Halo 5 beta impressions

Honestly, I won't have a chance to play til later (edit: ok, I did now, impressions a few posts down). But I haven't seen a thread and I'm curious what you all think so far.

How's it feel? How's it connecting? How are the visuals nd sound? I'll answer these questions later tonight, but I'd like to hear your impressions for the time being.

EDIT: Quick impressions. It feels snappy. Coming off MCC, there's a noticeable change in the feel but it's intriguing (this coming from a huge Halo fan). The connecting isn't infuriating. The audio/visual side is nice and fancy. *plays more*

I've been playing it for about four days total, I've really enjoyed my time with it. It's faster and smoother than any past Halo game, it feels balanced, and well made. Even starts is soooo refreshing and the new abilities are both empowering and well balanced so far, they don't feel like crappy gimmicks, they feel like extensions to the sandbox.

It's an amazing turn out for a game that's a year out from launch and I plan on spending many more hours with this beta to flesh out my impressions.

Oh, what a cool playing game. All the matches I have played I have done above average. I actually feel like I'm getting kills skillfully instead of fumbling about like I usually do in Halo MP. That dash is rad as hell. dashdashdash. The amount of times it has saved me from death is ridiculous.

Super good first impressions. It's definitely Halo, but faster, smoother and clamberier.

I just played one match. We got destroyed (not surprising because I suck at Halo) but when the round ended, I got dumped back to the "Waiting for players screen" and no one ever joined. Couldn't find a way to quit back to the main menu. Might try again tomorrow.

I have more impressions:

- The movement speed change isn't as drastic as I thought compared to Halo 4. I've been playing the original 3 on MCC, and whenever 4 showed up there was a noticeable speed increase. This seems more in line with that, but the mobility provided by the thrusters is fantastic. So fun to dodge midair, makes evasion a smarter play, and pursuits are more intense. The clamber ability makes me look at the maps in a different way. Instead of a series of corridors and open areas, there's potential for a lot of fun side paths with more tactical options.

- The weapon sounds are a letdown. The assault rifle doesn't sound beefy at all, but I'll need some more time to either adjust or complain more.

- Grenades seem better than they did in 4. This was my biggest problem with that game, so I hope they don't neuter them in the final game.

- The fake teamspeak is quite alright. I muted everyone, as I do (let's say the first lobby was off to a bad start). But this made it feel more like a team game and turned out to be pretty handy.

- I hate the new scopes. I don't mind every weapon having a zoom feature or anything, but I don't like the design of the iron sights. I wish there was a way to just go straight to a scope view instead of looking at the fancy new sights.

- I immediately went to the recon control setting. I'm sure the new layout is logical, but it felt great with the old setup.

- I've had several lobby issues. Last game had 4 failures before I got into a game.

- It looks nice for a game in this state. Like the audio, I'm looking forward to seeing what some polish and improvement will do.

All in all, I'm enjoying it and looking forward to playing more. Tweaks need to be made here and there, but for a first time out this early it's making a strong impression.

It plays great, my first match went awful because I was just fumbling with the new controls, only to come into the next match, pull off a Hat trick in the first 2 minutes and then end the game with a 3.2 KD.

Its very much still Halo and it feels way better, the dash saved my ass in one match at least 4 times, from getting away from grenades to dashing around the corner to avoid full teams when solo. I feel like the only thing that is lacking is the visuals, I am sure it will look cleaner at release the actual pieces themselves look nice just kinda muddy around the edges but some real nice texture work going on.

Also the ADS (Aim down Sights) stuff fits right in and is not something you have to use, in fact I would say the system they have made is... honestly kinda fantastic it Looks cool and is functional for long range play but isn't always the best option at medium to short range.

The Dash, the Jump and ADS to float, the ground pound, the clambering all fit in an almost scary way it will be hard to go back if the singleplayer campaign uses these tricks to accent the combat in a interesting manner.

At this point, I've played almost 3 hours and have no desire to go back to MCC at the moment (even with just two maps). I won't play it every night, but I'll miss it when it's gone.

Kind of curious how far they'll expand this beta. I know there's at least one more map incoming and that Breakout mode. I'm assuming they'll try higher player counts to test some things. Maybe some new power weapons thrown in eventually. Looking forward to Breakout, as it sounds like the Gears of War 1 style of super tense, single life fights.

And this is good to know:

"Will my progress in the Beta carry over to Halo 5: Guardians?

Yes, all of the helmets, armor and customization transfers to next year’s Halo 5 release. In fact, you’ll unlock items for the Halo 5: Guardians Beta by doing things in Master Chief Collection, from watching Halo: Nightfall to playing the games."

I am very much a "Halo 2 is best Halo" sort of person. Top to bottom, from gameplay to maps, H2's multiplayer was perfection. Also, Halo 4 is hot garbage. This is an indisputable fact.

That being said, I'm really liking H5 Guardians so far. I played about 4 hours total today. The new controls and abilities took me a while to get used to, but once I got the hang of things I started destroying people. It's a faster game, yes, but it's not... quick in the same way that H4/CoD are (if that makes sense). The chess match that is a Halo combat encounter is still very much a thing, there are just some new pieces to consider.

I like it, tons. Comparing this to something like Destiny's crucible, Halo 5 is faster, funner, and FAR more balanced than any of the countless hour I wasted in Destiny. I'm pretty excited for this now.

I'm loving it.

There are some issues, but I like how balanced it is.

My buddy came over yesterday and we played 7 hours. Some more thoughts between us:

- Breakout's got a ton of potential. This round-based set up reminds a whole lot of the first Gears of War, but faster paced. Looking forward to seeing how other maps change the approach, as each Gears map came down to knowing the environment and figuring out when to strike.

It also reminds me of Divekick. Each battle feels like the end of a hard-fought team slayer match. It gets super tense, you have a second to recover, then it gets super tense again. I thought it would get old quickly on a single map, but matches were dynamic and allowed for some insane comebacks.

- The remixed maps are superb. Similar assets and feels, but completely different engagements when compared to the originals. The hydra is a true power weapon when used correctly, and the thrust has a lot of counter potential to the sword. Just some new stuff made the whole game feel fresh after a week. Can't wait to see how much the full game will offer.

- I told my buddy that this may have the most pure PvP since the first game. I always feel like I have a chance with any weapon in any situation.

- The mobility took some time to adjust to. I was dying a ton at first as I tried to figure out the best way to use it. Now that I'm averaging 20-25 kills per match, I've grown to love it.

- Halo 5 is now my most anticipated game, along with Rise of the Tomb Raider. The campaign reveal will be interesting to see since I know the gameplay is so rock solid.