Regardless of the approach taken, it's fun to dismantle the Banished's encampments on Zeta Halo, wrestling control away from them slowly but surely.Įven on Infinite's harder difficulties, you can easily skip over all the optional missions and still get that linear Halo experience if you want, but Infinite provides compelling reasons for stepping off the main path. Experimentation is often rewarded with satisfying victory or a story of how everything went hilariously wrong. For example, a base that needs storming can be charged into on foot you could take out enemies stealthily with a sniper rifle from afar before approaching or just go for broke and crash a Banshee into the base, eject at the last minute, and pull out a shotgun to clean up any remaining resistance. Those optional side missions bring aspects of Halo's multiplayer into Infinite's campaign, creating scenarios in which players can approach a problem in numerous ways, each of which can lead to satisfying and occasionally hilarious outcomes. In this way, Infinite maintains the cinematic quality of Halo's traditionally linear campaigns while also incorporating an open world to explore. Reaching those objectives typically funnels you back into the more traditional Halo level design, only for Chief to emerge into the open world again once the mission is complete. You're able to freely move through a wide open area and pursue optional side missions, or beeline for the next main story objective. The rest of the game incorporates a hybrid open world. The first half of Act 1 and most of Act 3 are traditional Halo: contained, linear levels where you're guided through gauntlets of enemies. Without any of his usual allies to turn to, Chief ropes two unwitting companions into his fight-the aforementioned Weapon, who was supposed to delete herself following completion of her purpose, and the Pilot, a man desperately trying to just get home to United Nations Space Command (UNSC) space after being stranded all alone for months. The Banished, an independent army of multiple alien species that splintered off the Covenant, want the ring for some unknown purpose, and Chief vows to stop them. Chief finds himself on a new Halo ring named Zeta Halo, which has been partially destroyed. Very early into the campaign, you're confronted with the startling reveal that a lot of the folks you've come to know over Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Wars 2 are dead or missing in action. Other than Chief, Halo Infinite doesn't have much in the way of familiar faces. Now Playing: Halo Infinite Campaign Review The strength of that narrative, alongside the open world and new traversal mechanics, delivers a welcoming freshness to the two-decade-old series.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's ![]() This opens some intriguing new opportunities for a Halo story-in a franchise that has long had an undercurrent theme of familial connection and motherhood, Infinite is the first in the series to focus its narrative around familial responsibility and fatherhood. ![]() She sounds and acts like a child-like version of Cortana, pushing Chief into taking on a more domineering role that has far greater control over her. Where Cortana was assertive, quick-witted, and mature, the Weapon is awkward, overly trusting, and silly. Paired with a new AI, simply named "the Weapon," Chief takes on a more fatherly figure in Infinite. Halo Infinite is the first time we've seen that kind of relationship dynamic flipped. She tells Chief where to go and what to do, and Chief's single-mindedness coupled with the ability to solely rely on her means he never has to develop emotionally healthy bonds with normal human beings. In this way, Cortana has always been the more dominant voice in the partnership. The complex relationship between Halo protagonist Master Chief and his AI partner Cortana has always been one of the strongest driving forces for the franchise-it's a genuine bond, but one born out of manipulation, as Cortana (an AI based on the mind of the woman who kidnapped Chief as a child) is gifted to Chief as a perfect companion to ensure he maintains peak efficiency as a super-soldier.
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