Do you remember that scene from Ratatouille where the food critic takes a bite of the food and then is instantly transported back to his childhood? When I fired the last 3 rounds of my battle rifle magazine into the poor enemy player’s head, scoring the very last kill for the Slayer match, I was instantly transported back to my nascent gaming days, as the memories of the false bravado my friends and I had trashtalking the other team and the late night custom games where we’d lose ourselves to uncontrollable laughter as our 2 AM Warthog races would end in jeeps flying off cliffs rushing back like an intense trip down nostalgia lane. I usually give most games I review a short introduction, a brief description of the game and who develops it. This game needs no introduction. Halo is back.
Finishing the Fight
Halo has had a bit of an identity crisis over the last few years. After leaving Microsoft Studios to make Destiny, Bungie left the reins of the Halo franchise to 343 Industries. Halo Infinite is the closest to that classic Halo 3/Reach gameplay and feel that fans have been asking from 343 Industries for years. There are two main modes (at least as of the multiplayer beta), Big Team Battle and Arena. Big Team Battle (BTB) has that classic large scale combined arms gameplay that will remind you of classic maps like Blood Gulch and Valhalla. Arena revitalizes, in my eyes, the competitive Halo scene. But how did 343 Industries do this? They’ve had BTB and Arena-style modes in the past. There are also very non-classic Halo decisions that 343 Industries made such as adding equipment like Grappleshot and Repulsor, the return of sprint, and the removal of many classic Halo weapons such as the DMR or the classic Shotgun. It seemed like Halo Infinite was going outside the box, and maybe not in a good way.
What feels like familiar, maybe even old school, Halo gameplay is revitalized for the modern day with 343’s renewed focus on creating a tight, mechanics focused approach to the multiplayer. Excess weapons that served overlapping roles like the DMR and Carbine are removed in favor of the lone primary precision-based Battle Rifle. Weapons like the Magnum and the SMG/Assault Rifle are replaced with new versions that serve a more specific role, the Sidekick pistol living up to its name and the new MA40 Assault Rifle covering its predecessors’ close-range niche while reaching a little bit further to ensure it’s not immediately replaced by the player. Choices matter when selecting your weapon. New weapons like the Ravager or the Pulse Carbine have roles that aren’t obvious at first – gone are the days of the instant free kill power weapons. The maps are also perfectly designed to cater to this new approach to the Halo arsenal. Medium ranges are no longer dominated by 3 different precision weapons, allowing power weapon spawns to grant more diverse and potentially more creative ways to control the map and dominate the other team. It seems like 343 has gone through the maps and weapons of Halo Infinite with a fine-toothed comb and really homed in on making sure every little detail was exactly the way they wanted: to give the players a well-balanced sandbox that makes every decision, whether it be which gun or even which fire mode to use, matter.
And you told me you were gonna wear something nice! (Customization/Progression)
If you’ve been anywhere on the internet recently, you’ll know Halo Infinite’s customization is a sore spot for many. Let’s get across what’s good about it first, though. Random lootboxes are gone. Barely different variants of the same armor pieces cluttering the menus are gone. Instead, Halo Infinite takes inspiration from Halo: Reach’s customization, breaking down each Spartan to their helmet, visor, chest piece, shoulder and arm pieces, and color and emblems. One change is the addition of armor cores, essentially armor frames with different customization available to them only. For example, the Halo: Reach style Commando helmet is only available for the Mark V (B) armor core and the Mark VII helmet only available to the Mark VII armor core. Although this does limit customization, especially at launch, when we still don’t have access to the full library of customization options, I think this is a really smart move, allowing 343 to add specific armor pieces for specific armor cores, to preserve a visual identity for each.
We do have to address the controversy, of course. Halo Infinite’s battle pass and shop are live, and the limitations of paid bundles and battle pass challenges are rearing their ugly heads. It’s definitely not a perfect system and 343 has indicated that they are listening to the community feedback. Will the one millionth Reddit thread about how 343 is apparently the devil incarnate and trying to suck its fans’ wallets dry going to change how this system works by launch? Probably not. 343 has said that any fixes they make to the monetization system during this window will be temporary Band-Aids. However, backlash has changed the way companies monetize their games in the past (look at Gears 5, another Microsoft product) and the fact that 343 seem receptive to feedback is a good sign. I don’t think this monetization system is a deal breaker by any means and anyone saying that it is ruining this game are just trying to farm angry likes on Twitter and Reddit.
What if you miss? I won’t. (Conclusion)
Halo Infinite is off to a strong start, with regards to its gameplay and core mechanics. A refreshed arsenal and precise focus on creating maps for this new arsenal mean that Halo: Infinite’s core gameplay not only feels familiar, but also satisfying and rewarding. The Assault Rifle doesn’t feel like a throwaway weapon, the Battle Rifle doesn’t feel mandatory to have for every map and range, and the new additions are satisfying as heck to use. You can’t tell me the first time you Skewer’d a Warthog didn’t feel like the best thing in the world. This is easily the best feeling and playing Halo game that has ever launched and the promise of additional support and content means there’s going to be more to come to add onto this already amazing package. Does the monetization system kinda blow? Yeah. Could we have more customization options? Of course. But pound for pound, when we look at just how fun, how engaging, and how rewarding a game is to play, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer checks all of the boxes. Promising to create a Halo game to revive this franchise is a tall order, and you don’t make the Halo fanbase a promise you can’t keep. With Halo Infinite though, it looks like 343’s making sure to keep theirs.
9/10
For more information, visit: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/halo-infinite
Related: Halo Infinite Releases Campaign Overview Trailer
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My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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