Talking Point: How Are You Feeling About Halo Infinite After Recent News?

I think the thing that annoyes me the most, is the fact that we will only be able to get XP from Challenges in Multiplayer... For me that's the biggest problem because I really don't like these challenges in Multiplayer games hahaha.

I think the multiplayer is going to be superb and already seems very polished. No concerns with that.

It's the campaign that worries me.
If rumours are true, the game went from a Far Cry style base clearing game under Chris Lee to being totally reworked when Joseph Staten came in back in August 2020.
So how much can they realistically change in 14-16 months?

Loved the technical flight. No worries for me, I’m hyped for it. Infinite is in it for the long run.

I play Halo campaigns in co-op so I’m completely bummed. I’ll be eagerly awaiting playing the campaign when they add what has always been a standard feature.

After the crapstorm that bit them during the first campaign demo I think they know not to show too much to too many, let's face it, there are hoards of trolls, Sony for hards (Bombing review sites in envy) and bandwagon hopping wannabe internet stars looking to get noticed by bashing/meming the crap out of a game they probably don't like to begin with. It's a tough position to be in for 343, they gotta tame the waves so to speak. Halo has tested well for multiplayer and I'm confident campaign will be cool. Unfortunately, it's also become hate fuel. We have a release date, we will play it on said release, and we will most likely enjoy it, even more so knowing it comes with Gamepass. Meanwhile, we got Psychonaughts 2, Forza, Aragami, Back 4 Blood, Sable, etc. It's not a drought, for us, for others...well, let's just say there's a reason they're trying to piss in our well.

Well, I primarily play sp campaign, though I’ll dabble in the mp and I’ll play coop campaign with my son when that releases. I was actually fine with how it looked last year when they decided to delay it. I understand the criticisms it had, but those graphics would not have ruined it for me. With an extra year of refinement, I assume it’s even better, so I’m pretty excited about it.

Halo games aren't going to win awards these days and their campaign stories leave a lot to be desired but I still play them because the mechanics and AI are second to none. Only fps series that comes close is Doom (which I probably prefer overall). If 343 can get some better writers and innovate a little more then we might be talking GOTY contender but not at the moment.

I'm expecting to love it but I have my doubts about the general public's opinion. If it's an amazing campaign, we should be ok but if not, it could damage the franchise and make people skeptical about Xbox Studios.

Really excited for multiplayer. I think as a physical collector, not having co-op on the disc for the steel book version is really weak. So maybe they'll do a year 1 version?? Idk. Just think they're focusing so much on the internet being able to fix their dev roadmap issues, they don't care enough about people that want to play offline or do local LAN. Big oversight imo. But given it's Xbox, I know we expect online connectivity so a bit torn. Still think it'll be a great time & us consumers are adjusting to new business models and content delivery so FML haha

@Xenomorph_79 I think if its your first time playing these, you really missed out on the hype of the time period. These were cutting edge for consoles at the time, had massive communities, tons of LAN content for house parties and it was a killer app for Xbox for Halo Combat Evolved and Halo 2. I can see what you're saying in 2021 though if it's the first playthrough. Also the Flood storyline twist was huge at the time! From alien shooter to zombie horror game. Pretty cool stuff, lot's changed though. Halo 4 & 5 were kinda weak imo.

Really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed the campaigns from 4 and 5. They were a huge step up in pacing over the first 2 games (although Reach still has the best in the series) and didn’t have any endless corridors for padding.

Co-op is fun but I’d rather play it through in single player first before launching into a buddy mission with my sons anyway.

I can live with multiplayer challenges after playing Fortnite for 3 years. If anything just getting XP for playing the matches makes things a little dull. Doing the challenges encourages different play styles and to get better at the game. A footballer doesn’t get better just sat on a bench every game!

Not concerned at all personally. Will be paying for game pass anyway so really nothing to lose if it ends up being a letdown. I'd predict the MP will be fun for most fans and the campaign will be so so.

Really excited for infinite. I just cleared all the campaigns and love where the direction of the franchise is heading in terms of story. Should be epic. The flight of infinite multiplayer was fantastic and everything felt really crisp. Not feeding into any of the negativity at all. I think it’s from people that don’t realize that a lot of games do season passes and challenges. I actually like that content drop over just playing ranked forever hoping to improve.

The complete lack of communication over the campaign makes me concerned. I couldn’t care less about multiplayer, so the radio silence makes me worried that they don’t have faith in their own product. I wasn’t a big fan of 4 or 5 either, so this one really needs to deliver for me to stick with the series.

I’m still hyped. The multiplayer is where it’s at for me. I’m not concerned about the no XP on match completion so long as the daily & weekly challenges aren’t a slog.

I have zero confidence in 343i.

Just ready to see if the campaign fills the nostalgic-mystery-exploring of the ring feels. Nothing like the feels of exploring the ring of halo 1 back in the day. Hoping they more or less recaptured that I’m a new generation.

343 has yet to release a good game. I don't see any reason to be excited. To make matters worse, they've axed the most important features for me, like coop at launch.

I would rather them delay campaign and keep polishing and adjusting it until online co op is available.

I will start with MP bot matches with my friends and MP if I'm alone. I'm not worried about MP but I am worried about the campaign. I have a feeling campaign was completely reworked and not sure if 1 year is enough time to fix everything.

Me and my friends are having a lot of fun in Halo 3 co op at the moment. They loved Halo 4 co op and we've played that more than anything so far.

Looking forward to trying it in December. Not long to wait

The campaign situation makes me unsure, the last time we got footage was July 2020 which was a while back. I'd guess what happens is Microsoft has a big event in early/mid November (around the time X018/X019 was) and campaign gets showed off then.

After the first 2, I gave up on MP Halo. Played the TP and got a nostalgic vibe, so I'm back in. Really hope the campaign is polished because I never start MP before SP like many do. The fact they didn't delay it again, I have a feeling we're good with the SP.

I think it will be fun, though I won't buy it at launch partly because I won't have a Series X by then and I rarely buy games at launch, anymore.

I think it really comes down to what you play a given game for. For me personally, I gravitate more toward turn-based Strategy like Civilization or Daisenryaku and JRPGs and SRPGs like the Trails series and Shining Force, because I love being able to put my feet up and enjoy games that enable me to relax while offering hundreds of hours' worth of gameplay and/or storylines. I also tend to look at the value of a game by how many hours of gameplay I get per dollar spent.

I also enjoy games that I can break out when company's over, from Civilization to Mario Kart (depending on the interests and skill level of those involved). Back in the day my house hosted epic sessions of GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, TimeSplitters, and the original Halo, among many others. IMHO local multiplayer with friends and family provides some of the best memories you'll ever get from the hobby, because it's about those face-to-face interactions and the camaraderie that online multiplayer just can't offer.

With Halo and other FPSes, I still enjoy them to a limited degree; I've never been nearly as adept as many of the folks who obviously eat, drink, sleep and breathe them, and between that insurmountable disparity of skill and the often toxic profanity and ugliness of being paired with total strangers, way too often online multiplayer sessions simply aren't all that FUN...and that's the measuring stick that keeps anyone playing a game.

What DOES have me intrigued about Halo Infinite this time around are the bots. Right now I realize their presence will be limited, but I really hope that presence will be expanded over time into all the multiplayer modes for those who want them (this is why I'm also stoked regarding the upcoming TimeSplitters reboot; hopefully the developers stick to what made that franchise so beloved and don't mess with the formula too much). There's a definite appeal to me in opponents who are programmed to mimic the player's (my) skill level while maintaining a clean and family-friendly atmosphere. It also provides a much more welcoming potential for local multiplayer.

I realize that everyone's mileage varies here in terms of priorities, but these are mine.

Given that I have never really enjoyed a 343i Halo game and despite being initially hopeful of Infinite, the last year or so has only failed to build my excitement and trust, so I'd be stupid to throw money at something just because it has the Halo brand on it.

Learnt a long time ago that brand loyalty is a fools game.

The whole XP thing has me very disappointed in the MP. But who knows maybe the challenges are well put together, I'll give 343 the benefit of the doubt.. I'm still really looking forward to Halo this December.

I mean, I’m like the one person who enjoyed the campaign in Halo 5, so I’m reasonably confident that I will enjoy the campaign in Halo Infinite no matter what. As for multiplayer, I don’t play multiplayer, so I don’t care what they do.

Disappointed about the co-op. For me this is a March 22 release now, I think as my hype for it was about a big amazing game to play coop. And the internet focusing on the multiplayer, with the multiplayer being a separate release is awkward, as I've never cared even slightly about the multiplayer, and won't even be downloading it.

@Xenomorph_79 Yeah, playing Halo after the fact is like Playing FFVII after the fact. it doesn't seem so great but everyone says it's amazing. Because when it was new, it was amazing, and then everything else copied its ideas and built on them to the point that the originals seem much diminished now. Halo's combat system changed the course of shooters forever. Regenerating health wasn't a thing in shooters until Halo. Now almost every shooter short of Doom has regenerating health. It truly changed up how the genre is made. But now? It blends in with everything else that built on its ideas.

@blinx01 Honestly, the Farcry design has been beaten to death. There's Farcry, Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs, Just Cause, and half a dozen games I'm forgetting that have been doing that for a decade. If that's what Lee had in mind for Halo, it was going to be generic and boring. I'm hoping Staten was able to really replace it with something a lot better in that time, because it really needed that. But I agree, that wasn't much time.

I am more interested in the campaign. Usually I would play solo first and later try it in co-op. Still, I would rather wait to have the game complete before launch as I am afraid they might not have enough time to iron out all the major bugs.

I never really knew why people beat up Halo 4 and 5 campaign so much. Sure the Prometheans are annoying and the story is hard to follow, but the levels and gameplay are still great. I'd like more of the same but, wrap up the reclaimer story and set a new direction with a decent storyline.

@MasMenno Agreed. Not only are they annoying but they actually cause players to not play game modes "correctly." You end up in a game of CTF where half the players want to play a serious game of CTF while the other half are just running around fulfilling the challenge requirements. And I'm saying that as someone who is quite certainly the latter.

@BrilliantBill The thing is, they said that's kind of what they DID do after Halo 5, which is one of the reasons Infinite has taken so long....but from everything coming out about the development, it seems like they just didn't learn anything.

I'm a campaign guy. Couldn't care less about multiplayer. After the debacle that was Halo 5's campaign they've had over 5 years to make sure they get this one right, so if they don't it will be 100% on them.

Still have no idea how they can continue Halo 5's story line and somehow tie it into this new Banished + Zeta Halo story line.

@BrilliantBill They've certainly made an effort to show that this will be different from Halo 5 in terms of visuals. I'm just worried they'll repeat the mistakes of Halo 5 by getting the narrative so completely off the mark again.

@Xenomorph_79
Sorry, what? I had to reply to this just because it's so evident how biased you are in favour of Gears Of War, for reasons that are your opinion only.

Both Halo and Gears Of War have had excellent reception and love on Xbox and shouldn't be compared to each other, as the core gameplay and what they represent is very different, but as you want to play comparison, let's do it.

Halo 1, 2 and 3 are absolutely loved for their time and each game built upon the success of it's predecessor. I would argue based on reviews and my experiences that each game innovates more than the last. The characters, lore and stories are absolutely loved by fans. ODST and to a lesser extent Reach are also very much loved and respected in Halo's legacy. To say these games are average is your opinion alone, but Xbox's success owes a huge amount to Halo, especially games 1-3. Others on here have said why these games were so well received at the time.

The first Gears Of War trilogy is amazing and compelling, but is very different to Halo. It is slower paced than Halo, more violent and again the original trilogy is hugely loved and respected by fans. To say it has a better story than Halo is very debateable, both have lots of lore and some complex characters, and at the same time both are hardly the best examples of video game story telling. Again, Gears innovated at the time with third person cover systems.

The original Halo games still play great to this day, despite their age. The same can be said of the original GOW games. Both innovated for their time, but now their innovations seem commonplace in today's games.

Now, Gears 4 and 5 and Halo 4 and 5... both were created by new studios, both had respectful, safe entries for installment 4 and with 5; both have received criticism in their own right e.g. Halo 5's story and Spartan movement/powers and Gears 5's arcade like, transaction filled, grindfest multiplayer.

The bottom line is, to call Halo average is absurd and it would be the same absurdity to call GOW average. Both have had huge success on Xbox and whether you prefer third person games or not, it doesn't make GOW "better". Halo also has superb characters, with interesting interactions between them and high stakes, and the Halo 2 twist was incredible. Halo 4 and 5 are "even worse" than Halo 1, 2 and 3? SMH. Those 3 original games were utterly loved at the time and still are. Halo 4 and 5 have had more than enough success to stand next to Gears. Your opinion is exactly that and doesn't reflect the critics, fans and Xbox's love for the Halo franchise.

@blinx01
The campaign has been reworked to make outposts and Banished fortresses not all mandatory. It's going to be awesome have faith

@Jai_86 Have you not been following where they're going with the story? It's going to be awesome, i think they'll hit the mark this time.

@Odium but there is communication. All the Inside Infinite updates show exactly that.

@InterceptorAlpha Lol. Halo 4 was more than good game, as was Halo 5. Missteps don't ruin a game.

@TJ81 Wait to see with the campaign. I think the story and writing will surprise you and in a good way. And Halo 4 had an awesome, well written story and great character development.

@SliceAndDice23 Are we talking about the same Halo 4?

The same Halo 4 that currently holds the place as the only Halo game to have a retconned level? 343 retconned the entire first level as the redesign of the ship completely broke the canon ending of Halo 3.

And Halo 5? The same Halo 5 that everyone and their mom hates because of how the Hunt the Truth campaign completely mislead everyone. The same Halo 5 that people dislike because of how little you play as Master Chief?

All the while were also talking about the same 343 that made did act the big bad, then killed him off screen, in a book, and never even brought it up again.

@InterceptorAlpha
Some design inconsistencies with Forward Unto Down do not bother me in the slightest. Halo 4 has a number of canon inconsistencies, but nothing bad. None of that makes it a bad game. I am talking about the games too, not about poor decisions made in comic books. Yes, killing off said person was a mistake.

I already said Halo 5 did some missteps, especially with the marketing vs the actual game, but I like it and some of the wider consequences of the game's story. Plus the multiplayer is sublime. It has it's fans, but Infinite should get story and multiplayer right this time.

@BrilliantBill Depends how you look at it. The multiplayer of Gears 5 is god awful and is full of microtranscations and ridiculous grindfests. Gears multiplayer has never, ever been in a worse state. The campaign of Gears 5 was good, but felt rushed in places and 4's told a better paced story.

I think 343 get flack and quite rightly, but The Coalition have made some questionable choices too. Nevertheless, I love both franchises and can't wait for the next entries.

@SliceAndDice23 It is fine you don't care. However the overwhelming majority does, thus the panning Halo 4 and 5 receives. If you don't have a problem, that's fine, but the issues exist. Calling Halo 5's multi-player sublime, alone, is enough to show you're an outlier on the matter.

@InterceptorAlpha
The overwhelming majority have an issue with Forward Unto Dawn having design inconsistencies? When casual fans wouldn't even notice? I don't think so somehow.

Halo 4 and 5 aren't disliked by an overwhelming majority, people have their issues with them but actually if you go to the Halo forums and read up, it's very much the fanbase has split down the middle about them.

Loads of people love Halo 5's multiplayer and it was actually the better received part of Halo 5. Halo 4 didn't receive a panning, the only thing most fans didn't like was the changes to multiplayer that made it feel COD like. Both games reviewed pretty well, especially Halo 4 and neither received 'bad reviews'. Halo 4 sold very well and Halo 5 also sold well. Hopefully Infinite will bring the fanbase back together.

@SliceAndDice23 If only the minority had issues, 343 would not have come out and retconned the first level of Halo 4 as never having happened.

I'm not quite sure what points you're trying to argue here when it is 343 themselves that admitted to the issues I've brought up. This is likely one of the reasons for Halo Infinite plagued development, finally deciding to listen to fans, requiring them to start over.

If nothing else they've gone out of their way even in the smallest of things, such as suit under armor, on listening to fans because they realized their original design choices were poor

@InterceptorAlpha
They have not retconned the Halo 4 first level, Dawn. I have no idea where you're getting that from and they've never, ever said that. All they've said is that the Halo 3 original design of Forward Unto Dawn is canon, and not Halo 4's design. The level, events that occur in it and the story are all still canon. They haven't retconned the level itself and they would never do that, not sure why you keep saying that.

Regarding the Halo Infinite development, you're making assumptions, none of us really know what has been going on behind the scenes, other than the odd report that has come out here and there.

Anyway, Halo 4's story was better received than Halo 5's story and Halo 5's multiplayer better received than Halo 4's. Let's hope with Infinite we get a stellar game that makes most fans happy 🤞