June 16, 2015 by Paul Curtin
Halo fans might disagree, but after Bethesda’s visually-stunning debut of Doom on Sunday night, Microsoft’s Halo 5: Guardians co-op footage during their media briefing Monday morning seemed… well… kind of weak.
That’s not to say that Halo 5 didn’t still look impressive. With new additions to the cast like Nathan Fillion and a stronger emphasis on both hero and villain character development, Halo 5‘s campaign is sure to still take gamers on a wild ride after breaking their hearts at the end of Halo 4.
What certainly did not look weak, however, was Halo 5‘s multiplayer teaser. We’ve known that the latest Halo has been focusing on smaller 4 vs. 4 balanced arena combat, but we had no idea that 343 was also developing a massive new player vs. player mode that sits on the opposite end of the spectrum. In the new MOBA-inspired mode, which 343 is calling “Warzones,” two teams of 12 Spartans face off against each other while trying to control points on a map that allow for weapon upgrades and additional NPC units to be spawned to help aid in pushing towards the enemy base and destroying their core.
Halo‘s iconic Big Team Battle modes are usually a spectacle with so many players and vehicles flying around the map and creating chaos… and 343 now throwing in additional NPC units and new vehicles seems like it will help create even more chaotic experiences than ever but also while adding more objectives to complete on each map to give players a sense of purpose and reason to work together as a team.
Halo 5: Guardians is set for launch on October 27, 2015, only on Xbox One.