Halo Infinite [Fall 2021] [XO, XBSX|S, PC, XGP]

[orangpelupa]

If people really don’t want the core mechanics to change and to feel consistent then there’s no point in ever making a new Halo. People still play Counter Strike 1.6 and CS GO is huge. Just play Halo Infinite MP forever, or the master chief collection or whatever. At some point they’re just going to be making games for whining fifty-year-olds.

Bungie seems to have been able to stroke a balance on that.

Although not as fun as destiny 1 with its more varied core mechanics

 

[eastmen]

Infinite is already a big departure from prior games with the open world setting, grappling hook and other equipment and an arsenal where half of the weapons are all-new. The multiplayer doesn't feel super fresh because its core modes are basically 16 years old at this point. But when Battle Royale comes, hopefully that will change. And the single player is held back by a lack of level design variety and setpiece moments, which can be fixed by new content.

I assume that what Seanspeed meant is not that *nothing* should change, but that change should maintain the trinity of guns, grenades and melee, in the context of the "30 seconds of fun" formula.

I think Infinite was the best halo since halo 3 for single player. The grappling hook and open world setting was great and even the progression of each power made it pretty unique.

I also enjoyed the multiplayer at first but they were really limited by the cadence of updates. To be fair however I was never a big fan of halo multiplayer. I think I played halo 3 multiplayer for a few months .

 

[see colon]

I think Infinite was the best halo since halo 3 for single player. The grappling hook and open world setting was great and even the progression of each power made it pretty unique.

I also enjoyed the multiplayer at first but they were really limited by the cadence of updates. To be fair however I was never a big fan of halo multiplayer. I think I played halo 3 multiplayer for a few months .

I should preface this by saying I never played Halo 3, but I think people have a rose tinted view of the Bungie games. Halo 1's second half was a mish mash of cut and paste levels and a driving section as a final boss. Halo 2's single player was unfinished. It ended on a cliffhanger that demotivated me from even playing Halo 3 because I felt as if I payed full price for half a game. I didn't finish Infinite, but it was the only Halo game since 2 that kept my interest for any measurable amount of time since the OG Xbox.

 

[cheapchips]

a driving section as a final boss

I think I ultimately prefer that to bosses as bosses. They were not my favourite part of Infinite.

 

[Cyan]

@Cyan There's always a point where people eventually tire of a formula, or that formula becomes a niche. There are lots of boomer shooter indie games that replicate that Doom/Doom2/Duke Nukem 3D era. Trying to make a modern Halo game that plays like Halo 2/3 would be a huge mistake. Someone could probably make that game for that audience, but it couldn't be a AAA huge budget game. Halo 4/5 changed out of necessity. Unfortunately they did a mediocre job. I would say they didn't change nearly enough. They changed only a little. Halo Infinite was an attempt to just go back to basics, and it's an incredibly uninspiring game that didn't resonate. That's why I'd rather see 343 make something totally different. They fell behind on tech, which they can maybe solve with the UE switch, but ultimately they lacked the creativity and the ... bravery? ... to reinvent Halo. Just too afraid to upset their vocal middle-aged fans, and too limited in vision for the game. I think unsaddling themselves from expectations would lead to much better games.

Halo Infinite added new things, though not much. Still, the problem is that save points system and other issues. Maybe the whole series became tiring, the story (Cortana gone and overly emotional stuff), and so on.

There isn't a big evolution between Halo 1 and 2, or 3, and much less with Halo Reach or even ODST, yet they were a critics success 'cos they were soooooo good.

Doom evolved much more, in fact to the point that the new games from Doom 3 on aren't like the original Doom 1 -and 2- at all, 2D vs3D aside.

As of recently I completed Divinity Original Sin 2 using a very complex mod, or Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Edition with a crazy difficult mod, I got to learn to play Souls-like games with Elden Ring, and so on and so forth.

It's not that people don't want new experiences. But I'd buy first day a new Doom based on Doom 1 and 2 original gameplay, just like I pre-purchased RE4 and System Shock.

Kinda miss the simple shotgun in Doom 1 -my fav weapon to use-, where you spaced the shots and everything was very methodical, the maps were memorable and easy to learn, the traps and the colour keys system to open doors. I am glad the color keys kinda returned in Doom Eternal, but while decent games, imho they aren't close to the classical Doom -plus doom guy being a demigod just doesn't sit well with me-.

 

[eastmen]

I should preface this by saying I never played Halo 3, but I think people have a rose tinted view of the Bungie games. Halo 1's second half was a mish mash of cut and paste levels and a driving section as a final boss. Halo 2's single player was unfinished. It ended on a cliffhanger that demotivated me from even playing Halo 3 because I felt as if I payed full price for half a game. I didn't finish Infinite, but it was the only Halo game since 2 that kept my interest for any measurable amount of time since the OG Xbox.

Dunno if it was rose color glasses as I was already in my mid 20s for halo 3. I think halo 1 and 2 were good games for the time they were in. But I certainly would put halo 3 up there with half life 2 and ultima 4 as games that transcend being products of their time and really are a game you can pick up and just play and be amazed no matter when you first find the game.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

 

[ZebMacahan]

Dunno if it was rose color glasses as I was already in my mid 20s for halo 3. I think halo 1 and 2 were good games for the time they were in. But I certainly would put halo 3 up there with half life 2 and ultima 4 as games that transcend being products of their time and really are a game you can pick up and just play and be amazed no matter when you first find the game.

Played Halo 3 a while back, both singel player and co-op. Still best shooter ever made IMO (except for a few leves, the flood always suck).

 

[ZebMacahan]

Many people praise Halo Infinite for its core gameplay, maybe an unpopular opinion but I dont think they have nailed what Halos gameplay should be about IMO.

What I liked about Halo was using a mix of strategy, reflexes and quick decisions to slowly advance the battlefield. Deciding what enemies to prioritise, and which weapons, or combinations of weapons, to use.
Halo Infinite seem to be more about quick reflexes. Very often a situation would arise were I was practicaly doomed, by things I really couldnt forsee or plan for. One brute decided to go left and blast me away with some very powerful weapon which was basicly impossible to avoid. It was more a game of reflexes and luck than strategy. Gameplaywise it would sometimes feel akin to something like Doom but whithout the tools Doom give you to dash around and whatnot when being swarmed.

Maybe an even more unpopular opinion, but I dont like the grapple hook. I dont think it suits the lore or the world. Sure, youre a enhanced supersoldier cybernetik armor, but it was still grounded. Master chief swinging around like Doom guy or Spiderman just doesnt seem right to me.

 

[cheapchips]

What I liked about Halo was using a mix of strategy, reflexes and quick decisions to slowly advance the battlefield

What I liked about Infinite and Halo 1-3 was that you could always find ways to cheese encounters. That probably says more about me as a player than anything.

 

[Johnny Awesome]