

    Story length is shockingly short and made me feel cheated, 343 where is the rest of my campaign!
    I knew that 343 was trying to imitate Bungie but changing Halo story line into the length of Destiny's was not the way to do it!

    The multiplayer warzone was interesting at first but feels gimped by the introduction of micro transaction rec packs.
    If 343 didn't institute the rec pacs and actually let players have fun in the arena then there would have been more reason to come back to the multiplayer but with games like the Division / COD and so on being released and new IP games coming down the pipeline, Halo 5 will go the same way as Halo 4's multiplayer and be totally forgotten by the majority of the player base.

    Most e-sports will over look Halo due to how forgettable it really is which is such a shame as Halo 2/3/reach/odst were all games that held the player base for months and months but that was down to interesting game modes like firefight and regular map packs.

    There is a lot of love for Halo but for the first time that I will be moving Halo from my "must buy pre order" to a "purchase cheap off e-bay / bargain bin purchase" for any future installments.    … Expand
  6. luismg
    Aug 24, 2016
    4
    Halo 5 has good graphics and sound and probably it moves really nice but, the story is worse than halo 4 that should not be an issue but, you almost don't play with master chief!!!! also you play in a kind of coop mode with three more players, I don't like that, If you die you revive as in gears of war or cod in coop mode.
    The forerruners are not as dangerous as in last game. For me halo    Halo 5 has good graphics and sound and probably it moves really nice but, the story is worse than halo 4 that should not be an issue but, you almost don't play with master chief!!!! also you play in a kind of coop mode with three more players, I don't like that, If you die you revive as in gears of war or cod in coop mode.
    The forerruners are not as dangerous as in last game. For me halo 4 in the master chief collection is way better than this one.    … Expand
  7. UDontKnowwatURt
    Nov 2, 2015
    4
    This game is so broken and I have xbox uploads for evidence. It constantly glitches, teleports me in random spots of the map in campaign and multi-player. The animations are broken on the character and enemies. When the enemies die they get frozen standing up or they slide across the map. A lot of content is not in the multi-player, it is really basic. Are telling its okay to pay for DLCThis game is so broken and I have xbox uploads for evidence. It constantly glitches, teleports me in random spots of the map in campaign and multi-player. The animations are broken on the character and enemies. When the enemies die they get frozen standing up or they slide across the map. A lot of content is not in the multi-player, it is really basic. Are telling its okay to pay for DLC that should already be in the game such as odd ball, king of the hill etc, which!!! is not in there? This is all because of fan boys the downfall of today's gamers and their I.Q.… Expand
  8. Quietlionmusic
    Oct 28, 2015
    4
    Buying this game I had no expectations. I have been a long time Halo fan since Halo: Combat Evolved back in 2001. I have probably logged more hours in Halo games than any other game. That having been said, this game looks like Halo, has iconic characters and guns from Halo, but this game does not feel like Halo. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Little things really. For example, whenBuying this game I had no expectations. I have been a long time Halo fan since Halo: Combat Evolved back in 2001. I have probably logged more hours in Halo games than any other game. That having been said, this game looks like Halo, has iconic characters and guns from Halo, but this game does not feel like Halo. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Little things really. For example, when you fire the Battle Rifle it almost seems as if it is not burst firing because the fire animation seems so much more rushed than the old Battle Rifle. Just the subtle smoothness of weapon handling does not feel the same. Grenades feel rushed as well and are much harder to predict where they will go than they were before in previous Halo games.

    As for the story, it was underwhelming as well, but the more I play this Halo, the more I feel like playing The Master Chief Collection instead. I think much of the problem is this game was not developed by Bungie- It is just a Microsoft franchise now and they don't have the experience to pull off what Bungie did for years.    … Expand
  9. Sunykamey
    Jul 15, 2016
    4
    Do you remember how bad the story in Destiny was? Well, this was worse. I'm a long time fan of Halo since 2001 and I have to say compared to this game Halo 4 was good to very good.The campaign just had so many cringeworthy moments in it that they undermined the pleasant time I had from time to time. Everything seems so "forced" and the gameplay to fast. I hope 343i gets back to the rootsDo you remember how bad the story in Destiny was? Well, this was worse. I'm a long time fan of Halo since 2001 and I have to say compared to this game Halo 4 was good to very good.The campaign just had so many cringeworthy moments in it that they undermined the pleasant time I had from time to time. Everything seems so "forced" and the gameplay to fast. I hope 343i gets back to the roots of the Halo franchise and implements that what made the games fun and doesn't as much want to break with the Bungie games and establish something new.… Expand
  10. FreedomFighters
    Jul 14, 2019
    4
    I don't quite remember the last time a game disappointed me this badly. Look, I've enjoyed the "Halo" series thus far. I've given each of the first 4 games at least an 8/10 on my scale ("Halo 3" even earned a 10/10 from me), and I even enjoyed "Halo 4" quite a bit, even though a lot of the fanbase doesn't. So, even though I heard many mixed opinions about "Halo 5: Guardians" before playingI don't quite remember the last time a game disappointed me this badly. Look, I've enjoyed the "Halo" series thus far. I've given each of the first 4 games at least an 8/10 on my scale ("Halo 3" even earned a 10/10 from me), and I even enjoyed "Halo 4" quite a bit, even though a lot of the fanbase doesn't. So, even though I heard many mixed opinions about "Halo 5: Guardians" before playing it, I was nevertheless excited to give it a go...but wow, was it a disappointment. I didn't want to give it this low a score, and I even sat on this for a few days, but seriously, this game disappointed me hard.
    Now, that's not to say the game does absolutely nothing right, because trust me, it does some things right. For starters, as per "Halo" tradition, the aesthetic elements are sharp. The visuals are great, the voice acting is strong, and the music is your typical "Halo" stuff. Beyond that, the gunplay in the game has been changed up a good bit: though controversial, the ability to aim down sights and the addition of the run button tightens things up a bit and feels like a welcome addition.
    However, even that is something I can criticize, because to be completely honest, the addition of those features make the game, to me, feel like just your typical bog-standard FPS title. They're decent additions, but they're not all that special, and the fact that the campaign adds multiplayer-like elements that even occur when you're in single player (like asking teammates to revive you and "joining/exiting a game") just feels totally awkward. But I know what you're thinking: I'm probably giving this game a low score because of how insulting the story is and because of the false advertising and anti-climactic nature of it all. And sure, those are definitely problems, and I was rather pissed that Chief was only playable for a short portion of the game, but honestly, the story wasn't even the part of the game that insulted me the most: it was the gameplay! This was honestly the most "hands-off" "Halo" game that I've played: there's sections of the game where I don't even need to kill enemies, I can just blow right through them by running and jumping! Wasn't the point of the previous games to kill the enemies so that you can advance forward in the game? Now I don't have to even kill most of them? What kinda game design is that? And speaking of game design, this game has 15 missions (so yeah, pretty short). Why is it that some of those missions only require you to talk to someone, talk to another person, and then move to the next mission? Those shouldn't count as their own missions! That just sounds like some cheesy way to artificially bloat out the game's length! Oh, but don't worry, all those sections where they made you keep your guns down, run through enemies, and do nothing at all are offset by bosses that are overpowered, completely generic, and often times recycled. I felt while playing this that, whatever "gaming intelligence" I had (and I don't even think I have very much), was honestly insulted by this game.
    I didn't think I would dislike "Halo 5: Guardians" this much, but yikes, this one was bad. I honestly can't recommend it unless you're one of the most die-hard of "Halo" fans and you just HAVE to experience it. Unless you need your "Halo" fix, or you're like me and wanted to play the games before "Halo Infinite" releases next year, I can't in good conscience tell you that this game is worth your time. Just skip it and find other enticing shooters, because there are plenty of them out there.
    Final rating: 4 out of 10 "Bad"    … Expand
  11. oresund
    Oct 31, 2015
    4
    Took 4 hrs to install on the sluggish Xbox One and 3,5 hrs to finish the single player campaign. The gameplay is good but if you prefer single player campaigns, forget about it. It's not worth the money. I'm getting tired of the terrible Xbox One platform and consider to throw the ugly piece of s.. out.
  12. Haldir
    Nov 4, 2015
    4
    Campaign had potential, but fell short. AI is beyond retarded. So called rank system is a joke, in the way that people in Diamond and Onyx play similar to the AI; you'd think that as your rank is higher, you'd play with better people. Warzone is fun, but lacks any real motivation. Also, who's idea was it to have gear based on RNG? I enjoyed earning my gear. And I'd rather spend my moneyCampaign had potential, but fell short. AI is beyond retarded. So called rank system is a joke, in the way that people in Diamond and Onyx play similar to the AI; you'd think that as your rank is higher, you'd play with better people. Warzone is fun, but lacks any real motivation. Also, who's idea was it to have gear based on RNG? I enjoyed earning my gear. And I'd rather spend my money elsewhere rather than support some youtubers and the Championship.… Expand
  13. Roditronx
    Oct 29, 2015
    4
    This game is a embarrassment. The graphics are a joke. Campaign is boring. This game is not Halo at all.
    It was tough to play especially when it got intense with multiple enemies and explosions the resolution drop to a point where it was just blurry. The A.I. is very bad and most of the time just stand around lol. Spartan Locke could have been a cool character but fell short. Master Chief    This game is a embarrassment. The graphics are a joke. Campaign is boring. This game is not Halo at all.
    It was tough to play especially when it got intense with multiple enemies and explosions the resolution drop to a point where it was just blurry. The A.I. is very bad and most of the time just stand around lol. Spartan Locke could have been a cool character but fell short. Master Chief felt like a side character. I would wait for a price drop, I wish I did.    … Expand
  14. ajkret
    Nov 5, 2015
    4
    The campaign is short and the story, shallow. There as issues with textures and the ragdoll system is lame.

    The multiplayer has several bugs, like Connection Drops, and the Arena has only 8 players. The Warzone, which was advertised as "fun", has micro-transactions, optional. It is really fun. However Warzone does not work for several regions, like South America, Africa, some parts    The campaign is short and the story, shallow. There as issues with textures and the ragdoll system is lame.

    The multiplayer has several bugs, like Connection Drops, and the Arena has only 8 players.

    The Warzone, which was advertised as "fun", has micro-transactions, optional. It is really fun. However Warzone does not work for several regions, like South America, Africa, some parts of Asia and Oceania. It is really hard to enter in a match (not enough players or some excuse like that).

    343 Industries didn't comment on the subject, but you can check by yourself at the Halowaipoint Forums.    … Expand
  15. GreyFawks
    Nov 5, 2015
    4
    I feel as if i need to write two reviews for this game. The campaign feels so copy paste at times that it really takes away from the already boring characters. The real villain in this game is the fact that there is NO SPLITSCREEN CO-OP STORY. What was once a staple in the franchise is now an afterthought for gamers that can't necessarily spring for a new xbox one but want to play withI feel as if i need to write two reviews for this game. The campaign feels so copy paste at times that it really takes away from the already boring characters. The real villain in this game is the fact that there is NO SPLITSCREEN CO-OP STORY. What was once a staple in the franchise is now an afterthought for gamers that can't necessarily spring for a new xbox one but want to play with their pals. Xbox, or Microsoft I should say further proves that they could care less about the recreational gamer. In their eyes, it's buy a console or GTFO. This in turn creates a more anti social society in which we can't even go to our friends house and play a damn game. So for story mode, HALO 5 gets a big fat goose egg zero out of 10. The multiplayer is okay but it feels chunky and slow and the aiming system is now call of duty so what's the point of having 2 different games?? Just merge the damn things at this point. There is replay value though so multiplayer gets 5 out of 10.… Expand
  16. VicouspenguinXD
    Apr 7, 2016
    4
    The campain is 4 hours long and has almost nothing to do with the master chief. They also introduce new characters into the game for no good reason and they never explain why. The new unlock system for online multiplayer, The REQ system, is one of the most insulting cash grabby unlock systems in a AAA video game. It rewards people who have a lot of patience, or people who have a lot ofThe campain is 4 hours long and has almost nothing to do with the master chief. They also introduce new characters into the game for no good reason and they never explain why. The new unlock system for online multiplayer, The REQ system, is one of the most insulting cash grabby unlock systems in a AAA video game. It rewards people who have a lot of patience, or people who have a lot of money. A good game rewards a skilled player for his hard work and dedication. This game makes you grind and rewards you with random junk you don't even want. Halo Reach did it much better in the past and they did it for free. Some like to justify this garbage system by stating that "it's okay because the DLC is free". That's great, but the "extra content" they're adding for "free", are things that should've been in the game at launch. The game launched without forge, a mode that has been available since halo 3, game modes like,Big team battle,infection,griffball, ect.. Plus half of the 10 actual non forge maps that the game launched with, were just cosmetic variants of the other 5 maps. Same with the DLC maps they so graciously give us for free. Most of them are just maps that are already in the game with a new coat of paint on them. The game also has no split screen or LAN support available, and never will...HALO! With no split screen or LAN.. In the end the game was launched in an unfinished, unacceptable state, and it's a shame that the franchise is being treated so poorly.… Expand
  17. Eg0Centric
    Nov 3, 2015
    4
    Halo 5 has been released, intentionally, half complete.

    Content and customisation options available in the previous titles at launch, are now gated behind microtransactions, and many key elements such as big team battle and split-screen are missing altogether.

    A very disappointing effort from 343.
  18. Fru1t_Ninja_NZ
    Nov 4, 2015
    4
    Honestly, Can't say I was disappointed. I wasn't excited in the slightest after experiencing halo 4 and the master chief collection. There is just too much to complain about this game. It's clear that 343i cannot create a halo game.
  19. Snake_roo
    Oct 30, 2015
    4
    The cammpaign in boring, graphics are not that good. There are a lot of place where you can see they use low resolution. The story is weak. The mp is ok. You can have some fun playing with your friends. I think you should give it a try, but is just an ordinary game.
  20. Tre4
    Nov 3, 2015
    4
    Overall this game was quite a boring campaign, mashed with a extremely competitive side. I there is no casual about this game, and to a standard player's point of view there is no fun for anyone but a competitive player. That just doesn't make a game fun.
  21. Arlo
    Oct 31, 2015
    4
    I bought and played all through the Master Chief Collection with my brother in the lead up to the release of this game only to be let down by no local co-op and a truly lacking storyline. The multiplayer is nice but it doesn't stand out much to me from the Master Chief Collection (after the initial problems I have had no problems online at all) Very disappointed.
  22. kidon0011
    Nov 1, 2015
    4
    It took me less than a day to beat the campaign, and that's just sad. I also felt there was a lot missing from the story (not including all the annoying videos they've been pumping out the past couples years). Every level was just fighting through waves of Prometheans to get to the next level.
    The squad is absolutely useless. It would probably be easier for me to fight things on my own,    It took me less than a day to beat the campaign, and that's just sad. I also felt there was a lot missing from the story (not including all the annoying videos they've been pumping out the past couples years). Every level was just fighting through waves of Prometheans to get to the next level.
    The squad is absolutely useless. It would probably be easier for me to fight things on my own, had enemies not known where I was despite being behind walls. It's basically impossible to flank a hunter now. Speaking of flanking, every difficult enemy in the game has to be shot in the back and the squad does little to aid this. Why are you running around with your pistol out when you have a bigger gun on your back??
    Yes, the game is gorgeous, but much of the environments were pretty repetitive. And you can't even retrace your steps! There was a warning to go back to the battlefield if I went too far.
    I grew up on Halo and love playing with my friend in coop, but this series has just morphed into the inevitable pandering to the multiplayer experience of people who play CoD and Battlefield. I get it, Halo 2 redefined multiplayer online and everyone fell into step. But this game also redefined first person stories on the console. Gone are your companions Cortana and Gunny with wit to add to the dialogue, and now we're left with one dimensional squad characters who are more useless than the marines you fought with against the Flood. I fear I have to turn to RPGs in order to get an actual single player story these days.
    The sick part about this is they left the story wide open for a sequel. Let's reinvent multiplayer again in a new game and go through the same bugs. I would take the scourge of story-DLC over having to pay $60 for another half thought out campaign.    … Expand
  23. sskott
    Nov 1, 2015
    4
    Worst Halo game for its time.

    The aiming is buggy and sensitivity is like no FPS of recent years.

    The colors are far too bright.

    The armor is glossy and far from real.

    The Ai is trash compared to lets say... Destiny.

    The story blows compared to all other Halo games.

    The only positive thing I'll say is that the PVP is somewhat balanced.
  24. YokoMan
    Nov 2, 2015
    4
    No split screen is unacceptable, its as if they forgot what truly made Halo fun and popular. The graphics looked pretty nice and online was pretty cool i guess but i already saw people hacking
  25. th3crown
    Nov 2, 2015
    4
    4 hour campaign, no split screen, completely forgettable story, exactly the same enemies as in halo 4? I hate the direction where games are going about making everything about the multiplayer and totally neglecting the campaign. Totally disappointed with this title, and that is sad because I grew up loving the halo franchise .
  26. Dalworth
    Nov 3, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo 5 is not a good game. It's not terrible and doesn't deserve a score of zero but it certainly isn't worth 9 or 10.
    Yes it looks reasonably pretty and it runs at 60 fps. Personally the 60fps bit is nonsense to my mind. I would rather play an 8-bit game that looks awful but is fun to play than this, which simply isn't enjoyable. After the 3rd hour it actually became a chore and that has never happened in any other Halo game.

    The campaign story was basically written by taking the script for I, Robot and changing the names of the characters. The plot is exactly the same, AI protects people by removing their freedoms. A tired and well trodden trope of Sci-fi story telling.

    The new spartans (apart from Buck) are a dull and uninteresting lot and the scripting for them is woeful.
    For example, the blue team call 117 "chief", this is very confusing since he calls all of them by their names, including Fred-104 who is apparently a lieutenant and should by rights be called Sir. This is simply ludicrous when you consider that they were all tortured together since they were 6. I doubt ranks mean much to them when they are alone and yet not one of them ever calls him John.

    The uproar after Halo 2 where Bungie were berated for forcing you to play half the game as the arbiter has apparently been forgotten within Redmond. In this game you play 3/4 of it as some dull random bloke who has all the charisma of a dose of clap.

    However that is saved by the fact the actual play time of the game is 4-5 hours with 1.5 hours removed for cut scenes. It means that the pain of playing this game is lessened because it is insultingly short.
    It took the same amount of time to install the game and the 9Gb update as it did to complete.
    After Halo 4 I recall some random 343 mouth saying they wanted 5 to provide a longer campaign experience after the feedback they received about 4 being short. They obviously forgot that too in the quest for cash. This is shorter than 4.
    The reclaimer trilogy is no longer a trilogy apparently so 6 will obviously be the second half of this game story spun off to make more money.

    Which brings me on to this. I don't do mutli-player at all but the cynic in me does not believe the removal of split screen is due to the 60fps nonsense touted around in interviews. The introduction of the squad based model and removal of split screen smells like an underhanded way to increase xbox live sign ups for 4 player campaigns.
    The only thing 343 care about now is multi-player because xbox live sign ups are where the money is. The campaign is now a side line that they have to throw together to keep the people who play it happy. The story line, script and production values of the single player campaign reflect that lack of interest by 343.

    Essentially what they have done here is taken the point of Halo, thrown it out and made a short, unimaginative, dreary CoD squad shooter clone.
    If I wanted to play a boring squad shooter I would play CoD, and cut out the middle man.

    The only reason I'm not angry about this game being a complete let down is because it came free with the xbone I bought to play Fallout 4 next week. If I had actually spent my money on it I would be livid about how disappointing it was.

    This is not Halo and is not deserving of the title. I feel embarrassed for the people who worked on this that actually care about Halo and the universe around it. The executive decisions that led to this pathetic excuse for a game being released has done them and all the gamers that love Halo a disservice.
    343, get your heads out of your collective holes and face the fact that this is a sub-par campaign and no matter how many 9/10 reviews you buy in the game "press" it will not change the fact that gamers can tell good from bad.
    Halo 6 had better be a good, long stunner of a campaign because you have a LOT of ground to make up if you hope there is chance anyone will care about, or buy, 7.    … Expand
  27. luckymachete
    Nov 2, 2015
    4
    Story is subpar. It is very obvious that little time into developing it. Warzone is ruined by REQ packs and, despite 343 claiming otherwise, they DO have an effect on the game. Being able to unlock power weapons simply because you unlocked a card is not fair or balanced. Arena is plagued by horrible and broken spawn points. Does 343 know how to do matchmaking? Because this is just aStory is subpar. It is very obvious that little time into developing it. Warzone is ruined by REQ packs and, despite 343 claiming otherwise, they DO have an effect on the game. Being able to unlock power weapons simply because you unlocked a card is not fair or balanced. Arena is plagued by horrible and broken spawn points. Does 343 know how to do matchmaking? Because this is just a cluster F*** of people mixed together and not based on skill in any form. Why even put people into ranks? It has zero impact on the matchmaking. As far as I am concerned, Halo died years ago on Reach with the rest of the spartans. Do yourself a favor and avoid this game.… Expand
  28. seand88
    Nov 3, 2015
    4
    Played multiple hours of the game in campaign and multiplayer. The #1 thing is that the multiplayer aiming system is 100% broken and they have not fixed it. 2 years of testing to bring this? The game aiming also functions different on large/small tvs which is very strange.
    The campaign is lackluster and ending is terrible. Game with this budget should have hired a better writer.
    Very    Played multiple hours of the game in campaign and multiplayer. The #1 thing is that the multiplayer aiming system is 100% broken and they have not fixed it. 2 years of testing to bring this? The game aiming also functions different on large/small tvs which is very strange.
    The campaign is lackluster and ending is terrible. Game with this budget should have hired a better writer.
    Very disappointed guess am just looking forward to fallout 4 now.    … Expand
  29. Yevn
    Nov 3, 2015
    4
    It feels like Halo 5 is trying to be like Call of Duty and other high paced first person shooters of the modern era. From making enemies kill you in a few shots to cover based shooting it no longer feels like it belongs in the Halo franchise. AI teamates fail to preform even the most basic of functions oftentimes acting more like cannon fodder than actual allies. This becomes even moreIt feels like Halo 5 is trying to be like Call of Duty and other high paced first person shooters of the modern era. From making enemies kill you in a few shots to cover based shooting it no longer feels like it belongs in the Halo franchise. AI teamates fail to preform even the most basic of functions oftentimes acting more like cannon fodder than actual allies. This becomes even more agitating during the Warden fights making you have to exploit the game (unless you play flawlessly) in order to get by him. There are also numerous scenes where music suddenly stops and dialogues overlap to the point where you can't make out what the characters are saying.

    The multiplayer introduces micro transactions and a card based play system for warzone creating massively lopsided matches, multiple tanks can easily be spawned for the enemy team while you have little to no access to counters (plasma pistol needs to be requisitioned in and cost 2 req points which build up slowly). In addition to this the amount of HP you have is reduced so low that even the magnum will take out any player in a few shots (think of it like the DMR from Reach). Another annoying aspect to warzone is that req builds up based on kills (the rich get richer) almost always resulting in a no comeback game.    … Expand
  30. kbm
    Nov 4, 2015
    4
    With an ad campaign which wasn't met, no split-screen for 'the sake of 60fps', a bland story and characters, and hardly any play time as the MC Master Chief - Halo 5 fails to deliver.
    The Halo series is the reason for my purchase of the new console with no other exclusives capturing my interest, and I can honestly say that as of right now I'm starting to regret the decision entirely.
    I    With an ad campaign which wasn't met, no split-screen for 'the sake of 60fps', a bland story and characters, and hardly any play time as the MC Master Chief - Halo 5 fails to deliver.
    The Halo series is the reason for my purchase of the new console with no other exclusives capturing my interest, and I can honestly say that as of right now I'm starting to regret the decision entirely.
    I can go on about my complaints of this game and series, and where that have been led to but that would just make me even more upset. A fun multiplayer doesn't make up for all the cons the rest of the game brings.
    Don't waste your time if you want a good story or a fun game to play on the couch next to your friends and siblings, Halo 5 is not that game.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
1
#1 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
1
#1 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 101 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 101
  3. Negative: 0 out of 101
  1. The Jimquisition
    Jan 20, 2016
    65
    Halo 5: Guardians is okay. Its campaign is rubbish, but the multiplayer is solid thanks to the foundation it’s built upon. Warzone is a really enjoyable experience, and while combat is still mostly about tossing grenades and hitting the melee button, the whole Requisition gimmick adds some much-needed flavor to proceedings.
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  2. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    75
    The latest Halo is a big deal only for hardcore Halo fans. For me the single player campaign was unbearably pompous and despite 1080p and 60 fps the visuals are not as breathtaking as they once were in Halo 4. The game builds a solid foundation for Halo 6, but it’s not one of those games you absolutely have to play. [13/2015, p.48]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 4, 2016
    91
    With a more accessible and engaging story and solid new designs for the Prometheans, Halo 5 is a major improvement over Halo 4. Warzone is a great addition to the multiplayer, though the mode seems to have some game balance issues. [Nov 2015]
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