The “Become” trailer wasn’t a flash back, right? That was just some woman involved with the making of Chief’s new MJOLNIR armor while comments by Dr. Hasley are given. The comments could also be her reading an excerpt from her journal entry long ago. The impression I got is this must be Master Chief’s GEN3 armor that we’re witnessing being made between Halo 5 & Infinite which is heavily influenced by the GEN1 pre-nanobotted Mark VI armored suit.
What’s up with those yellow-ish visual hexagon indicators within the HUD relating to Chief’s shield breaking & its recovery? I can’t say I’m a fan of that at all. At least make them more transparent.
I’m not a fan of the MA40 Assault Rifle’s reticle. The throwback to Reach’s visual MA40 appearance is all good, but I very much want the gameplay design of the AR to continue with what H5 achieved post-tune with its AR. A tighter reticle with impactful headshot capability. And I really wanted to see the zoom mechanic used with it to confirm it could be sighted for an extended red-reticle-range (RRR). Also just something I’m hoping for in this game is that the entire sandbox be projectile-based instead of some being hitscan.
Personally I’m pleased to see the sprint mechanic return. I hope it causes shielding delay to reign in escapability.
The Warthog sounded alright to me; although, when idling I think it could be a bit louder/meatier. I know some people are upset it doesn’t maintain more of the traditional diesel sound. Overall, it looked like a joy to drive. I absolutely loved the weighty landing & suspension bounce after that big jump.
I wasn’t a fan of the MK50 Sidekick magnum’s sizeable bloom. I’m not sure if this is meant to be the primary pistol in the game or a secondary pistol more in line with H5’s Gunfighter mag, but regardless the sizeable bloom is highly concerning to me. I’d hate to see a big step backward after having just produced the most well balanced sandbox utility weapon within the franchise by way of H5’s standard mag. Instead of random bloom they should’ve given the weapon a little vertical drift if fired too fast. That at least adds a more predictable element for players to contend with when firing at higher rates over bloom. Wish we got to see the zoom mechanic attempted with this weapon.
I thought the VK78 Commando Tactical Rifle was pretty cool. I get the feeling it’ll contend with the BR within pretty similar RRR roles with one being burst fire & the other full auto. To be honest, this seems like the weapon I’ve been asking that the AR become since the Reach & H4 days, so I’m happy to see it finally arrive. I was glad to see the zoom mechanic used with it.
I really liked seeing that targeted fire affect opponents in different ways based on the body part being struck like when the Brute got tripped up after his leg got shot up.
I’m not 100% sure how equipment will be handled in Infinite’s multiplayer (MP), but I was really hoping to see a clear distinction between depletable or deployable equipment items & rechargeable armor mod types of equipment. My hope was that the depletable equipment would be seen as being both grenades and deployable items like the drop wall, shield drain (via EMP grenade like shown in the reveal trailer), bubble shield, radar jammer, trip-mine (via proximity grenade), grav boost, etc. I wanted it so that you only needed to cycle to the item for use by way of the left/right D-Pad & then with one button mechanic be able to deploy or throw whatever was selected. Then the grappling hook or thruster pack (as I’m still hoping it returns as an option) are armor mods that can functionally recharge (via a cooldown) after their use in order for continued reuse. I just hope that the availability of a reusable one is restricted to use within particular environments of the game such as campaign, certain social modes, & maybe some particular ranked modes too. I don’t think the grappling hook needs to exist as a default ability across the game in MP, but they do need to keep balanced starts as a key MP component; particularly, within the Arena environment & definitely within the Ranked one. I recently read that the grappling hook will be a pick-up item within MP, but that just has me wondering if it’ll be restricted as a depletable item or allowed to be a rechargeable armor mod; especially, if it’s the only rechargeable equipment-type mechanic in the game. Now according to this gameplay trailer the one-time use deployable equipment are deployed with the same mechanic as the armor mod-like grappling hook. I’m a little disappointed by that unless the grappling hook does get treated as a depletable item in MP.
I’m not sure how I feel about shooting through the shield wall & using the grappling hook to draw yourself to enemies. I’m sure my opinion will be better shaped when I’m able to get hands on time with them. The reveal trailer seemed to show the hook being used to launch Chief into a group of enemies with momentum as he unveils a sword, so as a general mobility mechanic I’m a little more intrigued by it.
I’m happy to see that the slide mechanic has returned.
It appeared to me as if grenade damage is indicated by hit marks. I wish you had to have a line of sight of the damage being dealt to get it.
The Ravager looks interesting. A burst firing plasma weapon with substantial bolt drop; plus, you can manually vent it which is interesting.
I’m super glad that the clamber mechanic has returned. I hope it’s more smooth within a combat encounter than in H5.
The Pulse Carbine looked like a mix between a Plasma Repeater & a Carbine. It was fast firing bursts of pretty accurate plasma bolts. Those shots didn’t show much bolt drop within the encounter range. I feel it’s somewhat supplanting the previous role of the Brute Plasma Rifle. It too can be manually vented. I hope the Carbine will be part of this title’s sandbox.
The Mangler was neat. At first I thought it was the Mauler, but it appears to have some precision shot attributes instead of being a shotgun like the Mauler.
Grabbing the fusion coils with the grappling hook is cool, but also somewhat confusing. Shouldn’t the spear tip’s impact with the coil cause it to detonate or begin a countdown to detonation?
I liked the CQS48 Bulldog Shotgun.
Do I need to play Halo Wars 2 to know what the Harbinger is a reference of or is that Cortana & the Created?
I’m digging the antagonist Escharum, but I still want to have more to deal with than just him. If they mostly dismiss Cortana who was in control of the Created & intending to use the Rings to wipe out all sentient life forms I’ll be disappointed. Plus, I’m still hoping that the Flood make a surprise return too. I want it all.
I am excited for the open world aspect of the campaign, but I’m wondering how co-op fits in. I’m kind of thinking the campaign should remain a single player experience only, but allow for squad based operations in something akin to H4’s Ops yet better. I hope we get to see Blue & Osiris Team members return. I heard that 4 player co-op will be possible (+ 2 player split-screen) with players playing as Spartans, but does that mean they’ll be copies of 117? I sure hope not. And will cut-scenes include them?
I noticed some graphical quality issues throughout the demo, but I assume the final product will be much better. Unfortunately it left a bad impression for a segment of potential customers.
I do wonder if we’ll get in-game day & night time transitions on the ring.