It’s strange to say, but Halo 5: Guardians has a lot to prove to it’s most loyal community. As everyone already knows by now, The Master Chief Collection was an utter mess. What should have been the ultimate collection of titles for Spartan fans turned out to be an unplayable, glitchy mess. Granted, 343 Industries the current Halo development team, proved to be more than capable at providing an action filled sci-fi adventure with the last numbered installment in the series. Nevertheless, the trust from fans is teetering right now, making Halo 5 a pivotal piece for the future of the Chief.

After an extended look at the next addition to the franchise, I believe it can, in fact, turn into something special. The reason why: Warzone, the new 12 v. 12 v. everyone multiplayer mode that was just revealed a few days ago. Don’t worry if the specifics are still cloudy, there was a lot of information to process when originally announced. I will go through the intricacies of what I believe might be a game changer for those that want the classic Halo feel in a new form. Even if what makes the mode successful was borrowed from Titanfall, but more on that in a bit.

Here’s the skinny: like I previously mentioned, the multiplayer mode will feature two teams of 12 going at each other for control of certain interest points on the map. Each team has a home base where they can spawn weapons and vehicles with the new Requisition System. Now for the twist. Enemy AI are also on the field, hence the v. everyone. There are two win conditions. Gain 1000 points for completing varying objectives on the field or destroy the enemies cell core located at their base. Each one of these goals can sway the battle at any given moment.

So what makes this mode similar to gameplay from Titanfall? No, giant mechs won’t be raining down on the battlefield. We can start with the “Req System,” these are cards that you will gain by spending a new type of in-game currency. These special little collectibles will allow players to deploy weapons and vehicles throughout any match. Sound a little like Burn Cards? That’s because they basically are. The implementation here feels more balanced though. Using cards will require energy and a certain in-game rank, depending on the items usefulness. Eliminating the usual race to vehicle and weapon spawn points. Turning the focus back to actually competing for objectives.

Same goes for the PVP/PVE aspect of the match. Titanfall-style matches include AI bots running around as fodder. In Warzone, the enemies will actually be bodies from the campaign so they will be smarter and more physically imposing. Giving them less of the artificial screen filler feel. Another key difference are the bosses. Not only will there be the basic combatants; two boss enemies will show up in the middle of the match. An easier one that will give moderate amounts of points if taken down and a Legendary version that will give you 20% of the points needed to win.

Depending on how matches are going both teams may end up prioritizing eliminating these bosses, turning it into a meta battle for the points. Even turning it into a player management as well, since you don’t want to expend all your forces to one objective. You don’t want to leave your base vulnerable.

Both of these are essentially straight from EA’s mech shooter but better, improved, and implemented in more interesting ways that make sense for Halo.

Warzone has the potential to become a really big deal. It requires all the precision and teamwork  from the series multiplayer while introducing some new madness to the fray. Battles actually feel large and epic in scale. I guess that’s what will happen when you let 24 players spawn items and provide multiple objectives. Hopefully this cleared up the mode a bit for you guys, I think there’s a lot to be optimistic about with the Chief’s next adventure.

What did you think about the new multiplayer mode? Does it look like something you could see yourself getting excited about? Let us know in the comments below.