Halo 5: Guardians is just around the corner, and after 343 Industries’ hang ups with The Master Chief Collection multi-player, they need to make sure everything is running perfect for their next release. So 343 allowed the gamers who bought the collection a few weeks with some multiplayer action. It isn’t too much, but it is enough to get a sense if the intense multi-player that is to come, with some sweet current-gen graphics thrown into the mix.
My first experience with the beta was a little rough, to say the least. It took about twenty minutes for it to allow me into a match, but after all the bootings and missteps I was finally on the red team and ready to frag some folks. Instead of some fragging I got eviscerated by the sword, which was disheartening, but I kept my chin up. The only matches that I have been able to get into thus-far have been Team Slayer four versus four matches with heavy weapon spawning. The matches are fun and intense and just a taste of what is to come, I can’t wait to get my hands on some Lone Wolf or Capture the Flag rounds with ten people on each side. That’s going to be amazing.
The controls are similar to the other Halo multiplayer, but they’ve been tweaked a bit. Much to my surprise, when I attempted to throw a grenade with my left trigger button iron sites came up. Something that would only happen with selected weapons while pushing on the left thumb-stick. This threw me for a loop and greatly made me a better player since I could finally hone in on all the jumping Master Chiefs.
The other big difference to the controls is the addition of a “rush” button. While you are running you can tap on the B button and you will jet forward for a couple seconds. This could save your life in a firefight or take down an opponents shield before they shoot you. Finally, the last control tweak that I discovered was that you didn’t have to hold down the right thumb-stick to remain in the crouched position. Instead, you could nest like that with a sniper rifle and have a nice bell-tower moment.
While this software is only in its demo stages it is a fun ride, the final and polished version will definitely be a blast to play on the Xbox One. Halo 5, along with this new and fully realized version of multiplayer, could very well help decide the winner of the next console race. I experienced no lag, tight guns, perfect controls and a couple of gorgeous maps to tinker around in. 343 continues to add updates to the beta every week the beta runs.
This past week in particular saw the addition of the new gametype “Breakout.” You play on a team of four and have five matches to win. The one catch is that once you die you are dead until the end of the match, so once you kill everyone on the other team you win. I didn’t really like the game and went back to Team Slayer, which I enjoyed much more. Halo 5‘s work in progress, but once finished, I see no reason why the Xbox One won’t be in the top spot this generation. That’s how much fun I’m having with the beta.
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