Microsoft shared first footage and details of Halo 5: Guardians‘ multiplayer component at HaloFest this evening.
Spartans are soldiers of speed and total destruction, and 343 is bringing that into the gameplay of Halo 5‘s multiplayer with a new set of Spartan abilities.
These include:
- Thruster Pack – You have these little retro rockets built into your Spartan armor which you can use as a speed boost while running. Or you can use it in mid-air. You can go back, forward—in all directions, essentially.
- Ground Pound – An ability where you jump and slam down to the ground, creating a shockwave splash effect.
- Clamber – When you jump up, you can mount on top of edges by hitting the clamber button. This is useful when trying to just about making the jump.
- Slide – Once you reach terminal velocity while sprinting, you’ll get an indication. If you hit the crouch button during that time, you’ll launch into a slide. You can slide into cover, slide into cover with a shotgun, or to charge.
- Charge – Hit the melee button to bash through anyone.
- Sprint – “There are people that love sprint and there are people that feel sprint has no place in Halo. For us, it was about ‘how do we balance that, how do we counter that?'” Sprint is connected to your shields, so while you’re sprinting your shields won’t recharge.
- Smart Scope – Smart Scope fiction has been built into the game since day one. You were doing it with the pistol and it was cybernetically linked to your helmet, showing the Spartan what was ultimately just a zoom. Every weapon now has a zoom in, showing a holographic image. Hip-fire mode is “accurate, the same as it ever was.”
You’ll be able to test these abilities yourself when the Halo 5 multiplayer beta begins late next month. The beta will run at 60 frames per second in 720p, but that is not the final resolution. It will also introduce a player-driven “Halo Council” to allow for user conversation with the developers. You can gain access to the beta by purchasing Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which is out in just a few minutes on the east coast of the U.S.
Watch the new Halo 5 footage below. View some screenshots at the gallery.
