So I beat Halo Infinite. And by "beat," I mean I completed the campaign, I've liberated every FOB, taken out every Banished outpost, and rescued every squad. Of course there's more to do, but I have no intention of doing so right now.
Anyway, overall, the game is good, both in singleplayer, and multiplayer. Random thoughts at this point in time:
-It might just be me, but the later half of the game seems to 'funnel' you much more than the first half. As in, one mission leads directly into the next, whereas before, the game was far more open. You don't technically have to in this part, but the 'funnelling' remains. And I don't mean that as a bad thing. I actually prefer sequential missions to the open world stuff. It actually kind of makes me wish the game wasn't open world at all and just had a series of missions like prior games.
-My comments about the thin plot still stand - as in, it's a weak story that has sound dialogue and characterization. From what I've read, this seems to be a pretty common consensus. However, I'm actually going to give praise to the game for its theme, which I'd sum up as "legacy." Because having reached the end of the game, it's clear how much of a theme this is. As in, almost every piece of characterization and worldbuilding in the game ties into legacy in some way.
On the character front, we have John, Cortana, and the Weapon. The Weapon is operating in the shadow of Cortana. John's haunted by Cortana. Cortana herself has to confront her own legacy at the end. Her empire's crumbled around her, and in her final moments, sacrifices herself (somehow - I get that she detonated the ring, but the segment where she died seems to be intact, so where exactly were she and Atriox when it happened?)
This idea of legacy extends to the Banished as well. I've commented before that Escharum was a shallow villain, but having beaten him now, I've found myself reconsidering that. In part because his boss fight is super tough. In part because of his dying words, and how it ties in with everything. Escharum is operating in Atriox's shadow (reinforced by how many times Atriox is mentioned by him), and his final words are "tell them I died well." Escharum's keeping Atriox's legacy in mind as much as his own - there's a kind of humanity to him in his final moments of not wanting to be forgotten. And it's heavily implied, if not outright confirmed that Escharum is doomed to die soon anyway.
And then there's the Forerunners/Endless/monitors. We're in the legacy of the Forerunners again, only this time it's hammered home how dickish they actually were (not a revelation per se, granted). So, we're in the legacy of the Forerunners, whose legacy is to do with the Endless. On the character level, this extends to Adjutant Resolution and the Harbinger herself. Resolution irritated me initially, but his final appearance at the end actually did a 180 via a single line - "there's so much she [Despondant Pyre] didn't tell me..." We know Pyre played a role in imprisoning the Endless, now she's gone, so Resolution has to step up, so to speak, and deal with shit he had nothing to do with. Similarly, the Harbinger - her final lines are "tell them I'm sorry it took so long" and "my time is ending..." We have the legacy of the Endless, but Harbinger's own personal concern about 'fading,' and hoping that her efforts weren't in vain. Which, come to think of it, is similar to Escharum's. And in terms of worldbuilding, we're in the ruins of the Forerunner's domain, in the aftermath of the end of Cortana's empire.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, or maybe you're reading this and saying "no shit," but TL, DR, "legacy" is interwoven throughout the entire game's story, so I'll give it props for that. In terms of plot, it isn't one of the strongest Halo games, but I'd argue it's one of the strongest in terms of theme. And while this will raise a few eyebrows, it arguably acts as a segway from Halo 5, which explored the idea of the Mantle and how maybe, upholding it isn't the best idea, since it's reguarly led to disaster.
-That said, others have pointed this out, but Cortana arguably gets off way too easy. I mean, sure, she DID destroy Sydney (I don't blame her - Australia's creatures are even deadlier than the Flood 0_0), and DID blow up a space station, and DID destroy Doisac, likely killing billions, but hey, we're cool, right? No hard feelings?
-Back to plot though - I like the Harbinger as a character, and her boss fight is fun (if too easy - maybe it's because I'm playing on normal), but I still think there's a bit of contrivance involved. The "Reformation" will do...something. She's fighting John, because "the enemy (humans) of my friends (Banished) is my enemy," or something. She even points out in the fight itself that they don't have to be enemies, or words to that effect. I can't help but wonder if things could be avoided if they sat down and talked rather than fought it over because of...reasons.
-Atriox's reveal at the end. Okay, sure, fair enough. What I want to know (and what I've seen far fewer people talking about) is the device he uses to open the door that leads to what I assume are Endless cylixes). Is it his own AI or something? Because if so, then, well, that's a nice parallel.
-The Weapon chooses her name, but we'll find our what it is next time. I guess. I swear to god, if she calls herself "Cortana..." Gah. So far, the best names I've seen are Joyuse (there's an etymological reason) or "Echo." (hardy hah hah...dunno how Overwatch would feel about that). I think those are the two most likely ones, but maybe "Leela?" Since Cortana is similar to Durandal from Bungie's Marathon series, and Leela guided the security officer before Durandal took over, maybe that would be a reference? Unlikely, but it would work.
Anyway, game's very much a net positive. This is going to raise some eyebrows, but if my current ranking of the Halo games are as follows:
10)
Halo: ODST
9)
Halo 4
8)
Halo Wars 2
7)
Halo Wars
6)
Halo 5: Guardians
5)
Halo Infinite
4)
Halo 2
3)
Halo 3
2)
Halo: Reach
1)
Halo: Combat Evolved
Anyway, time to bug out.
