I haven’t played a Halo since Halo 2 so I left off at the Gravemind. Wikid what I missed.
The Cortana sendoff was good and the character beats with Weapon and Chief were pretty excellent. I actually got a little bit of the feels during the runup to the Harbinger fight.
Non story thoughts: Halo to me was somewhere between tactical and arcadey shooting, symmetric flat architecture, and vehicle combat being awesome. Also a ton of character in the rank and file baddies. I think this game delivered on all fronts easily.This is like Halo perfected and also feels just like how my brain remembers Halo 1 and 2, without looking back to prove myself wrong.
Swelling choral orchestration, beautiful environments, good gunplay, all boxes checked.
What I didnt enjoy as much was the Hunter fights and the bosses, but I’m also nigh on 2 decades from playing Halo so what feels like bullet spongey bullshit might just be a lack of knowledge on my part, so I’ll hold back judgment.
The credits are scrolling now and Im waiting for the post credit scene.
So hunters have always been insanely spongey unless you’re shooting the worms (the orange). Because the back armour comes off the it’s always been easier to deal with them in co-op. One thing I’ve found really useful for them in infinite (and it feels like there are more than usual) is that the skewer doesn’t seem to give a shit about the armour. They make mincemeat of them.
Yeah but im also coming from the only Hunter fights I can even remember which were the original Halos. One shot with the pistol.
I know i fought them in Halo 2 but I cant for the life of me remember how that was.
Yeah, the Skewer was my go-to weapon for them and one of the few times I deviated from my pistol/BR two piece.
I feel like the hunters are a lot harder in this than previous halos. Theyre less likely to do those big swings that expose their back, and they turn around super quickly. Even using the fully upgraded jet boost dodge to get around them isnt really that helpful. I found that most of the time when their back was exposed it was just random luck and not part of any specific dance strategy i was employing
Also some end of story discussion
the weakest part of the story was definitely the Harbinger. She felt exactly like the bad guy from 4, or 5, I forget. The haughty dude in the armour with the chin hair. Just all posh and proper and eloquent, theres no personality there thats interesting. Ive fough a million of her type of bad guy not just in halo but in every game. As cheesy and basic as Escharem was he at least felt fun in that old school orc bad guy kind of way. And her visual design was boring too, her armour looked Covenant, to the point where I thought she was a covenant race for a lot of it, same with the Skimmers. Like maybe the covenant inherited her species tech or something, but even if thats the case its not visually distinct or interesting enough for something thats supposedly "new". If the Endless are just more of her it will be pretty uninteresting, you might as well be fighting a covenant faction with a prophet style enemy leader if thats the case.
I feel like the hunters are a lot harder in this than previous halos. Theyre less likely to do those big swings that expose their back, and they turn around super quickly. Even using the fully upgraded jet boost dodge to get around them isnt really that helpful. I found that most of the time when their back was exposed it was just random luck and not part of any specific dance strategy i was employing
Also some end of story discussion
the weakest part of the story was definitely the Harbinger. She felt exactly like the bad guy from 4, or 5, I forget. The haughty dude in the armour with the chin hair. Just all posh and proper and eloquent, theres no personality there thats interesting. Ive fough a million of her type of bad guy not just in halo but in every game. As cheesy and basic as Escharem was he at least felt fun in that old school orc bad guy kind of way. And her visual design was boring too, her armour looked Covenant, to the point where I thought she was a covenant race for a lot of it, same with the Skimmers. Like maybe the covenant inherited her species tech or something, but even if thats the case its not visually distinct or interesting enough for something thats supposedly "new". If the Endless are just more of her it will be pretty uninteresting, you might as well be fighting a covenant faction with a prophet style enemy leader if thats the case.
I mean, the potential for more awesome with the Endless, at least in my mind, would be to have a Shadow of Mordor Nemesis system in an open world like this one. "Grunty the Burny One" would have a great enemy story.
I hope the new Cortana chooses her own name as Cortana of old did, I imagine since she's still listed as Weapon they haven't at least written she just took Cortana's name yet. I liked the progression of the Cortana storyline. Like Chief comes across like an asshole for most of his interactions with Weapon up until we learn she doesn't look like Cortana she literally is, so that's why he's super non trustworthy, I didn't mind them hiding that from us, it was a good choice to basically be in media res without directly telling us that.
Put me down for wanting post infinity story content and not prior to. We know what happened prior to for the most part.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Infinite may not be pushing the boundaries of graphical tech, but it sure can be pretty at times. I was up on a hill overlooking a valley with one of the story areas as the sun came up over the lip of the halo ring. The way the light washed over the misty valley and the shadows melted away looked really incredible.
Infinite may not be pushing the boundaries of graphical tech, but it sure can be pretty at times. I was up on a hill overlooking a valley with one of the story areas as the sun came up over the lip of the halo ring. The way the light washed over the misty valley and the shadows melted away looked really incredible.
Yeah Infinite feels like last gen tech with new gen polish, and as a result looks great.
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
Finished it, pretty good but also a weird disconnect between this and the end of five. None of the enemies felt as miserable to fight as those robo trash from the last two games though.
Had a moment on slayer when were down like 43 to 48 and managed to come back and win. I have to imagine there were some salty motherfuckers after that.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
edited December 2021
Figure I'm about halfway through the campaign at this point. Definitely some of the most fun I've had with Halo since Halo 3. Even knowing what we know about the dysfunction of the development, it feels like they nailed a really fine balance with the open world stuff. I'm almost loathe to call it "open world" because that carries with it a bunch of connotations and baggage I feel like Infinite does a good job side stepping. Outside of Spartan Cores and giving yourself easier access to specific gear, you really aren't forced to engage with the map icons at all. It's really more the idea of one of the larger Halo levels (Silent Cartographer is brought up a lot) expanded and taken to it's almost logical conclusion. The missions themselves just feel like Halo ass Halo.
It's definitely not perfect. But given where "open world Halo" could've gone I think it works well. Hard to say if they lucked in to it because of the massive scope cuts required or it was intentional restraint...but it works.
So am I missing a setting or something. On my map I don't see all the armory stuff highlighted like other people have on theirs... Do I need to turn on a filter or are consoles bugged?
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
You also need to zoom in a little. The farther out you zoom it will fade out less "important" icons. I think at farthest zoom it only shows FoBs, missions and the conquerable outposts.
Some icons didn’t show up for me even zoomed in and with all FOBs captured, and so I had to find them using a guide. You have access to the overworld post game tho if you want to collect the map stuff, no chapter select yet tho so stuff inside missions is still missable
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Not all do, for sure, I've stumbled on to some just by passing near that weren't linked to a FoB...but if someone isn't seeing any, it's almost certainly a zoom issue.
Beat the campaign, and ended up feeling like it was pretty good, with fantastic gameplay and visuals, but didn’t stick the landing in the story department.
It felt like the entire game is setting up a new enemy faction, the Endless, and by the end of the game you still have no a absolutely no idea who they are or why you should care about their arrival, which itself doesn’t even happen in this game. I kept on expecting a new faction to show up and create cool classic three way faction fights like the flood did in CE, but it just didn’t happen. [\spoiler]
Still, there’s a lot to like here, and it’s hard to complain too much when I played it on my $1 Game Pass sub.
Darlan on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
So I do have one complaint with the combat sandbox: Vehicles feel universally underwhelming as combat platforms, except in a few rare instances. Most cases I can much more quickly clear something out just grapple superman punching and shooting my way through it. There are a few exceptions, like flier v. flier, and scorpion tank v. hunter, but generally I only use vehicles for spice of life. I feel much more deadly on foot. I empathize with 343, it's a tough balance to strike such that people just don't grab a vehicle and never get out...but I feel like the balance is a little off right now.
So I do have one complaint with the combat sandbox: Vehicles feel universally underwhelming as combat platforms, except in a few rare instances. Most cases I can much more quickly clear something out just grapple superman punching and shooting my way through it. There are a few exceptions, like flier v. flier, and scorpion tank v. hunter, but generally I only use vehicles for spice of life. I feel much more deadly on foot. I empathize with 343, it's a tough balance to strike such that people just don't grab a vehicle and never get out...but I feel like the balance is a little off right now.
I feel this, but I think it just shows the strength of things like the grapple shot to be able to escape to higher ground or get out of the way, versus a vehicle being a literal sitting duck.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
That is definitely part of it, the ability of the grappling hook to get you out of trouble can't be understated. I also feel like my offensive capabilities are just better on foot in general as well. Some of that is precision to be sure, but in general my TTK is just much lower when I'm on foot, using my grapple, blasting dudes in the face. I think vehicles could use a touch of an offensive buff and it would make that "sitting duck" draw back come with some kind of benefit and give that part of the sandbox some worthwhile decisions to make.
And yes it was the map zoom thing feeling kind of dumb on that.
I think I don't mind the vehicle balance in singleplayer, in multi it always feels like the damn things are tissue paper when I'm driving or tanks when they are shooting at me.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
I find if I load up a Rocket Hog or the Razorback full of marines it makes clearing really easy.
You just drive around the perimeter and they melt stuff. The problem is you can only set that up in certain points and unless there is drivable terrain you get fucked. That's usually what ends my vehicle runs.
Dixon on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
So I posted that and then I unlocked the Wasp.
The Wasp is very good, very maneuverable and has a lot of offensive power. Wish the lock one was a bit more reliable but the Wasp is the first vehicle I've gotten access to that I think is good in most situations.
The Wasp is handy for traversing the world to collect doodads, but in combat it leaves something to be desired. Elites and such can take as many missle strikes as a Banshee to kill. That said, I was elated to unlock the damn thing and it's the only vehicle other than the Gungoose that I've 'summoned'.
Nosf on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
The Wasp is handy for traversing the world to collect doodads, but in combat it leaves something to be desired. Elites and such can take as many missle strikes as a Banshee to kill.
So...two? I've found it to be perfectly fine so far. Probably the most reliable combat vehicle I've piloted, at least given my play style *shrugs*.
SurfpossumA nonentitytrying to preserve the anonymity he so richly deserves.Registered Userregular
Are the "help the marines" thingies supposed to be wildly different in difficulty? Haven't been playing a whole lot lately but I had one where I kind of ambled around looking at the guns available while the marines slaughtered everything and then one where I was reloading over and over again while plotting my route and polishing down my sniper shots and grenade throws to fractions of a second.
Are the "help the marines" thingies supposed to be wildly different in difficulty? Haven't been playing a whole lot lately but I had one where I kind of ambled around looking at the guns available while the marines slaughtered everything and then one where I was reloading over and over again while plotting my route and polishing down my sniper shots and grenade throws to fractions of a second.
Not sure if they are "meant" to be that way, but yes, they definitely are that way. Really depends on what enemies they spawn, what reinforcements it brings in and how those reinforcements are brought in.
Are the "help the marines" thingies supposed to be wildly different in difficulty? Haven't been playing a whole lot lately but I had one where I kind of ambled around looking at the guns available while the marines slaughtered everything and then one where I was reloading over and over again while plotting my route and polishing down my sniper shots and grenade throws to fractions of a second.
Bring a warthog or Razorback to those. You absolutely need the extra firepower.
This take a bit of work, but I filled a razorback with marines carrying power weapons.
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Yeah but im also coming from the only Hunter fights I can even remember which were the original Halos. One shot with the pistol.
I know i fought them in Halo 2 but I cant for the life of me remember how that was.
Yeah, the Skewer was my go-to weapon for them and one of the few times I deviated from my pistol/BR two piece.
Also some end of story discussion
There's one that's not tied to any FOB, gotta find it pure, or.... uh.... look it up online...
Yeah the grapple was my go to upgrade for like 90% of the game. I used the thrusters for the bosses though and hunters.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Enemy detector is incredibly helpful for all those cloaked Sword Elites.
Yeah I kept forgetting to do that on those ones, though I did use it on.
The sword boss, though it was awkward as fuck switching back to my thrusters to avoid his ass.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I hope the new Cortana chooses her own name as Cortana of old did, I imagine since she's still listed as Weapon they haven't at least written she just took Cortana's name yet. I liked the progression of the Cortana storyline. Like Chief comes across like an asshole for most of his interactions with Weapon up until we learn she doesn't look like Cortana she literally is, so that's why he's super non trustworthy, I didn't mind them hiding that from us, it was a good choice to basically be in media res without directly telling us that.
Put me down for wanting post infinity story content and not prior to. We know what happened prior to for the most part.
pleasepaypreacher.net
pleasepaypreacher.net
Also man I can see why the marines lost against the banished with how they stand underneath vehicle deliveries all the god damn time.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Yeah Infinite feels like last gen tech with new gen polish, and as a result looks great.
Halo is back and it's almost too much fun. :cool:
pleasepaypreacher.net
It's definitely not perfect. But given where "open world Halo" could've gone I think it works well. Hard to say if they lucked in to it because of the massive scope cuts required or it was intentional restraint...but it works.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Yeah I've literally done them all, and I don't see any icons other than big mission ones.
pleasepaypreacher.net
If you aren't seeing little white icons, like the Spartan Core symbol, on your map, zoom in.
Still, there’s a lot to like here, and it’s hard to complain too much when I played it on my $1 Game Pass sub.
I feel this, but I think it just shows the strength of things like the grapple shot to be able to escape to higher ground or get out of the way, versus a vehicle being a literal sitting duck.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I think I don't mind the vehicle balance in singleplayer, in multi it always feels like the damn things are tissue paper when I'm driving or tanks when they are shooting at me.
pleasepaypreacher.net
You just drive around the perimeter and they melt stuff. The problem is you can only set that up in certain points and unless there is drivable terrain you get fucked. That's usually what ends my vehicle runs.
The Wasp is very good, very maneuverable and has a lot of offensive power. Wish the lock one was a bit more reliable but the Wasp is the first vehicle I've gotten access to that I think is good in most situations.
So...two? I've found it to be perfectly fine so far. Probably the most reliable combat vehicle I've piloted, at least given my play style *shrugs*.
Not sure if they are "meant" to be that way, but yes, they definitely are that way. Really depends on what enemies they spawn, what reinforcements it brings in and how those reinforcements are brought in.
Bring a warthog or Razorback to those. You absolutely need the extra firepower.
This take a bit of work, but I filled a razorback with marines carrying power weapons.
Was on a super high cliff overlooking it, and was surveying the area with a scavenged Sniper Rifle.
Nothing. No occupying forces.
Lobbed down a sensor.....cloaked elites.
Cheeky fuckers
I fucking hate the menu navigation in this game as is but this is the worst part
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