I spent a few hours yesterday primarily in the new Arena playlist and BTB. Favorite things in order:
The Bandit - the weapon feels good. It sounds good. It’s just fun to use. I really hope they experiment with it being the default weapon in at least one playlist. I’d love to see it used over the Side Kick…or at least rotate in Bandit starts in Slayer.
The maps -
Oasis is impressive looking and my first few times on the map, I had a lot of fun. It seems to work really well for CTF. It gives me some classic Halo vibes and looks like something that would’ve made an excellent aesthetic for the campaign.
Chasm surprised me. It felt like a thrown in when it was announced, and I was really skeptical of the layout. It’s not going to have the best flow but the traversal, snipers and grapple shot combos make it a fun and unique casual map.
Cliffhanger worked really well in One Flag. I always thought I disliked One Flag but now I realize it’s because I hate any mode associated with Launch Site.
Cosmetics - I’m not a cosmetics guy. In fact, outside of Halo Infinite, I’ve never done BPs or worried too much on how I looked. I really like at least two of these armor cores which are different enough to be interesting but not too crazy that they don’t fit Halo. My Spartan looks like he’s straight from Crysis…but damned good and it still works.
Shroud Screen - I was surprised how much utility it had and how quickly people were putting it to use. A team threw it down against us to block the line of sight against Snipers to a flag carrier. I was reversed once by someone who was one shot and used it to get behind me. When they first revealed it, I didn’t get it. Now I wonder if it might work “too good” in some modes. Also really like the muffled sound when you’re inside of it. Nice immersive effects.
The negatives were mostly some rough technical issues on Day 1. I did start with a lot of stutter on series X. After clearing cache and then taking it a step further with a hard reset, it seemed to clear up. Had to also reset some of my settings (as things like screen shake and blur went back to default).
I wish the Bandit were more prevalent. Hard to get hold of on some maps right now.
I still hate the challenge system. Even for Events.
Overall it seems like Halo is moving in the right direction.
Progression needs a huge revamp, getting rewarded for overkills and other medals and not just,play a game or get 5 kills with a certain gun
It’s 2023, you can’t be having medals pop up on the screen and have it be meaningless, we figured this out 15 years ago before live service was really a thing
But they have made big improvements with everything else so hopefully they can get it in place within the next season or 2
Agree with pretty much everything here
Especially Launch Site, that map is HORRIBLE, vehicles should not be on arena maps
From the same Twitter thread @Sparda3g posted, a compilation of all vehicle explosions:
This will add a ton to the ambience and atmosphere of a BTB. What looked incomplete, cheesy, and almost amateurish looks impressive and more importantly, expressive. Looks like a proper sci-fi explosion.
My opinion on season 3 after a few hours of play: The maps are good. I love the new game mode, it’s very fun. The new weapon is interesting, but I still have trouble using it properly. Regarding the negatives, I have serious FPS drops in the armory and regular crashes (on PC and only in the armory, I think it will be patched soon). There are rumors that infection mode will be released in the middle of the season (which I can believe given the theme of the season) so I’m really looking forward to it. Halo Infinite is a great game and I think 343 is on the right track. There are still essential things to integrate into the game (progression system, voting system, killcam, medal/ribbon collector…) in addition to the content (maps, modes, weapons…), but if all these things are coming soon, I think this will definitely be one of my favorite multiplayer games. I hope that the players will give it another chance and that it will experience the success it deserves.
I was able to play the arcade game Halo Fireteam Raven and I thought it was pretty good. While the visuals may be dated by today’s standards they were serviceable at release, I’m sure.
If you told me to conceptualize the theme of the game and how it would play it would be exactly this. Where you get to see Master Chief and his greatness from another person’s eyes. The game takes you through all sorts of familiar settings and moves along pretty quickly.
But I have to say that a sequel done in Unreal Engine 5 that looks like a CG movie would be actually pretty epic to play.
I think that’s one Halo game we can all agree that would most likely use UE5, if it were ever announced.
Now that you mention it, I think a HALO like the ASCENT would be good, heck give the characters a Halo character skins and guns better yet let this developers make a twin stick Halo game.
I’ve yet to delve into the Spartan Assault titles, but I thought that’s what they were.
SA seems to have been botched, marketing wise, by 343. Starting as a mobile game with no console release, yet likely good enough to be a great console co-op twin stick shooter.
There is similarity a little but in no way the same. ASCENT almost feel like a third person action game at times, and you can also take cover. It’s also has both single and coop campaign. I also really enjoy the shooting and weapons.
Ah ok, thanks for the info. Sounds like it’s a solid idea to have the Halo IP applied to something like this. This is where UE5 makes the most sense to me. Completely different genres but still telling the Halo story. Looking fantastic and, generally speaking, easier to develop with contractors and outside studios as compared to making them learn and use your own in-house engine.
I know that it is easy to criticize some of what has gone on with Halo Infinite, but all I know is that every time they release new things I end up having a blast playing the game again
