Tin Salamunic: Compared to its predecessors, Halo 5: Guardians is both similar and different in all the wrong ways. Its campaign, level structure and rushed ending are all uncomfortably similar to Halo 4, while the gameplay leans too heavily towards something you see in Call of Duty or Titanfall. Breathtaking presentation aside, the latest Halo suffers from what I like to call “big budget fatigue”- meaning all effort and money is put towards marketing and graphics, while gameplay design takes on the usual AAA paint-by-the-numbers approach.
In Halo 4, 5, and Infinite, Master Chief became a more nuanced, human character.
In spite of the Halo series’ struggles, 343 deserves praise for adding nuance and characterisation to the ever-beating heart of Halo - The Master Chief. Playing through Infinite, it's abundantly clear that the events of the current and previous trilogies have irrevocably changed the iconic hero. He’s no longer the ‘blank slate’ that was previously presented by Bungie. He’s a fatigued, damaged and fallible protagonist, and one who is meandering through currents of grief, while reveling in his newfound agency. Giving the Chief a compelling and meaningful voice was no small feat, and 343 should be proud of that victory.
This article completely misses part of the appeal of the original iteration of character in the original game trilogy. It was the Chief and Cortana vs an entire alien collective. The blank slate Bungie displayed in their games was genius, he was an mysterious hero a wide audience could identify with because he wasn't as clearly defined as most characters.
The books added a lot of lore and backstory but most Halo players just want a fun game with exposition that doesn't get in the way of gameplay, it's why the Cortana level in Halo 3 was derided.
Not every character has to be a damaged soyboy, a soldier has to suck it up and do his duty.
A lot of people give the 343 version of Master Chief a lot of slack.
But Fundamentally he is still the same character, he just has a couple more dialogues. He has not changed in terms of attitude.
"Not every character has to be a damaged soyboy, a soldier has to suck it up and do his duty."
And that's what he has done at the end of the day, he did his duty. Watch his partner die, and was ready to destroy the weapon in Halo infinite....he is still the same soilder that everyone remembers
Halo Infintes one was a nice balance between both.
The 343i Master Chief has is based on the books. However, in Halo 4-Infinite, the Master Chief overtime become. gradually becomes more willing to show some emotion.
"However, in Halo 4-Infinite, the Master Chief overtime become. gradually becomes more willing to show some emotion."
Which is awesome! I love how Master Chief become more John and less soldier.
Mixed reviews are slightly concerning, I was hoping this game would be up there with Halo 2/3 on metacritic.
Either way I never let metacritic scores affect how I think of the game. It seems many were disappointed with the campaign because it's not very self sustained but as someone who knows all the lore, I'm still thinking this is gonna be my favourite campaign over Halo 2. Multiplayer looks amazing, can't wait. Just 11 hours now!
I have no care whatsoever in the world what this game gets score wise. My opinion will differ from everyone else's and I'm sure I will enjoy the SP, MP, and Warzone just fine. I don't need a number to label a game for me... Been that way since I was young.
Why are the user reviews so much higher than these "professional" reviews?? Everyone I know on Youtube or in real life, love just about every part of the game but for some weird reason these pro reviewers are picking it apart. The same thing kind of happened with metal gear....it got a lot of 10/10's but the user reviews said otherwise....what is up with this??? LOL
This game is going to get a lot of Attention. Don't let reviewers sway you. Judge on your own merit and use reviews from all websites as a general opinions. The landscape has changed and the more ambitious a game becomes the more nitpicking you gonna see. Game on tonight. Me and Chief kicking ass.