I’ve been a Halo player since the beginning of the game. Like a lot of entertainment franchises, some of the titles stand out more than the others. The current version “Halo Infinite” was initially well received When it launched at the end of 2021. It added unique power ups like a grapple that proved to be very popular.
After the popular launch, there was an extended period where very little content was released. The game fell out of favor, and the player pool contracted. That all changed when the winter update dropped in November of 2022. 343 has steadily released stellar updates ever since.
The addition of retro Halo 3 maps and game types was especially well received by the player community. There’s nothing like a shot of nostalgia from a game that you strived to conquer long ago. The old maps have been remastered, and they’re never looked better. Another nice touch is that the modern versions of power weapons appear exactly where the originals did.
The 343-dev team also released the long-awaited Firefight mode in December of 2023. Waves of ever more powerful AI enemies attack your squad. Firefight encourages teamwork over competitiveness. Winning without working together is almost impossible.
In what’s reported to be the final major update for Halo Infinite, the game’s creators added yet another new feature in June of 2024. The Match Composer lets players choose the game types they want to cycle through during their session. There are more than eighty game types in the Quickplay list alone. Once you find your favorites, the custom lists you create are saved to your profile.
Halo’s famous built-in editor and creativity tool is called the Forge. This mode allows everything from mild modifications on existing maps to full custom game creation. Publish your design to the community or share it just with your friends. Think Mario Maker with guns, tanks, and aircraft.
At ten dollars per cycle, the base Halo Infinite Battle Pass is one of the least expensive options around. Used for unlocking character, weapon, and vehicle customizations, the Battle Pass isn’t required, the unlocked items are cosmetic only. Plus, you can earn some unlocks in the free-to play edition. It takes a lot longer to be sure though.
The multi-player part of the game is free to play, so anyone with an Xbox or PC can join the lists and test their metal. Expecting to dominate based on your skills in other FPS titles is a mistake in my personal opinion.
Halo hits a little different than CoD and Battlefield. Multi-kills are rare, and one-shot kills even more so in Halo. Protracted up close battles are frequent thanks to a lower ammo capacity in the weapons. Two kills per clip is rare in most of the guns. Power weapons spawn with very limited ammo capacities.
Shields, power slides, jumping, and dashing combine to make evasive maneuvers effective. Your target has a good chance of escaping if you don’t land every shot and have to reload. Perhaps the biggest difference from the more popular CoD style games is that all players have the same loadouts. There’s no strategic choice advantage when it comes to weapons and maps. You can’t choose your auto shotgun with the drum mag and laser sight because you know the next map in the rotation is tight.
If you haven’t played Halo Infinite lately, there is almost certainly something new going on since the last time you queued up. If you have never tried the game, there’s a lot of content available and plenty of players in the lobby. There’s even an AI training mode to help teach you the ropes and let you practice with the weapons. The game features Easy Anti-Cheat to help keep things fair. Most multi-player games start in two – five minutes.
The major updates for this iteration of Halo are over, but 343 has committed to multi-player enhancements for the time being. 343 is remaining tight lipped on what “enhancements” means in this context.
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