Monday 13th September 2010

Games Halo Infinite
1

Monday 13th September 2010, it was the last time I had so much fun playing Halo BTB. It was the night before Halo Reach launched and my friends and I jumped on Halo 3 for the last time for one final night of mayhem before moving on. Since then Halo BTB just hasn’t felt right.

But last night playing Halo Infinite with my friends together again it felt right and it felt fun. For the first time 343i seems to have hit the nail on the head and captured what old school Halo multiplayer feels like. It’s not 100% perfect IMO but it’s far closer than Halo Reach (first game in which 343i had a hand in developing), Halo 4 and Halo 5.

Like I said it’s not 100% perfect, there are some things myself and my friends found off putting to say the least…

  • Audio there is far too much chatter going on in game, from AI, female announcer, Flag taken klaxon and music it too much. Please give us a Legacy option to turn that off and just have the announcer Jeff Steitzer please. - Vehicles I’m an old school BTB player so I love having vehicles from the off, it’s called Big Team Battle not Big Team Skirmish. The only time I saw a scorpion tank was when there was around 2.minutes of the game left. It should be all out mayhem vehicles and infantry going at each other from the start. - Weapon Room An absolutely useless addition that brings nothing new to the game, all it did last night was have players from both teams camping the door in both objective based games and slayer. Also there’s nothing much in there that’s worth having really. - Game modes While slayer and CTF are staple modes of Halo BTB strongholds is by far the weakest mode, a well organized team can steamroll the opposite team in a matter of minutes and the game is over. Personally I think 343i should have gone with territories or three plots. But, I am hoping to see those two with the addition of assault, King of the hill, heavies and asymmetric flag and bomb games. - Team colours This is a personal perspective but others have voiced the same concern, the outline system is flawed at the instinctive level off identifying friend from foe, it doesn’t have the same feel as team colours and it doesn’t feel as instinctive as a RvB match. How about a toggle to have the option to see Red and Blue teams for those that would like that option.Like I said I had fun which is the most important part of playing games online or single player. Hopefully 343i can build upon what they’ve got and deliver a brilliant experience for many years to come.
2

I appreciate reading your experience and how much you enjoyed it, even if I disagree with your opinions on the vehicles, team colours and weapon room.

The audio they are working on at least to toggle the AI about what information you get, so probably will be able to turn it off after launch. But I appreciate the rest of it is still additional noise. I like the music and I’m hoping we will get some more announcers in the future too which would be cool.

Strongholds isn’t a BTB mode we can play yet, it’s the new mode called Team Control. I don’t mind being steamrolled as at least the game is over quickly due to how the game mode works. Slayer can be brutal if one team is much better and you’re just having to die for minutes on end until they hit 100. I like the new mode, it feels like if you’re winning it gets a bit harder. May be anecdotal and in my head but we have been 2-0 up and lost the next 2 very unconvincingly after dominating the first too. I’m not sure if it spawns close to the enemy team if you’re winning or if we have just been unlucky with it. I’m sure someone who has looked into it will work it out soon, but I’m okay with offering a chance for a comeback especially in a mode like big team, landslide wins aren’t fun.

3

The loot cave is 100% worth unlocking during the match. It guarantees one spartan will leave the room with all this

  • Secondary grenade restock - Power weapon - Wall weapon or second power weapon - Camo or OS - A full equipment slotIt literally gives you an entirely full inventory of power weapons. And splitting that with 2-3 other players still gets you some good stuff. I don’t understand people who have been posting they think it isn’t worth it.

I disagree with most if your criticisms, but overall I’m having fun and I’m happy you’re having fun!