14 DAY TRIAL // Halo 5: Guardians has just received a fresh batch of details from the latest cover story in GameInformer magazine, this time going in-depth about the story mechanics, not to mention the multiplayer systems. These allow for online cooperative play even for those who don't have Xbox Live Gold and will see 15 free DLC maps appear by June 2016.
Halo 5: Guardians was revealed to the world last year, and at the upcoming E3 2015, Microsoft and developer 343 Industries are expected to share a wide array of new information about the Xbox One exclusive first-person shooter.
Until then, GameInformer magazine ran a cover story about the new game, and already a few interesting details have appeared from it.
The story includes great co-op mechanics
First up, via NeoGAF, it seems that players will be able to control Master Chief and Agent Locke at different points in the story and they'll both be accompanied by a trio of AI-controlled characters. If you're playing through the story via the four-player co-op mode, your buddies will be able to pick from the other three characters.
However, if you're solo, you can issue commands to the AI companions and they can even revive you if you go down in combat. Master Chief is accompanied by Blue Team, whereas Locke is helped by his own squad called Epsilon, which includes Buck from previous games.
The game starts before Chief and his team go AWOL, and a big enemy will be Forerunner entities that are tearing apart the star systems. There will be team banter and multiple routes to tackle objectives, while the difficulty increases on the fly if another person joins the fun via the drop-in, drop-out co-op system.
No XBL Gold membership for co-op and free DLC
What's more, Xbox Live Gold membership isn't required to enjoy the online cooperative mode. Unfortunately, it seems that there will be no splitscreen co-op gaming this time around.
On the competitive multiplayer side, there will be 15 downloadable maps released by June 2016, in addition to the 20+ standard levels. What's more, they'll all be free so that everyone can enjoy them as intended.