5 Biggest Changes In Halo 5

343 Industries has been handed a very popular and very established franchise in Halo. Ever since Halo 4 they've had microscopes on them for every change, modification and addition they make to the series. Well, there are changes in Halo 5, for better or for worse.

Given that the game is being talked about all over the web and fans of the series are obviously excited about the first-person sci-fi shooter, it's time to talk about the five biggest changes in Halo 5 that you may or may not agree with it. Check them out.

Warzone Mode

The biggest change to Halo 5 is obviously the new multiplayer mode Warzone. It features a PvPvE dynamic where 24 players are pitted against enemy AI ranging from Prometheans to Covenant forces, there even legendary bosses involved. The game mode finally elevates Halo 5 to an all new level of multiplayer competition, as players will be able to battle it out across four different maps attempting to beat the other team.

The game mode plays out in two different ways, with either AI or no AI and in the first instance opposing teams will attempt to reach 1,000 points or disable the opposing team's core, while in the other instance players will attempt to work together to dominate control points very similar to the Conquest mode in Battlefront or Battlefield. It's a big departure from the typical PvP features in the past games and marks a nice push forward for the franchise in the multiplayer department.

Agent Locke

343 and Microsoft are really pushing the new Agent Locke, now Spartan Locke, into the Halo picture. He's still viewed as the “new guy” and some have had a hard time seeing him as anything more than a rival to Master Chief. Maybe that's the whole point? Anyway, 343 introduced Locke with actor Mike Colter playing Lt. Commander Jameson Locke in a live-action series called Nightfall.

The appearance in Nightfall was extended beyond just a live-action series and into a very prominent role in Halo 5: Guardians. In fact, the ONI specialist who now dons Hunter GEN2 Spartan IV armor is one of the main playable characters in the game opposite of John-117, Master Chief. The game's campaign will bounce back and forth between Locke's Osiris Team and the Chief's Blue Team, much in the same way that Halo 2 bounced back and forth between the Chief and the Arbiter.

Kazuma Jinnouchi's Soundtrack

After helping Halo 4's lead composer Neil Davidge on the soundtrack, 343 and Microsoft decided to endow Kazuma Jinnouchi with the mantle to be the lead composer for Halo 5. The change is both apparent and appreciated. Jinnouchi's soundtrack has already been made public ahead of Halo 5's release, and it not only pushes the sounds of the franchise forward but also does a great job of paying respects to the roots that were laid down by Marty O'Donnell.

Jinnouchi's soundtrack is imperative to the establishment of the new Halo trilogy, and he and the 343 audio team have done a magnificent job in cementing a new theme for Halo 5 while also maintaining an homage to the foundation that started a legacy back in 2001. The music in the Halo franchise is very important and Jinnouchi managed to strike a balance between trying something new (the inclusion of synthesizers and electronic tones) while also keeping it traditional with the monk chants and orchestral pieces.

Improved Forge

The new and improved Forge is really more of a compliment to the other features rather than a whole new thing on its own. The Forge is generally now just bigger and badder and better than before. How so? Well, they've completely revamped some of the controls so now it's easier to get around the maps, implement exactly what you want and connect it together like Lego blocks.

One of the more talked about features is the grouping tool, which allows users to piece together more than one thousand parts and move them anywhere on the map. The map size has also been greatly increased thanks to the Xbox One's larger memory pool, and new features like customizable lighting and machinima tools to make custom movies. The only drawback is that it's not a launch feature and will launch in December.

Spartan Armor Abilities

Both Bungie and 343 have been experimenting with a lot of different abilities in the Halo games, from adding portable shields in Halo 3 to adding jetpacks in Halo: Reach. Both studios have been adding more and more features to the Spartan's armor abilities and now they have a huge list of them in Halo 5: Guardians.

Some of the new abilities in the game includes the stabilizer that allows a Spartan to hover in midair to take a shot before falling, as well as the new slide, clamber and ground pound abilities. Each of the skills is basically designed to give players more mobility options to take advance of tactical arena situations that were previously unavailable in Halo titles. Someone with a lot of map awareness and quick reflexes could really clean up on utilizing the new armor abilities. How well this will change the game's multiplayer dynamic will be interesting to see.