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Halo 5: Guardians

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"The quest of the hunter and the hunted has begun."
— Official summary[1]

Halo 5: Guardians is the ninth installment in the Halo franchise.[2] It is the second game in the Reclaimer Saga and continues the story of the Master Chief.[2] Originally alluded to in a teaser trailer shown at Microsoft's E3 Media Briefing on June 10, 2013, Guardians was officially announced on May 16, 2014.[2] Exclusive to the Xbox One,[3][2] the game was released on October 27, 2015.[4] The first major coverage of the game was unveiled at E3 2014.[5]

The game grossed more than $400 million in its opening week, surpassing Halo 4's record of 300 million.[6]

Plot

"Peace is shattered when colony worlds are unexpectedly attacked. And when humanity’s greatest hero goes missing, Spartan Locke is tasked with hunting the Master Chief and solving a mystery that threatens the entire galaxy."
— Official summary[1]
Full version of the game's final cover art, depicting Spartan Locke, the Master Chief, and their respective fireteams.

Halo 5: Guardians features the largest ensemble cast of characters in any Halo game yet, with both new and returning characters.[7] The primary protagonist of the Halo series, Spartan-II supersoldier Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, returns in Halo 5: Guardians following the end of Halo 4. It has been noted that John has begun to question all of his former beliefs[8] following the events of "The Next 72 Hours", a story arc of the comic series Halo: Escalation during which he reunites with his long-time Spartan-II unit Blue Team, comprising Kelly-087, Fred-104 and Linda-058. Halo 5: Guardians marks the in-game debut of Blue Team, who fight alongside the Master Chief throughout the campaign.[9][10]

Halo media relating to Halo 5: Guardians.

Halo 5: Guardians also features another playable protagonist,[11] Spartan Jameson Locke, a "legendary manhunter" on a mission to find the Master Chief after Blue Team disappears and several colonies are unexpectedly attacked.[12][13][1] Locke is accompanied by Fireteam Osiris, which includes Spartans Edward Buck, Holly Tanaka and Olympia Vale.[9] Locke's role in the story is to act as a counterpoint for John-117's legendary and larger-than-life character, as well as a vehicle to contextualize both the Master Chief and the wider story from an outsider perspective.[14] Locke was introduced in Ridley Scott's digital series Halo: Nightfall, which has narrative connections to Halo 5.[15] 343 Industries stressed that Locke would not be replacing John-117 as the protagonist;[16] much like that of Halo 2, the campaign of Halo 5 alternates between the perspectives of the two main characters.[9] Locke was first shown in promotional artwork unveiled with the game's formal announcement.[2] He is also featured in Halo 2 Anniversary's terminals and new bookend cinematics, which have links to the story of Guardians.[17]

In the initial teaser trailer, the Master Chief is seen in the possession of an empty data crystal chip on a chain, alluding to his loss of Cortana at the end of Halo 4.[18] Regarding Cortana, Halo Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor stated that "her fate is obviously very clear at the end of Halo 4" and claimed that the story of Guardians would explore her legacy in the form of the long-term impact her sacrifice had on John-117, and how he "copes with loss and how he deals with his memories."[9]

Plot synopsis

Template:Spoilers Piano music plays in Doctor Catherine Halsey's office on Reach as she looks at a smiling Cortana just before she transfers to an armored matrix.

Fireteam Osiris is deployed by the UNSC Infinity to Kamchatka to extract Halsey from Jul 'Mdama's forces because she has information on a series of Forerunner attacks on human colonies. Fighting their way to Halsey’s coordinates, they find that the Covenant are under attack from their own Promethean forces which have inexplicably turned on them, weakening ‘Mdama’s hold on the Covenant. Fighting through Covenant and Promethean forces, Osiris finally kill ‘Mdama and his guards and secure Halsey. Arriving on Infinity, Halsey immediately begins asking Captain Lasky “how far has she gone,” to Osiris’s confusion.

Meanwhile, Blue Team insert onto the captured ONI research vessel Argent Moon to secure it from the Covenant forces that are stripping it for parts. While fighting through the Covenant scavengers, the Master Chief experiences a vision of Cortana activating an enormous winged machine and telling him that “Meridian is next.” Recovering, he and Blue Team continue the mission, deciding to scuttle Argent Moon to deny it to an incoming Covenant fleet. Blue Team set the reactor to overload and prepare to leave aboard an experimental ONI prowler, with the Master Chief reassigning them to Meridian against their superior's orders, hoping to get there before whatever team the UNSC decides to send and investigate whether Cortana is really still alive.

Aboard Infinity, Halsey reveals that Cortana has somehow gained access to the Domain, a galaxy-spanning repository of Forerunner knowledge. Worried that she is manipulating the Master Chief, Osiris is sent after Blue Team with orders to bring them back, hoping to neutralize them with armor restraints. Arriving at Meridian, they descend the Meridian's space elevator and are contacted by Governor Sloan, who grudgingly accepts their presence in exchange for assistance fighting off Promethean forces attacking the colonists. Fighting with the colony’s Liang Dortmund Corporation security forces, Osiris fend off the Prometheans long enough for the colonists to get to safety, discovering that “Governor” Sloan is actually an aging smart AI undergoing rampancy, and pick up clues that lead them to Apogee. Governor Sloan arranges for a Pelican to take them to Apogee, where they find the Prowler and that Blue Team has already descended into the planet, seemingly without opposition. Osiris follow, fighting through more Promethean forces, including the Warden Eternal, who introduces himself as Cortana’s servant and engages Osiris to prevent them from catching up with Blue Team. Defeating the Warden, Osiris catch Blue Team moving through a series of portals to try to reach the Guardian. Locke is the only member of Osiris who is able to reach Blue Team, and engages the Master Chief in hand-to-hand combat. He is defeated after damaging the Master Chief’s armor, neutralized with his own armor restraint, allowing Blue Team to board the Guardian which begins charging its slipspace drive, devastating Meridian with EMP shockwaves. Governor Sloan reveals that Cortana had contacted him earlier allowing him to evacuate as many of his people offworld as he could, and that he intends to join her “new dawn,” disappearing during the evacuation as Osiris climb the space elevator to reach their Pelican. Aboard Infinity, Halsey deduces that another dormant Guardian lies beneath the surface of Sunaion on Sanghelios. Moreover, Roland figures out that the distinctive sound the Guardian gave off during its activation was actually a set of slipspace coordinates, and that if they can feed it into the Sanghelios Guardian they can follow Blue Team to their destination. Captain Lasky hopes that Osiris can catch a ride aboard it to Blue Team’s location, but is reluctant to involve the UNSC in Sanghelios’s civil war.

Blue Team arrive on a lush Forerunner world, noting the arrival of numerous Guardians. They are led to a console by a familiar signal from their training, and encounter ragtag Covenant survivors dragged through in the wake of multiple Guardians’ slipspace drives, who believe that the planet was promised by the Prophets. They encounter the Warden in another body, who introduces himself as Cortana’s defender. As Blue Team proceed closer to Cortana’s location, the Warden interrogates the Master Chief over his intentions for Cortana. When John responds that he intends to take her home, the Warden announces that they have become a threat to his and Cortana’s goal, and uses his Promethean forces in an attempt to stop them. After defeating this iteration of the Warden, they are contacted by Cortana who explains that she arrived the planet aboard the wreckage of the Didact's ship after it was dragged through slipspace, and that her rampancy was cured by accessing the Domain. She leads Blue Team across the planet, to meet her at the access point to the Domain itself.

The UNSC prepare to insert Osiris onto Sanghelios with an escort from the Swords of Sanghelios. Inserting near Sunaion, they find that the Covenant has launched a last-ditch effort to kill the Arbiter and reverse its recent fortunes. Osiris fight their way to the Elder Council Chamber, hoping that the Arbiter can help them fight their way to the Guardian beneath Sunaion, which lies in Covenant hands. They arrive in time to evacuate the Arbiter in a Phantom to a Swords of Sanghelios camp, where they plan a counterattack on Sunaion. During tense moment between Locke and the Arbiter, Cortana reveals her presence on the planet. Halsey figures out that if they can acquire a Constructor Sentinel from one of the Forerunner ruins scattered across the planet, they can use it to activate the Guardian. Osiris are deployed to recover one from a nearby Forerunner facility, fighting their way through Prometheans and Covenant supported by Arbiter’s air support, which engages a Covenant Kraken walker to draw it out of their path. The Kraken positions itself between Osiris and the Constructor’s location, forcing them to board and destroy it. They recover the Constructor and deliver it to the Arbiter’s base, where Halsey reprograms it to activate the Guardian. The Constructor immediately sets about its task, and Arbiter leads his forces in a massive assault on Sunaion to destroy what remains of the Covenant on Sanghelios. Osiris fight their way through, assisting the Arbiter’s warriors, but their priority is to reach the Guardian above all else. The Warden leads Promethean forces in Sunaion to try to stop Osiris, but is again defeated. As the Sunaion Guardian activates, it charges its slipspace drive, creating similar EMP pulses as those which on Meridian, devastating Sunaion and the Covenant’s forces. Commander Palmer and Doctor Halsey use a Pelican to allow Osiris to board the Guardian, just as it enters slipspace. The Arbiter watches them leave, commanding his forces to clear Sunaion of the last of the Covenant.

Osiris manage to safely leave the Guardian and land on the Forerunner planet. They attempt to contact the Master Chief, only to be greeted by its monitor, 031 Exuberant Witness, who is horrified by the Warden and Cortana locking her out of her own systems, and their plan for “Created” to attain the Mantle, using the Guardians to “enforce the peace” across inhabited space on behalf of organic races – whether they want their protection or not. She assists them as they fight their way across Genesis to reach the Gateway, a link to the Domain, noting that Cortana has actually been leading Blue Team in circles to buy herself time. Osiris and Exuberant fight through more of the Warden’s forces, who are buying Cortana more time to bring the Domain’s systems online. Osiris meet up with Blue Team, offering to help the Master Chief stop Cortana, but Cortana translocates Blue Team away.

The Warden again confronts Blue Team, trying to convince Cortana that they are a threat to her plan, but she destroys his new body herself to protect Blue Team. The Master Chief reveals that no matter how warm her greeting, he has been suspicious of Cortana since he set foot on Genesis, and recognizes that she has been attempting to manipulate him through psychological tactics, confronting her about the casualties the Guardians have been inflicting. As Promethean forces renew their attack, Kelly-087 speculates that Cortana is allowing the Warden his periodic attempts to keep Blue Team distracted, despite destroying the Warden’s next body again as he tries to kill Blue Team. The Warden claims that while the Librarian intended the Mantle to be passed down, and prepared humanity for the task, the Mantle itself was meant not for humanity but for their creations, AIs. The Master Chief was never the Reclaimer – Cortana was. He repeatedly appeals to Cortana, urging her to recognize Blue Team as a threat as he engages Blue Team in multiple bodies simultaneously. Cortana counters that if he trusts her to use the Domain, he should also trust her judgement of the Master Chief and Blue Team, and recognizes that he is using her for his own ends. Finally confronting Cortana, reborn and with a new holographic avatar to represent her change, John tries to talk Cortana out of her plan, but is instead trapped inside a Forerunner Cryptum.

Osiris follows, witnessing deployment of the Guardians and the arrival of hundreds of AIs from across human space to join Cortana's new faction. As Osiris try to prevent the Cryptum from departing with Cortana, she attempts to use their individual histories to demoralize them, and accuses them of being pale imitations of “her” Spartans. Locke retorts that Doctor Halsey trusts them to bring the Master Chief back – Cortana tells him that she will punish Halsey soon enough. Exuberant Witness continues to help them progress, attempting to reach the Cryptum. Cortana announces that she intends to put the Master Chief and Blue Team in stasis for ten thousand years, giving herself time to consolidate her grip on the galaxy, as she begins to leave Genesis aboard a Guardian. Cortana begins broadcasting across the galaxy, promising an era of peace and prosperity under her benevolent rule – and warning that those who resist will be conquered through force. Cortana sends her Guardians ahead across the galaxy and begins to follow, but discovers to her horror that Osiris have restored control of Genesis to Exuberant Witness, who uses swarms of Constructors to pry the Cryptum from her control. It stays on Genesis as Cortana’s Guardian leaves through slipspace, unable to stop itself. Blue Team are freed from the Cryptum and finally united with Osiris.

Cortana and her AIs begin shutting down UNSC control across human space, using the Guardians to consolidate control. She tracks down the Infinity, which makes an emergency slipspace jump to escape and find a way to fight her. On Sanghelios, the Arbiter, Commander Palmer and Doctor Halsey meet the Master Chief and Locke who disembark from a Pelican.

Over a lush, green world, a Halo installation orbits as Cortana hums.

Spoilers end here.

Campaign

The Halo 5: Guardians campaign comprises 15 missions,[19] of which three are non-combat spaces in which the only objectives involve interaction with characters or objects.

  1. Osiris
  2. Blue Team
  3. Glassed
  4. Meridian Station
  5. Unconfirmed
  6. Evacuation
  7. Reunion
  8. Swords of Sanghelios
  9. Alliance
  10. Enemy Lines
  11. Before the Storm
  12. Battle of Sunaion
  13. Genesis
  14. The Breaking
  15. Guardians

Appearances

Characters

Species and entities

Organizations

Locations

Events

Vehicles

Weapons

Technology and equipment



Development

John-117 holding Cortana's data chip in the first teaser trailer.

What would later be revealed as Halo 5: Guardians was first revealed with a teaser released on June 10, 2013 during that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. The trailer indicated that a major Halo release would occur for the Xbox One console in 2014, leading many to believe that this particular game would be the next entry in the Reclaimer Saga and the sequel to Halo 4. However, Microsoft stressed the trailer's phrasing that 2014 would mark the beginning of a "journey", with the implication that this may not mean the release of the then still officially unannounced Halo 5.[2]

Halo 5: Guardians was formally announced on May 16, 2014 by 343 Industries General Manager Bonnie Ross. Ross describes Halo 5: Guardians as a bigger effort than the preceding Halo 4 in terms of the content and scope of the game as well as the technology underpinning it. The game's engine is said to have been completely retooled to take full advantage of the Xbox One's hardware and ecosystem; according to Frank O'Connor, the engine is all-new apart from a number of core features retained from the previous one.[24] Ross stated that Halo 5 would incorporate lessons the 343 Industries team learned from Halo 4 with regard to technology, performance, aesthetics, and scale in response to feedback received from the fan community. She also mentioned that the game would run at 60 frames per second and feature dedicated servers.[2]

Some of the content and features in Halo 5: Guardians.

In E3 2014, 343 Industries' statements about a "journey" beginning in the fall of 2014 were revealed to be referring to a multimedia project dubbed Halo: The Journey by 343 Industries,[25] set to begin with the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, containing remastered "Anniversary" editions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, as well as high-resolution versions of Halo 3 and Halo 4.[8] Additionally, it was announced that a multiplayer beta of Guardians was set to be released on December 29, 2014. Exclusive unlockable content for the beta was made available via The Master Chief Collection and the digital series Halo: Nightfall.[4]

The 343 Industries team underwent several internal changes between the development of Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. Nicolas "Sparth" Bouvier replaced Kenneth Scott as senior art director, although Scott was stated to continue serving in an advisory role.[26] Josh Holmes was also replaced by Tim Longo (known for his previous work on Star Wars: Republic Commando and the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot) as creative director.[27] Christopher Schlerf was supplanted by Brian Reed as Halo franchise lead writer after Schlerf's departure from 343 Industries.[28][29] The game's soundtrack was composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi, replacing Halo 4's Neil Davidge as the principal composer.[30]

On April 28, 2015 the final cover art was revealed.[31]

Gameplay

Spartan abilities listed, with slide showcased.

In Halo 5: Guardians, armor abilities are replaced by a new set of gameplay enhancements known as Spartan abilities,[32] which are available to all players at any time. Both the campaign and multiplayer are developed around Spartan abilities.[33] There is an increased focus on player mobility; players can now use the thruster pack (which allows omnidirectional movement) at all times, vault ledges, rapidly dash for cover or charge an enemy, or generate a shockwave by striking the ground. The sprint function is still present but the player's shields do not recharge while sprinting. Additionally, the charge and slide abilities are executed as sprint reaches terminal velocity. A new feature called the "smart scope" allows players to aim down the weapon's sights in a manner similar to many other modern shooters, although with non-scope weapons this is purely a cosmetic effect and provides little to no actual accuracy enhancement; 343 Industries used the Multiplayer Beta to gauge the effects of this feature on the game's gameplay balance.[34] The heads-up display once again allows the player to see what other weapon they have but are not currently using, a feature that had been removed in Halo 4. Unlike past titles players are now able to switch seats in a vehicle without getting out.

Halo 5: Guardians is the first major Halo release without any form of local splitscreen multiplayer or campaign, and does not natively support LAN play.[35] Notwithstanding the lack of local co-op campaign, players are able to play campaign cooperatively via Xbox LIVE Gold membership.[36]

Campaign

Locke ordering Buck to destroy a Phaeton.

The campaign mode of Halo 5: Guardians has been designed around the game's fireteam-centric focus and alternates between the perspectives of John-117's Blue Team and Spartan Locke's Fireteam Osiris. 343 Industries considers the fireteams (internally known as "musketeers" within the studio) to be the most significant gameplay innovation in Halo 5.[37] Due to the presence of the fireteams, enemies in Halo 5: Guardians are designed to be faster, more responsive and generally more lethal.[38] However, the campaign difficulty also scales according to the number of players.[9]

In single player campaign, the other team members operate autonomously but the player is able to give them contextual commands by pressing up the D-pad. The order given is determined by what the player is currently looking at. Some of these orders include Attack My Target, Go To Location, Use Vehicle (or turret), Pick Up Weapon and Revive Teammate.[38] The new revival mechanic allows both AI members of the team to revive the player or players to revive one another in co-op play. When a player takes too much damage, they go into a "downed" state. Active players or AI-controlled fireteam members can revive the downed Spartan within a set time limit which is shown in an icon on their HUDs. If a player remains downed for too long, they will die and be subject to similar respawn mechanics as in the prior games.[38] This is also the case with certain types of damage such as being stuck by a plasma grenade or falling to one's death.[20]

Tanaka reviving Vale.

In cooperative play, players assume the roles of different fireteam members, with each having their own distinct loadout; for example, Linda-058 always spawns with a sniper rifle. The different characters' base attributes also have subtle differences: for example, Kelly-087 is faster than the other members of Blue Team and Tanaka has a higher motion tracker range. Characters also have minor differences in traits such as their grenade carrying capacity or thrust recharge rate.[39] The heads-up displays of each team member have a unique design.[38] In co-op, players are able to choose which character to play as, although they are restricted to either Locke or the Master Chief in single player.[20] Co-operative games run on dedicated servers and allow players to seamlessly drop in and drop out of gameplay by simply joining the game and selecting a character to play as.[38]

The game has an intricate chatter system in which fireteams offer both contextual commentary during gameplay as well as scripted mission dialog, filling the role Cortana had in the prior games. This is seen by the developers as a means to tie storytelling more closely with the gameplay.[40] If the player lingers in an area the squad members will have dynamic conversations about various topics, such as their past, the location they are in, or the ongoing events.[41] Some contextual lines of dialog are different depending on which characters are controlled by players at a given time.[38] 343 Industries has stated that Blue Team has more lines of dialog in the game than they do in all prior Halo media.[10] As a notable change from Halo 4, the Covenant enemies of Jul 'Mdama's faction now speak English as they did in the original Halo trilogy. This is explained as 'Mdama's authority over his followers diminishing, as they have lately begun to ignore his mandate forbidding the use of human languages.[9]

Halo 5: Guardians creative director Josh Holmes has stated that the game would feature the largest and most open gameplay spaces in any Halo game yet, with an emphasis on replayability and sandbox-like gameplay.[7] The campaign was stated to be twice the length of Halo 4's.[42] The campaign missions feature a variety of possible alternate rou

  1. ^ a b c Xbox Wire - Halo 5: Guardians Pre-Order Details Released, Multiplayer Beta Starts Today
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Xbox Wire: The Halo Journey
  3. ^ Microsoft Xbox One briefing E3 2013
  4. ^ a b Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WaypointGuardians
  5. ^ Halo Waypoint: The Great Journey
  6. ^ Xbox Wire: Halo 5: Guardians Biggest Halo Launch in History
  7. ^ a b NeoGaf: post #9039 by Josh Holmes
  8. ^ a b Microsoft Xbox One briefing E3 2014
  9. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gi h5
  10. ^ a b Game Informer: Halo 5: Guardians – The Spartans Tough Enough To Work With Master Chief
  11. ^ YouTube: Halo: Nightfall Panel - SDCC 2014
  12. ^ Halo: The Master Chief Collection announcement trailer
  13. ^ Halo Waypoint: Halo: Nightfall
  14. ^ Gamesradar: 343 chats to GR+ about Locke and Master Chief's mystique in Halo 5
  15. ^ YouTube: Every. Halo. Ever. E3 2014
  16. ^ NeoGaf: Frank O'Connor on Locke and Master Chief
  17. ^ YouTube: Halo 2 Anniversary - Cairo Station Campaign Gameplay and...
  18. ^ Halo Xbox One announcement trailer
  19. ^ Halo Waypoint: Achievements Revealed
  20. ^ a b c YouTube: Ready Up Live: I played Halo 5 Campaign
  21. ^ YouTube: Five Minutes of Halo 5 Campaign Gameplay
  22. ^ YouTube: Halo 5: Guardians - The Best is Yet to Come (Interview) - E3 2015
  23. ^ Halo Waypoint: How Fans Helped Shape the Multiplayer of Halo 5: Guardians
  24. ^ NeoGAF: Frank O'Connor on game engine
  25. ^ Eurogamer: 343's master plan for Halo 5: Guardians
  26. ^ IGN: Halo 4 Art Director Steps Down at 343 Industries
  27. ^ Joystiq: Tomb Raider, Republic Commando creative director joins 343 Industries
  28. ^ Twitter: schlerf
  29. ^ Twitter: Brian Reed
  30. ^ NeoGaf: Frank O'Connor on music
  31. ^ Xbox Wire: Halo 5: Guardians Cover Art
  32. ^ Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta announcement trailer
  33. ^ Josh Homes on Twitter: "The Campaign and MP have both been designed around the Spartan Abilities."
  34. ^ YouTube: Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta: Behind the Scenes
  35. ^ ArsTechnica: Halo 5 listing, dev statement confirm end of series’ local multiplayer (Updated)
  36. ^ Halo Waypoint: Clarity Regarding Halo 5: Guardians Online Co-op Access
  37. ^ Halo 5: Guardians ViDoc: A Hero Reborn
  38. ^ a b c d e f Halo Waypoint: Halo 5: Guardians - Your Team is your Weapon
  39. ^ YouTube: Interview Exclusive Josh Holmes (343 Industries)
  40. ^ Game Informer: Evolved Combat: How Halo 5: Guardians Is Breaking Tradition
  41. ^ YouTube: Halo 5: Guardians - The Best is Yet to Come (Interview) - E3 2015
  42. ^ IGN: Halo 5: Guardians: Gamescom Footage
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