I just like it because it feels and plays so much like Halo CE, the firefights, the music, the AI, the AI chats its all so classic Halo CE. Its just a joy to play
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I recently played through Halo Infinite (after watching a Let’s Play of Halo 5). After diverging from the Halo formula somewhat in Halo 4 and 5 (combat against the prometheans in particular), Halo Infinite is a return to the core mechanics that made the series fun to begin with. The new grapple hook and open world environments add some much needed freshness to the gameplay, which builds upon that core, and results in gameplay that is fast and fun.
Halo Infinite reminds me a lot of the second level of Halo: Combat Evolved, but on a larger scale (the biome that Halo Infinite takes place in seems to be modelled after this environment in fact). There is a set story to follow, but certain objectives can be pursued in the order of your choice.
I like the new characters, Weapon and Echo-216, and the dynamic between the two of them and Master Chief. The new brute villains aren’t too interesting, but after how Halo 5’s story played out I’ll take a villain who is more down to earth. Halo Infinite’s story feels more straight forward than some of the series’ previous entries, but no doubt the stakes will ramp up in later expansions, which will inevitably come. It’s quite obvious that the story was planned as a series to begin with. As a result, Halo Infinite’s story feels a lot like a prologue, setting the stage for later expansions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but may leave you disappointed if you were expecting something more complete and standalone.
One of the downsides to this initial release of Halo Infinite is that there is only one biome for the whole of the campaign (with indoor and outdoor areas within this biome). As a result, there’s a sameness to the environments in much of the game. There will no doubt be more variety when next expansion arrives (hinted at the end of the game), but if we compare it to Halo: Combat Evolved, it’s as if they took the Pillar of Autumn (level 1) and Halo (level 2) and expanded them into a full game. Thankfully the game is a lot of fun to play, and the story kept me interested, as it did feel repetitive toward the end.
That sounds like kind of a letdown. Doesn’t sound like there is much variety in the open world then. Sounds like it would be fun at first, but then you’d just end up getting bored from lack of set pieces. And the fact that it isn’t a standalone campaign worries me as well. So, I guess we’re going to be paying more money to see a complete story/campaign then the initial purchase?
Most likely. I only paid $1 for three months of Gamepass, which is easily enough time to beat the game, so it’s not an issue in that regard. Episodic content is more likely to get people to keep subscribing to Game Pass, so I can see why they would release it in incremental instalments.
I think cost is the key component here. Does Halo Infinite’s campaign justify its full price tag of £55? Er, no, absolutely not, that’s a ludicrous price. But £30? £40? Yeah I think that’s about right. And with Game Pass, price is even less of a factor.
My worry will be the strength and depth of the expansions. Are they going to add whole new maps? If so, what kind of quality can we expect on a one/two year release cycle? Or are they just going to release more missions for the current map (surely not)? And considering the amount of work still left to do to finish the game (coop, replay missions, theatre, forge)… When can we realistically expect the first expansion?
I’m not a big fan of Game Pass. I like to actually own my games. Not that it’s a bad thing for people who enjoy it or use it as sort of a testing ground. Just a personal preference. I really don’t like how the Halo Infinite campaign sounds though.
They should have just made a standalone, complete story. Having multiple expansions to the campaign feels incomplete. Like, they could potentially stop anywhere and the story would just be left unfinished or at a standstill. I really miss the days of Halo 1-3. The days when a game was actually complete out of the box…
Halo Infinite is utterly amazing by far the best game I played last year
Halo 2 campaign was an utter mess and the game ending was a shocker. Gamepass is amazing and I can’t think of a Major MS game that doesn’t also get a physical release too. Though why people want to pay full price for a game that is on Gamepass is beyond me
Maybe you should try Halo Infinite
I just don’t like not being able to own a game. If you stop the service, you get locked out of the game. Halo Infinite does sound fun though. I look forward to using that grappling hook!
I don’t get why people would want to pay full price for a game when you can get it for a couple of quid a month and play a whole host of other games
For me I just don’t play enough Game Pass games to justify it. Before Infinite, I think the last game I bought that was also on Game Pass was Gears 5, in 2019.
You should be able to pick it up in a sale for a reduced price similar at a later date. So, an initial playthrough for $1 on Game Pass, then purchase later for a reduced price. Furthermore, I recently discovered that if you load up the free multiplayer on Steam it will sync your progress from the Game Pass version (achievements etc), so you could try on Game Pass and buy later on Steam, picking up where you left off.
But there’s the question of whether future DLC will be included with Game Pass. If you look at first party games such as Halo Wars 2, Doom Eternal, and Forza Horizon 5, the expanded content is extra. So, you might end up having to stay subscribed to Game Pass to pay the paid DLC, or buy a copy of the base game at that point; not ideal in either case. If Game Pass is the cheap razor, the DLC may end up being the razor blades that add up in price.
When we look at the reason for Halo’s existence, it all makes sense. Halo 1-5 exist in the current form to get people using Xbox consoles. As such, they didn’t require a continuous stream a new content; big releases every few years were sufficient for capturing interest in the console. Once a console purchase is made, owners are likely to pay for other Xbox games. Microsoft have shifted away from the physical box. Their strategy is now about getting more users continuing to use the Xbox platform on a regular basis (even if you play on Steam you have to sign in to Xbox). So, given this change of strategy, I think the era of big standalone Halo games is over. Is this a bad thing? Possibly in the long run, but I also think the Halo 1-5 formula had started to stagnate, so at this point the continuous open world format is a welcome change.
Well, I finished the fight/game and have to say it’s the best Halo game going. The end section was awesome and really like the bond with the Master Chief and Echo 216
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343 are bringing some revamped Halo 3 maps to Halo Infinite: