There was once a time when the Halo series was so popular that just attaching its name and a multiplayer beta to the box of a completely unrelated game caused sales numbers of an unknown intellectual property to record huge sales numbers. I'm obviously talking about Crackdown, and while only an idiot would attribute its success entirely to the added extra in question - the Halo 3 beta undoubtedly helped to push its appeal. The same can't be said for Halo 5: Guardians' multiplayer beta; released to such a hushed reception that this could very well be the first you're hearing about it. Well that, or you've only heard the cries about how Halo 5 has apparently been 'CoDified'. Excitement for a sequel always lessons with each subsequent release, but the hype for Halo as a whole seems to have plunged a cliff for what seems like no discernible reason. Halo 4 is one of the best entries in the series despite Bungie's departure after Halo Reach, and there's currently nothing to suggest that Halo 5 won't be equally brilliant. Released: October 27, 2015Platform: Xbox One
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
