Tschumi
Member
I wanted to try and give my thoughts on the Halo Infinite trailer while side stepping the usual console warring shorthand. If the mods think this thread has turned out biased, they can go ahead and shut it down - i just wanna try to set aside all of the [gaming] politics and talk to the merits of that video. I was watching through it in another analysis video and caught myself having a few positive things to say about it as it unfolded.
First off, i am aware of the problems, I'm going to try to ignore them as much a possible. I've owned, in my life, a PS 1, GameCube, OG xBox, 360 and a PS3, excluding hand helds. At the moment I'm more of a Sony guy because I'm loving the build quality and high mindedness of my Vita 1000. I played Halo 1 obsessively in co-op, but have played little, if any, of the later titles. Any criticisms i make have been made in the context of the wider Halo series, i hope.
XBox fans, I'm not one of you, though i have been in the past. Please accept my input!
I invite any posters to share in my spirit of setting aside the qualms and trying to communicate.
Okay, getting in to it:
>> I like this sidekick dude. I liked how they're trying to mix up what I've often seem as a pretty awed relationship most characters seem to hold for MC. He alludes to some very recent brush with destruction - is that going to form the prologue of the game proper? Could be a fun parallel to the Pillar of Autumn opening section of OG Halo.
>> MC's suit looks nice, backlit a bit as he stands in the doorway to the shuttle, i like the strapping and such on the pilot's kit, too. The shadows across the pilot's face look nice and subtle when he turns away from MC.
>> The HUD is sleek. The world looks pretty cool when it is naturalistic. Movements do indeed seem nice and smooth. Combat is pretty satisfying to watch at range - whoever is playing it scores almost as many headshots as i do - and i do like the parts where MC grapples himself up to an enemy. Crunchy. Killing de-shielded/weakened elites or brutes with a single melee to the front must be a more recent addition to the series, or maybe they're not playing on legendary/its equivalent.
>> Vehicle movement looks pretty much the same as OG halo, which i can appreciate. Those warthogs were pretty perfect co-op videogame vehicles.
> Grunts also seem to be nice iterations of the series staple.
>> There seems to be good verticality in the enemy camps. One feels like there could be some fun to be had here, maybe even some genuine challenge if the high ground turns it to be meaningfully advantageous.
>> Brutes as targets make an interesting mix of elusiveness and bulk (and deadpan, if i may briefly reference the meme), the new variation in grenade types (sticky grenade? On the deployed shield?) seems to be continued from earlier games.. it seems like a nice addition.
>> I really could care less about 4k but the cinematic (i think? Maybe in game?) of the sidekick pilot sinking to his knees looks pretty detailed and rich. Also the scene where MC and sidekick are looking at the Halo hologram.
>> I'm glad they're trying to have an antagonist in the form of this.. brute general who seems to be addressing the player at the end. Has it become a staple of the series to have a competing alpha personality directing the narrative? Last time i checked was The Arbiter...
>> The way he talks actually leads me to suspect that he might be set up as a viable charismatic counter to MC for an opposing faction in an online game.
NOTE: The images are screengrabs from my phone, so nothing special, resolution wise. Maybe that's appropriate.
Thoughts:
>> I'm assuming this is going to be a multiplayer game - and a pretty crowded one at that. If that's the case then maybe the 4k, 60fps thing is a bit more impressive again - though maybe there's an individual internet connection bottleneck there.
>> The decentralised, unspecific plot necessitated by having a few dozen/score/hundred MCs fighting around a map does seem like a bit of a dilution of the narrative.
>> If it is multiplayer, i think it could be pretty fun. This wouldn't be the first time that a Halo game really shone in co-op, heck the series was born in the fires of co-op, so having the added element of teamwork on top of what we've seen in this trailer feels like it could be great fun.
>> They say they're trying to go back to an OG Halo aesthetic, and if that's indeed the case then i think I'm picking up on it and i appreciate it. I think the key priorities of a Halo game might be things like co-op, smoothness and crunchy combat, so in these respects i think the game has some potential to be a few people's favourite title.
>> Another pillar of the Burden of Halo, so to speak, is an obligation to push graphical boundaries. At least, it should be, if they're hearkening back to OG Halo. I think the games looks to be in the right track to looking pretty good.. if indeed they are still pushing. Maybe not quite there yet.
That's that. I tried to open my mind and look for things to be excited about and i came up with the above. This is an ode to my idiosyncratic relationship with Halo, not intended to provide flame fodder. Thanks for your time!
First off, i am aware of the problems, I'm going to try to ignore them as much a possible. I've owned, in my life, a PS 1, GameCube, OG xBox, 360 and a PS3, excluding hand helds. At the moment I'm more of a Sony guy because I'm loving the build quality and high mindedness of my Vita 1000. I played Halo 1 obsessively in co-op, but have played little, if any, of the later titles. Any criticisms i make have been made in the context of the wider Halo series, i hope.
XBox fans, I'm not one of you, though i have been in the past. Please accept my input!
I invite any posters to share in my spirit of setting aside the qualms and trying to communicate.
Okay, getting in to it:
>> I like this sidekick dude. I liked how they're trying to mix up what I've often seem as a pretty awed relationship most characters seem to hold for MC. He alludes to some very recent brush with destruction - is that going to form the prologue of the game proper? Could be a fun parallel to the Pillar of Autumn opening section of OG Halo.

>> MC's suit looks nice, backlit a bit as he stands in the doorway to the shuttle, i like the strapping and such on the pilot's kit, too. The shadows across the pilot's face look nice and subtle when he turns away from MC.

>> The HUD is sleek. The world looks pretty cool when it is naturalistic. Movements do indeed seem nice and smooth. Combat is pretty satisfying to watch at range - whoever is playing it scores almost as many headshots as i do - and i do like the parts where MC grapples himself up to an enemy. Crunchy. Killing de-shielded/weakened elites or brutes with a single melee to the front must be a more recent addition to the series, or maybe they're not playing on legendary/its equivalent.

>> Vehicle movement looks pretty much the same as OG halo, which i can appreciate. Those warthogs were pretty perfect co-op videogame vehicles.

> Grunts also seem to be nice iterations of the series staple.

>> There seems to be good verticality in the enemy camps. One feels like there could be some fun to be had here, maybe even some genuine challenge if the high ground turns it to be meaningfully advantageous.
>> Brutes as targets make an interesting mix of elusiveness and bulk (and deadpan, if i may briefly reference the meme), the new variation in grenade types (sticky grenade? On the deployed shield?) seems to be continued from earlier games.. it seems like a nice addition.


>> I really could care less about 4k but the cinematic (i think? Maybe in game?) of the sidekick pilot sinking to his knees looks pretty detailed and rich. Also the scene where MC and sidekick are looking at the Halo hologram.


>> I'm glad they're trying to have an antagonist in the form of this.. brute general who seems to be addressing the player at the end. Has it become a staple of the series to have a competing alpha personality directing the narrative? Last time i checked was The Arbiter...
>> The way he talks actually leads me to suspect that he might be set up as a viable charismatic counter to MC for an opposing faction in an online game.

NOTE: The images are screengrabs from my phone, so nothing special, resolution wise. Maybe that's appropriate.
Thoughts:
>> I'm assuming this is going to be a multiplayer game - and a pretty crowded one at that. If that's the case then maybe the 4k, 60fps thing is a bit more impressive again - though maybe there's an individual internet connection bottleneck there.
>> The decentralised, unspecific plot necessitated by having a few dozen/score/hundred MCs fighting around a map does seem like a bit of a dilution of the narrative.
>> If it is multiplayer, i think it could be pretty fun. This wouldn't be the first time that a Halo game really shone in co-op, heck the series was born in the fires of co-op, so having the added element of teamwork on top of what we've seen in this trailer feels like it could be great fun.
>> They say they're trying to go back to an OG Halo aesthetic, and if that's indeed the case then i think I'm picking up on it and i appreciate it. I think the key priorities of a Halo game might be things like co-op, smoothness and crunchy combat, so in these respects i think the game has some potential to be a few people's favourite title.
>> Another pillar of the Burden of Halo, so to speak, is an obligation to push graphical boundaries. At least, it should be, if they're hearkening back to OG Halo. I think the games looks to be in the right track to looking pretty good.. if indeed they are still pushing. Maybe not quite there yet.
That's that. I tried to open my mind and look for things to be excited about and i came up with the above. This is an ode to my idiosyncratic relationship with Halo, not intended to provide flame fodder. Thanks for your time!