SO. I had some theories and I think they held. One scene shows Infinity callsigns scattered around and listed as deceased. My theory was the infinity destroyed itself to damage the ring which would make it incapable of lighting. Now I think that Infinity mac cannoned the ring and was blown up in the process by the banished. Chief is floating above the ring and brohammer was in orbit, if the infinity was going to self destruct it’s drives like the pillar of autumn did, it would have decimated the ring. The infinity is a hybrid of forerunner, covenant, and human tech. It’s slipspace drive’s size alone would blow the ring to dust. So either it macced the ring and was shot down, or it drove straight into it, which scattered people and ship pieces everywhere.
Upgrades are a thing, don’t know what kind, but it could be interesting. This is definitely open world and looks like it has collectibles. I’m conflicted on that. I LOVE open world games and chasing collectibles for extra lore, and I LOVE Halo. To mix them seems bold, and it may work, but I’m holding back doubts and hopes. I will embrace this unbiased until I finish it.
Graphically it’s beautiful in some areas and lacking in others. This is a demo, the unsc textures look flawless. The banished look like plastic. I honestly think that it’s just a matter of textures not being finished for all factions at the time this was pieced together because in other areas it was definitely more defined running 4k 60fps and ray tracing was apparent.
Grappling hook? Its an equipment which means it’s optional, it has a cool down and opens up some fun options. I can now use master beef’s man cannon arms to yeet fusion coils or “noob cubes” at enemies. That’s as comical as it is awesome. The shot placement actually affects the target. The charging brute getting shot in the legs actually stumbled him, the grunts are literally kamikaze-ing from the sky, which is a new element which could be fun. Enemies reach in pain where they get hit which is a neat detail as well. I like brohammer so far. He has personality, he’s clearly been dealing with this for too long. We know he’s missing his family and I like that Chief responds both stoicly and with sincerity. He doesn’t need to say much to show he cares, but he also shouldn’t say a lot because he’s processing everything around him and needs to reserve his thoughts because it affects morale. He stays mission focused which is his training, it doesn’t mean hes turned off to the world around him, he’s just trying to save the world around him first.
Audio, loved the reach AR and it’s sound. The warthog sounded good cranking up but quickly sounded like a moped at full throttle. Loved to see the warthog actually slam to the ground and spring back up after landing. That’s what shocks do lol, glad to see it doesn’t land like a brick anymore and I’m going to launch that beautiful thing to the moon every chance I get. Other guns sounded like airsoft rifle. I expected more guns honestly, but they shouldn’t have led with those. Fans wanted classic BR, shotguns and magnums. They’re alright from what I seen but we should find these on our own. Don’t give us too much new when we’re starving for old.
Overall 7/10 just from what I’ve seen. It could be an amazing game, and this demo was certainly fun to see. I like the direction of it but am reserved to how much of Halo is still there and how much we can get away with maintain everything it’s built.
I’m excited.