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Halo Infinite Is the Best Halo Game in History
77K View2022-10-01Last month, I wrote about how Halo was the franchise that made me fall in love with games. I dived deep into my memories and tried capturing my sentiments about playing the game when I was younger. After posting the piece, it felt surprising, heartwarming, and almost surreal to know that many people felt the same way about Halo too. Today, I continue that story, but instead of reminiscing, I look to the franchise's current state through Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite was a game I’d always wished I could play. Growing up, I never had the chance to play any other game beyond Halo 3, so it felt like time stopped when I got the game and an Xbox Series S a few weeks ago. Without second thought after getting home, I unpacked the box encasing the console, plugged the cables into the TV, and turned everything on. Despite genuinely having no idea what had become of the story, I felt eager to explore Halo Infinite.
As soon as I launched the game, I was met with the classic, almost ethereal background music and hopped right into Halo Infinite’s campaign mode. To no surprise, I was back in space. Well, not willingly, to say the least; I’d assume since I was floating around space after being completely smacked around by some alien warlord called Atriox, who also launched an attack on other human forces and UNSC spaceships around me.
While floating through space, I met an anxious, frustrated pilot, who just wanted to go home instead of flying through dangerous alien territory. After the pilot helped get me on a highly-advanced technological weapon, which sort of functions like a planet called the Halo Ring, the real adventure started.
The first thing in Halo Infinite that took my breath away was the visuals and beauty of the opening fight scene against Atriox. I’ve always been awestruck by Halo’s visuals, but 343 Industries did an amazing job with Halo Infinite. I was entranced by the game’s environment and the initial moment upon floating through space and seeing the almost infinite amount of stars that lit the endless void, engulfing the wrecked spaceships because of Atriox’s attack. In some surreal way, this also reminded me of the opening scene in Halo 3.
Once I landed on the Halo Ring, I was met with an open world, and alien-owned territories riddled throughout it. I needed to secure and capture these territories for the good of humankind, but mostly to help the marooned UNSC troops from the multiple wrecked spaceships survive being tortured by aliens.
This was the first time that I experienced anything from the franchise that gave me the freedom to explore the game beyond the classic mission after mission formula Halo’s become accustomed to. There were occasions when some areas had missions that were necessary to complete, but afterward, I always had the opportunity to explore whatever I wanted, and it felt exhilarating.
Combat went hand in hand with this sense of freedom. Like other Halo games, the ability to mix weapons has always been a major reason I’ve loved the franchise. From shooting rockets to jumping in with an assault rifle, combat has always felt dynamic and refreshing in Halo.
Halo Infinite felt even more invigorating than most games in the franchise and didn’t fail to meet this standard. There were a lot of weapons to choose from and options to upgrade special features on your suit, like a shield I could deploy to block incoming fire if I found the materials to do so. Did I mention that there’s a grappling hook now, too? There was generally so much to discover and play with that there was never a dull moment battling aliens.
Fighting aliens wasn’t all that I enjoyed, though. Halo Infinite had intricate and immersive stories that had me tearing up, feeling brave or afraid. Excellent storylines were something the franchise always excelled at providing (except Halo 5: Guardians), and Halo Infinite didn’t disappoint.
Beyond the main goal of defeating the aliens, there were always short stories or tidbits of dialogue to discover about the characters within Halo Infinite. Whether it was about the main character’s storyline or the multiple humans or aliens around me, I was always captivated and immersed in Halo Infinite’s many narratives along my journey.
In the end, I'm over the moon to know the magic that once charmed and made me fall in love with the franchise, and gaming, in general, continues through the form of Halo Infinite. Out of the handful of Halo games I've played, Halo Infinite is, by far, the best one I've played.
💬 Have you ever played Halo Infinite? If so, what are your thoughts on Cortana being portrayed as a villain throughout most of the game?
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I feel that 343i did a great job at recovering the story from the mess they created before and the gameplay in general was so fun. I loved just running around with my grappling hook or getting marines with rockets on a warthog. However I think locations and level design got too repetitive compared to other games which had amazing set pieces. There wasn't as much variety. Heck even halo 5 had different locations. Also I liked the open world aspect of the game in the beginning, but then found myself getting bored as things to do as got it repetitve. Its a solid game, however I wouldn't called it "the best halo game in history". Also, this is a personal opinion, the story didn't feel as grandiose compared to the other games, but impactful none the less.
2022-10-04
Author likedI feel like after Halo 4 and 5, Halo Infinite did the storyline pretty well, especially with the shift from the covenant, prophets, etc., in Halo 4. The grappling hook was definitely one of my favorite mechanics.
2022-10-05
lol have u seen horizon zero dawn? that game released 5 years ago and still looks beautiful and I should be comparing halo with new games like GOW or resident evil, but helo graphics won't even reach to the games that released 5 years ago, and I'm not big into graphics but since halo is the biggest game and it should be polished and it should have extreme graphics, what's the points of having Xbox when the game like halo looks so mediocre, and the problem is not the gameplay, halo is hell of fun to play but when it's playeble and challenging but unfortunately it is not, many missions are just so easy and boring, there is nothing new, maybe now days gamer are just happy with how less they gets from a great franchise but I'm not now days gamer, I'm playing games since ps1 so my expecting are not low, and that's why I love PC and Sony but Xbox is just lazy and lame after 360, and the reason for that is gamers like you who supports these cheep games, bro buy a PS4 seriously u might understand what exclusive games should be,, but I respect ur opinion btw and I admire your post ❤️ hope u have no hard feeling and if u enjoying halo then keep on playing don't listen to my crap 😉
2022-10-03
I respect your opinion, keep gaming!
2022-10-03
Author likedHalo reach was better in my opinion
2022-10-02
Reach and Halo 3 come very close. But I still prefer Hall Infinite.
2022-10-02
Author liked