Halo Infinite

 

Publishers : Microsoft studios , Raw thrills , Innova , Destineer , Altari 

Developers : 343 industries , Bungies INC , Gearbox Software

Platforms : PC , Xbox

        Halo Infinite is finally here after the longest wait for a new entry in the franchise thus far. Over this time, expectations were at an all time high despite the problems with Halo five campaign. And incredibly, I think they've delivered Halo is back. 

        Halo has always excelled in its sandbox gameplay, but infinite takes that even further with an open world that has been handled exactly how I expected small bases deliberating Marines to save minibosses to eliminate items to find, in other words, a pared back up softstyle free roam departure from halos usual linear fare, encouraging us to explore a portion of a halo ring at our own pace. Although smaller than a far cry map, it is still the biggest Halo map we've ever seen. Upon the first hearing of this direction over a year ago, I was skeptical yet, to my surprise, I love it. Liberating Marines is an exciting experience in targets had feeling and Combat Evolved to the second level repeated multiple times across the map. Each scenario is slightly different. Maybe it's the topology of the map, or the composition of the enemies, or the vehicles available. But what remains the same is the freedom to approach it in any way you like, run in with power weapons and make it easy for yourself, or sneak around with a plasma pistol and hope for the best. It's all in your control. That may be the whole point of this genre. But in other games like this, I find myself defaulting to the same weapons and tactics every single time. But in Halo infinite, I wasn't focused on optimizing play like that. I only saw it for what would provide me with the most fun in that very moment, answering all those questions I'd usually have in a classic Halo level, like, what if I had a tank right now? Well, now you can even if it does feel like cheating, especially when you roll up to one of the mini bosses and your AI companion starts telling you how evil and powerful they are only for you to instantly obliterate them from existence. And because enemies spawn in so far away, you can take them out before they even have a chance to fight back. Equipping a sniper and silently flanking feels like something they would have used as a scripted sequence previously, yet now it's all organic and very satisfying. Now, I would like to note that there's something funky going on with enemy bones bangIes would sometimes just disappear during a firefight and so would phantoms once they're destroyed. However, when everything's working correctly, tackling enemy bases gives me a dopamine rush every time. All those Marines watching you deliver on those legends, infinite really knows how to empower the player the biggest financial event in human history once you're finished saving those Marines or killing those mini bosses, you're left with that open world to travel. Time to grab a warthog, right? This is Halo after all. And well yes, you can totally do that. And it's fun, but the handling leaves something to be desired. It lacks a certain weight. That means you end up bouncing around a lot. Not a problem in smaller arenas where that's all part of the fun, but it can be frustrating when you're off roading to far flung corners of the open world. And then there's the tank. Oddly, Halo infinite has regressed this otherwise functional vehicle. The transition between turning and moving backwards feels weirder than previous renditions. Driving it is a chore. While we're at it choppers and badges are okay but they don't feel as good as they have done in the past. Ghosts on the other hand, are excellent and are fantastic killing machines. And the new flying vehicle the wasp is excellent at covering large distances even if it is a little weak. You'll probably find yourself falling out of the sky a lot courtesy of those new shock weapons that disable you instantly. And when you do we now have a new method of getting around on foot. The incredible grapple shot The best addition to halos gameplay loops thus far, a grappling hook that essentially turns you into 1000 pound Spider Man, scaling infinite mountains and those weird X agonal pillars is hugely entertaining, I can simply swing for hours with this thing. Plus, it's highly effective at combat with the ability to scoop up weapons from afar, hijack vehicles, and even launch yourself at enemies finishing with a melee the ultimate piece of equipment that dwarfs the usefulness of the other three editions The durable thread, sensor and thruster, which are all very situation dependent.

        The grapple shot is a multi tool of death and travel. Now don't get me wrong, there are times where vehicles are my preferred tool for the job. Infinite fortunately doesn't fall into this Saints Row four trap of vehicles becoming pointless and less fun than on foot. Plus, what really encouraged me to use vehicles more is the ability to spawn them at Forward Operating basis Halo Infinites interpretation of fast travel points that must be liberated from patrolling enemies. It is hear that you can also kick yourself and any nearby Marines with all the weapons you've been locked either by taking down mini bosses or through earning something called Valor Points. Like in Halo three ODST Infinites open world acts as a hub for its linear narrative missions. Except this time, it's far more integrated, there are still obvious switches that will remove you from the open world employee queue into a linear level almost like a dungeon mechanic. And funnily enough, they sometimes use actual switches. Although this doesn't teleport you to another area, there is a loading screen that makes the level field ever so slightly disjointed. But there are plenty of narrative missions that are legal with the open world, some which take place entirely without loading, and one which takes place in points scattered across the map. The process of entering these linear sections aside the levels themselves are everything I'd hoped. As much as I love infinite open world. I'm a linear gamer at heart. It was Combat Evolved Half Life, and Time Splitters two that all piqued my interest in video games in the first place. Thankfully, Halo infinite excels in its linear gameplay sections. It's here you'll find your classic Halo journey. 

        Halo Infinites friendly AI are goofy in the best way. Like in previous halos. If you drive up next to them, they'll fill the seats in your vehicle and the sunset and we're off a cliff. Plus out they'll form a squad continue to follow you on foot, denoted by their radar blip becoming larger. With their default weapons, they will quickly die if you don't consider their well being before running into battle with your thick armor and advanced energy shields and their fabric. As such, it would have been nice to have the ability to control your squad in some way, at the very least giving basic wait follow and move to point commands while still retaining their automatic behavior. If you don't want to bother, perhaps that would stop all those times they get crushed by ordinates. So clearly dropping in from above. Still, like in previous games, you can swap weapons with them, enabling you to really kick them out. As I mentioned before, forward operating bases can spawn in any weapon you've unlocked from mini boss battles. And so it really is up to you how dangerous your marine squad will be. My preference is the arcane sense there'll be a whole team wielding these things essentially makes you unstoppable. Can you hear me cry? On a technical level, Halo infinite succeeds as a next step. and title that is also expected to run on older hardware obvious concessions have been made due to the open nature of the level design and you'll see imperfection It was like pop In and visual artifacts If you look too closely The cutscenes are dazzling and materials and textures look stunning So while it's not the app absolute best looking game of the year To me It's wonderful The most beautiful and that's thanks to the The art direction I You think they've cracked halos design Language blending style from across the franchise together from Comp evolved The three Green For Do In Halo Wars two now The stark with the ornate rather than a tug of war Nice to start appealingly blend into it coherent and striking match for runners structure Once again have that mystifying divinity that was missing from Halo Five two catching on that brutal Listen we saw in Combat Evolved lens flares have been toned down and we see a return In a golden age Amber in the color palette This really feels like the end side of a halo ring And for runaway Consider a more subtle with fewer floating parts Human designs our eyes think some of the best As we've seen Marines look excellent as Two human weapons all of which appear to Hopkins Back to classic does Here's a good look I love to direct master chief me only your armor So we can understand They won't be there everyone's day We just asked that simple bulky yet Surprisingly new field that I like to see in power armor as cheap as a belt again Go for it Taking the banished from here Halo Wars two was a fantastic The idea that I think points the franchise in a very Strong direction better still They're designed translate smoothly from the art Yes with it distinctive red industrial theme We're seeing what What happens when the brutes instead The profits that are leads oversee planning plus I like how this carry is over to their weapons I mean There is a little through a giant spike launcher made by a spacefaring alien More could you What And when you fire it it sounds pretty punchy power So in fact this audio Quality carries over to everything Infinite Going Live Like.

        The narrative is surprisingly powerful, creating an exciting setup for the future campaigns. It does mean infinite has the side effect of having that Halo two feeling of just getting started. It took me a while in the final level to realize that it was just that the final level. Still before this, the storyline was very well paced, and there were some really great emotional beats. reintroducing audio logs was a nice touch to Halo three ODST or also featured these collectibles in that case telling us single narrative that enhance the layers understanding of the main plot.