Six years… It’s not a little ice; I’ve been waiting six years for a whole new Halo experience. I remember when Halo 5 came out in 2015,I moved back to Izmir at that time and I lived in a house with no internet infrastructure. Before I arrived, I pre-ordered and pre-downloaded the Metal Gear Solid Vso I could play even if I didn’t have internet when I arrived. But I never got a chance to do the same in Halo 5. So the day he left, I went straight through the tech store sites, went to the branch of one that was relatively close to me but still far away, and then I ordered. I was about a week late, but I played.
Why did I tell you that? At the time, I could only play the story of Halo 5,and since I didn’t have proper access to the internet, my view was, “Although the story is disappointing, the episode design and overall gameplay are good.” And I was stunned to see the reaction of the internet. Now, six years later, I’m experiencing the release of a new Halo game with the Internet. And again, one of the events that stunned me is that this time everyone (at least for the multiplayer part) reacted very positively.
Years later, everyone’s happy!
Yes, at the end of July 343 Industries finally allowed us to experience Halo Infinitewith this “Technology Impression”. It was an almost alpha version of the game, and much of this process was spent clashing with bots. They also opened a small PVP for a few hours, and everyone invited to this event had the opportunity to experience the new Halo. Like I said, everyone from the old Halos to those who had just met the series left this event very positively and hopefully in the end. They broke my mouth when the PVP opened, but I left pretty happy in general, yes.
In this event, we had the opportunity to experience three new maps of Halo Infinite,several new weapons, some old weapons, how bots work, and what halo infinite multiplayer will be like, although it does not fully represent it. I have a lot to say about all of them, but you know, this version is pretty old, and I probably don’t want to dwell on it too much because there might be a proper beta nearby.
But maps are one of the things I want to focus on. Although I loved the multiplayer of Halo 5and thought it was much better than other Halos in its sense, the designs of some maps felt soulless, disconnected and meaningless. At this event, we saw different maps in three different concepts called Live Fire, Recharge and Bazaar, and 343 Industries did a really solid job as a design. Live Fire is the classic “training ground” map that we see in most FPS games. It’s kind of the Killhouse in Call of Duty 4. It’s simple to read, what’s where is catchy, and it’s pretty clean in design. Recharge is a map that tastes a bit like Halo 5, set in a closed environment. Since there are variables in height, this is the first time we have been able to experience the hook that came with Halo Infinite on this map. Although Bazaar has been criticized by the “complaining” audience and called it “not Halo”, it is a map of the new mombasa atmosphere that we encountered in Halo 2, which can also be part of a lot of Sniper montages due to the design.
As you can see, all three maps in this event had their own characteristics, a sense, and a connection to Halo. It is obvious that the 343i has a design idea in mind; They were all simpler, more “arena shooter” maps. After the event ended, all I could think about was, “I hope they maintain that quality on other maps.” That’s why I try not to get too pumped up.
The feeling of the gods was really great. Even at such an event, most weapons were balanced, there was nothing that felt too “OP”. It was a joy to see halo 5receding its old role in Infinite after the excessive strength of the pistol, which was supposed to be a backup weapon. Assault Rifle, after Halo 5,has become the “entry weapon” halo has needed for some time. If you’re entering Halo for the first time or have been playing for years, it seems to be a very effective weapon that you can easily use, as long as you know what you’re doing. But the weapon that pleased me in general was the Battle Rifle. I’ve already got a habit of grabbing it like I’ve seen in almost every Halo game, but it’s incredibly satisfying to use in Infinite. In fact, in general, it feels satisfying to use all the weapons, I think it’s because the gunshots change and make them feel fuller and more “striking.” For now, I’m most satisfied with commando, the heavy-duty rifle with DMR and AR-breaking. As long as you’re able to aim, it’s effective from any distance, and hunting down enemies is fun. If I could use it, I think I’d like Skewer, too; You know, a big, angry anchor, and no matter where you shoot the enemy, they’ve made it very difficult to use when you’ve got a sniper rifle/rocket launcher that’s the only one that shoots.
Classic but fresh
Other than that, there are things that change the way you play classic Halo. For example, Infinite also has the running feature, which has been part of Halo since Halo 4. When I was fighting the boats, I was like, “At least they should’ve stopped the shield from filling up when they were running like in Halo 5.” However, after the PVP experience, I had to say that if the shield wasn’t full, it would be very difficult to escape the conflict even to change magazines. Needless to say, the hook is cool and useful, but the change that interests me the most is that we no longer have to use additional features like invisibility, additional shields, etc. that we find on the map. For example, you’ve seen invisibility, and just because there are no enemies around doesn’t mean you have to take it. You can take it (unless you die) and use it at any time. That adds an extra layer of tactics to the games. I especially think this will be an incredibly fun and balance-shifting innovation in the Halo competitive environment.
In addition, the 343i showed us a little bit of Halo Infinite’scharacter customization and Battle Pass, but I find it a little pointless to talk about it in detail before the game comes out because of the limited options and Battle Pass. But character customization after Halo 5became a much, much more detailed version that resembled classic Halos. While some players rightly complain about the AI incident and the way they talk a lot in general, I think the new audience might like the game. And the multiplayer will be free, 343i will consider every option they can earn money.
In short, at least for now, the multiplayer part of Halo Infinite looks pretty good. This time, 343i achieved the impossible and did a job that satisfies both the old and new Halo audiences. Of course, it all depends on the exact state of the game and how the story mode will be, but hilariously, Halo Infinite, the only game I haven’t had much hope of since Xbox announced it, has finally got me excited.
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