Following its sneak peek at Xbox’s E3 conference yesterday, Microsoft revealed it was doing an overview of the Halo Infinite multiplayer mode this morning on June 14th. While the overview was relatively short, we got a good look at the game and the team at 343 Industries seems passionate and dedicated to bringing Halo players back into the fold. There were some cool, new things brought to the table and we decided to go over some of the more notable details. If you’re also interested in watching the trailer, you can do so here.
First off, I would like to talk about the Academy. It is a mode that is more geared toward introducing newcomers to the Halo universe, teaching them some of the lore, and ultimately getting them prepared for multiplayer. The Academy looks really cool because aside from all of that stuff I just mentioned, it also has a course where players can go and test out weapons against bots that can be tailored to the player’s desires. In the video, we only see a quick glimpse of the options, but it seems that you can choose their guns, equipment, difficulty, and number of teammates. It’ll be a great way for any player, veteran or newcomer, to play with specific weapons and equipment.
Secondly, 343 Industries seems to have focused on making vehicles more dynamic in a firefight and maps feel more alive overall. As vehicles take damage, parts may come off and it’ll affect how they control. When a vehicle catches fire, it has reached the end of its lifespan and you only have a limited amount of time to bail out or go down with the ship when it finally explodes. A beefier version of the Warthog, known as the Razorback, will also allow players to put equipment on it and transport it around the map. Vehicles and weapons now spawn more dynamically on the map in Halo Infinite. Gone are the days of tanks appearing out of thin air. They’re now dropped into the map by Pelicans and weapons are delivered via Halo 2 styled drop pods.
Customization feels largely expanded upon for Infinite as well. 343 Industries wanted to emphasize that your Spartan is you, the player. Armor can be equipped with individual pieces such as the chest, knee/shoulder pads, gloves, visors, and even the “core” of the armor. One of the things they mentioned was that vehicles could be customized and helmets can be equipped with different attachments but that was not shown in the overview. Our Spartans can now be customized by choosing their body types, voices and even be given prosthetics, which is personally one of my favorite new additions.
One thing I’m not one hundred percent clear on is the personal AI. The personal AI is each players’ AI companion that can be tailored like the Spartan can. Players can customize the AI’s appearance and voice as well, but, what I’m not clear on is if it replaces the game’s announcer. From what I do understand though, is that if you are in pursuit of an objective in multiplayer, like capturing a flag. It’ll tell you to bring the flag back to base and things like that. Personally, I’m okay with replacing the announcer, but he is an iconic part of Halo’s multiplayer. It is a question I will certainly be asking around about and hopefully, I’ll have a clearer answer in the future.
Wondering who that new Cortana-like AI from the Halo Infinite trailer is? We got you covered!
Other really cool things were announced too like the fact that special equipment, like cloak and overshield are now stored in your inventory for you to use at your leisure. I also appreciate that there is an animation that plays when you use special equipment as well. Carrying on the tradition started during the Master Chief Collection, battle passes will be purchased and unlocked forever. They’ll never go away once they’ve been purchased and they only contain cosmetic items. We know the samurai armor that was shown during the Xbox event will be a part of one of Halo Infinite’s events.
Overall, I liked everything I saw during the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Overview. I did not like Halo 5 at all, especially where the multiplayer was concerned but it seems the ship is being righted. Time will tell of course, but I can say that after today, a lot of faith was restored and I am much more optimistic about Infinite’s future.
