“Halo Infinite”: The first impressions from the Technical Preview

By: MRT Desk

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"Halo Infinite": The first impressions from the Technical Preview

With “Halo Infinite” the journey of the super soldier Master Chief to the eponymous ring worlds will continue at the end of the year. Of course, the popular multiplayer mode shouldn’t be missing: In the course of a technical preview on the consoles of the Xbox family and Windows PCs, heise online was able to gain first insights into the gameplay and the graphics of the upcoming Xbox showcase.

Test players were allowed to compete in teams of four against bots on a handful of new maps during the preview phase. You read that correctly: At the beginning, it was only against the AI, which left a solid first impression. At times you almost had the feeling that you were playing against real players: the bots in “Halo Infinite” used grenades in a tactically sensible way, attacked across flanks and fought against real players to defend themselves. This is particularly impressive because bots celebrate their series premiere in “Halo Infinite”.

The three new cards are very different in their structure and design, exude nostalgic “Halo” flair and yet are refreshingly new: “Bazaar”, with its Eastern European marketplace and nested side streets, is reminiscent of a set piece from “Counter-Strike”, “Live Fire.” “and” Recharge “, on the other hand, offer more modern approaches with industrial designs and asymmetrical confrontation possibilities. Gimmicks such as a temporary super shield or an oversized war hammer can also be found scattered on the playing cards. These appear at certain intervals with prior notice – first come, first served.

In “Halo Infinite” you have the choice between different armor models. More should be published regularly after the release.

The gunplay is raging, the acoustics suit all weapons and abilities and the arena commentator known from his predecessors audibly enjoyed his work. In general, “Halo Infinite” finally feels like a real excursion to one of the Ringworlds: When the Spartan armor’s shield recovers with an audible buzz after a number of hits, the Halo veteran’s skin feels pleasant goosebumps.

In fact, a few things are missing that 343 Industries had introduced with “Halo 5”, for example: The thrust maneuvers with which one could avoid attacks are a thing of the past. It remains to be seen whether they will return in another form, such as a power-up. The sprint speed has also been reduced in the new offshoot, but the movement system still slips wonderfully.

In contrast to the main game, the multiplayer mode of “Halo Infinite” is offered free of charge. In order to still earn money, the game uses a live service model: New armor designs, weapon skins and experience point boosters that can be unlocked or purchased are available at regular intervals. The “Halo Infinite” in-game shop does not currently offer any content that would give buyers a game advantage.

Early gameplay material from “Halo Infinite” was more of a disappointment than anticipation: Game scenes from the single player campaign were so poorly received by fans that the title was postponed. In the technical preview of the multiplayer version, on the other hand, the graphics made a strong impression: reflections, shading, textures, everything looked as if it were played on all platforms from a single source.

However, “Halo Infinite” still had to struggle with performance problems on the PC, a stable 60 FPS was hardly possible. However, 343 Industries still has enough time for further optimizations: The multiplayer mode should appear at Christmas time, before that further tests should take place. You can register for this on the “Halo” website.


(dahe)

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