Halo 5: Guardians is an upcoming game in the Halo series. It is the sequel to Halo 4 and the second main Halo game to be developed by 343 Industries. It has been revealed that besides Master Chief, a new character, Spartan Locke, will also be playable on certain levels, and each has a fireteam that can be directed in combat or controlled by other players in co-op. A multiplayer beta for anyone who owned the Master Chief Collection was held in late December and January.
Many new features are being added in Halo 5: Guardians. Thes include Spartan Abilities that all Spartans share and can be used at any time. The seven abilities are:
- Thruster Pack, a small boost in any direction.
- Ground Pound, a slam from the air, damaging anyone in a small radius around impact.
- Clamber, the ability to climb onto ledges that would normally be too high to reach.
- Slide, if sprinting you can press the crouch button to slide.
- Charge, while sprinting you can boost forward into an enemy killing them if from behind and damaging them from other sides.
- Sprint, which is similar to Halo 4, except it is unlimited. Shields will not recharge while sprinting.
- Smart Scope, where every weapon has a zoom function with different amounts of zoom.
So far, three new gamemodes have been revealed for Halo 5: Breakout, a 4v4 round-based elimination gametype on special maps, Strongholds, where 3 bases can be controlled by either team to give points to the one that controls them, and Warzone, where large teams control bases and fight Covenant and Promethean enemies for points. After many fans were disappointed with Halo 4's multiplayer, which included loadouts and ordnance, Halo 5 will have a large focus on arena multiplayer in which both teams have identical weapons, providing a more classic and competitive experience. It has been revealed that Halo 5 will launch with 20 maps, and 15 additional ones will be added in as free downloadable content.
Not much is known about Halo 5's plot. The HaloWaypoint page for Halo 5 states: "A mysterious and unstoppable force threatens the galaxy while the Master Chief is missing and his loyalty questioned. Experience the most dramatic Halo story to date in a 4-player cooperative epic that spans three worlds."
