Halo Infinite soft reboots the franchise, walking a narrow path that aims to appease the fans as well as newcomers
Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite
Rating: Rating: 5/5
Developer: 343 Industries
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platform: PC, XBO, XBS
Price: Rs 3,499 (Free with Game Pass)
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Master Chief is to Xbox what Mario means to Nintendo. It is by far one of the most iconic characters on the platform. So, when they created Halo Infinite, the game needed to not only revive the franchise for new players, but also appeal to the existing fan base. Thankfully, the developers—343 Industries have done a brilliant job. The game feels modern and progressive, while giving fans more of what they want.
You, of course, reprise the role of Master Chief voiced by Stephen Downes, who has been the voice since the beginning of the series. The game starts when you are discovered floating through space after being defeated by Atriox. The game takes place on a ring world called Zeta Halo, where you, your new AI buddy called Weapon and the pilot who discovered you, fight against the banished. Unlike previous games, Halo Infinite takes place in an open world, letting you choose how you want to approach a certain problem or boss fight. The world is huge and well-populated. There are a lot of details and side missions. Every frame of the game looks like a masterpiece. However, most open-world games tend to have different terrain zones to offer the players some variety. But, in Infinity everything looks the same.
This was a little disappointing.
For newbies, there is no need to know the rich history of Halo to play. The game introduces the necessary bits of it through gameplay as part of the story rather than an hour-long introduction. This doesn’t feel forced in any way and serves up the precise amount of nostalgia.
The game also updates the combat mechanism by introducing a grappling hook; yes it isn’t the first time a game has done this. Just Cause is possibly the most famous game with a grappling hook. That said, the grappling hook feels natural, it seamlessly blends with Master Chief’s fighting style to the point where you wonder how you ever played the game without it. You can grab guns from enemies, use it to fly towards a foe to land a deadly melee attack or even toss things at people. It is a lot of fun to play with. The game also keeps throwing in small encounters throughout, so you always feel like something is happening.
Halo Infinite also works very well with the controller. Aiming and playing seem simple to do and offer a lot of satisfaction. You can also connect a keyboard and mouse to the game even if you are playing it on a console, offering hardcore PC-based FPS fans something they can play even on the Xbox. The multiplayer version of the game is a lot of fun and offers a variety of modes, maps and even options to practise with bots. There are a few issues, like with any multiplayer game, which should be resolved as time goes by.
Halo Infinite is available for free as part of Game Pass if you already have it or you can also buy the campaign version of the game from either Microsoft Store or Steam. The multiplayer version is free for both PC and Xbox. Free or not, this game is a return to form for Halo and they have hit a sweet spot where combat and story is concerned. A must-have for fans and a great game for first-time players as well, well worth the asking price. Even if you aren’t sure, you would like it.
Try the Halo multiplayer first which is free.
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