Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta preview

Halo 5: Guardians may not be out until late 2015, but some players have had a chance to experience some of the gameplay already thanks to the multiplayer beta. Does the game revolutionise the FPS genre, or has the gameplay been kept the same? The first thing gamers will notice is just how buttery smooth the gameplay is in Halo 5: Guardians. 343 Industries made the beta a stable 60 frames per second, and the gameplay feels fast and fluid throughout. I'm not a gamer that usually notices the differences on framerates, but I did notice how smooth the gameplay was in Halo 5. Another thing to note about Halo 5: Guardians is that 343 Industries has included many features to make the game feel more like a modern FPS. In the older Halo games, Spartans were slow and bulky so they could never sprint. Not to mention they would aim their guns firing from their hips, as opposed to aiming down the sights of the gun's barrel. The Halo games have been like this for over 10 years, and some felt the gameplay was outdated because of the aforementioned mechanics. Thankfully, this all changes with Halo 5: Guardians as it has updated mechanics that feel more in line with FPS games released today. Spartans can now sprint and aim down their sights with every gun that they use. The gameplay change is a noticeable one as some fans will like it, while others may not. Halo 5: Guardians is harder in the sense that players are all sprinting and jumping around much faster than they did in previous games. That being said, aiming down the sights is pretty helpful as your shooting becomes more accurate and stable. The guns that I managed to use were the Battle Rifle, a pistol and the iconic Assault Rifle.  The weapons feel meatier and sound more realistic too. The overall feel of combat is satisfying, although the faster pace is something Halo veterans might have to get used to. I'm pretty good at playing the older Halo games, but got hammered the first few tries of playing Halo 5: Guardians. Apart from the guns, another new feature added to Halo 5: Guardians are the Spartan abilities. The Spartan abilities allow players to use a sort of jetpack to hover and boost themselves up to higher ground. The Spartan abilities also allow you to tackle other players and more. These abilities are pretty cool as it makes it easier to move around the maps. The abilities also make the gameplay faster since you will see lots of other players jumping around more often than they would do in previous Halo games. Sadly, the beta only included a few maps and none of them had any vehicles in them. I cannot comment on what vehicles will be like in Halo 5: Guardians, so this is something that players will have to find out closer to the game's release date later this year. The maps themselves are visually stunning and are designed very well. Halo games have always had cool looking maps, and it's great to see that Halo 5 is continuing this trend. From what I played so far, Halo 5: Guardians is sure to be a multiplayer favourite among Xbox One owners. The game is action packed and the changes don't ruin the overall experience.