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Halo 5: Guardians Beta

L

Lil Frier

Platinum Member
As was announced, those in the Dashboard Preview get to play the beta for the game this weekend. Is anyone here in on it, and if so, what are your thoughts?
 
I just finished my first match in the beta, and I have nothing good to say about it right now. The first thing I have to do is see about changing the controls, because they're almost a mirror of the CoD setup. I could throw out a long list of complaints, but I'll try to get some more time in before passing full judgment on the gameplay. Still, there are some major things I have to point out:

--Like I said, these controls are disgusting. Crouch is clicking the right stick. The grenades are LB. LT is the ADS, which I both like (logically) and hate (compared to other Halo games). Luckily, they have a Halo 4 control scheme, and I'm going to change that.
--It appears that Armor Abilities are gone, in favor of just giving everyone Thruster Pack. Loadouts might also be gone, at least I didn't see them.
--Assassination animations MIGHT be gone, though not sure yet. I got on a guy and tried to assassinate him, but there wasn't a Halo 4-style brutality to it, just the old back-punch move. It makes more sense for keeping yourself moving in-game, but I liked those animations, so I hope they're not gone.
--To add to the CoD stealing, your characters now talk. They call out where they see people, they call out when they pick up weapons, and either the announcer or the players call out before weapons respawn. I hate every bit of that.

Initially, this is WAY too close to CoD. It's like they wanted to be the cool kid with eSports, saw that CoD is the leader among those folks now, so they started building Call of Halo. It's to an even-greater extent than Halo 4. The killcam is still there, and it still seems to suffer from the inability to accurately show shooting.

Meanwhile, I'm going to keep playing, see if the Halo 4 scheme makes it better, and probably just edit this post as I go.
 
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Just going to the Halo 4 control scheme has made this extremely improved. I still hate the killcam, lack of Armor Ability choices (though I always used Thruster Pack, the tactical choice was nice), and the player call-outs for weapons.

I've also found that there is a new SMG hanging out, and it's decent on the small map you play on. However, zooming in is a bit different than before. Instead of staying scoped when getting shot, it seems to both kick you out of the zoom AND make you re-press the button to zoom back in. So, if you're scoped with the pistol and get hit, you zoom out. You have to click the right stick again to scope, rather than just holding it. This is fairly logical, but with the default control scheme, it feels odd. In CoD, you can keep the trigger held and stay zoomed while getting shot, so while that's not expected in Halo that control scheme almost makes it feel like it should be that way.
 
Halo has an uphill battle. They can piss off Halo 2 MP purists and introduce CoD like killcams and jetpacks, etc. But they are getting older and have kids, etc.
They need to balance the market of 12 year olds that make mom rape jokes with a credit card and civilized 30 somethings with kids.
 
foghorn67 said:
Halo has an uphill battle. They can piss off Halo 2 MP purists and introduce CoD like killcams and jetpacks, etc. But they are getting older and have kids, etc.
They need to balance the market of 12 year olds that make mom rape jokes with a credit card and civilized 30 somethings with kids.
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Very true. Also note that 343 probably has a different vision than Bungie did back then as to what a good PvP experience should be like.
 
TMCC is definitely improved. It's hard to tell what's problematic due to poor coding, as opposed to lack of player. For example, I went to play Slayer, and got in without issue. I tried SWAT, and sat for several minutes before giving up. I'm not sure if that's an issue with the game, or if there's just no one playing.
 
i don't have the beta, but hearing it is closer to COD than before is definitely a bad sign imo. i was watching a video of the beta on youtube earlier and it still "looked" very halo-ish, other than the running, which i know has been in there since 4 (possibly 3, i forget).

the one thing i noticed big time in the video i saw was the sound sounded VERY "COD"ish. like, it just sounded real/modern for all the weapons. it didn't sound "halo"ish at all to me. that is kind of how halo 4 was to me, the sound did not sound "halo"ish at all.

i was in the beta preview when it first came out, but not being able to get online to play with every update made me get off of it. i definitely would like to try out the beta though.
 
After playing MCC a ton I pretty firmly believe Halo 4's multiplayer is just more fun and overall better than Halo 2's. Halo 2 was incredible for its time but it has not aged well at all; it really does feel like you're playing an old clunky game when playing it back to back with 4.

Kill cams should just be a standard in all shooters. They give players the opportunity to learn how/why they died instead of immediately getting frustrated at perceived "bs".

Sprinting just improves the game pacing.

The primary thing I dislike about H4's multiplayer is loadouts. Halo is better when everyone starts with the same weapons and thus makes trying to control the weapons a big part of the game's mechanics.
 
I disagree on kill cams. I hate them. I know I died, I don't need to see how or why. Just get me back into the fray. It's a little like having to watch 10 replays of someone scoring a goal on you in a sports game. I don't want to see it, it's like rubbing it in.

You died, get over it and go kill someone for it lol
 
yeah i find kill cams pretty lame too just functionality wise. why should the enemy know where i am just because i killed them? you should be rewarded for killing people, not shown where you are killing them from.

but sometimes it's cool to see how you died as well, like if it's an obscure kill.
 
purbeast0 said:
yeah i find kill cams pretty lame too just functionality wise. why should the enemy know where i am just because i killed them? you should be rewarded for killing people, not shown where you are killing them from.

but sometimes it's cool to see how you died as well, like if it's an obscure kill.
Click to expand...

"xbox record that" would take care of the need to see how you died IMO. Although I feel that a majority of owners now don't have the Kinect. I know it's not the same thing, but you can generally see your mistake by viewing the replay even from your perspective.
 
purbeast0 said:
i don't have the beta, but hearing it is closer to COD than before is definitely a bad sign imo. i was watching a video of the beta on youtube earlier and it still "looked" very halo-ish, other than the running, which i know has been in there since 4 (possibly 3, i forget).

the one thing i noticed big time in the video i saw was the sound sounded VERY "COD"ish. like, it just sounded real/modern for all the weapons. it didn't sound "halo"ish at all to me. that is kind of how halo 4 was to me, the sound did not sound "halo"ish at all.

i was in the beta preview when it first came out, but not being able to get online to play with every update made me get off of it. i definitely would like to try out the beta though.
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It's not terribly like CoD, but it takes little things that are annoying from it. The control scheme defaults to a CoD-like setup (which I hated), but you can change it with ease. They have a Halo 4 control scheme, which I use, and it's perfectly normal (for Halo 4). It's the things like climbing ledges and the boost-slide from Advanced Warfare that are different this time. They have the talkative teammates, and I hate that (along with notifications about power weapon spawns). Also, sprinting came with Reach as an Armor Ability, then was globally added in Halo 4.

Not sure what you're referring to with the beta at the end, so can't comment on that.

dguy6789 said:
After playing MCC a ton I pretty firmly believe Halo 4's multiplayer is just more fun and overall better than Halo 2's. Halo 2 was incredible for its time but it has not aged well at all; it really does feel like you're playing an old clunky game when playing it back to back with 4.

Kill cams should just be a standard in all shooters. They give players the opportunity to learn how/why they died instead of immediately getting frustrated at perceived "bs".

Sprinting just improves the game pacing.

The primary thing I dislike about H4's multiplayer is loadouts. Halo is better when everyone starts with the same weapons and thus makes trying to control the weapons a big part of the game's mechanics.
Click to expand...

1. I can agree with the sentiment of Halo 2 a little--it's not aged all that well, from some angles. However, I feel like you're like, "it's not going 100 MPH, so it's clunky," when it's just more strategic and deliberate in its pacing. "Slow" and "clunky," are not the same.

2. The invention of killcams has never once helped me in the "BS kill department." Instead, what it does is show me how disgustingly bad the hit detection is in Call of Duty. I use, "Xbox, Record That," just to check out horrid kills at a slower pace.

3. Sprinting isn't and end-all solution to pacing, because it doesn't fit some games that well. I'll agree that I'm good with it in Halo, as it logically makes sense to have it.

4. I'm back-and-forth on loadouts. On the one hand, people call balance when everyone starts with the same guns. On the other, I feel like the weapons you can choose from in the Halo 4 loadouts are MOSTLY balanced, and that balance can also be described as how each person does with his preferred weapon. So, I don't totally hate customizable loadouts, but I also don't feel that they are a necessity.

cmdrdredd said:
I disagree on kill cams. I hate them. I know I died, I don't need to see how or why. Just get me back into the fray. It's a little like having to watch 10 replays of someone scoring a goal on you in a sports game. I don't want to see it, it's like rubbing it in.

You died, get over it and go kill someone for it lol
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My issue with killcams isn't about getting back into the game (since you can skip them, and multiple Halo game types make you wait to respawn anyway). I hate them because they're a crutch for dumb players who can't find where a sniper is located or where a camper is. It is a stupid way to punish those who can defend a position or find good cover, and that irritates me.
 
If the biggest complaints are about killcams and a control scheme that can be changed, sounds like it's pretty good to me. I don't see a single complaint about the actual gameplay, which is what actually matters.
 
blurredvision said:
If the biggest complaints are about killcams and a control scheme that can be changed, sounds like it's pretty good to me. I don't see a single complaint about the actual gameplay, which is what actually matters.
Click to expand...

It's all dependent on what you like and expect, but I've definitely pointed out some things that are different (which can be good or bad, depending on preference):

--Customizable loadouts, varying Armor Abilities (everyone gets Thruster Pack), and Ordinance are gone
--The ADS is now on all weapons, it seems, and it's very different for the Magnum and Battle Rifle (the DMR's a bit different as well)
--The in-game chatter in multiplayer is really annoying
--Power weapon spawns are now pointed out on the map for everyone, along with the respawn timer (taking that strategy of knowing such things away)
--Mantling exists now, for better or worse (I don't mind it)
--Characters definitely feel more grounded (you don't seem to jump as high or stay in the air for as long)

It's all preference, like I said. I really hate the player chatter, and showing weapon spawn timers and locations is annoying to me. The rest is pretty OK, nothing I love or hate. I think the biggest thing I notice is that there are a few minor things I hate, some varying things (major and minor) that I'm neutral on, and not a thing I can say that's a meaningful improvement. It's with maybe one-third of the weapons, two maps, and one game type offered, though.
 
The only complaint I have is that 343 cannot figure out matchmaking. Sure, consecutive matches are possible unlike MCC, but if one player drops, it takes 15 minutes to find one goddamn player so you have to back out or quit the game entirely and go back in just to get another match going. Halo 4 had matchmaking glitches but worked infinitely better than MCC and this beta. I have to say that I enjoy playing it a lot, coming from a Halo 4 background the improvements are amazing. Parkour and Halo is a great feeling, being able to evade groups of enemies by slipping around corners and clamoring. I abuse the hell out of the zoom float. I have never attempted ground pounding because the chargetime takes too long but floating with just a head peeking over a wall with a DMR means dominating fools. This will be a day one buy, but I really hope they can perhaps emulate the 360 network because this and MCC just are horribad in that way.
 
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