The widely-anticipated Xbox One exclusive first-person shooter video game “Halo 5: Guardians” which will hit the Microsoft next generation gaming console on October 27 is coming with a couple of good news for gamers.
Game developer 343 Industries revealed that when the “Halo 5: Guardians” is launched in October 2015, it will come with over 20 maps. Subsequently, 15 more maps would be added after about eight months or in June 2016 as part of the game’s update via a downloadable content (DLC). The good news is that all of these maps would be free, details Eurogamer.
According to Bonnie Ross, 343 Industries General Manager and Studio Head, they do not want to divide the player base of the “Halo” franchise by selling maps. So they decided to make all maps in the upcoming “Halo 5: Guardians” free to all gamers.
Another good news for gamers, especially for the online multi-player and coop version of “Halo 5: Guardians” is that they do not need an Xbox Live Gold subscription or account to be able to play the game with friends.
The bad news
Amid the good news, there is also a bad news for gamers of “Halo 5: Guardians.” The video game is not capable of supporting split-screen co-op. Unlike its predecessors which made the split-screen their staple and popular feature, 343 Industries uncharacteristically pulled it out in “Halo 5: Guardians.”
The “Halo 5: Guardians” campaign supports co-op gameplay for up to four players who must all be online to be able to play the game.
Master Chief will be accompanied in the campaign by the Blue Team in both the single-player and four-player coop. The Blue Team accepts commands from Master Chief in single-player mode but in the co-op, each player plays a specific member and each with a different loadout.
In the gameplay story, Master Chief and the Blue Team are suddenly declared AWOL by the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), which would then shift the campaign to Spartan Jameson Locke. Locke will track down the Chief with the help of a team of his own called the Fireteam Osiris.
It is for this reason that Master Chief, who was previously the hunter in the video game franchise, becomes the hunted in “Halo 5: Guardians.”
Worldwide release date
Late in March, Microsoft has officially announced the worldwide release date of October 27 for the most anticipated game on Xbox One.
With the announcement, “Halo 5: Guardians” becomes the only Xbox One video game retail exclusive with a confirmed release date this year. Since both the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Wii U have yet to get a release date for their video game retail exclusives this year, “Halo 5: Guardians” is also the major console exclusive of any kind that is already confirmed for 2015.
The original “Halo: Combat Evolved” has been the flagship video game of Xbox since 2001. It was because of the game that millions of video game enthusiasts were convinced to purchase the original Xbox gaming console.