The return of one of the greatest heroes in the gaming world

As a series that has done more than any other series, not only established the original Xbox, but also established all its successors, Halo occupies a special place in the hearts of gamers around the world. It also always feels like a console IP.

The undeniably disappointing Halo 5: Guardians still cannot be played on PC, and many of its predecessors have only recently brought the Master Chief Collection to our tower. Now, more than six years after the launch of Halo 5, the world will soon have a new main overture Halo game, and it will be released on PC for the first time ever with a date and date. Halo Infinite is under tremendous pressure and excitement.

But my god did it. When the iconic orchestral score swells in the fierce battle, you will feel it for the first time. Maybe you will hide in the bunker waiting for your shield to charge, and suddenly that bang bang makes you realize that, wait a minute, you are the sergeant. Avoid the screws of the covenant-uh, I mean "exiled"-it's time to rush out of the blazing gun, use your grappling hook to throw a fuel cell into the face of the nearest barbarian while you use your The trustworthy BR55 popped up from a dozen grunts. Halo Infinite can make you feel like a badass in almost every battle, whether you are sniping from the top of a cliff you just climbed, or beheading an enemy in a Warthog filled with naval comrades.

Weapons are a fundamental part of combat in any FPS game, and I am happy to say that in most cases, the developer 343 Industries has crushed it. Although there are more than 20 different options, each gun has unique advantages and disadvantages, making the choice more attractive: switch to plasma rifle to knock the shield off the jackal, and then return to the VK78 Commando for refreshment The headshots will never go out of style. Considering the size of the world, the master sergeant still hasn’t found a way to pack more than two weapons for different situations. It feels a bit outdated, but changing this may destroy the nervousness of picking up and the typical Halo deciding a wise battle rifle. Or hold your precious but impractical gravity hammer again.

Of course, weapons are not the only tool in your arsenal. You will unlock various equipment throughout the campaign, but Chief can use the new grappling hook from the beginning, which completely changes the rules of the game. You can pull weapons at you from the other side of the battlefield, summon fuel cells as makeshift grenades, pull yourself to the enemy and hit them with a gravity hammer, or even hijack their vehicles from range. I managed to reach Banshee earlier than expected, just by zipline.

The level is designed with grappling in mind, providing a stronger vertical dimension for combat

Infinite's levels are obviously designed with grappling in mind, giving a greater sense of verticality, thus providing a new tactical dimension for combat. In fact, the versatility and sheer fun of the grab will make your other equipment feel boring. When you can zoom buildings, who wants to dodge upgrades? Who needs to put down the wall shield when you can zoom in on some crates? There is no denying that using the hotkeys on the keyboard can exchange equipment items very quickly (it is a bit clumsy on the controller), but even the only other item I use is still the combat scanner, which can show hidden in ambushes Elite. All your equipment can be upgraded with Spartan Cores, you can find them in the open world, but again, what I am really focusing on is the grappling upgrade-it provides a very satisfying slam to make enemies within range coma.

All in all, Crossfire feels like the classic Halo on their basis, but the formula has some changes. Some old players may find these harsh, but they give a unique style of infinite combat. The bigger change is the background of the battle. Like Infinity, Halo has entered the open world.

The chief can go to any place in Zeta-Halo (the Halo ring where the infinite setting is located) at any time and perform side missions in any order. Many of them, such as base capture missions, are typical open-world types and hardly revolutionary, but they are very suitable for Halo's universe. It is disappointing that there is a lack of diversity, but the speed of the game's progress helps make them feel too repetitive.

The main story missions are all customized, which more closely reflects the traditional Halo experience. I completed the campaign and most of the main open world elements in 14 hours, although there are a lot of additional collectibles to hunt down, such as skins for multiplayer games, which will extend the game time for those who want more. I found that for an open world game, it does not exceed its popularity, which is refreshing, but if you are looking forward to a 40-hour epic, please note that this is not the case.

Halo Infinite Halo Infinite Microsoft $59.99 pre-order Network N can get eligible purchase commissions through Microsoft and other programs.

Halo's vehicle battles always produce some of the most beloved moments of the series (I still chuckle at "Tanks Beat Everything"), and with this extra space, riding on a mongoose has never been better. Most of your activities will earn you Valor points, which is both a progressive system and a currency you spend. Valor unlocks new weapons and vehicles from the frontline operating base or FOB. These FOBs are your fast travel point, where you can also replenish your favorite UNSC weapons. From the middle of the game, you can even jump on Scorpion tanks or Wasp gunships to make many battles trivial in the most interesting way .

Zeta-Halo looks spectacular, and I often stop to look at the scenery between firefights. I played most of the settings on Ultra and encountered almost no performance setbacks, so it was disappointing to find that the cutscenes seemed to be locked at a lower fps than the gameplay-the original glorious facial animations of the supporting actors often looked intermittent (as For reference, I am running Intel i7-10700kf, RTX 3060Ti and 16GB RAM; this is the full Halo Infinite system requirement).

The cast is relatively small, but each role is beautifully interpreted, and their actors show a charming and usually powerful performance: the stoic pragmatism of the master chief is in stark contrast to the primitive human emotions of one of his companions , Really touching. Although he is still taciturn, this is definitely the most talkative chief we have seen in the Halo game, and so are his enemies. As you rush into the hordes of grunts, elites and savages, witticism and shouting carry crazy energy, adding character, emotion and authenticity to the gunfight.

Overall, the single player experience is a victory that will satisfy the needs of long-term fans and definitely provide something for newcomers, although the plot does assume that you have kept up with the story so far.

You may have heard that the response to Infinite's multiplayer game is more complicated. It has been on the market for almost a month, and it is free to use the battle pass and cash shop that can be purchased. Although technically still in beta at the time of writing, 343 Industries has launched its first season, which shows that the studio believes it is ready for a large audience.

Anyone who has played a Halo multiplayer game before will have a strong nostalgia for its core gameplay. 343 improved the enthusiastic arena battle system of "Halo 3" and "Reach", and updated more outdated elements to bring this unique experience into the modern age. Multiplayer games are the reason Infinite will be talked about in the next few years, so it makes sense that 343 has put so much effort into honing its gameplay. This is why it is so unpleasant to find many surrounding elements that destroy this excellent work.

Currently, you cannot choose which game mode to queue. This may lead to an increase in the population of the hall, but it is a secret of constant frustration. I like the classic team deathmatch mode Slayer the most, but the fast play queue eventually pushed me into three consecutive Capture the Flag games-my least favorite mode. Although I like to play on the same team with my friends, it is disappointing that we cannot play against each other due to the lack of free playlists. 343 Community Manager John Junyszek has confirmed that a separate playlist is under development and will expire before the end of the year. This is good news, but for now, their omission is a real pain point.

When I decided to line up with my friends in a team of four, the fast game was absolutely the best, and the correspondence was full of laughter, curses, and hurried shouts. Infinite's squad system will show your team at the beginning of the game. We are happy to choose the ugliest color scheme to better intimidate our opponents.

Due to its in-map weapon spawning and longer kill time, Halo’s multiplayer game still doesn’t feel anything else

So, why are we randomly grouped instead of sticking together when lining up to participate in a 16 vs. 16 team battle?​​ In these larger matches, your squad of four is still highlighted in a different color from the other squads in order to pick them on the battlefield, but even though we joined the queue in this way, we never ended up being the same four. People squad. I hope this is some kind of mistake, because if it were 343's choice, it would be a confusing and frustrating choice.

The progress system of the multiplayer game has also received great anger from the community since its release. Those who did not purchase the advanced battle pass received mediocre rewards, while those who bought the advanced battle pass received positive rewards. In addition to this there is a cash store where you can buy unique skins-the days when you can show off armors obtained through loyal or proficient gameplay are gone, or so it seems.

The progress of the battle pass is obtained by playing games and completing challenges, such as killing a certain number of enemies with a battle rifle, or ending a streak of other players. It’s never fun to use sub-optimal guns like Mangler for random challenges to get kills, and due to the randomness of the Infinite matching system, it’s possible to get a map that doesn’t even produce the necessary tasks to complete certain tasks. Weapons for these challenges. But again, 343 is listening to feedback and has adjusted the battle pass to increase the progress gained by playing the game every day.

The core gameplay is still very exciting, some of the most enjoyable team-based FPS games I have ever experienced. Compared with games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, Halo’s multiplayer game still feels like other games on the market because of its in-map weapon generation and longer kill time, so unfortunately It was destroyed by a dirty battle pass and poorly achieved matchmaking. Let us hope that developers will continue to listen to the opinions of the community and eliminate these rough edges in the coming weeks and months.

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An extraordinary single player experience comparable to the best experience offered by this iconic series. Multiplayer games require some structural adjustments, but in the end they can still inspire fun.

Eliot's complete health obsession with World of Warcraft has provided us with plenty of excellent articles.