343 Industries has been at the helm of every major instalment of the Halo franchise since March 2012, and with the release of Halo 4 in September of that year, the future seemed bright for the burgeoning video game studio. By no means would it be an easy task for 343i to take charge of one of the most beloved franchises in video game history. But I myself remember a distinctive and optimistic tone among gamers when Halo 4 was released. However, a lot of this optimism was snuffed out with Halo 5: Guardians.
If you didn’t hate the campaign, you probably hated the severe lack of flagship features such as split-screen. There are many more faults with Halo 5 and many strengths too (gunplay in Halo was never so clean and satisfying as it was in Guardians). An all-around amalgamation of mixed sentiments, which had many people worried about the direction of the franchise. Then in 2014, 343i appealed to our nostalgia with the Halo: The Master Chief Collection and it worked. A slam dunk as far as 343i was concerned, bringing all the previous major instalments into modern gaming with updated graphics and cross-play across PC, Xbox and any other Microsoft device. So yes it’s been a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to 343i’s handling of the franchise.
Halo Infinite however has now given us a well deserved high in the legendary saga. Bravo 343 industries!
On the 15th of November Halo Infinite multiplayer was released to the public after the 20th anniversary Halo Livestream. The multiplayer was released in a quasi beta form. Well, it’s not strictly in beta but 343i has told us to treat it as such, as many bugs and glitches will be found and patched on the lead up to Halo Infinite’s full release on December 8th. But 343i have outdone themselves with Halo Infinite’s multiplayer. It is a return to form for Halo.
The first word that comes to mind in Infinites multiplayer is crisp. The visuals and audio come together to bring us an all too real battle in the Haloverse. Every single bullet that leaves your weapon has a satisfying harshness to it and gravity that demands admiration. The physics of this new Slipspace engine are put on full display with new power-ups such as the grapple hook. Classic modes such as slayer and capture the flag are found here along with new ones such as strongholds. New toys to play with have also made their debut in multiplayer. My personal favourite is the skewer. This is a giant rocket launcher that launches giant metal spikes instead of explosive rockets.
If you have ever enjoyed more than 1 minute of Halo multiplayer (who hasn’t?) do yourself a favour, like and share this article, head to the Steam or the Xbox store and play some Halo Infinite multiplayer!
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