Disclaimer: Opinion about Halo Infinite is based on 48 hours of addiction.
I’m not going to beat around the bush. I am a massive Halo fan. My sister and I played Combat Evolved 20 years ago, on launch day, and that game blew my mind. I was there, as a kid, waiting in line at midnight to play Halo 2 on launch morning. My dad bought an Xbox 360 the day Halo 3 launched, and you better believe I was there waiting for Reach.
My love for the genre waned after that, however. It took me until Halo 5 to play Halo 4, and when I eventually got around to Halo 5, the series had moved on. It wasn’t the series I had fallen in love with as a child, but I was ok with that. Halo: CE – Reach was one hell of a ride. It defined multiple generations, and I was there for it all.
I had no hype for Halo Infinite. To this day I still haven’t seen a single bit of footage showing off the single-player campaign. I didn’t dabble in the Flight Test, and when rumours of the multiplayer component being released a month early started circulating, I dismissed them without a second thought.
I sat down, by accident, just as the Xbox 20th Anniversary Stream kicked off, tuned in, and I’m not going to lie, had loads of fun. It was a great stream, and when they had an orchestra blitzing out those classic Halo tunes, I felt the pangs of nostalgia. They confirmed the multiplayer rumours were true, so I downloaded it and hopped in.
I Just Can’t Get Enough
I have played a whopping 48 hours and 34 minutes as of writing this little ramble. The game has been out for just under 3 weeks. I can’t recall any game in recent memory that has spurred me to invest so much time, willingly. I can’t recall any First Person Shooter, especially a multiplayer one, that has gotten me to actually enjoy competition. To me, this is a sign that Halo Infinite is something special.
Is it perfect? No. Let’s get this out of the way now. Halo Infinite launched with some progression issues, and, whilst it does have 6 game types split over 3 game modes, it’s missing many series staples like Free-For-All, Infection, and Team SWAT. 343 Industries have been hot off the line, however, and it seems these issues are being resolved pretty darn quickly. Also, fuck the Ravager.
Outside of those issues, what we have here is near-perfection. 343 Industries have managed to capture what made Halo 3 and Halo Reach so damn intoxicating. Heck, they’ve managed to improve upon it and make one of the finest multiplayer experiences I’ve ever played.
Halo Infinite Is Old-School, Done Modern
This is balls-to-the-wall arena shooter goodness, and I love it. None of this Battle Royal nonsense. You load into a game, it’s all action. There’s no downtime, no fannying about waiting for something to happen. This is classic gameplay, refined, and repackaged for the modern gamer.
The controls are superb, the combat is tight, the time-to-kill is on point. Every game has a spiffing moment of badassery. Every moment feels like hot butter smeared over talc – it’s that damn smooth. It is the definition of easy to learn, hard to master with oodles of depth found in the weapon lineup, equipment and vehicles. Did you know you can deflect rockets? Grappleshot the fricken flag? It’s glorious.
Halo Infinite has reignited a love for a genre that has laid dormant for over a decade. I haven’t even touched the single-player portion of the game, and I am telling you now, this game is already making its way towards the Game Of The Year pedestal. 343 Industries have slapped down one hell of a foundation, and I am excited to see where they go from here. Halo is back, baby.
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