Halo Infinite

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Rhaegyr
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Halo Infinite

Post by Rhaegyr »

Couldn't find a thread for this so I thought I'd create one.

So - this is really good isn't it?

I've been up and down with the Halo series like most people for the last twenty years and I've never played any of the online multiplayer but I gave Infinite a try the last couple of nights and it's been an absolute ton of fun, both in the 4v4 and Big Team Battle modes.

I grew up on arena shooters (used to play UT99 CTF for the UK in LANs, don't get me started) and I've really missed this type of game. No loadouts, no 'progress', no classes; everyone's on a level playing field no matter how much time you've sunk into the game and your only advantages are your own skill, map/weapon knowledge and teamwork.

Managed to get three friends on last night and we were on it for the best part of three hours playing various game modes and loved them all (only Slayer was a bit boring with it being your standard TDM). Oddball was an absolute riot. Two of us were on the Xbox and two on the PC using K+M and it was smooth as butter.

Anyone else enjoying this one? Would love to set up some games with people on the forum and the C&R team.
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Alex79
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Alex79 »

Didn't realise it was out - is it just the multiplayer released? Is it free to play?
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Rhaegyr
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Rhaegyr »

Just the multiplayer and yes, it's free to play!
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Feirsteax
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Feirsteax »

It's bloody brilliant, isn't it? Funny you say that Slayer was a bit boring, I have been playing just the 4v4 playlist so far (I'll play the BTB stuff soon, but I'm just having so much fun in 4v4 that I keep playing it), and it just hit me after a Team Slayer game that we lost 49:50 on Recharge (love this map, btw), this feels like Halo is "back", to use a clichéd term haha.

But I mean basically - that slayer game was so exciting, so close, and so exhilirating and fun that I realised it was classic halo fun again. I absolutely love it. Having a good slayer match with balanced teams is hard to beat, imo. Love all the other modes too though.

I'd be up for joining some games Rhaegyr. My gamertag is Feirsteax :)

I said this in the other thread but, have you tried the Heatwave gun against vehicles yet? especially if you can ricochet it off the floor or a wall and make it hit twice, it can rack up huge amounts of damage. I got two triple kills on an enemy warthog with it in one game last night 😂
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seansthomas
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by seansthomas »

Never played a Halo game before (bar a few hours on the dodgy Mac port) and I'm finding it all a bit slow and dull, after a few years of only playing Titanfall 2, Splatoon and Rocket League online.

Got any tips? Really want to like it but a) it feel slow and sluggish b) I'm crap at it
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Feirsteax
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Feirsteax »

Slide jumps. Crouch and uncrouch while strafing. Have fun with the grapple. Play big team battle. Drive warthogs off ramps, flip over and get blown up - enjoy
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dezm0nd
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by dezm0nd »

I'm really enjoying my time with it so far, it's alot of 5's MP and that's not a bad thing at all.

It doesn't hold my attention for hours on end but when I settle down for a few rounds of it, i'm always coming away feeling really energised and excited, especially in 4 v 4. It's very tense!
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Rhaegyr
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Rhaegyr »

Good point about the feeling you get when you walk away from it - exactly how I'd describe it.

Played a fair bit more last night with 7 of us (crappy number but couldn't find an 8th) - had some fun 4v3s and a riot on Big Team Battle. I've not found a 'bad' map yet though I've not sunk in a ton of time; same goes for the weapons.

Not had this much fun on a multiplayer FPS since Titanfall 2.
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dezm0nd
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by dezm0nd »

I'm starting to come up against Keyboard ninjas... hoping I can filter out that in a future update as it's getting quite competitive at times and seeing people spin instantly for super accuracy is a bit of a frustration at times.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Feirsteax »

I like that you can specifically choose "gamepad" playlist for Ranked. That is something that the matchmaking got right, imo.

Yeah I'm loving 4v4. It's just perfectly balanced and paced, something about it and the maps are so well designed for it, even for the different game modes, it's always such a pleasure to play 4v4.

Went on a mild rant in the other thread (watcha been playin) but didn't mention this - I find the challenges system does influence the game negatively at times. I've had games where I know I've purposely been playing really awkwardly just to get a certain challenge ticked off (e.g. always picking up a certain weapon, using it in situations where it's not suitable etc.) and I can't help but feeling that it's kinda making the games a little weird at times.
I'm not really super competitive wjhen I'm playing non-ranked mode, I get that if you want a serious game with no silly challenges impacting gameplay you'd go there, but it does sometimes impact the enjoyment of a game if I know I'm only winning because half the other team is desperately trying to get plasma pistol kills on a game of CTF, or something.

A weird one, but not really sure what the solution would be - maybe a specific playlist for challenge busting, or an alternative way to earn XP aside from doing all the challenges. 🤔
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

Question, since we're a week out from the single player:

Does ANYONE know what actually happened in Guardians? I played through it twice and I still don't understand it.

--Dan
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

I'm nearly six hours into the campaign for Infinite, and it's better than Guardians in that I can actually understand what's going on. You'd think after 20 years they'd finally make a weapon, at least one weapon, that could easily pierce a Jackal's shield. But no. Jackal Shields are invincible.

So the first two levels of the game are dizzying experiences in a Banished ship, and then a strange temple inside the Zeta Halo. Then the open world opens up... and suddenly it becomes a Ubisoft game. A map full of, as George Carlin would say...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

--Dan
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by ratsoalbion »

Doesn't a charged plasma shot take out a Jackal shield?

Or you can shoot through the gaps they always leave.

Or flank them.
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Alex79
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Alex79 »

Just shooting them with the plasma rifle takes out their shields in a few shots, too. At least on normal difficulty, never tried it higher.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by Feirsteax »

Yes, plasma carbine and plasma pistol do the job! but a surprising amount of weapons bounce right off them, which is pretty cool haha, provides a little complication to fights with them.

I'm playing it and have sunk about an hour or two into the open-worldy section of the game, and I have to say, I'm absolutely loving it. The grapple hook coupled with the huge explorable world makes for a very very enjoyable experience. Climbed up the side of a mountain, reached the top and met some weird jackal variants I'd never seen before, and found a forerunner artifact. Felt extremely cool and like a great naturally emerging bit of explore / reward type gameplay that games like Breath of the Wild do so well.

Really excited to play more and see if it holds up for the rest of the journey.
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KissMammal
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by KissMammal »

I haven't made it to the open world part yet, but I'm really impressed so far. Having skipped the entire last hardware generation, it's a pretty huge jump in terms of visuals. Feels really slick.

My only (very minor) gripe is that it seems a bit 'eager to please' if that makes sense? The constant spectacle, achievements/notifications and the sheer abundance of weapons and ammo seems a bit much, but I'm getting that this kind of thing is pretty much the norm for modern AAA gaming. Part of the appeal of Halo to me was the relatively slow movement and sedate pacing. The feeling of isolation, and having to scrabble around for resources and make do with what you have to hand.

I felt similarly overwhelmed with Forza.
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

Hahaha, you guys are joking right? Nobody uses plasma weapons.

Oh god, am I really that stupid? The answer has been in front of me all this time?

I'm a little over eight hours into the campaign. I'm enjoying it quite a bit- it's the kind of story that really lends itself to Ubisoftization, since so much of it is wandering around the map as one new mystery after another reveals itself. The isolation of Chief, Weapon, and Echo-3126 is really felt, as the mystery of what has happened in that six month gap is banished to the audio logs that pepper the map. Not a fan of audio logs as a storytelling device, and it doesn't quite work here, because all of them cut off JUST BEFORE something interesting is about to be revealed.

Well there is one revelation
Spoiler: show
Echo-3126 is- surprise!- not a member of the UNSC but a civilian contractor who stole a Pelican and bolted when the Infinity was destroyed. He's wracked with survivor's guilt and almost runs away from Chief and Weapon out of shame. This... just feels like an unnecessary complication. Were the writers afraid we wouldn't identify/sympathize with Echo if he was military? We've been identifying with Chief for years. And Echo is a skilled enough pilot to survive flying around a Halo filled with Banished, so he's not exactly a fraud.
The voice acting, especially from Steve Downes and Jen Taylor, is first-rate. Weapon doesn't "sound" like Cortana, not at all. And the years of fighting have weighed down on Chief- he still sounds like a badass, but Chief also sounds weary, concerned, he feels like a person who's lived too long and seen way too much. But the mission is all he knows. He can't really help Echo when he breaks down, he can only sit beside him and offer meager support. "The Mission's changed, it always does" feels like an article of surrender.

--Dan
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seansthomas
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by seansthomas »

Another good way to get rid of those enemies with shields is to fire a grapple at them. It knocks them over a bit giving you time to shoot them.

I also find a good melee whack works
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

Beat the main campaign tonight. You can tell this was a troubled development, because the back half of the campaign is nothing but endless corridor shooting while climbing or descending a tower. And the right side of the map is almost completely inaccessible by fast travel, despite the levels that take place there.

You can tell Joseph Staten's influence on things because this game, in a way that I, at least, found satisfactory, tries to resolve the "Cortana goes bad" storyline without simply ignoring it or instantly walking it back. I'll say more but I'll wait till more people complete it, lest I accidentally spoil something.

--Dan
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KissMammal
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Re: Halo Infinite

Post by KissMammal »

Anyone else finding that vehicles, much like the horses in Breath of the Wild, feel almost totally redundant because of how fast and agile the player character is?
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