So I played through infinite on legendary. It took around as long as a usual halo campaign, however that was going through and doing it as fast as I could so the review could drop while it is somewhat a hot topic. In my opinion Halo Infinite is the best 343 halo game to date in terms of writing, gameplay and art style. But it loses some points due to monetization and progression.
the good
This is the second Halo title and first main halo title to be open world. It took a more mainstream approach to it's open world than Halo 3 ODST. However in many ways this serves the game well. You get to feel like you are exploring the ring yourself instead of a guided tour like previous games. You see points of interest on the map and while along the way can find unmarked things as well. Like ODST the enemies are hunting you and banished drop craft will come out of nowhere to drop enemies or harass you. Trust me i mean anywhere! I was spidermanning to a group of marines up in the mountains, nothing around me except scenery and bam it comes out of nowhere blaring its horns and kills me while I'm grappling the side of the rings superstructure.
It also does a liberate the districts in a way by having liberate the fobs. It shows you points of interest and side missions around you. The more marines saved, side missions done, or fobs liberated it levels up your renown. by doing this you gain access to marines, vehicles and weapons. There are also side missions of hunting down enemy targets, each has a weapon and bio.
picture of the scenery
The lore is also added to significantly by Audio logs, they have several types of audio logs it includes UNSC, Banished, Forerunner, and Spartan. Each one tells various tales from across the game. Each one tells a different part of the games story and from a different perspective. They are also made much easier to find as most have a beacon that gets louder as you get closer. Not to mention the scanning feature that highlights interactable objects. In addition to this they also have the new Cortona remind you of story missions every so often. I found it funny at first but after a while you have heard all the audio and I wonder why they made her so adamant about story missions.
I also love the return to the more classic art style, especially in regards to the forerunners. It is alien and mysterious. It looks like a temple of some sort. To me it seems more grounded than the floaty metal formations of the previous 2 titles. They also brought back monitors and sentinels. they bring back the shielded sentinels and even a new version that reminds me of the reaper laser orbs in a way. Not completely but just a little particularly in their movement.
The sound design and animations are also on point in this one. The best example of how well they did in the visuals, sound, and animation departments is the opening scene. Atritox just wailing on the chief while the hanger explodes around them. It makes you wonder what is happening? why? and sets up how the UNSC is on the back foot the rest of the game. The rifles and pistols sound like they have weight to them.
They also have a variety of new weapons and old favorites. Some of the new weapons are the shock rifle, scavenger rifle, skewer, and commando. each fills a old role, or creates a new one in the sandbox. For instance the shock rifle, it servers double duty as a long range rifle and a EMP weapon against shields or vehicles. scavenger rifle is like a cross between sniper and DMR. the commando is able to pull duty as a full auto carbine kinda a cross between submachine gun and assault rifle. Skewer is another anti vehicle launcher but in the form of a massive spike launcher.
They also added boss fights to many of the story missions. On legendary some are a pain but most are able to bring a interesting challenge to the game. On the surface these fights just seem like massive health bars and 1 hit KO weapons, but when you dig deeper each one has a trick to it. the brute bosses are generally tougher and much more aggressive, they close with you and will take a bunch of punches. the elites generally use their active camo and are more wait and attack from weird angle. Personally against the brutes the anti vehicle weapons worked well along with tagging them with nades. Basically blow them up with whatever you have. Even stack explosive coils in a corner to cause a huge explosion if you can. if you cannot blow them up use weapons that allow you to move easily. Turrets are not recommended for any of the boss fights. They will slow you down to much and you will die. Against elites I found a shotgun, and anti shield weapons helped. But for all of them you do not want to try to stand in once place and shoot. you have to constantly move and avoid attacks. Some also have check points, while most don't. In fact there is only one boss I would say was annoying enough to earn my ire, basses. He and his hammer can go take a hike. He was the hardest boss I faced. Once I got his number punched most the other bosses did not give me much trouble. But to him I died the most.
the bad
the story is good but I have a few gripes about it, the tutorial mission, the ending, and no mid game shift.
First and foremost, I wish the opening scene was the tutorial mission. Don't get me wrong I liked the actual tutorial mission as well. But they could have had a halo 2 sort of opener. The master chief getting his new suit and being on the infinity before the attack, then boom the attack begins suddenly and you help marines escape and introduce the boss fight with one your supposed to loose to Atriox. during the mission you could have gotten a feel for all the equipment you would use before it gets taken away. Even explain maybe why the new Cortana got to the ring IDK. but where it began was a bit confusing, especially when the master chief asked questions about a battle he was supposedly there for. So yeah would have been nice to see what had happened before the infinity got blown up.
Secondly there usually is some sort of mystery in each game and a early or mid game shift that happens. In halo 1 it was the flood at 343 guilty spark, in Halo 2 it was also the flood and the great schism, In halo 3 it was the defeat of the covenant and shift to solely the flood. In halo 4 is was the addition of the didact and Prometheans. Most of the halo games incorporate a twist or a betrayal tied to the mystery of the ring worlds. This game didn't really have that all that much. You fight the banished through out the whole thing and the great mystery only feels like it might be revealed later. Most can only speculate on what it is. Which to me was just a let down. I think this has more to do with them trying to build more character to Cortona 2.0, bro hammer(echo-216) and the chief. That is actually one of the strong points of the story I think, but it did take time away from the mysteries of the ring.
some aspects did feel a bit to easy, even though objectively the AI is more aware of its surroundings, it can be sluggish and be caught while trying to grab a more powerful weapon. Also some of the enemies were easier to kill with basic weapons like a brute minor. the ai changes made the game both a bit harder and easier than previous games. On one hand I could kill most fairly quickly on the other hand I had to make sure to kill quickly because some of the enemies would grab better weapons or throw stuff at me. So I am not sure if it is a inherently good or bad change.
multiplayer:
this is a mixed bag because the game is actually pretty tight with only a few issues here and there. But the customization has ruffled alot of feathers.
the good
the game is similar to halo 3 multiplayer, no loadouts, pick ups around the map limited use powerups. its pretty grand if you ask me. Not only that but the customization options allow us to choose different types of armor each with their own unlocks and style. they have reach mark V-B, Mark 7 and a new samurai armor set. In time I think they will add more of these and more to the existing ones.
the bad
pretty much all unlocks are battle pass and store related. purchase the battle pass for the season and then purchase specific items they put in the store. the battle pass is actually reasonably priced and has a lot of cool stuff from reach. The store, well purchase at your own risk. the stuff if fine, but the price....not as much. I think the monetization is way better than halo 5 but still nobody likes paywalls.
also some of the known glitches are game breaking when they do happen. in my time playing I have had 5 games where the objectives broke resulting in a perpetual stalemate or a 30 minute match. It is really bad. There are also connection issues to be had as well. not sure if its because of the population or just networking issues.
Conclusion
This is the best 343 halo game yet, it has the least amount of bugs compared with other modern games. Has well thought out gameplay, good story, and adds a lot to this franchise to make it feel fresh again. Though it doesn't outshine the older halo games. The only down sides being some multiplayer/singleplayer glitches, monetization schemes(that ultimately nobody really likes just by the nature of them) and lack of certain functions like co-op not being there currently. If you do not mind the loss of these features or a battle pass system then jump in. If not maybe wait a few and check back in. But it might be good to get the multiplayer first and see what you think yourself. Multiplayer is free with this title(free as in the same free that League or legends or counter strike is free).
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