5 Things You Need To Know about 'Halo 5: Guardians'

It might seem like a normal week for you but for the gaming community it's Halo 5: Guardians week.

What the Grand Theft Auto series is to the modern day sandbox game, the Halo franchise is to the modern day FPS. Ever we since stepped into the boots of John-117, aka The Master Chief, we haven’t looked back as we tore through the legions of Covenant and Flood spawn and then proceeded to school some newbies (or in some cases get schooled ourselves) on the online multiplayer arena.

Unlike it’s other FSP contemporaries á la Call Of Duty and Battlefield, the Halo franchise doesn’t need to spam the video games market with endless yearly titles. Each series in the Halo franchise is a gem and Halo 5: Guardians is no different. In fact it’s the most complete game in the series to date with developer, 343 Industries, upping the ante in both multiplayer and campaign mode.

With its first appearance on Xbox One, Halo has been taken a whole new level. Here's 5 things you need to know about Halo 5: Guardians.

Halo 5: Guardians has a new Spartan in town and his name is Jameson Locke. We were first introduced to him via the Ridley Scott produced TV series Halo: Nightfall and he’s pretty much the central character throughout this game. Master Chief is still active in this game but he’s reduced to a supporting role. While this may come as an unnecessary shake up within the roster for Halo purists, you’ll soon put aside those reservations and warm to him and Fireteam Osiris as they hunt down the Chief who has gone rogue.

That’s not to mean the Chief is on his lonesome, he’s rolling deep with his own Spartan Crew, Fireteam Blue, which consists of Fred-104, Linda-058 and Kelly-078.

Whether you’re playing the campaign on solo or co-op, teamwork is the key to your survival. Co-op has always been a factor in the franchise since Halo 3 but this time there's more to it than just running in blazing guns with your mates. The manner in which you choose to complete it is entirely up to you, Halo is famous for its huge maps and therefore encourages you, the player, to explore the terrain. You can choose to stick with your buddy or you can go off in different directions to cover more ground and make up time to complete the mission.

For those of you who like to play alone (because your so-called friends aren't on your level), your AI controlled teammates have you covered. One of the few criticisms regarding previous Halo games was the near-absent squad support in the campaign mode, more often than not your AI controlled teammates will be off doing their own thing, leaving you to deal with the main onslaught by yourself. This time they’ve made major improvements, your squad is never too far and can be relied upon for fire support (via the use of the D-Pad) and health recovery.

Halo’s arsenal cabinet has always been extensive and at the same time less daunting than Call of Duty's. Old favorites like the Battle Rifle, the shotgun and the ever-reliable assault rifle have seen improvements within the mechanics of the game and the SMG from Halo 4 makes a welcome return. One of the new weapons added to Halo's ever-growing arsenal is a new homing rocket dubbed the Hydra Launcher. This will definitely be one of the power weapons that will be sought after in multiplayer mode.

One of the new modes added in multiplayer mode is the appropriately named Warzone – and the clue is in the name. At its core, it's just one Big Team Battle with free-to-kill non-playable characters (NPCs) thrown in for the mix and to add to that, you have a base you need to defend. Warzone can be won in two ways, either by racking up 1,000 points before the other team, or by going for broke and destroying the other teams base. It sounds simple and straight forward but considering how many players are on the field trying to stop you and do the same thing , the sizes of the maps – and not forgetting the NPCs – you’re going have you’re work cut out for you.

Rule one of Halo: never jump into an online melee without paying your dues. Any newcomers to the franchise should earn their stripes on campaign mode before jumping into multiplayer modes like Warzone and Team Slayer, because we can tell you from experience that it’s no place for the weak. You'll be cannon fodder for those unrelenting Halo veterans – and if it's one thing they love, it's fresh meat. The beauty about Halo 5: Guardians is that it’s easy to pick-up and get good at – but to truly master it and make other players your personal target practice – you need to play the campaign on at least the 'Heroic' difficulty to get to an idea of how intense online might be. That is unless you actually enjoy screaming profanities at you’re TV and breaking your game pad.