Halo Infinite: Early Preview

The other day 343 Industries conducted the first public testing of Halo Infinite multiplayer . First of all, its goal was to check the stability of the servers and the performance of the game on computers and consoles. But developers also need feedback on gameplay changes and innovations. Although this version includes only a small part of what will be on release, some conclusions can already be drawn.

There’s nowhere to run

First of all, long-time fans of the series will pay attention to how Halo Infinite running implemented. In the first parts it was not there at all, then it became a replaceable ability with a cooldown, and in Halo 5: Guardians it was available to everyone without exception. Here it is also endless and can be used at any time, but in terms of speed, running is practically no different from regular walking – the character is already fast enough.

There is only one reason why running should be used at all – only with it a player can make tackles. Well, those who are used to running in other shooters experience a kind of placebo effect – it seems that if you press the left stick, you escape faster, and even the damaged shield begins to be restored when running, unlike Halo 5.

The disadvantage of this skill is much more significant – running characters are displayed on the mini-map. So it’s better to walk – this system makes the game more similar to the old parts of the series and will certainly please conservatives who are against running in Halo. However, they are not happy with everything: if previously all targets were shown on the mini-map, now only those running and shooting, and this is already causing controversy among fans.

Computer wars

At the stage of the technical test, full-fledged PvP in the game was not available (except for the tiny window from 5 to 7 am Moscow time, which I did not catch for obvious reasons). Teams of four players participated in matches against bots. On the first day, the opponents were completely helpless – each game ended with a score of 50 to 10. But the developers gradually increased the difficulty, making the matches more interesting.

The bots were not like real people, and their behavior could often be predicted, but they were not that bad: they hid behind covers, tried to stay close to each other, used different weapons and grenades. At some point, she started spamming squats in firefights and performing other “human” tricks. By the end of the test, what was happening looked less like beating up babies, but it was still impossible to lose in the matches.

Only one mode was opened grosvenorscasino.uk – “Slaughter” (Slayer). At first, all matches took place on the "Hitch", a rather sketchy location with several open areas and underground corridors. The map is good – there are a couple of good positions here for snipers, and you can run around with a shotgun.

The next day, “Recharge” opened, a map with more verticality, where the main battles take place in the center – you can shoot there from above, and there are collisions below, and on the bridge in the middle.

Finally, the third location is “Bazaar”, the brightest of all. Here, too, the main “action” takes place in the very heart of the map. Especially at the beginning of the match, when boxes and crates of fruit are shattered by grenade explosions.

All maps are almost devoid of dead ends, they are full of corridors and stairs, allowing you to quickly get to high positions and just as quickly jump to the lower tiers. Additional weapons always hang on the walls in the same places, but the guns themselves change in each match. A filling scale lets you know when the weapon will appear on the wall again.

New toys

Everything is fine with the arsenal already in the test version. The starting guns – the MA40 automatic rifle and the MK50 pistol – are perfectly balanced. You don’t feel helpless with them, but you can’t call them very strong either – if you haven’t picked up another weapon yet, you can win even with them. These barrels are best suited for shooting at short and medium distances – it will be difficult to shoot at distant targets.

Other models were created for this, including the burst-firing BR75 rifle and the luxurious VK78 Commando assault rifle – the accuracy and booming sounds made when firing made it my favorite weapon, despite the strong recoil.

Also, among the new products, I really liked the thermal emitter (Heatwave) – a light grenade launcher that penetrates targets completely. It differs from other guns in that when you press the left trigger, you do not activate the zoom mode of the sight, but determine how the projectiles will fly – in a horizontal line or vertical.

The main star among the updated “oldies” turned out to be the Needler – this submachine gun, if it is not changed in the future, will be one of the most powerful weapons in the full version. He quickly shoots crystals that pursue his target, leaving her with virtually no chance of survival. In matches against bots it’s hard to tell how poorly or well balanced it is, so I’d really like to try it out in normal PvP.

You can test all these barrels at the “Academy” – this is not a shooting range in the usual sense, but tests on a small site, where in the allotted time you need to eliminate as many targets as possible with the issued weapon. The idea is good, but I would still like to see a standard training ground where all types of weapons are available at once – due to time restrictions it is difficult to learn all the features of the guns.

In addition to weapons, auxiliary equipment is scattered throughout the maps, which can be used by pressing the right bumper. The supershield makes the character much more durable, the sensor allows you to install a scanner that marks targets in a small radius. With active camouflage, the player becomes invisible, and the grappling hook turns him into Pathfinder from Apex Legends – you can quickly fly up to your opponent and make a surprise attack.

Also interesting is the energy shield, which creates a small wall that absorbs projectiles. The one who places it can shoot through the shield, but it does not appear immediately after pressing – by the time it is erected, enemies may already run away.

During testing, I also tried out the local store for cosmetic items and the battle pass. Nothing unusual – skins for weapons, coloring for armor, multi-colored visors, new models of helmets, and so on. The interface is still very clumsy – either the rewards are not displayed in the pass, or the menu works somehow. But you need to understand that this is an assembly many months ago.

For the same reason, I don’t see the point in discussing graphics. Yes, on new generation consoles the shooter is already playing at 120 frames/s, which is cool, but this version is still far from the final one – everything will still change.

When on Monday evening servers Halo Infinite disconnected, I returned to Halo 5 and after two or three matches I got bored. All these jerks, hits on the run and other unsuccessful decisions that distinguished the fifth part are starting to look even more like controversial experiments. IN Infinite the series returns to the times Halo 3, almost copying some of its details – and this is a sign that 343 Industries really does everything possible to create a very strong shooter.