News Co-op Campaign in Halo 5: Guardians

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Campaign is an obvious staple in the Halo franchise. With the news of split-screen compatibility being removed, 343i has left much to be desired within the realm of local cooperative Halo. In their most recent posting, however, they assured their fans that campaign is being "designed from the ground up to support co-operative play" with an ensemble of fresh characters, new gameplay mechanics, and a large universe to explore.

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Halo’s campaign was originally built to be a single-player experience. With the introduction of Fireteam AI, however, the cooperative experience has been weaved into campaign as players are now constantly supported by three other Spartans. When playing solo, they are controlled by AI that will support you, navigating the environment and reacting dynamically throughout combat. However, dedicated servers will allow friends to seamlessly join and control one of these distinct Spartans.

Halo 5: Guardians will be told from the perspective of two different protagonists and their accompanying teams. To distinguish between eight playable characters, 343i has designed each of their HUDs uniquely to provide visual contrast among them. When detailing the designs, Holmes stated that "Blue Team have a heavier, more weathered feel [whereas] Fireteam Osiris' armor is sleek and modern, technologically advanced and displays less wear". The core functionality remains the same between each character, but each Spartan will have attributes and weapons unique to their character.

To support their emphasis on cooperative play, 343i has introduced the Revive mechanic to Halo's campaign, creating new opportunities for team members to support one another. Additionally, Holmes mentioned another feature unique to Fireteam Osiris known as the Artemis Tracking System; a new piece of ONI technology that allows the player to scan the surrounding area by sending out a waveform that highlights objects of interest. Tracking can be used to locate weaponry, vehicles, collectibles and narrative drops throughout the campaign.

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343i has stated that the cooperative campaign experience delivered with Halo 5: Guardians is beyond that of any previous title in the franchise despite the lack on split-screen. When speaking about their decision to remove said feature, Holmes went on to say that "Our decision was driven by a desire for scale, fidelity and focus to ensure that we would deliver the best quality experience possible. Game development is a balancing act of resources, time and technology, and in this case we made the tough decision to sacrifice something that’s been near and dear to us all".

You can find the full breakdown here. What do you think of the news?​
 
Most of my fondest memories of Halo coop involve splitscreen play. Playing Halo 2 all night with my buddy when my parents didn't let me play M-rated games (I was such a rebel, hurr durr); playing all the way through H3's campaign on legendary in one night; even switching back and forth with my friend to beat CE on PC; most of my best campaign memories don't involve Xbox Live at all. Then again, sneaking through ODST with MockKnizzle and using vehicles to troll the shit out of Reach and H3's campaign with Flying Shoe ILR come pretty close. If Halo 5's campaign does co-op right, I'm sure it can succeed without splitscreen. The key is to walk the line between allowing players to explore on their own while also requiring them to work together. You also have to factor in that when players are in parties playing together, they're going to be less focused on the in-game dialogue and less immersed in that way. Halo 5's campaign will be interesting. I'm just glad to see the Arbiter return.
 
I just found a relevant article on Polygon.

"This is a pillar of Halo, and it's something that has been designed around since the first game."​

This quote in particular, I find widely applicable. I think it really sums up the developers' lack of understanding about what's been at the core of Halo since day one. They proved this with game mechanics, and they're now proving it with features as well.

"Losing it when the series first takes a jump to a console so much more powerful than the hardware that has been doing it for years doesn't make me glad I upgraded to an Xbox One; it makes me miss my previous Xbox systems."​

This quote, I think is also very relatable to many Xbox One owners. Every step forward seems to also include a step back.
 
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"I take two steps forward
I take two steps back
We come together
'Cause opposites attract."

-Paula Abdul