Halo 5: Guardians beta launches today for Xbox One Preview participants

[spenser.d]

Is it just me or does it seem like Halo 5 and Destiny are basically the same game just in a different shell?

The only new features in Halo 5 compared to previous halo's is the abilities like ground pound and charge which are same as the abilities in destiny.

It shouldn't surprise you considering that destiny was always billed as an mmo halo, and that showed when it launched. And that also is the major difference between the two. They certainly aren't the same.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

From what I've heard ADS gives an advantage afterall :no:

 

Downloading now and going to test for myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've messed it up. It was a needless addition.

 

[spenser.d]

From what I've heard ADS gives an advantage afterall :no:

Downloading now and going to test for myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've messed it up. It was a needless addition.

So make yourself heard during the beta. That's the point of it. If enough people agree it could easily be something they change. If everyone else likes it, you're sol.

I wish they'd let it out for those of us who aren't in the preview but have MCC. Don't want to wait a week+

[GotBored]

Except Halo doesn't pretend to be an RPG giving those who already have no life and play more bigger and better weapons and abilities so that casual players don't have a chance, or making special multiplayer maps that can only be done with "friends". 

 

No need to get snappy, I think there are a few Neowin members who like and play destiny. I personally bought it but didn't like it so haven't played it very much so am not aware of these special multiplayer maps. But being 'multiplayer' maps wouldn't you need 'friends' or others to play with hence the 'multiplayer' maps title?

Does Halo 5 have bots/AI you can play against in multiplayer mode instead of real players?

 

Halo 5 is nothing like Destiny, but so far it's the best Halo to date.

 

Except for the fact that its also a sci-fi shooter, originally created by bungie, has special abilities and the same game mechanics? (The only differences is story and the fact that destiny utilizes RPG/MMO mechanics in the game I'm not sure what else is different).

 

It shouldn't surprise you considering that destiny was always billed as an mmo halo, and that showed when it launched. And that also is the major difference between the two. They certainly aren't the same.

 

I agree apart from the fact that Destiny is more of a mmofps rather than a generic fps, the games are basically the same.

[Anthony Tosie Veteran]

From what I've heard ADS gives an advantage afterall :no:

 

Downloading now and going to test for myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've messed it up. It was a needless addition.

 

I tried using it and thought it was absolutely terrible. I've seen some players using it constantly, so maybe it's just preference, but I'll take hip firing on any weapon over aiming down the sights.

[Showan]

I tried using it and thought it was absolutely terrible. I've seen some players using it constantly, so maybe it's just preference, but I'll take hip firing on any weapon over aiming down the sights.

This is what I love about the beta as well..

ADS is there, but gives no benefit whatsoever... Same as with the ground and pound... GnP is borderline useless...

There is some balancing that needs to be done... Nothing earth shattering... But some weapon (SMG) for me seem to give a slight advantage...

[magik]

I have very mixed feelings about it. At first, I thought it felt great and the enhanced armor abilities really added a whole new dimension to the gameplay. However, I really think it's just too fast! Battles last approximately half the time they did in previous Halos and it was already very quick. I think they're bringing it on par with perhaps Call of Duty speeds, which I don't think is a good thing. One of my biggest draws to Halo was that 1 on 1 battles would last a decent amount of time where you actually had an opportunity to strategize your attack or your retreat depending on the situation. With this Halo 5 beta however, kills happen just way too fast to make any meaningful decisions, IMO.

 

Also, the Assault Rifle is just way too accurate. It essentially feels like the BR of Halo 2 or 3 but kills twice as fast. Way too overpowered, especially for a starter weapon.

 

I dunno, maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but it just feels too fast and I'm not really happy with it. I really hope there's some balancing still left to do on the gameplay side of things (rather than this beta being just for Networking and other debugging).

 

- Sad Halo fan :(

[BajiRav]

I think all Spartan abilities look useful except for ground pound and smartscope (terrible just like ADS :s)

(stolen from GAF because I am too lazy to make my own)

 

I have very mixed feelings about it. At first, I thought it felt great and the enhanced armor abilities really added a whole new dimension to the gameplay. However, I really think it's just too fast! Battles last approximately half the time they did in previous Halos and it was already very quick. I think they're bringing it on par with perhaps Call of Duty speeds, which I don't think is a good thing. One of my biggest draws to Halo was that 1 on 1 battles would last a decent amount of time where you actually had an opportunity to strategize your attack or your retreat depending on the situation. With this Halo 5 beta however, kills happen just way too fast to make any meaningful decisions, IMO.

 

Also, the Assault Rifle is just way too accurate. It essentially feels like the BR of Halo 2 or 3 but kills twice as fast. Way too overpowered, especially for a starter weapon.

 

I dunno, maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but it just feels too fast and I'm not really happy with it. I really hope there's some balancing still left to do on the gameplay side of things (rather than this beta being just for Networking and other debugging).

 

- Sad Halo fan :(

I agree (although based only on videos and twitch streams I saw) but I guess lots of people on these forums used to complain that Halo feels slow (especially when Halo2/3 were new) compared to other shooters. I guess this is 343 pandering to a loud minority instead of playing to the base.

[nosense]

Ground pound i've seen Pro players (EG snipedown) use it as tool to traverse distances and escape from battles.

[Anthony Tosie Veteran]

I have very mixed feelings about it. At first, I thought it felt great and the enhanced armor abilities really added a whole new dimension to the gameplay. However, I really think it's just too fast! Battles last approximately half the time they did in previous Halos and it was already very quick. I think they're bringing it on par with perhaps Call of Duty speeds, which I don't think is a good thing. One of my biggest draws to Halo was that 1 on 1 battles would last a decent amount of time where you actually had an opportunity to strategize your attack or your retreat depending on the situation. With this Halo 5 beta however, kills happen just way too fast to make any meaningful decisions, IMO.

I can understand the complaints, but trust me, this is absolutely nowhere near as fast as a Call of Duty game. If you think this beta isn't fun, go play "Advanced Warfare" -- it's insanely fast to the point of absurdity.

 

The pacing of the beta seems slightly faster than "Titanfall," which I thought had a good pace. I'd like to see adjustments that make the beta slightly slower.

[George P Global Moderator]

This is only the first week, they're going to add more stuff soon, they haven't done any real balancing to the weapons which is why they're all more accurate and powerful. Those things will change in time, as for G&P, these two maps aren't the best for it I bet, there's probably better maps planned that can take advantage of it more.

 

Having it a bit faster is fine in my opinion, Spartans shouldn't move slow to begin with.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

ADS is completely OP. FOV feels too small too, IMO.

 

I'm conflicted though. I like parts of it and there's other things I'd wish they'd leave out :/

[Showan]

ADS is completely OP. FOV feels too small too, IMO.

I'm conflicted though. I like parts of it and there's other things I'd wish they'd leave out :/

I think this is why they decided to get feedback very early... Now they have basically a whole year to tweak, subtract, and add...

This is probably make or break for 343i when it comes to Halo. They are trying to fill some extremely large shoes left by the good folks at Bungie.

[magik]

I think this is why they decided to get feedback very early... Now they have basically a whole year to tweak, subtract, and add...

This is probably make or break for 343i when it comes to Halo. They are trying to fill some extremely large shoes left by the good folks at Bungie.

 

I'm not sure about that actually. Maybe because this beta is just for the Xbox Dashboard Preview people, but I don't see anywhere where 343 is actually soliciting or collecting feedback (at least not that I have seen). It certainly seems like this beta is just for internal feedback (ironing out networking and scalability issues, etc) rather than gathering fan feedback on the gameplay and subjective views on the game. Which is a real shame, IMO.

[nosense]

I'm sure they're listing to feedback, you can leave feed back on halo 5 waypoint forums.

[Showan]

I'm not sure about that actually. Maybe because this beta is just for the Xbox Dashboard Preview people, but I don't see anywhere where 343 is actually soliciting or collecting feedback (at least not that I have seen). It certainly seems like this beta is just for internal feedback (ironing out networking and scalability issues, etc) rather than gathering fan feedback on the gameplay and subjective views on the game. Which is a real shame, IMO.

Bonnie Ross and frank (I think that's his name) have said this the was to be about pure feedback (as well as network durability)...

They mention it a few times on Twitter..

[magik]

Bonnie Ross and frank (I think that's his name) have said this the was to be about pure feedback (as well as network durability)...

They mention it a few times on Twitter..

That's great! Where do we submit feedback?

[Showan]

That's great! Where do we submit feedback?

It's not active yet... But Halo Waypoint/Channel should have some info for you on giving feedback soon

[magik]

It's not active yet... But Halo Waypoint/Channel should have some info for you on giving feedback soon

Cool! That's good to hear then :)

[magik]

I found halowaypoint.com/feedback

Although it seems like it will be mostly surveys and such about general gaming habits and behaviors and maybe not necessarily about subjective thoughts on Halo 5, but we'll see...

[Hedon]

Except for the fact that its also a sci-fi shooter, originally created by bungie, has special abilities and the same game mechanics? (The only differences is story and the fact that destiny utilizes RPG/MMO mechanics in the game I'm not sure what else is different).

Then I guess every game is the same by your logic. Luckily, we go by facts, at least the majority of us. The games are nothing alike. 

[Emn1ty]

So how has everyone been liking the beta? I've been enjoying it a good amount. The maps so far seem much better than Halo 4 (although one of them feels like an uninspired forge map). The visual style of the game is quite nice but I dislike the crappy bro-fisting at the end of a match with the winning team. All the animations and stuff are quite unnecessary and make the already tedious matchmaking experience feel like it takes longer.

 

I've recently started noticing people melee after getting kills even when they are across the map from me upon getting their kill. I'm not quite sure what that is and haven't found anything on it yet.

 

A lot of the armor abilities seem like gimmicks, and often serve to undermine the flow of the game rather than enhance it. I know I'm going to get left behind by all this thrusting around and out of the way of things and personally I dislike it. I've also been caught off-guard a few times when falling off a ledge while aiming only to suddenly float when I didn't want to. Clamber and Sprint are really the only two additions to the game I really enjoy while aiming down the sights just... I don't know. Feels wrong?

 

The positive points about the game is that it's not as fast as I thought it would be from what people were saying. If anything the game is at least consistent. But I feel it has a long way to go as far too much of the game spoon-feeds players and the grenades really need work. Both powerful and incapacitating when they launch you skyward. Not to mention their inconsistent exploding timers and bounce tendencies.

 

The game is fun. It certainly doesn't play anything like Halo should.

[magik]

So how has everyone been liking the beta? I've been enjoying it a good amount. The maps so far seem much better than Halo 4 (although one of them feels like an uninspired forge map). The visual style of the game is quite nice but I dislike the crappy bro-fisting at the end of a match with the winning team. All the animations and stuff are quite unnecessary and make the already tedious matchmaking experience feel like it takes longer.

 

I've recently started noticing people melee after getting kills even when they are across the map from me upon getting their kill. I'm not quite sure what that is and haven't found anything on it yet.

 

A lot of the armor abilities seem like gimmicks, and often serve to undermine the flow of the game rather than enhance it. I know I'm going to get left behind by all this thrusting around and out of the way of things and personally I dislike it. I've also been caught off-guard a few times when falling off a ledge while aiming only to suddenly float when I didn't want to. Clamber and Sprint are really the only two additions to the game I really enjoy while aiming down the sights just... I don't know. Feels wrong?

 

The positive points about the game is that it's not as fast as I thought it would be from what people were saying. If anything the game is at least consistent. But I feel it has a long way to go as far too much of the game spoon-feeds players and the grenades really need work. Both powerful and incapacitating when they launch you skyward. Not to mention their inconsistent exploding timers and bounce tendencies.

 

The game is fun. It certainly doesn't play anything like Halo should.

 

My thoughts on the beta was a bit of a roller coaster, actually.

 

I went from, Hey this is awesome! It feels really good! ... to, Ahw man. This sucks. They ruined Halo. Everything is just too fast (it felt like 10x faster than previous Halos) and it's a bunch of people sprinting around and getting headshots with the AR. Lame!  

 

... and now I'm at, Actually, this is pretty well thought out, well paced and a fresh take on the franchise. These abilities add a whole new strategic dimension to the gameplay. I'm really liking this.

 

 

Needless to say, my K/D ratio was abysmal when I first started. I simply didn't use Sprint correctly and I couldn't find a good use for Thrusting and/or forgot to use it in the heat of battle when I should have. Then, I wizened up a little and forced myself to use Thrust right when I took my first couple hits of damage if I didn't recognize where it was coming from. This really helped slow the game down for me and helped me live longer so that I could strategize my attacks more. I realized being double teamed meant you stood little chance with the pace of the game now, so I made it a point to try and stick around teammates and focus less on lone-wolfing and flanking (completely against the way I normally play Halo when I'm not with friends I know). This really helped my K/D and made the game feel much more manageable. It brought the perceived pace of the game from 10x down to ~4x.

 

Then all of a sudden it felt like it things were really starting to click. I was able to manage my lives much better, controlling power weapons and I was able to pull off lone-wolf and flanking maneuvers much like I had in previous Halos. Double-kills seemed to come a bit more naturally and there were even a few Triples and some solid runs with the Sniper that made this Halo feel much more familiar. The perceived pace was now at about 1.5x, actually a welcomed uptick in action.

 

Now I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I think the biggest trouble with this game is that of perception. You don't realize it at first, but there is actually a very steep (but short) learning curve with this game. If you've played the previous Halos you think you can just jump in and adopt the new abilities and weapons, but actually, there's a learning curve that'll hit you flat on your face. Then you get back up (15-25 games later) and feel like kicking butt all over again, Spartan style.

[Emn1ty]

Now I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I think the biggest trouble with this game is that of perception. You don't realize it at first, but there is actually a very steep (but short) learning curve with this game. If you've played the previous Halos you think you can just jump in and adopt the new abilities and weapons, but actually, there's a learning curve that'll hit you flat on your face. Then you get back up (15-25 games later) and feel like kicking butt all over again, Spartan style.

 

I like the game, and understand that I'm getting a bit left behind with the new maneuvers and the like. It just saddens me to see a solid, simple FPS slowly start to disappear. I'm hoping to see Overshields and Cloak make a comeback in this game but it doesn't seem like they will. I don't think Halo 4 really had them anywhere, and vehicles in 4 were very lackluster at best.

 

This game certainly has potential but it really doesn't seem to warrant a Halo title. The fundamentals of the game have greatly changed with the new additions, thus why there is such a huge gap between playing the other Halo games and this one. Not a bad game, but probably not what I want from Halo either. I really hope they make gametypes where they are classic Halo style (or even playlists) so I don't have to deal with all the rocketing around Spartans do now. To me it does not add to the game at all.

[Anthony Tosie Veteran]

I love the general mechanics (such as how the shooting feels), but I really feel like they're going overboard with the power weapons. The Hydra is absolutely ridiculous. It takes absolutely no skill, and the fact that a Slayer match essentially depends upon simply being the team to control that weapon is absurd.

 

I hope the Big Team Battles are more focused on the general gameplay.