Gold packs give you two permanent unlocks (just like silver, but higher rarity).
These unlocks can be weapon skins, weapon certifications, armor, visors, helmets ... guess you just got unlucky and didn't get a weapon skin.
Just got done with campaign. I dont really enjoy Osiris/Prometheans. Much rather play chief vs covenant. 343 needs to do something to them.
Dont really get the story either...
yeah she killed people waking up the guardians, and yeah shes gonna kill people who say no. But world peace sign me the fuck up, and chief would finally be able to clap dem cheeks, yet everyone is instantly OMG STOP HER
Ending was cool, hope some crazy shit happens in h6. I'm starting to not like linear stories. Probably gonna start playing more RPG's.
Just got done with campaign. I dont really enjoy Osiris/Prometheans. Much rather play chief vs covenant. 343 needs to do something to them.
Dont really get the story either...
yeah she killed people waking up the guardians, and yeah shes gonna kill people who say no. But world peace sign me the fuck up, and chief would finally be able to clap dem cheeks, yet everyone is instantly OMG STOP HER
Just finished mission 10 on legendary. Really, really loving this campaign so far. It's shaping up to be my favorite.
Couple of points:
I remember seeing comments regarding level design and there were a lot of corridors. This really isn't true, there's mostly open areas in this campaign
Also remember seeing a lot of comments about the story can't be followed unless you're into lore. As someone who's really into Halo and only know it through the games, this is all shit. I'm following it just fine.
I LOVED the cutscene where Chief and Locke fight over Cortana. Cutscenes are stunning as well.
Game is really pretty, IQ is impacted a lot in certain missions where the world looks really pretty and resolution drops. Frame rate is solid.
Feel like the difficulty on Legendary is just right.
WTF are those two missions which last 2 minutes about?
Yeah, pretty much this. I personally don't think there's going to be another halo campaign that'll appeal to everyone, but 343 did a damn good job on this and should be commended
Oh you have the same issues as me and a my buddies i play with.
My friend used Comview while we were playing, and our average ping was 200ms. So basicly everything was US Servers.
Its really not fun when an enemy in breakout eats your entire pistol magazine and nothing happens.
This Dedicated Servers are just pointless if im only playing on US Servers. The game really tries to hide this differences, but it doesnt work. In your view it looks like someone killed you in 2-3 shots while you are at the end of your magazine.
Its really not fun IMO.
And i really dont get the excuse for no Data Center selection when the matchmaking progress in general is very flawed in terms of matching people and ranks..
I have had some EU hosted games for sure, but no way am I not getting US hosted games. I had also suspected that there was someting not quite right. I.E get 2 or 3 shotted in games were the grenade delay was minimal. I am glad that I am not the only one who has noticed it. My friend was moaning last night as well about it.
I agree as well about their refusal to not let us choose where we play. They could have at least done it like gears where you choose the region. The ping stuff that they talk about is most probably just more of their bullshit. Why no transparency? Why not atleast display the server location before the match starts??
Evidently I'm not at that part yet but as soon as I read skip
I figured it would be Warden because everything else is pretty easy/doable on Heroic, Warden fights are the only shitty thing due to the hunter-like mechanic of most damage only comes from his back or his one hit kills, the shitload of annoying prometheans who can jump to, teleport to any nook and cranny, even behind you, and how useless companion AI is getting downed or not shooting much at all. But three wardens, that's just crazy. Thanks for the video, though I should beat campaign and then do that same level legendary before they decide to patch it or something.
I thought the Warden Eternal fight was pretty cool the first time, but bloody hell they overused it. When three of them spawned at the end I literally shouted FUCK OFF at the screen. I have no idea what they were thinking making you fight him that many times. Off the top of my head, is it five times you have to battle him in the campaign? It's ridiculous.
Auto selection really doesnt work IMO. And i think the game will die fast at least in europe because of that.
I can understand that people quit when they have to play on foreign servers. Its just not fun.
Really enjoying the game, got a Elite controller and it's made my life simply amazing.
being able to configure a perfect layout and not having to move my hands from the sticks is simply amazing, once I'm truly back in the groove and used to playing with this controller I very much expect to be a beast, STRAFING is beautiful, I cannot believe how amazing it feels to get the old Reversal medal, my only real gripe is AR starts.
Anyone else finding that for anything but extreme distances why even bother with ADS
Don't know where they're going with the story, but I do agree. Not enough time as Chief. In all honesty, I don't care about Locke or team Osiris, even Buck. I want to play as Chief. This is his personal story. I don't buy the, it's still 'about Chief' explanation. Plain as day it is more about adding more characters to try and get fans to follow for inevitable spinoff games, novels, comics, post-Chief Halo.
Don't get me wrong, my affinity for Blue Team comes from the sole fact they are Chief's childhood friends and family and that they are Spartan-II's. I don't think Osiris are bad characters by any means, I just don't want to play as them. The change was instant from mission 1 to mission 2, and I can't even explain why. I bet I'll feel the same in Gears 4 without any of Delta Squad there. This is something that just happens for mature series or sequels. All my opinion though.
Finished the campaign on Heroic last night. Took me 9hr 55 minutes. In the main I enjoyed it. Yep there is a level which is frustrating as heck, those bloody wardens and as some as said they seemed like cheap option to increase the play time on that level. Some of the levels look stunning, others look somewhat ordinary. The scale of some of the battles is fantastic with so many enemies on screen along with spark effects all over the shop that it feels like a big battle. Story, well like most Halo's games, I understood in parts, but hey much of it went over my head.
Auto selection really doesnt work IMO. And i think the game will die fast at least in europe because of that.
I can understand that people quit when they have to play on foreign servers. Its just not fun.
Digital foundry may have some but tbh I guess only if you are very sensitive to that sort of thing you may notice it. It probably doesn't even bother 99% of players really.
I've been all about Halo campaigns since the original impressed the hell out of me, turned me on to the FPS genre, and quickly became my favorite game of all time. Starting with Halo 2, it's been my tradition to play through every new Halo's campaign on release day. Since campaign theater isn't a thing anymore, I thought I'd write some running impressions from my first playthrough, on Heroic difficulty. I like to stop and take in the scenery often enough that this shouldn't disrupt my experience too much.
My opinion of 343 as caretakers of the Halo franchise is mixed, to say the least. I was really into Halo 4 at first. Gradually, a lot of problems surfaced and I came to see the game as a big disappointment. In fact, it's my least favorite entry in the Halo series. I have a lot riding on 343's second mainline Halo release. Halo 5 is going to determine how much I stay engaged with Halo going forward, if at all. I'm trying to temper my expectations this time, keeping in mind that novelty tends to soften flaws and give my first impressions a favorable gloss. I've avoided all campaign-related content spoilers and story spoilers, apart from the E3 demo and a video of an early Blue Team mission. I've mostly stayed away from reaction threads too. Hopefully these notes will be an adequate record of my first impressions, free of outside influences.
Mission 1 -
Osiris
- The art design seems much improved. I was just admiring the Forerunner interiors. That security room where you have to unlock the door was neat.
- The music already seems better than Halo 4's. I like that echoey piano in the Forerunner hallway.
- 343 certainly pushed the verticality and branching paths in this mission. They said they were going to improve the level design, and those efforts are evident here. I hope this is just the beginning.
- The default control scheme is very intuitive, despite my initial concerns. It's nice that the pick-up and action functions are assigned to X, where they feel most natural to me after so many Halo games.
- I appreciate the improved visual feedback when I damage Prometheans.
- Those new Soldier enemies serve as better standard foot soldiers than Knights in Halo 4. They've got fast but not ridiculously unpredictable movement, and an appropriately lowish amount of health on Heroic. I have to admit they're actually tolerable, or evendare I say itfun to fight. Not bullet spongey at all, thank goodness. Speaking of which, Knights seem to have reduced health too. And Crawlers are much easier to headshot. Very, very good. I hate the Forerunner enemies in Halo 4, but here they're succeeding in not annoying me. This is progress.
- I've enjoyed audio logs since Bioshock. If the developers are going to include collectibles, this is one way to do them right. I find that logs add personality to the game's world with interesting tidbits of exposition.
- The new Spartan Abilities feel natural to use. My conservative attitude toward core gameplay changes had started wear down after I'd seen preview footage of the first Blue Team mission, and now that I've tried the abilities myself I'm pretty much sold. I might feel different about clambering later on, since it changes your movement so drastically. Between that and the aim down sights function on LT, I almost feel like I'm playing a game from a different series at times. Clamber is intuitive to use, and I like it right now, but I also like the simplicity of navigating levels with nothing but crouch jumping to supplement my floaty hop. The environments are structured in a such a way that frequent clambering seems necessary. Similarly, ADS works great but changes the way zooming works, and I'm not sure if I'm on board with that.
Mission 2 -
Blue Team
- Blue Team's entrance was so good, lol. There's that special touch of understated physical comedy that the newer Halos were missing.
- I love how Marty's music was incorporated into the opening cutscene (not to forget the main menu, where I was glad to hear the classic monks). Sounds like Halo, which makes a world of difference in helping the game to feel like Halo.
- That big ship in the hangar... it's like one of those awesome concept paintings come to life.
- I like those big windows that curve down into the floor. Fun to stand on and take in the view.
- I found three different shotguns before I was five minutes into this mission. OK 343, I'll take the hint. (And one minute later I found a fourth!)
- There are many, many tall objects I can climb onto for no particular reason. This pleases me.
- Oh hey, I found a high air duct I can crawl through. Don't mind me, just creepin' on this Elite.
- It's annoying not to be able to check out details or distant objects with the pistol zoom as well as I could in earlier games. The gun and reticle block part of my view when I use ADS. The DMR's scope is still good for that, though.
- One of those jetpack Grunts flew right at me with two plasma grenades, lol.
- What's this, a special shotgun called Blaze of Glory? I had no idea special weapons were hidden in the campaign. Cool.
- Damn, it's that big open room from the leaked gameplay video that really impressed me a few weeks back. And it impressed me all over again now that I've experienced it for myself. There's so much. So many tiers and paths and little alcoves. You could almost say 343 overcompensated for Halo 4's linearity, although that would imply this abundance of options is a bad thing. Well done, devs. This is what I like to see.
- Oops, I just triggered the cutscene early by hopping over a guard rail trying to reach a beam. I fell really far and thought I would have to respawn, but instead I transitioned into a video.
- This big dark misty room and the spooky tunnels have such a great atmosphere. Just so good. I love this stuff!
- Whoa, those Hunters at the windows. Despite having my teammates with me, I'm getting the sort of lone adventurer feeling the early Halo games evoked so well. And this is an indoor mission! It helps that there's not too much unnecessary chatter in the slower moments.
- Hunters are minibosses, confirmed. I got destroyed a good few times there.
- Man, that was a hell of a second mission. I can't speak to its replayability yet, but it was packed full of interesting encounters and big complex areas. I enjoyed that Banshee segment a lot more than the one in Halo 2 at the gas mining facility. Before I forget, I have to comment on the exceptional sound design throughout this mission. Everything has weight and impact, weapons sound punchy, the creaks and groans and other ambient sounds are super immersive, and the music fits the shifting moods of different sequences really well. I know I'm just two missions in, but Halo 5 is hitting a lot of the right notes, in contrast to Halo 4.
- I'm loving all of the lore references for book readers. I even spotted Halsey's journal from the Reach special edition. The team dynamics are great so far. It was cool to see Roland the AI. People are finally talking to Dr. Halsey like she's an actual human being. I'm glad that she has a more active role in the story so far. I hope this continues, because she's a very interesting character with unique relationships to many important people and factions in the Halo universe.
Mission 3 -
Glassed
- Holy shit you guys, they let me ride a goddamn space elevator. I'm nerding out right now. This is the coolest.
- Nice vehicle area. I decided to rush through, but later on I'm going to come back on a lower difficulty and cruise around. There's probably some hidden stuff.
Mission 4 -
Meridian Station
- That big structure at Meridian Station looks badass.
- Gov. Sloan is... statuesque. Hunky, even. For a rampant AI, I mean. I might as well take this chance mention how much I'm loving the increased presence of AIs in the story. They're one of my favorite aspects of the Halo universe.
- Aww hell yes, listening to civilian chatter for intel! No, I'm not kidding, it's neat to have this kind of thing in a Halo game.
- I'm liking all of this NPC dialogue. It's almost like I'm playing Fallout or something.
- I kept thinking I was in Mission 3 until I checked and found myself in Mission 5. Huh. The transitions were seamless, unless I wasn't paying attention. Now I need to rearrange these notes a bit.
- Since I forgot to say this before, the guns' zoom-in animations and holographic displays are gorgeous, especially for the Forerunner weapons (which have improved pick-up animations as well).
- There's so much stuff. Like, vehicles and tools and equipment. Things. It gives these areas a lived-in feeling. This whole setting is reminiscent of Reach. I like it.
Mission 5 -
Unconfirmed
- All of the turrets are strong and fun to use.
- Promethean weapons feel suitably different from the other weapon types now. They handle just weirdly enough to seem exotic, without being unwieldy. What's more, it seems that every single weapon is worth picking up now, even the Suppressor, the SMG, and the Elites' plasma assault rifle thing that's total weaksauce in Halo 4.
- Those big laser mining machines on legs look awesome.
- I like how it's Mission 5 and the Guardians have barely been touched on yet. Halo 5's marketing had me thinking they'd be used as cheap setpieces almost right away, rather than played for mystery. I appreciate the mysterious approach. Giant robot monsters aren't inherently interesting enough to work without decent setup. It may be too early to say, but this feels characteristic of Halo 5's more mature, deliberate style of storytelling. What I mean is that everything seems more measured and immersive than in Halo 4. The player is given a lot of opportunities to take in the atmosphere and get really absorbed in their surroundings. At the same time, in-game dialog and cutscenes are frequent enough that when I choose to follow the mission path the story has great momentum. I feel involved, but only when I want to, and I didn't get that quite as much from Reach and Halo 4. Or maybe this is just me having the new game tingles. I don't know. Right now something about the way the story is playing out feels different and better than I expected. There's less of a disconnect between gameplay and plot, and yet I'm not constantly pestered by the game when I feel like fooling around in one place.
- The level design has remained good. Still lots of tiers and branching paths. This bodes well for replay value.
- That scan feature on d-pad down is coming in really handy for how I like to play. I can explore a whole area and get thoroughly turned around (this happens a lot), then summon an objective marker when I'm ready to move forward. This is an excellent alternative to dumbing down map complexity in order to funnel players in the right direction.
- The revive mechanic is increasing my enjoyment of the game. Getting kicked back to a checkpoint over and over again can be frustrating. Quick revives by team members make deaths feel less like punishments or obstacles, and there's not the built-in penalty of having to start a fight from the beginning. That said, I've noticed that Halo 5's checkpoint system is very generous. Often I'll get a checkpoint in the middle of an encounter, once I've cleared the immediate area. This has saved me a lot of trouble during longer battles.
Mission 6 -
Evacuation
- The Warden Eternal's intro where he jumps to the floor in fragments is neat. It reminds me of Monsoon in Metal Gear Rising, which can only be a good thing.
- WTFFFFFFF, the Guardians are guarding Cortana? That's a hell of a twist. I hope she's actually alive and this isn't a red herring. Cortana is my favorite Halo character. Not because boobs, but because she's your awesome AI companion in the original game, and I associate the adventurous feeling at the core of Halo with the sound of her voice. Exploring vast landscapes and alien structures while she guides you through and remarks on whatever's going on... Those are some of my favorite gaming memories. And beyond that, her background story is utterly fascinating.
- Yes Chief, go in for that slap! Show Locke who the real Spartan is.
- Clearly 343 are aware of my deep and abiding love for space elevators. Between the ride down and the escape sequence I just experienced, my body might never recover.
Mission 7 -
Reunion
- Wow, nice scenery. Halo 5 is a big step up from Halo 4 with these impressive vistas.
- Meleeing water makes the most satisfying splashing noise, like a big stone plonking into a pool.
- Speaking of details, I just noticed that Chief's gloves have a nice and convincing texture.
- Looooooooool, the way you get the Grunt Birthday Party skull is hilarious. "Press X to punt," god damn. I am done, officially.
- You'd better believe I'm using and abusing the ability to have three (!) allies hold nearly any weapon I want (they won't accept swords, sadly). One fuel rod for you, one sniper for you, one rail gun for you... now make that little Grunt and his plasma pistol pay.
- Talon of the Lost? A special needler? Hell yes!
- Hahaha, I ground pounded a Jackal and this Grunt goes "They crushed him!" Smashing delivery. This game's enemy dialog is uncommonly great.
- Cortana's really alive! ;_; Fuck. Yes. I love the idea that she was cured by accessing the Domain. And what was that the Warden said about AIs inheriting the Mantle? Being a lore nerd is really paying off here! I like where this is going.
- The Phaeton is fun. And I like that you can take the whole flying section by foot if you want to.
Mission 8 -
Swords of Sanghelios
- Check out the Arbiter with his female commander! Breaking down Sangheili gender norms, I love it. I hope I get to meet a female Elite. That would be a Halo first. (And now I'm waiting for my Swords of Sanghelios expansion/spinoff where I play as a Sangheili warrior woman.)
- I'm really enjoying the diversity of locations. One of my complaints about Reach and Halo 4 is they're somewhat lacking the grand adventurous feel of earlier games, which mainly has to do with the places we go. In Halo 5, as of Mission 8, we've visited a Forerunner stronghold (or whatever), a space station, a human colony (complete with a space elevator. Never forget the space elevator. RIP space elevator 2015-2015), a gorgeous Forerunner planet with awesome flora and fauna and sweet Forerunner constructs (and Cortana, who always makes everything better), and now Sanghelios itself. If I set foot on a Halo installation, my joy will be complete. And if not, I'm already well impressed.
Mission 9 -
Alliance
- An Elite encampment! This is amazing. I love everything about this. 343's doing such a good job conveying the Elite's culture. I just heard a conversation between a wounded warrior and a medic that shed light on Elites' attitudes toward battle and honor. You'd have no idea about this stuff unless you'd read some of the books. Nice world building.
- OMFG, this Grunt and Elite duo on the cliff's edge. The Grunt's dialog is priceless, and there's so much of it. Everything he says is pure gold. He just broke the fourth wall about the changing appearances of weapons and vehicles between games. This might actually be my favorite easter egg in the entire series, and that's saying a lot.
- Those Elite statues are ripped.
- Bah gawd, I just found a data pad where an Elite composes an incredible poem for Commander Palmer. So magical. Will this series achieve such lofty emotional heights ever again? I doubt it.
Mission 10 -
Enemy Lines
- Kraken is a cool name for this titanic battle vehicle.
- I'm loving this ancient Elite temple setting. Wonderful art design.
- The song with the Elites chanting is too good. This is how to introduce a new sound to Halo's score. It's fresh and different, and a great fit for the series' tone.
- I ran into some pretty serious framerate hitches when I was attacking the Kraken in my Phaeton. I'm not especially bothered by this kind of thing unless it happens frequently, but I'm sure some players would take a much dimmer view of such disruptive performance problems.
- Halo 5's Forerunner constructs are beautiful. Sleeker and more elaborate than those in Bungie's Halos, but not totally wackadoodle like Halo 4's.
Mission 11 -
Before the Storm
- That ocean looks damn good. And I like these great big mushroomy platforms too. The art design continues to be great.
Mission 12 -
Battle of Sunaion
- I think I'm far enough in the game to say that I don't mind fighting Prometheans now. For one thing, the weapons they drop are effective against their own kind, with the Suppressor actually homing into their weak points. More importantly, their whole design is greatly improved. They have fewer annoying behaviors. Their health is lower. Their weak points are well marked. They have clear visual indicators that they've sustained damage. I still prefer the Covenant, but 343 was a step ahead of me here, because they incorporated Covenant enemies into the campaign so well that I haven't once felt that the Forerunner enemies were overstaying their welcome. They're actually a nice change of pace now. Well done 343. You turned a whole class of enemies I absolutely despise in Halo 4 into a source of enjoyable variety in Halo 5. My two biggest issues with Halo 4 were the Prometheans and the linear level design, and now both have been fixed.
Mission 13 -
Genesis
- Whoa, what a view. Standing on the side of a Guardian at an insane altitude.
- That was an unexpected and awesome twist on the classic Halo escape sequence.
- A female monitor! Exuberant Witness, good name. In my experience, you know you can trust a person when they teleport a tank into the room for your own personal use.
- Exuberant's lines are the best. I like this character.
- That Warden boss fight was a little much. I probably died 20 times because my team was gone and he kept chasing me down. His speed and melee reach are a frustrating combination. I was finally able to take him out with grenades.
Mission 14 -
The Breaking
- This Forerunner stuff is gorgeous. Good art design.
- The Warden again? In multiple bodies? OK, so I can't dodge his huge sword swipes, I can't escape the turret fire, and I can't run away fast enough to stop him from chasing me down? And he can nail me from across the room with a homing singularity? Cool. Good boss fight.
- Hmm, so Cortana not only survived via the Domain, but she's immortal, she can take physical form, and she's kind of a villain now? But with somewhat relatable motivations? This is like a greatest hits of fan speculation. I remember people talking about all of these possibilities. It's kind of exciting that 343 are taking the lore to such bold places. The potential was always there in Bungie's games, but they never seemed willing to fully commit to the greater universe they created through the extended (non-game) fiction. This is a radical shift for Halo, and I'm intrigued.
- I have to say, this entire approach sequence is super well done. The Forerunner structures, the music, Cortana and the Warden's dialog. I am absorbed.
Mission 15 -
Guardians
- Oh wow, Exuberant has a zoo. 343 have been nailing Halo's brand of humor throughout this game.
- I love that cacophony of AI voices joining Cortana.
- OMG, Cortana taunting Osiris. Yes girl! Drag them! Put them in their place! (I don't mind Osiris, but this stuff is too good.)
- It's kind of weird how Cortana is down on Dr. Halsey all of a sudden. Calling her a monster in an earlier mission, and now saying she has to pay for her crimes. She never expressed these opinions before. This seems out of character.
- Wow wow wow! Great ending! It's going to be really interesting to see where Halo goes from here. I hope Hunt the Truth has some post-Halo 5 episodes.
Overall
OK, keeping in mind my caveat about novelty at the beginning of this whole thing, I can comfortably say that 343 have upped their game on multiple levels. Halo 5 is what Halo 4 could have been and more.
I'm impressed by their smart design choices, which address practically all of my problems with their first effort. I'm impressed by the way they made a game that feels like Halo without losing their own aesthetic. It's a tough balance but I think they pulled it off. I'm impressed by the tone they achieved, with their great use of cheeky humor that wasn't overdone, their well paced character-driven storytelling that kept me constantly engaged when I proceeded along the mission path, while giving me all the space I wanted when I chose to explore, and their wonderful coordination of ambient sound and music to set the mood. I'm impressed with the dense web of lore woven all through the game, including all the little references and props and homages that only a fraction of players will pick up on, and with the big risks they took to push Halo's story forward; splitting the campaign's focus between Osiris and Blue Team to advance a narrative that's both personal and truly vast in scale, pushing Dr. Halsey to the forefront (where she belongs) and showing her in a more complex light after 343's earlier stuff retconned the character into some sort of awful heartless war criminal, and finally making good on the longstanding potential of multiple characters and plot points, including Cortana, the cure to rampancy, the Domain, the Reclamation, and the Mantle. Finally, I'm impressed by 343's outstanding level design, which gave me a wide array of options in almost every encounter.
It's clear that after Halo 4's mixed reception 343 buckled down and did their homework. As a fan of Halo since the very first game, I'm satisfied. And I'm excited for the future of the series. That's all I could have asked from Halo 5.
I know this is a wall of text and spoilersm but I dont care I have only got to mission 13 but this is exactly how I feel (apart from the framerate hitches, performance for me has been so sublime, I could shit). I do kind of see where people if they are completely new to Halo may feel a little lost, but tbf this is the 5th entry in the series, at this point there has to be some assumption that people know some of this stuff.
For example for every review that says the story is nonsensical, or not well explained I want to take them outside and give them a paddlin, especially if they haven't nailed MGS V to the wall.
Also, if you take your time and listen to some of the datafiles (not even all!) then you will see some of the back story filling in by itself.
So far absolutely amazing, beautiful, epic space opera, which is my personal favourite type of story, dealing with big epic themes and fuck off cool sci-fi. Loving it so far.
