One thing that can’t be denied is that Halo: Reach’s “alpha zombies” gametype flourished. Reach’s original infection was cool and all, but alpha zombies is what really sparked Reach’s “living dead” playlist. This is evident by the community’s initial reaction to alpha zombies, and that it has always overwhelmingly been voted for by the majority of players. I think that it’s exciting to people when they think about getting as many kills as they can before getting infected, and although this has been the idea for all infection gametypes, alpha zombies is quite unique by the fact that there’s a higher chance of you getting infected opposed to surviving a round. I believe that this makes it very entertaining because instead of having surviving 'til the end as a main tactic, your main tactic in alpha zombies is to go for as many kills as you can. So instead of camping in one spot to survive, it’s probably better to move around the map and spot as many zombies as you can. Of course, surviving is still a very important factor as more survival time gives you a longer duration to kill zombies and a chance at being last man standing, but the general mindset is “how many kills can I get before dying?”.
With all of that being said, I’m suggesting that 343 adds the style of Halo: Reach’s alpha zombies to Halo 5’s infection playlist. No, I’m not saying get rid of Halo 5’s current infection, especially because the majority of the community really likes it. But more variety for infection gametypes is incredibly popular, and alpha zombies is the type of alternate infection gametype that wins people over. Understandably, a lot of players want to play infection without the addition of several weapons, and I think that’s another reason why alpha zombies and other classic infection gametypes are loved - it’s no secret that the shotgun and magnum combo is an infection favourite.
It is important to realize that there definitely are barriers with a Halo 5 alpha zombies gametype, and as someone who advocates for the addition of this gametype, it’s vital that I bring up these barriers. One issue is that the Halo 5 magnum would probably be very overpowered for this specific gametype. Maybe the best way to combat this without touching game mechanics would be to initially start off humans with a very limited amount of magnum bullets, and require them to scavenge around the map to find more magnum ammo. Or, you could only get ammo by picking up ammo from humans who have died. This is something that would have to be debated. Another barrier that would have to be faced is zombies sprint. I don’t know if the game mechanics allow zombies to even have sprint. The main priority should be for zombies to have sprint, but if it’s technically not possible, then the other option would be to increase zombie speed and add thrusters. I hope that wouldn’t be the case, but as far as I know, that would be the only alternate option to give power to the zombies in a “classic infection” type of way (excluding thrusters, but it would definitely be necessary). Any other barriers are something that should be discussed among developers and the community.
Classic infection is in demand, and it’s to my hope that 343 will hear us out. We have waited nearly 4 years for a truly classic infection gametype to be added to a new Halo game, and the addition of alpha zombies is the best approach 343 can take to satisfy infection players to the absolute fullest. As a very loyal and long player of infection, and with many others by my side, please consider my suggestion of adding a make of Halo Reach’s alpha zombies to Halo 5’s infection playlist. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this, and I encourage users on here to let me know about what they think about all of this. Have a great weekend!
TL;DR: Add alternate infection gametype, similar to Halo: Reach’s Alpha Zombies gametype. Alpha Zombies to this day is one of the most appreciated and loved infection gametypes, and so many people want to experience it in Halo 5 matchmaking. People love the classic feel of alpha zombies, and it gives the infection playlist more variety.
- Specxy