Halo Infinite has Good stuff too!

Games Halo Infinite
1

Halo Infinite hasn’t had a very a good reputation throughout the months, on July 23 the gameplay demo reveal was massively controversial on the visuals, creative director, and leaders (Chris Lee and Tim Longo) have left 343, the monetization on the armor coatings in October and so on. Every halo Fan has the right to be worried or cautiously optimistic but this post is not adding to the negativity but rather easing some of the Halo community concerns.

Here’s what Halo Infinite has done well so far:

Halo Infinite has a much stronger focus on the sandbox compared to the two previous halo games, 4 and 5.
In the July 23rd gameplay demo trailer, the AI is more interactable with the sandbox, being able to switch their weapons or kick suicidal grunts to the player. Not only that but work on the environment has been committed with fusion coils littering the map everywhere, providing strategic ways to deal with their opponents. Yes, there is the grapple hook that is a base trait that could contradict everything just mentioned but at the very least it helps facilitate the sandbox.

Slowly heading to its roots:
As seen in the demo, the enhanced mobility from Halo 5 has been toned down by a lot, thrusters, stabilizers, ground pound, spartan charge all of them are not prevalent in the Halo games. Although some people could counter-argue that these were interesting dynamics they also had its negatives with the game, feeling more sweaty, twitchy, and losing a bit (but not all) of its identity. If you’ve noticed there’s been a debate through competitive vs casual during Halo 5’s launch, which has been in Bungie works but not as intense as Halo’s 5.

But won’t this be an “Appeasing both sides issues?” It could be but so far no multiplayer info has been leaked yet, so we can only rely on speculation. On the bright side, it gives the levels, the external parts of the game stand out and give the developers room to breathe a bit when designing playspaces.

Return of the art style (Somewhat):
While I am not very fond of the current Banished Aesthetic I am still grateful that the old art style has returned, Master chiefs armor, the marines, and the elites.

The great music!

Armor coatings will not be restricted through microtransactions or paywalls only, they’re other ways to achieve them according to Community Manager John “Unyshek” Junyszek. (It’s not what we wanted, but it’s something)

343 Claims that Halo Infinite story will be friendly to new players, it’s a soft reboot of all the Halo’s.

2

> 2535453408431289;1:
> **Halo Infinite has a much stronger focus on the sandbox compared to the two previous halo games, 4 and 5.**In the July 23rd gameplay demo trailer, the AI is more interactable with the sandbox, being able to switch their weapons or kick suicidal grunts to the player. Not only that but work on the environment has been committed with fusion coils littering the map everywhere, providing strategic ways to deal with their opponents. Yes, there is the grapple hook that is a base trait that could contradict everything just mentioned but at the very least it helps facilitate the sandbox.

I have two main gripes with the sandbox shown in Halo Infinite

  1. The new weapons shown are unbelievably boring. None of them really added anything new to the game and just rehashed what some previous weapons did. 343 has had some good weapon designs over the course of Halo 4 & 5 such as the Sticky Detonator, SAW, and Railgun but none of the weapons in Halo Infinite were interesting or looked fun to use.

  2. The grappling hook gives me Reach jetpack vibes. Being able to scale maps easily makes map control redundant. If it’s campaign only then cool, but no way should it be implemented in MP. They should have just brought back gadgets from Halo 3 and included the grappling hook as one of them.

3

I have waited so long for a optimistic view on Halo Infinite from the Halo Community. Too many people arguing over something we don’t even see the full picture of has strayed me from the community in recent times. Glad to finally meet someone more positive in the forums.

4

> 2533274863380818;2:
> > 2535453408431289;1:
> > **Halo Infinite has a much stronger focus on the sandbox compared to the two previous halo games, 4 and 5.**In the July 23rd gameplay demo trailer, the AI is more interactable with the sandbox, being able to switch their weapons or kick suicidal grunts to the player. Not only that but work on the environment has been committed with fusion coils littering the map everywhere, providing strategic ways to deal with their opponents. Yes, there is the grapple hook that is a base trait that could contradict everything just mentioned but at the very least it helps facilitate the sandbox.
>
> I have two main gripes with the sandbox shown in Halo Infinite
> 1. The new weapons shown are unbelievably boring. None of them really added anything new to the game and just rehashed what some previous weapons did. 343 has had some good weapon designs over the course of Halo 4 & 5 such as the Sticky Detonator, SAW, and Railgun but none of the weapons in Halo Infinite were interesting or looked fun to use.
>
> 2. The grappling hook gives me Reach jetpack vibes. Being able to scale maps easily makes map control redundant. If it’s campaign only then cool, but no way should it be implemented in MP. They should have just brought back gadgets from Halo 3 and included the grappling hook as one of them.

I believe it has been said that the grappling hook will be a pickup in multiplayer. I can’t confirm this, though. Anyway, it is not ideal, but at least it won’t be like Reach’s jet pack. Personally, I would prefer if the grappling hook was not in Halo at all. It doesn’t make sense for Chief to use it, and can you imagine Elites (if they return in multiplayer) swinging around everywhere…?!

5

Yep there is a lot of good stuff.

I really liked the general art style of the demo. It’s just the engine that needs some tweaks (better lighting + textures / less pop in). I thought the game play looked great. I’m intrigued by the story and love that we’re not being deluged with spoilers.

A lot of people are spending a lot of emotional energy over things we know very little about; the weapons sandbox, colour customisations, microtransactions, multi-player mechanics, ten year service plans, and so on. As a group we need to chill.

Personally I can’t wait to see what’s coming. I just wish they would throw us a bone sooner rather than later.

6

> 2585548714655118;5:
> I just wish they would throw us a bone sooner rather than later.

That’s the problem 343i is giving us next to nothing to digest but vague Pr talk against the bad news.

7

> 2533274863380818;2:
> > 2535453408431289;1:
> > **Halo Infinite has a much stronger focus on the sandbox compared to the two previous halo games, 4 and 5.**In the July 23rd gameplay demo trailer, the AI is more interactable with the sandbox, being able to switch their weapons or kick suicidal grunts to the player. Not only that but work on the environment has been committed with fusion coils littering the map everywhere, providing strategic ways to deal with their opponents. Yes, there is the grapple hook that is a base trait that could contradict everything just mentioned but at the very least it helps facilitate the sandbox.
>
> I have two main gripes with the sandbox shown in Halo Infinite
> 1. The new weapons shown are unbelievably boring. None of them really added anything new to the game and just rehashed what some previous weapons did. 343 has had some good weapon designs over the course of Halo 4 & 5 such as the Sticky Detonator, SAW, and Railgun but none of the weapons in Halo Infinite were interesting or looked fun to use.
>
> 2. The grappling hook gives me Reach jetpack vibes. Being able to scale maps easily makes map control redundant. If it’s campaign only then cool, but no way should it be implemented in MP. They should have just brought back gadgets from Halo 3 and included the grappling hook as one of them.

Aye, the new weapons showed lacked potential, they suffer from redundancy but I do see it as an improvement over the Promethean weapon sandbox. To be fair, Bungie has also had the same issues with their sandbox but in the 343s era, it has been more prevalent. While the weapon sandbox is not very impressive, I’m glad they’re focusing on the AI and environment components of the sandbox.

That’s the great thing about equipment in Halo, if a piece of equipment in MP breaks the map or feel out of place that piece of equipment can be removed from the map. 343 has also stated that the grapplehook will function differently in the campaign and likely won’t have infinite uses. Although, that means 343 knows the consequences of the grapple shot and it baffles me why they made it an infinite use in the Campaign.

> 2533274870308953;3:
> I have waited so long for a optimistic view on Halo Infinite from the Halo Community. Too many people arguing over something we don’t even see the full picture of has strayed me from the community in recent times. Glad to finally meet someone more positive in the forums.

Thank you! I do believe some of the arguments that have been occurring through 343 are justified but I digress, it can get ugly at times.

8

I agree that there’s still cause for optimism regarding Infinite- the general art direction of the game is great so far, and nothing I’ve seen about the campaign sends up any red flags story-wise.

It’s good to remember that there are positive elements, but it’s also important to criticize questionable ones. And since the delay, unfortunately, pretty much everything has been a muddled mess of confusion and negativity.

It’s really 343i’s job to keep the hype train on the rails, and they’ve been steadily failing to do that since July. I’m hoping they can turn things around and that Infinite will come out and be great, but I call it how I see it.

9

I’m still super pumped. The delay killed my hype a bit, been waiting so long for a good new arena game so now I gotta wait even longer, but oh well. At least H5 doesn’t have heavy aim on series x/s so I can play that and MCC is getting optimized soon for my arena until Infinite drops. Are the graphics meh? Yeah. Is the game probably gonna be monetized to hell yeah? Yeah. But at the end of the day what I care about is gameplay, story, and music. All three seem good far so the positives overshadow the negatives for me. Campaign seems to be in a good place, I hope MP hits the right notes for me too.

10

Gotta disagree about weapon sandbox. Bungie kept the weapon sandbox very tidy and would introduce only a few weapons each game, most of which had niche uses. For the most part every weapon had it’s specific utility (maybe not so much with the weapons introduced in Reach). But Infinite’s gameplay reveal showed all these new weapons that seem completely redundant. It just waterdowns the sandbox imo. And don’t get me started on what they’ve done to the shotgun. 343’s redesign of the rocket launcher in H5, and now the magnum in infinite is bad enough, but completely re-doing the shotguns stats–not just looks–unbelievable. Very disappointing for me.

I think the grappling hook could be cool, but I don’t like the fact that we can shoot an enemy with it and when we reel it in it pulls us to their location. We’re an 800 lb. Spartan, the physics don’t seem to add up there.

And I refuse to call it a “grapple shot.” Worst name ever.

11

what? saying something optimistic in the halo community? that’s illegal!

12

I would be optimistic for Infinite if 343 didn’t have a terrible track record…bad news ontop of a delay ontop of more bad news ontop of multiple failed games in the past does not make me super thrilled to see how they screw this up

13

Yes I agree

14

> 2535453408431289;1:
> Slowly heading to its roots:
> As seen in the demo, the enhanced mobility from Halo 5 has been toned down by a lot, thrusters, stabilizers, ground pound, spartan charge all of them are not prevalent in the Halo games. Although some people could counter-argue that these were interesting dynamics they also had its negatives with the game, feeling more sweaty, twitchy, and losing a bit (but not all) of its identity. If you’ve noticed there’s been a debate through competitive vs casual during Halo 5’s launch, which has been in Bungie works but not as intense as Halo’s 5.
>
> But won’t this be an “Appeasing both sides issues?” It could be but so far no multiplayer info has been leaked yet, so we can only rely on speculation. On the bright side, it gives the levels, the external parts of the game stand out and give the developers room to breathe a bit when designing playspaces.

I don’t want this to devolve into another “advanced movement mechanics” thread, but it seems that the mechanics currently appease no one.

Infinite does remove a lot of the abilities from H5G, in that you are correct, but it seems it has removed the wrong ones.
I’ve seen people mention numerous times that they miss thrusters, a mechanic that was actually well-liked by both the classic and the AM crowd in general. A lot of people also regret the removal of stabilizers. At the same time they kept some of the most controversial ones intact, namely clamber and sprint.
Judging from discussions with other users on Waypoint I have gathered that the classic crowd is still disappointed for being ignored after a decade while the AM crowd is losing some of the things that made the gameplay most fun for them.
On top of that, only a few people seem sold on the hookshot ability that is replacing them.
At best, the gameplay produced a mixed reaction, with almost nobody feeling fully satisfied.

15

> 2533274825044752;10:
> Gotta disagree about weapon sandbox. Bungie kept the weapon sandbox very tidy and would introduce only a few weapons each game, most of which had niche uses. For the most part every weapon had it’s specific utility (maybe not so much with the weapons introduced in Reach). But Infinite’s gameplay reveal showed all these new weapons that seem completely redundant. It just waterdowns the sandbox imo. And don’t get me started on what they’ve done to the shotgun. 343’s redesign of the rocket launcher in H5, and now the magnum in infinite is bad enough, but completely re-doing the shotguns stats–not just looks–unbelievable. Very disappointing for me.
>
> I think the grappling hook could be cool, but I don’t like the fact that we can shoot an enemy with it and when we reel it in it pulls us to their location. We’re an 800 lb. Spartan, the physics don’t seem to add up there.
>
> And I refuse to call it a “grapple shot.” Worst name ever.

Glad you disagree, I’ve acknowledged that the weapon sandbox has highlighted redundancy in 343’s era, weapons like the Pulse carbine or the VK78 Commando (Although to be fair the VK78 Commando is a niche between the BR and the AR, the same how the DMR is a niche between the sniper and BR) isn’t impressing after a 5-year wait but I digress. The weapon sandbox is lack-luster but when 343 decided to improve on the sandbox of the AI and the environment instead of the “player” it made me think, what else will they expand on the sandbox? On the bright side, the 10-year live service could completely improve how the weapon sandbox is looking now, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for the redundant sandbox.

Well, halo’s physics were never exactly accurate, I presume it could be immersion breaking but it does support the “on the move combat” Bungie implemented in its previous games (of course it still has its flaws).

16

> 2533274863380818;2:
> > 2535453408431289;1:
> > **Halo Infinite has a much stronger focus on the sandbox compared to the two previous halo games, 4 and 5.**In the July 23rd gameplay demo trailer, the AI is more interactable with the sandbox, being able to switch their weapons or kick suicidal grunts to the player. Not only that but work on the environment has been committed with fusion coils littering the map everywhere, providing strategic ways to deal with their opponents. Yes, there is the grapple hook that is a base trait that could contradict everything just mentioned but at the very least it helps facilitate the sandbox.
>
> I have two main gripes with the sandbox shown in Halo Infinite
> 1. The new weapons shown are unbelievably boring. None of them really added anything new to the game and just rehashed what some previous weapons did. 343 has had some good weapon designs over the course of Halo 4 & 5 such as the Sticky Detonator, SAW, and Railgun but none of the weapons in Halo Infinite were interesting or looked fun to use.
>
> 2. The grappling hook gives me Reach jetpack vibes. Being able to scale maps easily makes map control redundant. If it’s campaign only then cool, but no way should it be implemented in MP. They should have just brought back gadgets from Halo 3 and included the grappling hook as one of them.

The grapple hook only recharges in campaign in multiplayer it has a limited number of uses.

Edit: This is not accurate I thought 343 had said this was how it would work but this has not been confirmed.

17

> 2535408299219519;16:
> The grapple hook only recharges in campaign in multiplayer it has a limited number of uses.

Source?

18

> 2533274801176260;17:
> > 2535408299219519;16:
> > The grapple hook only recharges in campaign in multiplayer it has a limited number of uses.
>
> Source?

Not sure about the confirmation for multiplayer but in the gameplay trailer you can see it recharging after it is used.

19

I appreciate the optimism, but I don’t believe we have enough information to reliably say what Infinite has and doesn’t have.

20

> 2533274801176260;17:
> > 2535408299219519;16:
> > The grapple hook only recharges in campaign in multiplayer it has a limited number of uses.
>
> Source?

Never mind I got it wrong. 343 had said some equipment would work differently in multiplayer.