343 Industries showed off the new and improved "Halo: Infinite" at this years joint Microsoft/Bethesda E3 conference on June 13th with another showcase debuting the following day showing off the free-to-play multiplayer.
Master Chief looked great in the latest look at the superhuman war hero. He swings, jumps and explodes his way through a derelict ship out in the cold vastness of space before ending up speaking to a proto-Cortana known as "The Weapon" who declares that the rouge AI, and former noggin shotgun rider, the actual Cortana, has been deleted. While we can't see Chief's face, I can only imagine how hurt he must be under that visor. To learn more about this new, proto-Cortana, YouTuber Halo Canon does a good job trying to decipher just who this new character is and bringing everyone up to speed on the surrounding lore. The trailer ended there where we got the announcement we would see more of the multiplayer component the following day.
343 held up their end of the bargain, showing an explosive look at the multiplayer mode with Spartans engaging in all out war that looked like a return to form for the series. 343 also released the latest addition of Inside Infinite which you can read here.
The graphics, gameplay, and vehicles look and feel like a promise kept. 343 said from the very beginning they wanted to return to the classic feel of Halo and modernize it. Requisition packs are out the window, and equipment is back in. Halo players are once again thrown into a sandbox and allowed to explore and find their favorite guns and pieces of equipment. Maybe you go grab the grapple so you can swing across the map in style, scoring no scope sniper headshots or doing a super human landing with a gravity hammer right on the head of your foe.
That was what made Halo fun, and it bodes well to see they focused on that for this iteration. The moment to moment Arena action looks good, and upping the player count for Big Team Battle is gonna make the map feel more alive. More players means more vehicles and more havoc being wrought across the battleground. That is what Halo is all about. That, and giving the beans to some guy who brought an assault rifle to a gravity hammer fight.
Vehicles are back and much improved as well. Wheels can be blown off to ruin the handling of a warthog. Once your vehicle reaches a certain damage threshold (i.e. it being on fire) you are thrust into a fight or flight situation where you can either ride it out, accepting your fate and using your last moment to give what you got, or bail out and live to get sniped from across the map another day. Vehicles can now also be dropped in by a pelican so you can grab it and go to keep the killing going.
Weapons can also be dropped in a Halo 2-style drop pod so you can get geared up on the go. You'll have some new options for taking on your enemy with new additions to the high-powered arsenal already available including a gun that shoots a spike. In the trailer, a Spartan used this weapon to impale a warthog and send it careening off to the side. I can only imagine what its gonna feel like impaling my first Spartan to the wall. Their life fading from them, the last thing they'll see is a massive spike sticking out their chest and feel themselves being digitized as I capture the moment to my SSD and throw it on Twitter.
Cosmetics and armor look amazing as well. Loot boxes are out and battle passes are in but 343i is putting their own twist on the system. Battle passes never expire season to season. Once its purchased, its yours, and you are free to unlock what's available in the pass at any time if you do not finish it before the new season. We got a good look at one such cosmetic, a samurai armor piece that looked phenomenal. The Spartan wearing it uses a plasma grenade to blow, what else, a energy sword in the air, catch it, and slice through another Spartan before they even had the chance to beg for forgiveness. The developers made sure to mention that it, and every cosmetic in the game, can be unlocked by playing. No real-world money necessary. Because 343 is focusing on cosmetics and customization for Infinite, the traditional red vs. blue is out in favor of a highlight system that places a thin glow around friend and foe, outlining their team designation.
A big addition to customization in the series is the personalized A.I. Every Spartan will be able to choose what the A.I. knocking around in their head sounds like and they'll assist you throughout the match. If you pick up a flag in Capture the Flag, they'll be in your ear telling you to haul it back to base. I hope we get one that sounds like Alfred and that he tells me just how proud he is of me every time I ruthlessly kill my fellow Spartan and deliver a flag back to base. Or maybe they sound like Lady Dimitrescu, ushering me forward to smash my enemy with any means necessary.
The announcer is also back, letting everyone know when the big moments are happening. He shouts down from the heavens when a flag has been captured or a player is on a kill streak from hell, rampaging their way across the arena.
For new players, which Infinite will no doubt see a ton of with the multiplayer being free-to-play, there is a new training mode called the Academy. There, you can onboard into the sometimes chaotic mess that can be Halo multiplayer. Bots are also available, allowing players to get warmed up against AI in the Academy or just get some practice in.
All these great new changes look to be adding up to the best Halo experience we've had since Halo 3. While I didn't dislike Halo 4, I couldn't get into Guardians at all so it will be nice to see what a truly modern Halo will look like. I expect we'll see an extended look at Halo campaign again before its Holiday release. Until then, me and a buddy are making our way through a Heroic run through the Master Chief Collection to get good and ready for Infinite. By the time Infinite comes out, I'll be ready to get make the difficult decision of what to do first: fire up the multiplayer and get wrecked by a 13-year old, or hop into the campaign and get wrecked by a jackal sniper.
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