Halo 5: Guardians is what Halo 4 should have been in every way, updating Halo for a new generation of games. Mechanics were rebuilt from the ground up, and another epic has been set in motion.New mechanics have changed the feel of the game compared with previous titles. For example, running and jumping felt very Titanfall-esque — sprinting, climbing, and jet-packing around. Fast and smooth mobility added a new level of strategy and fun. I found a lot of scenarios in which I could use the new abilities to outflank a group of enemies or take the high ground.

The mechanic I was not a fan of was reviving downed teammates in campaign mode. I thought it was there merely for the sake of being there, not because it added anything to the experience. To me, going down instead of dying removes a sense of consequences. Plus, reviving teammates took long enough that odds are good you’ll end up getting killed, too.

Also, I recommend playing the story with a couple friends if possible. Your computer-controlled teammates’ AI programming needs to go to the same remedial school as the Battlefront AI. They tended to be ineffective and just cluster around you rather than doing anything constructive. Their only saving grace was that they beeline to you if you go down (and then die next to you).

The story was a mixed bag. Levels are split between playing Master Chief and new character, Spartan Locke. Master Chief and his team went rogue in pursuit of Cortana. Locke and his team are trying to bring Chief back. You spend more time as Locke than as Chief, which I thought was a mistake because psychological and emotional heart of the story rests on Chief’s relationship with Cortana, the computer program that literally lived in his head for years. This led to the finale being weaker than it could have been.

It was nice for Chief to be more of a character, not just a vehicle for the player to shoot things. I think he had more dialogue in this game than in first two Halos combined. The rest of the cast was underdeveloped, though. I got the impression most of the writing was focused on scenarios and plot lines rather than on character development. Most of your Spartan teammates are pretty much interchangeable suits of power armor.

The other issues I had with the story is a boss you fight about five times. It got old quickly. You should only fight him once in the beginning and once at the end (I’ll give the boss credit though; his final fight is pretty badass).

I still enjoyed Halo 5 immensely. It just could have done so much more. I think most fans of Halo will like the game after they adjust to the different style. It’s a worthy title.