The Halo franchise and I are old friends. Over its more than ten year 13+ year run, the series has remained a landmark title and some of the best content available on Xbox. Combat Evolved was one of the first console based shooter whose story really engaged me. As strange or corny as it may sound, my wife and I cemented our relationship over the series, playing through CE and Halo 2 together before the release of Halo 3. The multiplayer, both local and co-op has been the best way for us to stay in touch with some of our friends. It means a lot to us.
Yesterday at noon the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta launched. I would have played more on day one, but we were finishing up our Legendary run through CE. Today I immersed myself in the beta and was surprised by how very different the experience is from the existing franchise. The speed of play is definitely more fast paced, tuned more for shorter, high intensity matches like those preferred by professional clans. The high mobility is definitely reminiscent of Titanfall which seems to have become an unspoken standard of sorts.