Master Chief's iconic assault rifle peppers enemies with bullets like a drummer rasping a snare. The vast majority of the weapons feel and sound spot on, and have their place within the sandbox (even the much-maligned Disrupter has its use). It's easily 343's best work, a back to basics approach to fighting aliens that leans heavily on delightful physics systems colliding with each other. Oh, the combat! This is as good as Halo's combat has been since Bungie left the franchise behind for Destiny. I think this is a good decision, given Halo Infinite's heavy reliance on its wonderful combat. Eventually the entire world becomes yours to traverse as you see fit, but the journey there isn't quite Breath of the Wild. The various "islands" of the ring are initially unconnected - there's an element of Metroid Prime here in that as you complete key story missions you unlock new abilities and new areas to explore. Comparisons to Ubisoft open-worlds are only valid in so much as there are objectives on the map to hoover up, but Halo Infinite's play space is nowhere near as big as those you get from an Assassin's Creed or a Far Cry. You are placed on the broken bit of Zeta Halo, which is riddled with Banished who are up to no good. It's not long before Halo Infinite settles down and you understand the kind of game it is. She stops just short of annoying the hell out of you. The Weapon is an upbeat AI who replaces Cortana inside Master Chief's head. The Weapon becomes Master Chief's companion, a relentlessly chirpy voice in his head and, quite often, holographic projection that pops out from his hand to make doors open. Master Chief's initial mission is to retrieve The Weapon, an AI that was built to defeat Cortana and then, once done, delete herself. Silent Cartographer, one of the greatest first-person shooter missions ever created, courses through Halo Infinite's veins - and it's all the better for it. Halo fans will feel right at home here - this setup mimics Halo: Combat Evolved's iconic opening handful of missions. It's not clear what happened, why it happened or who it happened to, but Master Chief ends up fighting his way off a Banished spaceship and landing on Zeta Halo to spark a fightback. Six months have passed since a war took place on Zeta Halo between the UNSC and the Banished, an offshoot of the Covenant alien force led by a particularly grumpy War Chief called Escharum. Digital Foundry dissects the Halo Infinite campaign, as seen on Xbox Series X. Infinite spends the next 15 or so hours procrastinating before it makes a serious attempt at providing an answer. "Status report," Master Chief asks in typical matter-of-fact fashion. A pilot drags him into a Pelican and dusts him off. Infinite starts with Master Chief floating in space near Zeta Halo, one of the oldest and most mysterious Halo rings in the galaxy. It's initially bemusing, too - and I say that as a Halo fan who's read one of the books. Infinite is a spiritual reboot of the franchise, set chronologically after the controversial events of Halo 5, but taking inspiration from Bungie's seminal Halo: Combat Evolved not just in gameplay feel, but in tone, aesthetic and setting. I thought Halo 5: Guardians did a lot right, but I get the feeling 343 has tried to leave it behind as it plots out Halo's future. Availability: Campaign available 8th December standalone for £55 or as part of Xbox Game Pass.Developer: 343 Industries and many other studios.But I'm delighted to report 343 stuck the landing - like Master Chief slamming into the new and mysterious Halo ring upon which Infinite is set. Based on how the campaign looked just a year ago, I thought it had done. 343 took that old, reliable Halo formula, that magic golden triangle of combat its predecessor perfected, and dared to spread it across a sort of open world. Halo Infinite's move to sort-of open world is a largely successful jumping off point for Halo's bold new future.
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