Halo 5’s HoloLens experience is amazing — but it’s not in the game

LOS ANGELES — Microsoft just gave me a little glimpse into the future thanks to a special visor and some fancy holograms. I’m not sure if it was the future of gaming, but it was definitely the future of … something.

Before allowing a group of me and other journalists to play the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians for Xbox One at the ongoing Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, we were all fitted with Microsoft’s HoloLens technology and went through a mission briefing. HoloLens is a visor that fits around your head and puts a screen in front of your eyes that can display holographic projections in a real environment. So, while virtual reality projects a completely different world for you, HoloLens alters the real environment in front of you. It’s augmented reality, not virtual reality like Sony’s Project Morpheous or the Oculus Rift — and could put Microsoft into a market without competitors.