With only one more week left to access the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta, 343 Studios has made sure to live up to the fans’ expectations of new and exciting maps, new game modes, sprinting, and the long-awaited feature of ADS (aim-down-sights). The beta opened on December 28th, and has since swapped between weapons, maps, and new game types each week since the release.
Gameplay
Although servers were expected to run slowly due to the many issues that Halo: The Master Chief Collection experienced, I was able to load up the beta and hop into a match within about a minute and a half of waiting. My first reaction to the match was over-excitement of finally being able to aim down the sights of my gun and having the option to sprint, but I was more than surprised to run into an enemy within 3-4 seconds of the match starting.
Aiming at the enemies is as easy as it can be with ADS, but players will definitely need to work on their aiming speed. Most of the maps are small, meaning players will be seeing enemies more often than they would on some of the older maps from previous Halo games. Sprinting works the same as in any other shooting game, but it’s definitely a great feature to finally add to the franchise.
A new game mode called “Strongholds” was added to the beta two nights ago, This is an objective-based mode with three zones for the teams to control. Another game mode, called “Breakout”, will remain during the third week of the beta, which is a mode that grants each player one life only. Players start out with either an assault rifle or a battle rifle, and the game ends when either team wins five rounds.
Get it before it’s gone
The beta is only available on the Xbox One for those who own Halo: The Master Chief Collection, so hurry and download the app onto your system and get a few matches in before the beta ends next Monday, January 18th.
