Looking at Halo Infinite, and Trying to Stay Unbiased

Halo Infinite came out in two parts over the last month, and it’s caused a lot of upheaval in the gaming community, especially in Halo community. There’s a lot good about the game, and to be 100% it’s going to be my game of the year for 2021. Not that there were a ton of contenders in my world, what with school, but being honest there’s a lot bad with the game as well. But I’ll get to that a little lower in the post.

So we’re going to start with multiplayer, since it came out first. Honestly, this is where the nostalgia hits me hardest. Up until this week there were only 3 playlists in which to play in: Quick Play, Big Team Battle, and Ranked. This of course does not include the one week during the Fractures: Tenrai event where they added Fiesta Slayer into the mix. Every playlist had three or four game modes in it (minus Fiesta Slayer) and it was impossible to pick what game type you were going into. And interestingly that didn’t bother me at all. I’ve never been one to play objective game types in the past, for some reason they just never appealed to me. However, I think with the upgrades added to the game it makes them different and exciting enough that I actually kind of enjoy them. With different ways to maneuver through the world, press the attack, and surprise the enemy its enough different that I’m not only having fun, but occasionally actually scoring. I didn’t score a lot in previous titles, but then again, I played more Slayer than any of the objectives. The forced game types helps me play different ways, and I’m loving it.

On December 8th, in honestly the worst timing for me to pass classes (I think I’m doing alright catching up, but it’s been a grind) the Halo Infinite campaign came out, and I love it. Spoilers will follow, and my criticisms will come after. I’ll post when spoilers end.

[SPOILERS FOLLOW]

There’s a lot of mystery happening in the story that makes me want to play it again, and keeps me chomping at the bit for more. Master Chief waking up after 6 months of being declared dead after the Banished attack on Infinity is a way to start the campaign, but the fact that I don’t have answers for why Atriox attacked makes me need more. I haven’t found an audio log yet that explains it, but I continue searching for one. Skirmishers have made a return, which was a surprising revelation when I saw the first pair in campaign. Where were they for the rest of the Human-Covenant War? I don’t think I’m ever going to get an answer to this one in game or in the extended lore, but of course I want to know.

In addition to the return of the Skirmishers, we have new enemies in both the Skimmers, a better replacement for the Drones from the previous games; and the Harbinger, a recently released member of the mysterious new race known as the Endless. Nothing is known so far about the Endless, but I have heard things about upcoming DLC that will expand on them and on what happened with the Banished, especially after the reveal at the very end of the game. I will buy the DLC just for the chance to find out what is going on and why we’re here.

[SPOILERS CONCLUDE]

So, here’s where I get critical. There is a few main things that bother me, and if you’ve played any of the game you probably know what they are. The main things that bother me are the Shop, and the Armor Cores. Everyone has issue with the Shop, because the items up on offer are a stupid amount of real money in order to buy in-game armors and colors.

That’s right, you heard me, they’re selling colors…

The problem isn’t that they’re trying to make money. They made the multiplayer free to play, which was smart on the side of 343, but the prices for the items being sold could be considered highway robbery. But I’ll expand on that in a moment.

Armor Cores are the worst sin in this game. For those not in the know, Halo Infinite released Armor Cores in an attempt to keep different armor piece with other armor piece that go with that Core. 343 has said that Armor Cores were the attempt to make sure that pieces of armor don’t clip through one another. This makes sense, but there are armors within certain Cores that clip through each other, so that doesn’t track.

I can be okay with the armors being locked to their specific Cores (though I do have some ideas about the Yoroi helmets with some of the Mk. V(b) armor pieces), that’s not that terrible of a sin to me. The real issue with Cores however is that Armor Coatings (the way you color the armor of your multiplayer Spartan) are locked to individual Armor Cores. This is a problem, because there are three different versions of the exact same color, locked to each current core. Specifically the one that stands out to me is the Mk V(b) Armor Coating “Noble Defender”. For the Mk VII Armor Core the Coating is called “Noble Portal,” and in the Yoroi Core, its known as “Noble Loyalty.” Now, here is my biggest issue with that. “Noble Defender” and “Noble Portal” can be unlocked via the Season 1 Battle Pass, and only about 2 ranks away from each other, however “Noble Loyalty” is only available for a limited amount of time in the store.

And don’t get me started on the 7 different colors of blue.

Anyway, totally non-biased opinion, buy the game for the campaign, and if you want a fun multiplayer experience, it’s free to play.

So you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about this on my professional blog, and honestly, it probably doesn’t need to be. But I am proficient in creating textures for 3D models. Assuming that each of the armor coatings coincide with the same pieces of armor in each Armor Core (which would be smart), creating cross-Core Armor Coatings should not be that hard. 343, please, give me a call, I’ll fix the Armor Core system for you. For cheaper than a salary too. Hit that Contact tab up top.