343 Industries released the Halo 5 Guardians Beta yesterday to the masses who purchased Halo: The Master Chief Collection. We sampled the game and found that although the matchmaking felt a little slow, the overall experience was pretty solid. There’s the usual assortment of character customization options with many extras being tied to one’s level. Play more matches, gain additional options – a tried and trusted formula that rewards no matter how well you perform in the field. Gameplay wise, the offering is much in line with what is expected from Halo, with its hopping encounters, rechargable shields and choke point areas of the maps – although there’s more in common with games like Unreal with the timed respawing powered weapons. The Beta allows for the Slayer game-type (Including Team Slayer) and comes on two maps, Empire and Truth which offer fast paced moments of madness. It’s an easy, fun pick up and play game, although does require some time investment to progress into its inner treasures. Take a look at our Halo 5 Guardians Beta gameplay videos showing our first steps into the Beta. Be assured, the game runs smoothly at 60 frames per second. The full game will release in 2015 and looks like being an excellent addition the series and the first game to be developed for the Xbox One. Like everyone else, we’re excited to see how 343 handle the transition and whether they will push the boundaries on the console.