14 DAY TRIAL // Our Incoming 2015 series focuses on the most important game launches of the next 12 months and next up we talk about Halo 5: Guardians.
What we know
Halo 5: Guardians is the video game which will anchor the launch schedule for the Xbox One in the fall of 2015, and that means both 343 Industries and Microsoft need to carefully test the core mechanics of the title, while offering the community as little information as possible about the story and about all the modes that will be included in multiplayer.
At the moment, a full beta for the experience is running, accessible to those who have picked up The Master Chief Collection, and gamers can see how everything from Smart Scope to sprinting change the way the game is played.
The community is divided, with plenty of long-term fans saying that the changes made by 343 Industries are turning the title into a twitch shooter and eliminate any tactical approach, while others say that the additions do a good job of increasing tension and drama.
The problem with info from the multiplayer beta for Halo 5: Guardians is that the developers can modify a lot of aspects before the fall launch.
No official information has been offered on the single-player story, which is supposed to pit Master Chief against a new threat to the entire galaxy, but it seems that Agent Locke will play a major role and that some cool surprises are in store.
Why it matters
Halo 5: Guardians is the kind of video game that can make or break an entire console, and both 343 Industries and Microsoft need to make sure that the quality of the experience is impeccable on launch day.
This will be a problem given that The Master Chief Collection had issues for more than one month after launch and gamers who played it needed to be compensated with free content for their trouble.
Matchmaking issues when the game hits stores might condemn it and could limit Xbox One sales during a crucial period of the year.
Halo 5: Guardians also needs to raise the stakes yet again when it comes to the story of Master Chief and the threat he faces, and the developers might find it hard to replicate the sense of wonder that the first two titles in the franchise managed to create.
