Why Is Halo Infinite's Campaign SO AWESOME And... MEDIOCRE?!

[@TheActMan]

This was a really special video for me to make and as Mr. Lucas once said, “I may have gone too far in a few places,” but I’m very happy with the results and I hope you are too.

[@brando8408]

Dude you’re just the best content creator honestly. This is a classic

[@SirAuron777]

I agree, it’s awesome and mediocre

[@ThatWeirdGuyYouKnow]

Thank you Mr. Act Man.

[@saibot1246]

Can you do a battlefield 4 or bad company 2 and tell why they are awesome? To show to Ea what they f up. Ps for bad company 2 you need to fix punkbuster to play multiplayer without problems.

[@BlueBlur2003]

Need a ''Why is Minecraft so awesome'' video

[@ThisBrownGeek]

The Act Man was not invited by 343 to play Infinite early. He is also not in the end credits like other KZbinrs. Yet he still continues to pump out THE BEST Halo content. Bravo man, you are awesome. The Halo community appreciates you.

[@captainunderpants4934]

Probably cause he critiqued the politics of gaming.

[@PThrizzle]

That, & he destroyed Halo 5. Deservedly so I might add.

[@shmepe7847]

Same w Chris

[@thatguy1080]

He was too critical as opposed to the others who displayed blind fanboyism.

[@nomus1172]

Act man isn’t just a halo KZbinr

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I think the one thing that Halo fans can’t disagree with, is how awesome the soundtrack is for Infinite.

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

Off course it is, it's from the same composer as Ori - those games have Marty level OSTs

[@ShinkuRED]

I mean it's not bad, but it's still nothing compared to Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori's music

[@sean7332]

@@ShinkuRED I still think the first 3 was the best, in halo 1 especially the music was centre piece it was so loud and powerful when shooting etc kinda slipped more with the later titles

[@Jukica90]

I just wish the music would play more, there were so many quiet moments even during heated action. And I never heard Through the Trees, which was my favorite piece in the soundtrack!

[@patrickbateman312]

Nah, the music is serviceable but the best tracks are just aping the OT ones.

[@CriticalNobody]

Anyone else pick up on the detail at start of the campaign that the pilot’s pistol, the one he gives Chief, only has one bullet? They don’t linger on it but it communicates how hopeless he felt before he ran into Chief. Anyway yeah, Infinite’s campaign has plenty to like, but also plenty to be let down by. Way better than H5 at least

[@Evelyn-qt3hi]

It's a really nice detail, and I honestly am glad they don't even pause on it for a moment. Like they really didn't want it to feel like "oh look at how sad he his omg he's gonna pew pew himself", they just added the line of "...and one bullet", and if the players pick up on it, they understand. It also makes sense for chief to not say anything about it, he just uses the bullet to continue forward, discards the pistol, and rearms himself.

[@MisterAnonymous1000]

It's subtle when you don't already know the pilot is in a rough mindset, but definitely helps paints a darker picture.

[@davidgreen8431]

You can't get worse than halo 5.

[@vxru5]

@@Evelyn-qt3hi I feel like the people who probably picked up on it initially are the ones who have been confronted with similar situations before...

[@OuzbekNdah]

And then they decided to make all the cutscenes with the brute (I can't remember the name of final boss) are nearly close-up to his face, and oh god his textures are really bad.

[@HughsAlfa33]

The crazy thing is that Locke still can be added in the side quests. He can tie the spartan killer into the story too like you said because he could reappear to kill Locke or something like that

[@UrbanAgent423]

Locke's armor is part of one of the twin brutes armor when you fight them, so it is presumed that he is dead. I didn't even notice until I was talking about the game after it came out and someone else mentioned it thats how small it impacted the game. If he is dead, it was a shutty way to leave the franchise, even for Locke

[@Zaczac111]

Well, campaign DLC has been officially declared as something 343 hasn't been working on, so rip.

[@nothanks9503]

@@Zaczac111that’s so nuts this whole game is just an amazing platform for dlc and nothing more

[@sorrenblitz805]

​@@nothanks9503 Microsoft recently gutted 343 pretty hard. They may have wanted to and now they just don't have the resources now.

[@nothanks9503]

@@sorrenblitz805 man I was so disappointed when I beat infinite in a week on legendary but the one thing that made me give it a slight pass was that it seemed they were going to add the whole rest of the ring in dlc if they don’t do that then I want my money back

[@c.w.simpsonproductions1230]

Technically Atriox kept his word. His face was the very last thing we saw in the campaign.

[@TheActMan]

Loooool

[@Jack_DP]

@@TheActMan Hey, how do you feel about Microsoft buying out activison? Considering how halo has been lately what’s your opinion?

[@thememe5133]

True though

[@Canadian_Gun_Guy]

@@Jack_DP you misinterpret the situation, to Microsoft they don't care about game rivalries, they have competition with sony. So buying out the studio is a strategic move to flex a bit on Sony

[@WilliamDuh]

There’s a very real possibility they pay off that atriox line in a future game if you know what I mean

[@vil3on]

Imagine if we actually played the first mission on the infinity. Trying to protect the pods and ships while people escape. And we get overwhelmed and the cutscene comes in and we get destroyed by Atriox. Would've have been a more dynamic start, and we would get more of the story in the actual game and not just in audiologs.

[@gordonilaoa1275]

Makes me sad to realise an opportunity missed.

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

@@gordonilaoa1275 about a 3rd of development was left unfinished, unfortunately.

[@jmachero5852]

@@En_Joshi-Godrez This is why I think rushing games is bad. Also, despite the fact there’s a BUNCH of unfinished/janky games people love (i.e New Vegas), but apparently everyone hates this in specific. They should have extended development, but they had to release the game, so I hope downloadable content brings further flavor to the game.

[@centurymemes1208]

@@jmachero5852 it took 6 fcking years thats not an excuse

[@penitent2401]

Halo always start off kinda slowly to give players time to get used to controls and mechanics. Maybe they couldn't figure out how to drop you into that as first battle.

[@JEBEDIAH8D]

The lacking of set pieces was really disappointing. This campaign has great ambience but there's limited atmosphere because there's no dynamic events happening.

[@Imblu95]

And Escharum is so meh, he only calls u on skype like 20 milion times and thats it.

[@xyro3633]

@@Imblu95 No

[@Newbmann]

@@xyro3633 yes okay it was a sick final battle and lead up was decent but the mid game was one massive disappointment.

[@MB-tc7tw]

I agree about the dynamic events. I remember when Defiance was out and I thought they were really on to something with how they set it up. You’d get NPCs talking about events going on in the TV show, sometimes foreshadowing what’s about to happen then events in the TV show would have consequences in the game and you’d always be running around the open world with missions relating to them appearing and disappearing. I kind of hoped this would have that sort of larger story feel as well. Like if going to FOBs and activating certain things would trigger open world events like a Banished scarab appearing on the map moving through a path to recapture bases you need to stop, or a fleet of banshees doing the same thing, or maybe you have to lead like some massive offensive with dozens of marines in vehicles (like halo wars cut scenes) into a war zone that doesn’t stop spawning enemies until you complete some objective.

[@generic_tough_guy.4830]

@@MB-tc7tw damn thems some good ideas there

[@bobaross6759]

as a lifelong halo fan this game made me very happy. despite any criticism i may have this truly felt like halo, and thats all that matters to me. the moment the elevator stopped, the door opened and i got to see the ring for the first time i teared up. i felt like 6 year old me sitting down to play halo 2 for the first time again. halo 2 is and always will be my favorite video game. it was the first video game i ever played, my first time even experiencing something on a screen. i had never even seen a movie or tv show before then. it changed my life. the fact that this game gave me the same sense of amazement and nonstop happiness is something im very grateful for. halo is back. i didnt get to play infinite until a few days ago, but luckily none of it was spoiled for me. from start to finish it was nothing but enjoyment. maybe im blinded by its majesty, but halo infinite has me dumbstruck. im excited to see where they take this.

[@sorrenblitz805]

I've been playing Halo since 2001. Always been a fan and even kind of like Halo 5's story even if I only like it better on paper than the way it's shown in the game. Halo infinite isn't perfect but you're right it's the first time I felt like I was playing Halo again.

[@caramelcandys]

Yea halo infinite while not perfect certainly captures the magic and awe felt in the bungie games

[@firghteningtruth7173]

Aww, man. I hope you went back and played "combat evolved." I had held out buying the single player version of this game, since my friend had already played it and we got right into multiplayer. Which was good...definitely "different" in movement and the way everything handled...but still good. But then the connection issued started. Couldn't finish a game. There was no true slayer mode...I kinda lost interest. I'll have to shell out so I can feel like I'm back in highschool when combat evolved came out...good times. And on the bright side...maybe it is on sale now? 😂

[@alpha_9997]

It has issues but its a good game. The complaints come not from what it is, but from how much better it could have been

[@ChisledFish430]

Indeed I've gotten back into it

[@LateNightHalo]

54:00 something that I think CE, ODST and Reach did was have the covenant as “an antagonistic force without a face” Those games didn’t need an Antagonist™ constantly calling you over radio… it was an army.. a HUGE army! They made their intentions known via what they did in the levels

[@barkley8285]

Also those games (and 2&3) really felt like you were in a massive war, infinite didnt capture the same feeling as bungies did in that regard. There was no "tip of the spear" or "the ark" moments where you see massive armies clashing.

[@FallenSouls26]

@@barkley8285 01p

[@Ripa-Moramee]

@@barkley8285 because the UNSC was defeated, if there were massive armies clashing that would have defeated the purpose of making the UNSC look defeated which with all the captured marines and Spartans, 343 did really well. I'm sure in future expansions we will see the UNSC regroup and become more powerful and have larger fights but for now it's fine. Infinite doesn't need every single little thing and detail to be a good halo game (although that seems to be the expectations of many, including you). This gameplay just proves, even knowing infinite is obviously lacking in some regards, still a great halo campaign. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZzKh4eJjNCsn7c

[@Dycewyfe]

@@Ripa-Moramee its the UNSC Jarhead, there is no USMC on Zeta Halo lmfaoo

[@TheActMan]

Yeah they were characterized by what the protagonists said about them! So they didn't need a "big bad guy," especially Reach since the tragedy was more of the focus than whatever bad guy may have carried it out.

[@Tester-sh1mn]

"I'm sorry Chief, but how have you ever failed?" "I was almost duped into wiping out every living entity in the known universe by blue floating ball" "Wait what?"

[@shapshooter7769]

Wheatley is a very bad boy, that's why

[@hcctendeep7047]

Light bulb*

[@Mortablunt]

@@shapshooter7769 Hey, lady lady lady lady, what's your favorite thing about space?

[@jrodriguez1374]

God damnit shinji

[@arthurmorgan4952]

And almost turned into a mutant zombie by a popcorn monster

[@smoggyben]

For all it lacked, it felt so much more like halo than halo 5. And if campaign DLC actually happens, then halo infinite is a good solid base to improve upon.

[@Vonmoonlight]

Halo 5 was halo, problem was its execution and scale of it all, it was way too overwhelming, it's a good plot but too much too fast It's like throwing us Halo 2 plot and insight into Covenant in immediately into Halo 1 while we are still exploring and figuring out the ring and the Covenant themselves

[@justinnyugen7015]

@@Vonmoonlight Also too many new characters introduced, all having overlapping roles. I'd comparing it to throwing in 1 Arbiter and 7 Half-Jaws (all having to share exposition duties and character development time). Actually, more like 1 chief clone and 7 mirandas

[@soapimpossible7023]

@@Vonmoonlight yeah it should have stayed focused on Chief with Blue Team throughout the entire game, acting as an opposing force to Cortana and her manipulation as the villian.

[@MrShepard1993]

@@Vonmoonlight The elephant in the room basically is that the reclaimer trilogy lacks a vision and therefore a story that feels consecutive. Every 343 Halo Game seems rather like a first entry to a new trilogy than a coherent story. They threw away the Didact; I didn't really get the prometheans purpose nor the motives of the remaining Covernant in H5 and now they killed Cortana off screen. Its all a shame since I thought Lasky was a terrific character. And the others such as Locke, Palmer etc. were implemented poorly but had potential given better writing. The Master Chief Cortana Relationship I loved in H4. But it is getting so tiresome by now and it was overall such a bad move to make her the villain in H5 while not setting up a villain force from the start to be carrying the reclaimer saga. And wtf is it that they cant properly explain stuff that is happening outside the games. They made that stupid Halo Nightfall movie, which probably made zero profits but are unable to pull off an intro or something that connects major plot points that are happening outside the games. I understand that it is a huge effort to make that happen gameplay wise or with a rendered cut scene. But games like the Witcher 3 had cartoon intros that are easy to make while being epic if art style is right. With the Harbinger thing it already looks like they have something in mind while it appears far from thought through again because all we got was basically just an ingame teaser.

[@malazan6004]

Campaign DLC won't make much money so there will be a lack of incentive so I doubt it will happen or maybe just 1 small one?

[@aidan9990]

My god, the way you used the tucker and church cliff scene to describe those cutscenes at 50:12 was brilliant, absolutely hilarious and their dialoge worked so well.

[@adamc2451]

I cried laughing “there just standing there and talking….thats what they were doing last week, that’s what they’ll be doing 5 minutes from now”

[@gavin3100]

The Blademaster could have been built up so well if, instead of just seeing all of the dead spartans after the fact, you have an encounter with him where you enter a room and he finishes off a spartan right in front of you. It would have evoked more emotion, similar to the battle with Guilty Spark after he blasts Johnson in Halo 3, and established him as a threat to spartans.

[@zachbeckman5835]

I also think it woulda been cool to have some boss fights in the game that we don’t win right away too help build up enemies as an actual force to fear

[@juanjox2006]

even better if he actually defeated (leaving it with a really incapacitating injury showing why it cant fight) or even killed some important character like locke, a member of Osiris, Palmer or even more personal with a member of blue team

[@some1onedie]

Perhaps they could've made it where he appeared while you was transporting Spartan Griffin to safety but he gets stabbed or something instead of making him die from being released lol

[@ResolvedMC]

So you want the same thing done, instead of him being sinister and trying to corner you. His entrance to the boss fighr was just so badass and creepy that felt like a scene from an horror movie.

[@inspectorwhoreacts]

A neat idea would be something ODST did, you find Spartans, and then play a mission of their story. Heck the spartans we played in halo 4 ops could also been among those who died and givin us one last mission as them and giving us another custom Noble Six like character to play.

[@Alcasthq]

"Halo Infinite was in crisis mode. The studio decided to cut almost two-thirds of the entire planned game". There you have your answer on why the story is half baked.

[@minton3647]

Hopefully this means we get story DLC quicker

[@Hunterkiller-wz6yr]

Covid-19 that is the reason they cut half of it was cuz it was covid so don't blame 343 also the game came early by 1 to 2 years the cut content that we're getting it as DLC the stuff they had planned for the campaign when they were making it before they were like Hey we're adding DLC because thay could not work safety with this virus so dude now you know what to blame

[@Hunterkiller-wz6yr]

Also the game was originally set to be delayed by another year-and-a-half be grateful it wasn't

[@ChapuleTaylor]

@@Hunterkiller-wz6yr i honestly don't care for how much a game gets delayed so long as it's not half-baked

[@joshe9915]

@@Hunterkiller-wz6yr 🌽🐶 😭😭 keep riding their nuts 🤡

[@verglasviq]

I think the 343 villain critique was one of the best points tbh. Your experience as the protagonist is wholly dependent on the strength of your antagonist.

[@blehh_mae]

honestly escharum was a pretty good antagonist, the only problem was he didnt really have enough time actually being there, he had all the cool things that could be expanded on, hell if they just doubled his ammount of lines itd be fine, but instead he just kinda talked and then died then talked

[@derpynerdy6294]

@@blehh_mae no hes not! he was one of the most generic villains doing more sh1talking 95% of the game.

[@taylorledet3993]

@@derpynerdy6294 He gave me this epic feeling every time he talked with his monologues

[@derpynerdy6294]

@@taylorledet3993 respectable opinion, good day!

[@felixpetajajarvi4469]

@@derpynerdy6294 mentor of atriox, an old banished war chief wanting to send himself out with a bang. A soldier fighting for his own people

[@darkdaxter15]

I had no plans on playing Halo's campaigns at all After watching this video, I want to play through the entire MCC

[@inyourgranmaass3605]

Mhmmmmmm master chief collection is way better then halo infinite halo infinite feels so unfinished and lackluster I was expecting jaw dropping graphics

[@FakeJake5843]

@@inyourgranmaass3605nah infinite is amazing

[@mysticspace3369]

I think the graphics are good​@@inyourgranmaass3605

[@DaDude2011]

Bungies creations are why they and Halo became what it was. 343 has been plundering its corpse since. Halo 4 was not an absolute disaster like Halo 5. I can see them attempting to continue the story of the rings and Forerunner lore was on their mind however, the creative design clearly hit turbulence to the point they had to simplify the formula down after Halo 5 once shit hit the fan. Infinite just happened to be an oversimplification of it to the point they lost sight on the greater scale of what was happening in this universe. They literally needed a middle ground somewhere between the convolution of H5 and the oversimplification/hyper focus on Master Chief’s story in Infinite.

[@ryzer_red]

I enjoyed it, but the lack of side characters in Infinite is painful.

[@SkyNinja759]

Inb4 campaign DLCs round out the cast. I hate banking on DLC content to delieve the experience but Infinite feels like early access. A taste at what's to come. I only hold out hope because Infinite is included with GamePass. I didn't specifically invest money into the game, so if they want to drip feed the community I can tolerate it. Do a live service that let's the devs collect feedback from each drop to make the future ones better. Like a seasonal T.V. show.

[@ch33zyburrito36]

The lack of everything is painful

[@xm-1-24-b4]

And the side characters that are there feel annoying and bland

[@PeterPan-gp4ru]

@@ch33zyburrito36 yup

[@mhead1117]

I can't believe arbitur isn't in the campaign. He's the best character in the series. Pretty disappointing imo.

[@duspro296]

Finally somebody talks about the lack of UNSC presence in this game.

[@azch4854]

That's... the point

[@smokeemifyagotem8851]

Because they practically got wiped out lmao

[@edgarpalafox7919]

??

[@cabbyb111]

Yeah it would of been cool to interact with underground fighters that you learn more about the more squads you help save!

[@theslavemotivator3571]

There ain't no UNSC no more lmao

[@mononoke721]

I think most long-time fans have quickly realised how repetitive the mission design and aesthetics get, but you are the first I've heard pointing out the flaws in the individual enemy encounters design, and it's a very insightful critique! As brilliant as Infinite's base combat gameplay is, a lot of work still needs to be done to bring that greater level of variety, creativity and dynamism that Bungie so excelled at back in the day. You totally nailed it with that old Bungie clip: "You don't just get that sense of I'm going from room to room just killing more guys" - that right there is Infinite's main mission design problem that 343 needs to learn the most from. Also, you just pitched a much better story for Infinite in that 2 minute spiel than what 343 managed to come up with in supposedly 6 years of development! What is there isn't all bad - they do manage to somehow scrape back the core character relationship of Chief and Cortana by fixing Halo 5's narrative misdirections and, apart from the staleness of the cinematic presentation as you point out, the writing it well-done - but it is in other key areas that the storytelling is lacking, many of which you again adroitly point out: no other interesting supporting allied characters besides a single Pilot, a failure to create dramatic stakes with a better sense of the larger conflict playing out on the ring, and the piss-poor villians with their cartoonishly over-the-top monologuing and lack of proactive involvement in the plot. It really does boggle the mind how badly overall Halo's storytelling has been handled by 343. As you rightly point out, just take the Banished for instance - they have no clear motivations or ideology driving them as presented in the game unlike the Covenant who even in Halo CE's more limited story were explained so much more clearly, even without a main villian face leading them. It's glaringly obvious creative oversights like this that means Infinite, whilst it is the best Halo game since Reach, is still not as good as any of the Bungie games even after 10 years of working on this franchise! Messy management and a real lack of strong creative vision at the helm is I think to blame. Talk about screwing the pooch... Honestly my only hope for this series from a narrative standpoint is the fact that Joe Staten is back in charge in a major capacity, and I hope he actually is involved in shaping the storytelling of the no doubt Halo Infinite story expansions coming at some point. Given that he was instrumental in the original Halo games' story design, we might finally see an improvement!

[@stevenborg102]

he pitched a better Halo 5 story back in his halo 5 vid too so why 343 dont swallow their pride and hire fans like him to consult on the story when its fans who buy the games and give them money i dont know.

[@redakanane]

i was genuinely expecting the last mission to be a huge battle between UNSC aand the Banished, and depending how many fobs and marines you free up, the bigger the fight

[@justinnyugen7015]

Me too! The fact that they can't drive their own vehicles was baffling. No vehicle convoy, no foot soldiers. Nothing. Rallying all these UNSC forces only for them to relax at the bases while you ride solo into the boss base.

[@psychzach1588]

See. That would have been cool and intelligent and interesting and a little unique. But that was clearly FAR too difficult for a triple A studio to pull off.

[@gitupmechavvy2569]

@@justinnyugen7015 yeah would of been nice to see random wraith vs scorpion fights in the wild, driving around the world and seeing firefights between marines and the banished. I tried to lure a ghost to an fob I captured just to see what the marines would do and it would only go so far then drive away

[@dylanryan1762]

@@justinnyugen7015 I guess it was a way to show that the unsc is really weak at the moment and has nobody to lead them, hopefully in future dlc they can delve into the leadership structure now that the infinity was scuttled. Also I think why the marines were given less of an emphasis was to empower you as Chief and to give some of that CE feeling of being alone exploring the ring.

[@justinnyugen7015]

@@dylanryan1762 one thing about CE was that while you are alone for a lot of the game, soon after you rally your scattered troops on the level Halo your forces coordinate a counter attack that lasts the next 3 levels, from TnR thru AotCR. Similar beats with 2 and 3 with increasing scale despite being more and more desperate. We don’t really get any moment like that in infinite, with your only backup being the amount of Marines you can fit in one car (and you’re the only designated driver)

[@FoxyGrandpa1]

Over an hour for this review. I'm blinded by its majesty

[@Spartan_Jackal]

Blinded?

[@LowTide941]

@@Spartan_Jackal you know blinded by the clout to get more subs by commenting kinda thing

[@Spartan_Jackal]

@@LowTide941 r/woosh

[@savbeeing7376]

@@Spartan_Jackal Paralysed? Dumbstruck!?

[@Reapra]

@@savbeeing7376 sorry guys this comment chain is so overdone at this point I'm not participating

[@newkingfj7242]

I really miss having multiple factions fight eachother in game like having a huge npc battle

[@GruelingFive8]

Between the banished, UNSC, endless and maybe even the flood, that could happen

[@newkingfj7242]

@@GruelingFive8 I bet the Banished and the Endless are gonna fight eachother 100%

[@GruelingFive8]

@@newkingfj7242 I totally agree, they don't seem like great friends at all haha. The ending had me curious what'll happen between them

[@CSMiller]

I feel like removing flood from the games was a huge mistake, created lots more interesting scenarios

[@GruelingFive8]

@@CSMiller we can't have them in every game or the threat of the flood wouldn't be as great. We're on a halo ring with flood samples now and they've been mentioned consistently through the story, it's definitely showing they haven't been forgotten or left out for certain

[@lordhelicas]

I would have loved to see the sentinels actually fighting the banished, sending in tons of variants and trying to repel the primal occupants who are tearing across their ring with little regard. I would have loved to see the monitor afraid that the banished’s meddling was far too dangerous and could easily free the flood from containment, and try to mobilize attack forces to get the banished off the ring. Would’ve been cool.

[@MannyloAnimeSquad]

I don't think anyone noticed but the time when the Pilot said " Im not you" out in the courtyard after the spartan hunter battle, He was going to hit chief again but hesitated because he remembered it hurt the first time he tried it

[@SilverVibes]

@Daniel Cordero All 2 of them?

[@theanarchist7575]

@@SilverVibes LOL

[@Blox117]

@@SilverVibes dont talk about your mother like that

[@aidan8473]

@Daniel Cordero every character needs to be based you're right

[@RichMiniön-r2m]

you mean pilot lol

[@austrakaiser4793]

As an Australian, the funniest part of the game to me is when it shows Cortana blasting the hell out of Sydney, when she actually destroyed Darwin because she can't aim lmao

[@papabetadine724]

Tbh its the best thing that can happen to our country atm.

[@alexandergorman3037]

I was oh shit went I first saw it

[@Joot_Doctor]

I was so excited for Newtown to have been destroyed.

[@grandmasteryoda3594]

Damn, i hoped the shithole that is new south wales got obliterated. That sucks

[@warbuzzard7167]

Lol

[@nerochromatic]

One of the funniest things I found in the banished dialogue was when I was struggling to shoot a brute with the battle rifle and I heard him say "Look! He can hardly handle the recoil!" This brute literally trash talked me and I loved it.

[@jaimeruiz7837]

Did you want him to step and spit on you to make even better?

[@Joeru510]

Once I was hiding for cover and regenerating health from being shot by brutes in ODST. Once I was in cover, I heard the brute say “you wish you can fight as well as you can hide” bro same energy. I shotgunned him and teabagged 😂

[@johncampanella622]

They got the brute personality down lock.

[@tomasburian6550]

Was it Craig?

[@cjhards]

When i see a Spartan, i fight with confidence! ✌️😇

[@НиколайТарбаев-к1к]

The main problem with the story to me is that it's being told to us by the main character we are playing. Like we're telling it to ourselves and the Weapon (I'd kinda expect the other way around). Yet Master Chief doesn't have any amnesia whatsoever and knows what happened to Cortana and the Infinity from the beginning. I feel like this breaks some basic laws of (good) writing.

[@ShinobiM116]

Honestly a solid critique of the game. I really appreciate the respect for the franchise you have and the way you went about bringing up the game's flaws was simultaneously equally respectful without pulling any punches.

[@coltenriggs827]

Except I think he was one of the few trashing it so hard cause it didn’t have a battle royal or it wasn’t gonna hold up.

[@ChocolateManOfficial]

@@coltenriggs827 He literally made a video making fun of those people wtf are u talking about

[@justseven3487]

@@coltenriggs827 I see that you're not from around here. Good, there's a lot of content for you, enjoy Act's channel. :)

[@RokushoTheRavager]

@@ChocolateManOfficial Gotta love people like Colten talking out of their ass yet doing no amount of research whatsoever. A few minutes could've prevented making him a fool of himself.

[@ChocolateManOfficial]

@@RokushoTheRavager True but I care more about the damage he could do to someone else's reputation by talking out of his ass

[@frogmanxbl7129]

41:55 bro that's it, you hit the nail on the head. What made the OG Halo trilogy feel so special and unique is that Chief is not the focus. He's one piece - albeit an important piece - in a giant galactic story that's going on. You felt like you were _contributing_ to that story, not that you _were_ the story. This difference is so subtle it took me years to figure out why the original 3 (and ODST and Reach) felt so special, but now that I see it it makes perfect sense

[@thelegitpilot135]

I feel like this was done a bit on purpose, as the Marines were pretty much wiped out before Chief came and started ruining the Banished’s day. The Marines who survived are ones Chief rescues or ate things they don’t wanna discuss. Though I’ll be very happy if the DLC has a large battle, or a new faction that fights the Banished.

[@lsoDidact]

Reach felt so awesome to play too because you weren't playing as chief and just smacking cheeks. Really pu into perspective exactly how bad it was on the galactic scale.

[@duhproffessionallove2011]

It's a lesson we find even in Greek tragedies, the setting should always be the base of the story.

[@psychopomp7669]

That feeling of the original three and ODST and Reach is beautiful.

[@SuperMegaUltraFreezingColdDude]

Halo is not a spartan story

[@captainosmand9454]

This review is 10000000% spot on. Playing the campaign I never knew exactly how impactful anything I was doing actually was. When I was on the /me to the last mission I was wondering when anything MAJOR was going to happen. Then the game ended and I was left empty. I’m happy they focused on the chief more but they need to make the story feel grand and show more of the world around. Captain Lasky should of been there. He was one of my favorite characters from the reclaimer trilogy. 343 listen and learn 🙏🏽

[@kevingipe8242]

I think that’s partly because it’s not over, they called infinite a 10 year game, i feel like the base campaign is a setup for a bunch of badass story dlc

[@Dero_milsurp]

@@kevingipe8242 Ah yes, story DLC where we'll pay premium prices for a story that should have been in a $60 game. How TF are you ok with that?

[@kevingipe8242]

@@Dero_milsurp because I enjoyed the story of this game and if this is the only halo game for the next 10 years like they say it is then maybe we’ll get a full campaign sized dlc for $30 or whatever instead of shelling out $60 for a new title

[@Dero_milsurp]

@@kevingipe8242 you enjoy mediocrity then. This story was the shortest ever told in Halo. And it was hidden behind open world chores. Being ok with mediocre story and ok with $30 story dlc for an incomplete campaign is asinine.

[@satyanarayangoswami823]

I totally agree with this. I felt like this. I didn't find a proper closure or satisfaction at the end. Also a lot of major events were show in form of holographic video which kind of took away the weight of it. And the fact that we never get to interact with cortana in real time just disappoints me. I absolutely loved the gameplay , art style, wepons etc for sure

[@aidandavis7657]

I’m glad you mentioned the villain problem. It really has an effect on the motivation of the character fighting the enemy in the first place, and those motivations start with the motivations of the enemy themselves.

[@ScottyGG]

This was incredible. You can't fake this level of knowledge and authenticity. You deserve all the success you get Act Man. Thank you and great job.

[@TheActMan]

Thank you, kind sir

[@DJdeliverance]

Indeed he's much appreciated

[@exkgb5717]

@@TheActMan dude you're awesome. This was so enjoyable to watch. Thank you.

[@JakePS]

@@TheActMan Have a coin, beggar.

[@TRG_R17]

Reply 5

[@keikomoriko8517]

Really do miss lasky the most. It did feel like he was being built up to be a great leader for the UNSC so hopefully he makes a return In future expansions

[@aliabdallah102]

He was kind of a prick in h5

[@Spartan-kj8bq]

@@aliabdallah102 eh, felt like he was just there in 5, a background device to make sure things keep moving forward and warn against the risky maneuvers

[@nickm5419]

@@Spartan-kj8bq Lasky wasnt Just there, he is the Captain of the UNSC Infinity

[@TheActMan]

343i's most underutilized character

[@RossR23]

I think that’s where 343 is kinda weak in.. keeping you as a small part in still a much larger war. It’s gone so full focus on Chief you lose that perspective

[@mikemills4007]

Personally I’d be pretty sick of only being a small part at this point. I mean we had the 3 original games where Chief had like 40 lines total. I’m glad 343 decided to make Chief an actual character. 4 went a little overboard too quickly and 5 he was barely in it. So I’m good with how Infinite handled it

[@RipzCritical]

@@mikemills4007 Chief could have more lines without giving the story such a narrow FOV.

[@זהסודי-ה7מ]

Considering who chief is, making you a small part of a bigger war makes absolutely no sense right now. If they want to do that, they'll probably have to either let us play as marines or ODSTs, which would be very awesome for 32v32 matches in multiplayer if they ever try that because battlefield really needs some competition

[@nimahanna1709]

I agree 100%. Makes for much less varied levels, and less interesting characters. Maybe if you could play from the brutes perspective that’d help fix what this game was missing, that’d be sick.

[@outcaster418]

@@ogge9304 well I actually prefer the 343 Master Chief by a lot, Bungie MC felt just like a robot. Perspectives and opinions, nobody is completely right.

[@boxtop2035]

Literally the entire time I played through the campaign, I kept wondering when the rest of the unsc was gonna show up. I didn't consider them not showing up at all being a posibility until I finished the last mission, I was so disappointed especially because I wanted to see the spirit of fire make an appearence along with red team

[@philsun3706]

When I bought, I heard this is only the chapter 1 of the campaign, and 343 will release the chapter 2 in months. It is not true right? They won't finish the stroy.

[@philsun3706]

Oh story dlc will release till 2024. WOW

[@aspaceg]

@@philsun3706 all of that was canceled there is no campaign content coming to this game after 343 down sizing. Pure focus on MP going forward rip

[@teenagemutantninjajakey4455]

Really well articulated criticisms of the game. I quite liked Infinite, but that doesn't mean it's without it's faults. Good job Act Man!

[@lucasschmitz4588]

Idk if youve ran into this but atleast for me on my Series S if leave the game active but stop playing over time it kicks me back to the main screen and if i say play it launches without my skulls that i had active on that previous time playing

[@thegrapethief5514]

In my opinion, if you don’t recognize the flaws of something, you don’t truly appreciate it. And with a game like Halo Infinite that’s going to be supported over time, community feedback is key. If there’s one thing 343 does miles better than Bungie (at the very least, modern Bungie), it’s responding to and acting on community feedback in a timely manner, so make your criticisms heard so they can act on them.

[@crispychicken143]

the main thing for me is the environment thing. id kill for a sand island, swamp island, snow island, old covenent enviroment, FLOOD spore environment. ocean/beach/water environment like those halo 2 missions and CE. what the hell happened to that drone underwater in the slipsace reveal trailer?

[@Predator321]

That’s why halo 2 is god tier in halo environments and story telling

[@TheActMan]

Shiiiit I like those ideas of different themed islands

[@austrakaiser4793]

What about all those other animals in the reveal trailer, I want some GTA style wildlife lmao.

[@Chris-iq5pr]

@@TheActMan hey

[@sentientpotato9342]

Yeah it’s like nothing in the first trailer even ended up in the game

[@nimbus5176]

"i should have protected cortana, stopped everything from going wrong" "I failed her. I Will Not Fail you" Goosebumps every-time. Steve Downes delivers chiefs lines so superbly in halo infinite. holy shit 😳

[@SobeCrunkMonster]

it blows me away how the most cringe inducing lines and dialogues can be considered so cool by other people

[@calibula95]

@@SobeCrunkMonster it's almost like if everyone could have different tastes... Weird, am i right?

[@michaelcavalry8379]

@@SobeCrunkMonster Finally someone agrees. Chief could have kept it ambiguous. He's lost a lot of people, like his Spartan team. The line would have been better by simply saying: "I've also lost people" or something similar. It can be kept to the audience to put the meaning on it.

[@michaelcavalry8379]

@@calibula95 Sure we can, but it's just odd to us how we are the minority.

[@draconisthewyvern3664]

that gives you goose bumps? ...okay

[@connorbiddle4703]

The second mission of Halo 5 is one of the 2 or 3 missions I actually enjoy in that campaign, and I feel like it does an amazing job of introducing the hunters. I feel like introducing the hunters is an important part of a halo campaign and I’m glad you addressed it

[@PlatinumPeasant]

I’ve said this before: the campaign would have been hundreds of times better if you had the chance to plan and execute Cortana’s downfall. Last game she betrayed you and killed UNSC and others… and we just jump to when she is already gone? To fight Atriox? No defending humanity against her? Or the Infinity against Atriox? So much opportunity missed.

[@manz7860]

I would think the UNSC would be done with true AI after what cortana did. But nope. They(writers) probably never even considered a question like that

[@Agustin_Leal]

Cortana should have been redimed and come back to Master Chief. They made her completely embrace Halo 5's worst take and destroy the brutes' homeworld.

[@nikkan3810]

@@Agustin_Leal yeah, sorry no. Cortana redemption happened, but her coming back would be the cheapest bullshit possible. Halo 5's take on Cortana going mad was set up since she was fuckin taken by the gravemind.

[@ntfoperative9432]

@@nikkan3810 I remember reading a short story that was from Cortana's perspective during her time on High Charity, and my god, she was practically tortured by the grave mind, she couldn't tell if years had passed, or seconds

[@iwuanadie1058]

@@nikkan3810 nah, they had to bring her back to chief. "what if they replace me? even another cortana model if halsey lets them" "i won't let that happen" ...SIKEEEEE

[@metalcyborg8601]

My biggest complaints were the dull villains and lack of environmental variety. As for what the military have been up to, where certain characters are (Arbiter, Lasky, Blue team, team Osiris, Locke, Palmer, Halsey, etc.), and motivations and goals surrounding the Endless, Atriox, and the Banished, my guess is those are being saved for campaign DLC, if it gets any.

[@yaboy8846]

Shouldn't have to rely on DLC for a $60 campaign to deliver an interesting story and characters though.

[@NJKoopmeiners]

@@yaboy8846 you are right ofcourse, but I feel like bringing back Halo from the dead and delivering an amazing gameplay experience on next-gen was such a momentous undertaking, that they had to limit the scope and that the scope was mostly limited in terms of story and scenery. By doing so, they focused on delivering a platform with solid next-gen graphical and gameplay capabilities, which can then be used to expand on in terms of characters, story and scenery.

[@jatinmarcob2128]

I'm still confused as to why they killed of Atriox for another brute I can't even remember the name of. His name immediately seeps into your mind, and there seems to be no reason to keep him as the main villain.

[@NJKoopmeiners]

@@jatinmarcob2128 did you finish the campaign?

[@jatinmarcob2128]

@@NJKoopmeiners To be fair no, but still he just gave such a good impression I kinda wished he stayed as main villain. My opinion very well may change when I finish it.

[@lllXanderlll]

There's that one boss fight against the two brute Spartan killers and one has Locke's helmet on his shoulder as a trophy. But there's no way to really notice that in game unless you stare at his corpse, I really think that was a missed opportunity to have a little intro cutscene where that brute points the helmet out as a way to try and get under Chief's skin and have Chief comment on it later. But unfortunately they didn't do that :/

[@senecauk8363]

Yeah, the lack of cutscene for those two is baffling. Maybe they didnt have time, or they struggled to make it work out in the open world. I would love a proper intro to those two!

[@ci6516]

@@senecauk8363 I feel like the open world while fun isn’t quite spot on yet

[@ci6516]

@@senecauk8363 I feel like they don’t encourage much exploration. There should be more things to do just because . Throw in some cool cosmetics or something , they could keep the open world campaign continuous if they wanted to . Maybe they will.

[@nathanwhite2315]

One of the propaganda towers talks about it

[@starhammer5247]

Well, either way, Locke isn't dead despite his armour being there.

[@michaelcrawford3663]

You mentioned the Razorback and how fun it was and the timing is hilarious cause I was playing halo 3 just yesterday and had 4 fuel rod wielding marines in the cabin warthog doing 360 spinning balls of death

[@Punkertoon]

The big disappointment for me was the Blademaster. While he was a great boss fight, I thought he was going to be randomly encountered in the world as you explore. And each time you beat him he cloaks and dashes away.

[@VorpalSlade]

They literally just needed to show three seconds of him killing one of the dead Spartans you find then cloaking away, and that would have been enough. And they still didn't even do that.

[@Punkertoon]

@@VorpalSlade hopefully Staten coming back will help the narrative team flesh out characters and their motivations for DLC.

[@alexanderrobins7497]

@@VorpalSlade General Heed found some cut audio logs where the Spartans die. Blademaster killed two, Esherum killed a third.

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

His room screamed "BOSS FIGHT" to me so I grabbed a bunch of explody stuff and piled it up. Killed him with one shot. That's my go-to strategy at higher difficulties. Almost every single boss can be one shot if you just pile explosives and lure them in it.

[@durpson]

@@Punkertoon Missed the boat on that, hes already dead why should anyone care

[@arx2571]

Despite all my problems with this game Cortana's final speech did put tears in my eyes and made me feel some of what Bungie made me feel

[@bobaross6759]

when chief says "we finish the fight" and the esparza gets really excited, it felt like 343 turned him into the player. just for that moment, it was very cool. i was so busy reacting the exact same way he did i didnt even notice what he said till my brother said "jinx" and i had to go on YT to watch that cutscene to understand what just happened. thats one hell of a cliffhanger.

[@eddiewelch1484]

"Please don't die. PLEASE, don't die." Yeah, we are all there with you. Great video Act Man. Nailing it.

[@Zero_XTZ5]

Except the misinformation about the pelican. You can actually fly it

[@xsyllvr]

@@Zero_XTZ5 Using a glitch

[@Zero_XTZ5]

@@xsyllvr well its lerfectley usable when you do and they arent removing it

[@unknownwill4th549]

@sk fuck it, i want a falcon or that ship from halo 4 that lasky gives in that one mission

[@JP-pk1fe]

Halo became less of a big picture/ setting driven story and shifted to a character analytic story. Act man hits the nail on the head on almost everything

[@CJHmusicofficial]

I feel like nothing actually happened in the campaign, it was just waves of enemies. Is that just me? After finishing its hard to name anything big that happened.

[@craigfisher1937]

Nope, not just you. I actually gave up on the campaign in the end. Seemed a massive waste of an open world to have you just run down corridors constantly.

[@VergilDarkslayer]

@nomasporfavor you gave up halo for destiny 2 ?

[@tufbubblz]

@@VergilDarkslayer i mean 30th anni though...

[@VergilDarkslayer]

@@tufbubblz no i never gonna touch it again play warframe

[@Ziyoblader]

@nomasporfavor the main two villains in infinite here remind me of some of the enemies in destiny 2 like it doesn't feel special at all

[@valettashepard909]

That one moment where chief briefly confuses the weapon with Cortana… it’s such a hard hitting moment. It’s a subtle little thing but it shows a lot about what’s going on in chief’s head. The grief, regret, the mourning, and the Deja vu, all in one line.

[@explorantbias4209]

Yeah, the Bungie games always felt like there's a great war going on and you play a crucial part in it, but it's much bigger. The 343i games always feel like Chief vs antagonist brawl that if being fought with long (badly written) speeches and lots of bullet sponges thrown at you... the stakes are gone

[@valettashepard909]

Generally yeah. The one place where 4 and infinite at least excelled at was the dynamic between chief and the two Cortana models. There’s a subtlety there that makes those little moments really work, and with that in mind it brings a bit of perspective. The goodness of those moments, the emotional impact, works as a magnifying glass on the parts that *don’t* work. These moments are little phenoms, so why is the rest so… meh?

[@senecauk8363]

I didnt read the scene like that at all. I thought he was just starting a sentence about Cortana, but faltered. Your interpretation is way more interesting :)

[@derlummel8300]

It really shows how the screenplay is god-tier and how the story is incredibly meh

[@explorantbias4209]

@@derlummel8300 Yes, the screenplay is possibly the best in the series ever, but story and script are meh

[@slicedbread117]

You perfectly conveyed my absolute largest problem with the campaign, and that was the horrendous lack of environmental variety. By the half way point, I was BEGGING for something other than a Forerunner tunnel or the trees and rocks of Zeta Halo. The core gameplay, sandbox, soundtrack, and concept of the semi-open world are all fantastic, but good god was I desperate for something different and a more interesting story. Still leaps and bounds better than 5, but yes, could’ve been even better.

[@ethanburch422]

Needs snow, to get more of that CE vibe. Idk what it is, but damn snow in videogames is awesome.

[@austrakaiser4793]

@@ethanburch422 Hell maybe a snowy level with lava, I don't think we've ever had lava in Halo, unless I'm forgetting 5 but let's be honest we all forgot 5. I'm thinking how about that cut level from Halo 3, The Guardian, where you run from tower to tower to disable the shields of a giant fucking sentinel (The Guardian) in a rainforest, would be neat if 343 took that and implemented that into Infinite.

[@archergaming5414]

*can be even better (if they fix these problems with the dlc)

[@ijustyap]

@@archergaming5414 oh man I forgot that dlc is absolutely a thing lmao

[@arthand7672]

It doesn't help that everything banished is mostly grey. Even covenant purple structures would have been a nice change of pace from the forerunner tunnels, but when the aliens, the humans and the forerunners have a color scheme that are 80% the same it doesn't help the environments stick out.

[@TheSnorlax7]

Completely agree with the cutscene issue. Need more dynamic interesting cutscenes... There were only a few in this game.

[@RainbowKittyy]

I'm still disappointed that the first scene wasn't the first level of the game It would have been much more engaging to be a part of the chaos instead of only just watching it a good chance to show case how deadly the banished are by seeing them wreak havoc on your fellow humans

[@skywardsoul1178]

Not to mention we didn't get to fight in UNSC corridors once. It would have been a much better throwback and more engaging for sure to see events unfold, see characters like Lasky and the other Spartans. CE, 2 and 4 all started onboard UNSC ships / stations. I'm also disappointed there was no interaction with crashed UNSC ships. Fairly simple way to change up the scenery.

[@BigGWhizzin]

@@skywardsoul1178 Would've also made finding the spartans' bodies more impactful if you saw them and heard the audio log stuff as radio chatter from them while fighting on board the Infinity!

[@Marinealver]

I guess the cutscene where you get ambushed and pummeled by Atriox as control is taken away from you and you are in a 1st person cutscene was too much for 343i.

[@alaskamark4562]

SkywardSoul117. We need to find the crashed Infinity and go fight onboard. Kick the Banished out of our turf! Maybe the Spirit of Fire could make an appearance and we could have a level defending it too.

[@roboguy75]

Honestly it should've been like weirdly enough the first level of Destiny 2 when the Red Legion appeared. The tower is being destroyed, you're fighting off Red Legion Cabal, everyone is fighting for their lives or retreating until you come across the main bad guy and become so beaten down he kicks you off a ledge. Take that setup, use it for Halo Infinite, and it would've been perfect.

[@CR0WYT]

I feel like the lack of characters were on purpose. 343 did say they wanted to make it feel like a game that would make sense for new players and veterans without relying too heavily on past events. Erasing most of what happened in the other games while hiding them behind audio logs was probably the best they could do.

[@AlexK-sk4qb]

The first halo I ever played was 3. The first mission gave me all the exposition I needed while also advancing the plot and keeping me hooked. 343's writing is lazy and simplistic. However, if they had tried something more ambitious they would've failed just like in 4 and 5. It's sad seeing them write something so small-scale and safe. Seems they've given up on ever matching bungies' writers. At least the story's not a disaster. It's just thoroughly average.

[@derpynerdy6294]

thats bad.. this is a sequel. should have progress the story...

[@CR0WYT]

@@derpynerdy6294 True, but if your last game was received so badly to the point where the community wanted it to be non-canon, you gotta either make a game forgetting about the past or make a prequel explaining the mess of the game (which might make it worse).

[@badbetchh7185]

I think it was done pretty well given how that management went for the game. I think if they can keep thinks vague to a degree yet flesh out better character development for the main characters, they would be right on point.

[@AlexK-sk4qb]

@@CR0WYT a good enough team could salvage 5's story. Sadly, 343 isn't capable of this so they trashed it instead. Probably the best choice

[@luger700]

I think the campaign would’ve been so much better if there would have been additional factions. Seeing the Flood appear in come capacity, the Prometheans, perhaps a Covenant remnant that is opposed to the Banished. Fighting just one enemy the entire campaign really sucked.

[@joeseibert1425]

Fuck the prometheans… any other will do though

[@WishDougMuro]

No prometheans I hated those Bastards

[@hankhill5622]

Agreed, the flood would’ve been cool to see again, would’ve helped keep the levels a little more diverse instead of the constant corridor shooter it became after like mission 6. It got irritating having the ame exact enemies in the same environment, And while this is the first halo game by 343 I’ve actually wanted to play again on an increasing difficulty level unlike the last 2, it would be nice to have more diversity. Maybe the DLCs will bring that to the story if we ever get them

[@timur5241]

Fighting just one enemy faction, IMO, is what Halo actually needed more. A new primary threat suddenly popping out and overshadowing the previous one? Why? The Flood was overshadowing the Covenant throughout the entire original trilogy Halo Reach had that for a change. No flood or anyone else forerunner-related. Just Covenant for the whole game. And also Halo 3 ODST... I think? And finally Infinite. No flood, no prometheans, just banished for the whole game. The problem is, unlike Infinite, the previous two weren't mainline games. Neither were Halo Wars games lol.

[@timur5241]

@@hankhill5622 why do everyone want the flood so much?

[@ddsretro2697]

Honestly through the whole campaign Cortana’s whispers have me goosebumps and they nailed that part so well same with (most of) the music. Atmosphere I think is one it’s strong suits when it is but also falls flat at times.

[@backing5284]

Im rlly not trying to be harsh but... after playing halo 3/4 anyone could've done the whole whisper thing 😅 it wasn't tht innovating

[@nikolashumphrey-howell2478]

one of my favorite secrets in Halo:infinite is in the distance, from the highest points on the map, you can spot a crashed Guardian on the Ring with you. i like that they acknowledged 5, but took to a different direction.

[@nikolashumphrey-howell2478]

another interesting tidbit Act Man never noticed was in Escharum's promo art, he had Locke's helmet strapped to his shoulder. it didnt show up on his actual character model from what i remember but it's possibly a teaser that Locke may not have survived Escharum's attack.

[@dsdy1205]

So I wasn't imagining things!

[@thatoneguy4209]

@@nikolashumphrey-howell2478 I know this is an old comment but the helmet does appear on a different boss in the game so he might have been killed by that boss, it's one of the two brother brutes

[@protocolsavage8506]

Woulda been kinda weird if they just completely ignored the previous story, no??

[@Its-Kurb]

@@protocolsavage8506 A lot of people have been asking for them to do exactly that since 5

[@brandontucker6958]

They should have played up Escharum being passed his prime, like imagine if the reason he never fought the Chief until he had to was because he WAS passed his prime. He couldn't fight like he used to so he wanted to become legendary through his leadership to hide the fact that he couldn't fight anymore. Would have been so great.

[@cryingweevil4345]

Fucking hell this would be so sad and epic. Like imagine he uses an exoskeleton type thingy in the end bc he’s too old

[@Mr.Murphy2802]

@@cryingweevil4345 imagine the final boss was him controlling a fucking big ass mech and its a multi-stage boss. Taking out its shields, exposing its legs, finding weaknesses. It would also allow for the marines to be involved like a throwback to the mongooses with rocket marines on the back taking down scarabs. This could all be going on in a big climactic battle between the two factions with wraiths, scorpions, banshees, warthogs all around. And when you finally break through Escharums mech it could give you a player choice to either kill him there or let him blow up with his own creation. Shit would've been so awesome.

[@thespaceman4808]

@@Mr.Murphy2802a mech boss like in the old sonic games?

[@notnoaintno5134]

Grammar lesson, past his prime, not passed

[@stevenborg102]

omg you're so right - then imagine if we got to the end scene and Chief realises this and just calls him a coward to his face. And that's what makes him snap and go rage mode and throw everything at you. How satisfying and also tragic that last cutscene we got would be more meaningful etc.

[@wind_traveler]

The lack of marines in cutscenes is really weird. Its almost like the story was written in isolation from the open world. Whether or not you like the pilot's character, it makes no sense for Chief to drag around a civilian contractor when there are FOBs full of marines. Are you going to try to tell me that there wasn't a single person on that ring more qualified to fly around the UNCS's most valuable military asset than a civilian engineer who's constantly on the verge of mental break down? Its like the story writers had no idea that there would be a ton of marines in the open world.

[@Destroyer_V0]

Or more accurately, that the dev's had no idea whether a player would have rescued as many marines as possible, or none. So decided to write the story assuming the player wouldn't go out of their way to rescue marines. Second part. I doubt that the marines left on zeta halo have any pilots among them. mechanics that worked on pelicans and condors sure, but, using the modern day air forces and commercial airlines as an example. There are vastly more ground crew and supporting staff, than there are pilots in these organizations. There might, be other pilots scattered across the ring (Remembering the area we had access to in the campaign so far is really freaking tiny), assuming they survived for 6 months in a hostile environment, and their crashed and shot down birds weren't immediately swarmed by the banished, but given their relatively small number... and the fact that a good chunk of the infinity's crew may have died during the banished attack. I find it unlikely.

[@maineman5757]

@@Destroyer_V0 The marines spawn on the map regardless if you rescue them or not.

[@BEZERKSTUDIOS718]

I just want to know how the hell a civilian engineer can fly what is essentially a futuristic Chinook

[@CorwinTheOneAndOnly]

You all make it sound as if other than this, the writers have shown any level of competency whatsoever. The writing as a whole made me want to puke my brains out.

[@jadenbrown8813]

Well I think that the pilot was posing as an actual pilot, and everyone probably believed him because he did seem to be quite competent at flying the pelican. The scene where Chief is skydiving and the Pilot catches him in the pelican is some impressive flying. He also refers to himself as a fraud in one cutscene, which would kinda hint towards this. But yeah I do definitely agree that marines should have had a much more pivotal role in the cutscenes.

[@cosmovandam]

You really know your shit when it comes to story writing, Act Man. So many things I didn't realize until you brought them up, but are so true.

[@ImmortalSeaSlug]

The spartan killer being told to follow from a distance is something he actually does. There’s a phantom that follows you around for the whole game cloaked in active camo, if you shoot it the active camo will dissipate, and the phantom will fly off for a second to re-activate the camo.

[@SageOf6Pathz]

Would make sense.. if the phantom wasn't shooting and killing you.

[@ImmortalSeaSlug]

@@I-L-T-T just look up on KZbin “halo infinite, you are always followed” or something like that. That’s how I found out about it, I saw it in my recommended

[@dragonskull473slayer9]

Interestingly I encountered the phantom and it was stuck and shooting at me and I thought it being invisible was just merely a glitch but now I know why it was there lol

[@optiTHOMAS]

Im gonna have to see if i can find him on my next playthrough. I loved the concept of that character and kept my eyes open for him! I was always on the lookout, but sadly you never really run into him and I thought he would try to ambush you and then quickly get away or something. If he isn't dead, I really wanna see more of him as his character and design is absolutely badass! 👍🏻

[@samducca]

What I really liked about Escharum is how he's all cocky and confident in the beginning, but as you advance and gradually destroy the Banished he gets less and less boastful, to the point where before the final battle he's basically saying "hey man, I know I'll probably loose and all of that, but the Banished will continue after me". There's some subtle, but important development in his character, specially if you hear all of his last audio logs.

[@zanix81]

Escharum seems like a discount tartuas though and I can't spell.

[@RSTBKT]

@@zanix81 tartar sauce

[@notthecoolwhip]

Or a diet-atriox

[@quenter1392]

I love tremonius. He is a great foil for all the other banished, who are very honor driven and confident. He is just a slightly above average brute who got lucky and now has a whole base named after him. It is very relatable that he doesnt want to risk that for glory. When he finally goes to fight the chief, he is hyping himself up on the way down the elevator, and I feel like he had probably been preparing that line for a few hours.

[@Spartan-ek8ih]

Damn good observations

[@thejfoshow1320]

Same. To me his existence implies that a lot of the banished brutes feel the same…like after the Jega cutscene he’s ihe walks off and just looks at Escharum in such a telling way - he’s like ‘we don’t all have a death wish’ mirroring the pilot and chief. I feel like a bit was cut around this point as it would better explain the ‘questioning his choices’ line - Escharum should’ve been questioning his choice to put his quest for honour above the lives of the banished - his selfish quest meant he lost sight of the whole point of the banished, pushed brutes like Tremonius too hard etc. I feel like there’s a lot of subtleties in the story like that e.g I don’t see many people picking up on the pessimism optimism arc for chief - at the start Chief finds the weapon and immediately assumes something went wrong as for him that pretty sensible, it’s basically a rule of nature. But no, it was all just Cortana’s apology. Finally chief got something nice. And he has a fresh outlook at the end of the game with a new sense of humanity and new buddies. Infinite isn’t perfect but damn DLC might make it so

[@notthecoolwhip]

Bit of a reach

[@notthecoolwhip]

You’re trying so hard to kiss this games ass you have to go on a spat about tremonious?

[@mannagement7777]

@@thejfoshow1320 I really enjoy this analysis. Cool outlook

[@ellis2888]

The ending of this video❤️😭 Dude Halo franchise owes you a great deal,you literally point every single detail better than everyone else. My infinite respects for you dude.

[@RedFromDa713]

The Act Man has done it again with another great review. Goes to prove that you can love a franchise but still offer constructive criticism.

[@engineerskalinera]

YEAAAAAS! ACT MAN DOES IT AGAIN!

[@OrionTheChonk]

The honeymoon phase vanished very quickly after beating the game, and you’ve hit the nail on the head with all your criticisms. A lot of big Halo KZbinrs are calling this one of the best Halo games, and I’m wondering what game they actually played.

[@SixSioux]

very well said

[@RealAshLaw]

343 can't write a story and its really sad, wish we could get compelling and interesting design/villain's. I don't want AI and chief drama 24/7, or flag pole villain's, Saturday night cartoon T rated vibes..

[@Moomph]

They've more or less been talking purely about Gameplay, which I agree with; but the story is uh... well it's there. I was satisfied with it, but not over the top enthused. I get that they're setting everything up for later expansion, but this will be the only campaign content we're going to have for quite some time. I just wish there was one mission that I could easily pick out and play purely for the cool set pieces, like two Banished Scarabs to board and destroy. There were just no cool set pieces like previous titles. Sad, really /:

[@blaster5800]

It actually is. Nostalgia must gtfo, sometimes.

[@ml-rl1lo]

I don’t hate the game but I literally can’t bring myself to finish it because the open world is so incredibly boring and tedious. It’s essentially a slightly less boring Ubisoft open world and the story is not doing enough to keep me hooked. I really wasn’t expecting much going into this game so all the KZbinrs saying it was great got my hopes up, only to have that dashed when I realised it is clearly suffering from loads of cut content and is quite frankly boring.

[@oreodepup]

I just think they played the story way to safe. Hopefully in the future they can be more daring in what they do and expand on the great elements of halo. What they did produce however was really fun to play

[@Free-4554]

I think 343 was really scared of taking risks on this game as their last 2 gambles in 4 and 5. So they decided to reset and play if safe for know, then slowly get more and more daring unlike 4 which was a shook a lot of people which it’s changes.

[@coltforceplayer]

Even though the multiplayer needs a lot of work, the campaign was fricken fun, I loved my Skewer that shot explosive bolts

[@victorperezurbano9504]

Best powerweapon in all campaign

[@coltforceplayer]

@@victorperezurbano9504 I suck at aiming though lol, fun anyway

[@LoneWanderer479]

Throughout the campaign I was in love with the gameplay, but felt there was a lot missing with the storyline. I think you did an excellent job pointing those things out. Supporting characters like Arbiter, Johnson, Lord Hood, etc have always been what gave the universe life and set the mood. Definitely a missed opportunity that I hope they rectify with DLC

[@DavyDave1313]

No amount of DLC can fix this open world mediocre garbage.

[@alexanderrobins7497]

I feel like we were getting a bit of the Jack Sparrow effect here. He was amazing in the first movie because of how rarely he was seen, but the fourth movie felt boring because there was too much of a good thing (plus everything else was garbage). I doubt movies like The Silence of The Lambs or Beetlejuice would hold up Hannibal or Beetlejuice got more screen time.

[@DavyDave1313]

@@alexanderrobins7497 we definitely need more master chief if that’s who you’re referring to. We just don’t need him in an open world with a myriad of “activities” to fulfill. That’s like bloatware on phones or filler episodes - nobody wants them. Next game they need to go back to the linear mission/action blockbuster style that all the games have been. With varied level design

[@treswolves5512]

@@DavyDave1313 Nah I think the open world design is what kept players going until they finished. The linear levels were easily the weakest part of the story imo. The best thing they could do in future titles is have varied open world levels with more varied linear story missions like they had in infinite. Especially if they are going to keep the grapple hook in for future titles.

[@SeptisHighborn]

@@treswolves5512 I had to force myself to focus on just the linear story part of the game because I knew if I got too caught up with the open world I'd get bored and never complete the game.

[@lemytrenet]

The moment we find out that the pilot is not an actual soldier, but just a private contractor that got caught up in all of this , missing his family missing everything he had before. I loved his character not only because I always enjoyed the pilots of the pelicans on your missions , but how he is the first pilot where we had a moment where we thought he would be gone and we saved him felt like a "no, not this pilot, not again"

[@sorrenblitz805]

"I failed her. I will NOT fail you." - Master Chief

[@hrthrhs]

If you loved his character that's fine but his character adds nothing. The campaign would have functioned the same if his character never existed.

[@RainbowBuster]

@@hrthrhsIntro of the game:

[@hrthrhs]

@@RainbowBuster That intro only existed to introduce his character. A different intro could have been made obviously, like with all other Halos.

[@kilochampion787]

“We all fail, we all make mistakes. It’s what makes us human.” -343 Dev after releasing low quantity Season 2 content

[@thesamejackalsniperthatkil117]

That sounds like something 343 would unironically say.

[@backing5284]

They fail every single time tho 🤣

[@poopyjoe7435]

I agree to a certain extent but you can’t just keep on shitting on the devs, I feel bad for them; we should be lucky we aren’t in a cod vanguard or battle field 2047 situation

[@ehsancandrive]

@@poopyjoe7435 Yup atleast 343 tried, all activision and ea thought was to crunch for more shit to come out the pipe line on time

[@andrewporter1868]

@@backing5284 I guess some are just _more_ human than others... :joy:

[@gio1135]

1:07:36 small details like this really make games do much better. how he misses the chip but improvises and uses his middle finger to grab it, how blade master pets the brute with his finger when he's holding him down, how in gears 3 there are lambent hand prints through the level before you see the infected humans

[@sixbases6793]

The banished goals: Repair the ring because it is their new home AND has the UNIQUE ability to do a "TACTIC FIRE" (zeta halo is capable of being fired without killing the habitants on its surface) making them the most powerful dangerous faction in the Galaxy. They want to get balanced the things. Cortana destroyed Doizac, now, they'll fire the ring on the Earth. But we know, Cortana destroyed a little part of the ring in order to give the chief a chance to stop them

[@Aredel]

They sure as hell didn’t make that very clear with Echarum, nor did we see how the rest of the Banished feel about it. We should have seen Atriox or Echarum grieving over the destruction of the planet when it happened, and had them swear vengeance against Cortana. Shit, it would have been cool to team up with them to destroy Cortana before they stab you in the back for being her creators.

[@erichdegurechaff9515]

Now where this major part of plot is in the campaign?

[@SANHoloX]

I find it odd that I caught this immediately, but many didn't. And I haven't read the books.

[@stormycd392]

@@SANHoloX Where do they say it in the campaign? No, I’m not talking about in a book that I have to pay for and read before I can get a complete story, nor some half-ass, pre recorded audio log that was an afterthought to explain away the story. Where do they make that explicitly clear in this standalone story?

[@SANHoloX]

@@stormycd392 Your comment sounds like bait with all those dumb restrictions. For starters I said I haven't read a single book but was able to get the jist of what the Banished goals were. To explain how I know is the copulation of playing every halo game. First of if you are coming to this franchise new then I can see why most is unaware about it. But with prior games knowledge you would know that the Halo, if fell in the wrong hands, can become a giant superweapon that can take out a galactic sector. The Banished if you listen to the grunts the complain at on point that they can't believe they are stuck there. Then very later you find out the brute home world was destroyed so that supports why a brute chief second in command is enabled by Atriox and his ppl Vengeance. As for Cortana she says she needed to by time for chief which explains the broken ring. The audio logs don't necessarily help in making the goals clear but they do help piece some thing together.

[@Kantech_exe]

Sometimes I get the feeling that the developers never actually finished writing infinite. Why else would you get characters who keep mentioning big scary sounding concepts, like the harbinger, who's only concern is "The Reformation", and nothing but vague explanations on what that is. None of it means anything to me or master chief for that matter. He's actually very straight forward. There are bad guys who want to do something that he assumes is bad, therefore the C+ code in his brain tells him "if bad: kill()", and that's the problem. The game never tells you what the Harbinger is planning, and the player is left to assume what scenario they are trying to stop from happening. If it wasn't for the speech mannerism of the Harbinger, and her ominous name, what she's doing would actually seem like the right thing to do. Credit to Dartigan: kzbin.info/door/Pu3cxcupXWFguxQyFb-bsw

[@BigRaidah]

From what I can tell, the reformation is a very literal thing, and specifically referring to the ring’s systems repairing the damage done to it. Literally reforming the Halo ring that you’re on.

[@mosescuh3644]

Well if you really think about it, they truly haven't finished writing the game, they will be adding onto the Halo story over time

[@codvanguardhater3241]

I disagree IMO, as halo has always had a back for telling u the basics and what u need to know. But leaving everything else a mystery to be discovered. Like the audiologs, hidden dialogue etc, explain the harbinger/endless. Now if u don’t have patience, there r yt vids to watch on it. Plus DLC and future games will only extend it further. It’s a cool sense of mystery, discovery and exploration. That of which originates to the first game. And for that I love the direction stuff like the endless was handled, and is being handled. Ps. adore halo infinites campaign.

[@nathanwhiting5475]

Yeah they left it open-ended so they can add to it.

[@Kantech_exe]

@@codvanguardhater3241 If we take the Endless for example, the game doesn't even tell you the basics about them. Why exactly are the Endless a threat worse than the flood? They are are never even explained enough to feel threatening. The only thing explained is that they survived the halo rings firing in the past and because of that the forerunners considered them a threat and sealed them up inside this ring. Is there any argument for why the Endless shouldn't be allowed to come back? The Harbinger acts menacing and attacks chief, but that's because she's badly written. The game never mentions any wrong doing on their part, they simply survived Halo's firing and that was enough for the remaining Forerunners to imprison their entire race. And about the DLCs, the campaign alone already costs 60$. I shouldn't have to buy DLCs on top of that just to understand something that 343 introduced in the base game.

[@TheSirlock]

Played through the game on Heroic, I had a blast with the gameplay in most situations, but the bosses and targets felt like bullet sponges in most situations for me and were really boring aspects of the game for me.

[@stevenborg102]

i struggled with Hunters and the final two bosses even on Normal!! Hardest Halo game on Normal ever.

[@Multimeter1]

This ^ boss fights were stupid in halo and never belonged in halo. This is destiny mixed with stupidity

[@dylankahn168]

This is pretty late, but I had a very different experience when I ran into hunters for the first time in Halo Infinite, I was on the ground, I turned the corner, and it was right in front of my face about to kill me.

[@MadamLava094]

When I first went to go rescure the imprisoned spartan I thought "oh shit we're gonna rescue key personnel like spartans and lasky and they're gonna run support in scripted moments of the linear missions and/or talk to us throughout the campaign!" and then he died. I think Infinite struggles with being too alone. Marines only accompany you when rescuing squads or moving them in vehicles, and chief is the only significantly-ranked UNSC character present.

[@socialjihad5724]

Yeah, the rescued marines are never narratively acknowledged...every cutscene acts like it's just Chief, Brohammer and weapon. What about the Marines? Do they want off-ring as well? Or would they rather help chief defeat the banished?

[@theemeraldenderman3007]

@@socialjihad5724 well, given the situation they’re currently in, they don’t have any choice besides helping take down the Banished. They’re stuck there on the ring until off-world help arrives, if it ever will arrive.

[@blehh_mae]

honestly all that wouldve been fine if after the ending it continued and it had more support and allies before all that it makes sense the unsc is crumbling and they dont have any time to safely call for backup if they even have the tools to do so, but come on after killing the banished's leader and main supporter cant they just train new people or maybe call in backup or supplies from like, wreckage of frigates or fly off to a base or something

[@xXBobbyXx86]

When I finished the campaign I felt there was much more to be desired.

[@X0295-m8t]

Oh yeah, I couldn't even tell you what this campaign was even about, there's no real plot

[@mojo_joju]

Same, it was a great story with a really meh ending

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

@@mojo_joju where was the great story? Genuinely asking.

[@lolkaslolpez4823]

It felt like the free demo

[@X0295-m8t]

@@lolkaslolpez4823 By the end and having killed two main villains, I had no idea what they were about.

[@ManiacsWord]

My favorite aspect about Infinites story is the relationship with the Weapon. At first you like her and her adorkableness, but as the game goes on she keeps commenting about how beautiful the ring is and how she’d like to see it finished. Making the player feel a little uneasy and untrusting of her, considering the PTSD of what the other AIs and Cortana did. Which I realized, is exactly how the Chief is feeling about her. And when that first “Red Flag” moment popped up I let out an audible “Oh shit.” I just really appreciate a game that can subtlety give you those feelings and have them pay off and for that to make sense to the playable character, in game!

[@nhagan001]

Oh I felt the opposite about her. Her adorkableness came off as grading on my nerves at first. Once she starts shutting up and speaking with relevant details (ironically when she starts getting closer and closer to realizing she is a Copy), she sounds much more palatable. There were times in the beginning I was telling her out loud "Shut Up. Right Now.", but that started to fade over time... It took a many, many hours though.

[@drafty9580]

@@nhagan001 Eh even at her most annoying I thought she was fine. Then again I have a strong desire to kill Ordis and ghost so maybe I've been desensitized....

[@senecauk8363]

The red flag bit is one of the only cutscenes where 343s closer more intimate direction of the sequences actually has an emotional edge. In the past, their cutscenes have been either over-bombastic (opening of 5) or intimate but in an emotional way (a lot of 4). Most of these, with some exceptions, feel super anemic. They seem to go for the God of War one take approach, but then cut to like 3 scenes with Escharum anyway? That first cutscene in Infinite had me hoping for storytelling that is mostly absent afterwards. And again, not a problem 343 had before. It is really weird.

[@SobeCrunkMonster]

one mans “adorkableness” is another mans MAJOR CRINGE

[@thatoneguy9666]

My problem with 343 is the constant exposition dumps. They don’t know how to relay information in an interesting, unique way

[@sparta2705]

The fact you can make a movie length video feel like a 20 minute review goes to show how much you keep people pulled in. I more or less agree with all yours points, and even though I didnt get that far yet. I can feel the scene between chief and escharam when he says he was a soldier and he fought for what he believed was right. Chief may be a warrior for humanity. But he isnt stupid and realizes other people have their motivations as well.

[@metallord6960]

The marines/grunts we fought alongside in the first 3 games felt like humans in the original games. Some of them were scared, some of them were cocky, some of them were these uptight guys. To this day I still remember one of my playthroughs of the delta halo level. I was on legendary and we got caught at a corner by some elites, I lost most of the marines with me at that point except for one: a cocky Hispanic guy I named Lopez (I was into RvB at the time, okay?). We pushed our way to the cliff area with several snipers/drones and I spotted a beam rifle on the ground. I was low on ammo for my sniper rifle, so I gave it to Lopez and took the beam rifle. We started clearing out their drones and sniper jackals from cover and actually pulled it off. "Hey alien dude, turn down the suck." Lopez called out, and with that we made our way through to the end of the level. I cannot tell you how good it felt to get Lopez out alive. A part of me died with every marine/grunt, and this is something I felt 343 failed to capture.

[@alexanderrobins7497]

Getting an endless supply of Marines you cannot betray (without splattering) armed with OP weapons makes me care less about what happens to them. As fun as it might seem, it is a far cry from the desperation of Tsavo Highway with marines only having assault/battle rifles escaping the wreckage of Crow's Nest. The only time I remotely cared about a them in Infinite is when getting four FOBS and killing a couple targets with a group. I might care more about each marine if there were a limit on how many power weapons we could get/give from FOBs and if some might tag along for the main missions.

[@atomicniko92]

Yeah I was upset when I couldn’t directly kill a marine and how they wouldn’t run. I bet this would have been in Halo ( more expressive voice lines and animations ) but COVID,

[@somemexicangardener6933]

Wait the grunts felt like humans? Good thing they fixed that

[@metallord6960]

@@somemexicangardener6933 I meant when you played as Arbiter they felt like they were actually alive.

[@somemexicangardener6933]

@@metallord6960 yea ik man I’m just giving you a hard time bro 😂

[@zsmorr92]

The Chief-Brohammer heart-to-heart was the moment that made me fall in love with this story. This is the Chief we need, one who has emotions and empathy, without being too emotional, and one who talks a fair amount without being a chatterbox. The overarching story is a bit lackluster so far, I think they did about as good as they could have when it comes to trying to mend together the story they left off with in Halo 5, without being another Jul 'Mdama clean up. I am willing to wait and see what the future holds for Infinite, I hope the future DLC adds meaningful depth to this story.

[@ryanrulesbro]

This scene at 11:45 always gets me

[@sergiogarcia5593]

Combat Evolved is a masterclass but I think the lack of biomes in Infinite is probably because the game got severely cut. Looking at some of the art sketches, it seems like an even worse case of Halo 2 cuts.

[@jo-si2yx]

Ik what you mean, it feels like theres a lot of open land with nothing, no secrets, no easter eggs, no lore, just there to fill the background. Or it might just be my blind ass

[@rectoplasmic4630]

@@jo-si2yx My favorite way to play is with HUD off. It's actually surprisingly doable with the aim assist, and it also disables waypoints which allows you to experience the art and open world in a more natural feeling way.

[@bigblueassbaby9074]

game will probably get campaign dlc to fix the problem with the the launch of coop or later. the game is short enough for it to not become to much of a problem. but still, at least one winter level to call back to aotcr? Whatever games still fun asf.

[@d7656]

I feel like we’ll get those biomes back in the future but it just sucks knowing that they probably weren’t ready or are being sold back to us because Microsoft’s greed

[@343Films]

Funny and sad how they had *six years* to make the game and they still had to cut so much.

[@sporkleton]

I agree with so much here. The campaign started off well. Then things started to blend together. I seriously thought I was on mission 4 or 5 when I was on like mission 12 or 13. I've always liked Chief being a man of few words because what he says is of value. I do think the game suffers from not showing things explicitly. "Show, don't tell" should be the standard to follow. I felt so out of the loop trying to connect events between the end of Halo 5 and Infinite. I feel like there is a mini-campaign or a couple of missions worth of content between the two games. Like at the least, delivering the weapon and then defending the Infinity. Then come to the 6-month time skip.

[@nitropenguinz]

I think out of any infinite review I've seen, this one speaks to me the most. The whole game is just a big blur with no huge moments that stand out in my mind, especially when it comes to the story. The iconic character moments are totally missing because of their focus on only chief, the weapon and brohammer. I want to think that this is due to a hell dev cycle and how so much content was removed. I hope that joe staten can bring back some of that magic in the future with story expansions. I'm very happy the gameplay is so solid at least, the game has a really solid foundation.

[@Xernya-b5c]

Exactly, idk why every Halo channel shill the shit out of it

[@mahchestro9144]

@@Xernya-b5c Cause it... looks, feels and plays like Halo? Something to consider is the fact that to most people... Halo died with Reach. So now there's Infinite. And while the game has problems, it still feels like Halo. Not a shell of a once beloved franchise. This game should be criticized for what it's missing and problems with the story. But it should also be commended for what it achieved.

[@soapimpossible7023]

@@mahchestro9144 that is very subjective however. There are also people who argue that halo 4 and 5 still felt like halo, but just didnt agree with the multiplayer design or the story direction. Like Act Man stated, infinite lacks the large scale conflict and stakes that was a staple of every halo game. To say Halo died with Reach is to ignore existing and newer fans who grew to love halo during the 343 Era. But imo, Infinite in terms of gameplay did a great job at mixing the two eras together.

[@mahchestro9144]

@@soapimpossible7023 That is the polar opposite. Halo 4 and 5 lacked heavily in the campaign. The only saving grace Halo 5 had was it's awesome multiplayer. Both of those games had identity crisis. And while Infinite lacks in scale... it still has a great (albeit small) story. Narratively great.

[@Rebel940]

I can relate to angry joes review a little more such as Echo 216 being kinda annoying unlike how the act man perceives him differently so but defiantly a good review but Joes review was more for the common player while this review was for more hardcore fans of the series who’s been there since the beginning

[@lonewolf0712]

1:00:36 I would like to point out that when I played I actually noticed doors that I had walked through opening again then closing without anyone going near them. One time it was when a bridge was being activated and the other i was back tracking to find ammo. Either it's a gltich, or it was intentional, but either way it made it more interesting as I felt like the Blademaster was stalking me as I played. We know his active camo makes him practically invisible, so not seeing him makes sense.

[@spartains5493]

The little bit with Cortana at the end, the whole "A chance to make amends" thing. I couldn't help but perceive that a somewhat of an apology from 343i and an assertion of good faith.

[@morthosmaxori5354]

true. it reminds me of the line from half life alyx where G-Man talks about a "previous hire" being "unable - or unwilling - to perform the tasks laid before him."

[@battaglino77]

@@morthosmaxori5354 Adrian Shepard or Gordon Freeman?

[@Skellington77]

@@battaglino77 Valve 100% chooses to forget Adrian, its gordon

[@battaglino77]

@@Skellington77 Given recent events I think we could be seeing the former again at some point.

[@morthosmaxori5354]

@@battaglino77 wait, Adrian could be coming back? What are these recent events of which you speak?

[@Teasie]

One of my biggest disappointments of this campaign is just how little big set piece moments there are or curated combat encounters. Honestly they could have had such an amazing Scarab encounter.

[@jvan28]

Couldn’t agree more! Halo Reach may have a divisive campaign, but the scope and set pieces were absolutely insane. I understand Infinite was trying to go back to basics, but there is so much potential being lost in not pushing more large-scale battles between the Banished and the UNSC.

[@justinnyugen7015]

Could've had a Sierra 117 style walk in the woods with all the heavy forestation. A banshee dogfight section set in a Death Canyon style map with lots of cross-cutting bridges (or H2's great Journey canyon with the Scarab)

[@TheWorldBelowDnD]

"Where's master chief? Why is he only in 3 missions?" Is such a great line... Because like, locating master chief is a huge part of the story, but his lack of presence in the game is also a huge flaw... Clever writing there, Actual Manual

[@sorrenblitz805]

I think the reason i didnt have as big of a problem with the lack of environmental variety came down to this: I was aware I was on a large singular portion of the ring. Likening that to like a single region of a continent, I expect a pretty homogenous Biome. In the older games I got the feeling each level took place in multiple different regions of the ring that are separated by greater distances. In this game I felt like I was building a resistance from the ground up and what I was doing made sense. I'm conquering this ring one mile at a time, and since I'm on a small group of relatively similar and closely set islands the environment wouldnt have made much sense if they were all super different. The part that upsets me is that this opens the ring up for expansion later and currently 343 has no plans to do that.

[@sahajthind7234]

We renewed our faith that Actman’s Infinite review would come, and see how our faith has been rewarded.

[@MyNewLeng]

Act Man, his divine videos will rush through the internet, propelling all who are worthy along the path to salvation! 🙌

[@TFUProductions]

I remember seeing a stream you did a few weeks back that someone had said your channel had become a halo Infinite channel. I guess people don't realize how you got your start, and how big this game is for the Halo community. Congratulations on your success, especially throughout 2020/2021. I would say excellent video, but I haven't finished it yet. Already know it will be, though.

[@TheActMan]

There's been like 5-6 COD games since Infinite so yeah, I'm gonna get all the Infinite videos out of my system haha

[@TFUProductions]

@@TheActMan It's very refreshing if I'm being honest.

[@danieldanielson2324]

I’m sure lots of people want him to review BF2042 and Vanguard but how the hell do you expect someone to sit there and play a barely functional game. Plus it’s hard keeping up those two because every week, there is something else discovered that hinders the gameplay experience or bugs the game even more. Atleast there are positives to be said about Halo. COD Vanguard and BF2042 are bad on their own.

[@WayStedYou]

Like what else do they expect him to cover around the launch of infinite lmao

[@MrTylertherockstar]

I think one big problem is that they have this fixation on how “Forerunner” architecture should look, and are afraid to get away from it. They forget that lorewise, the Forerunners spanned the galaxy and could have different looks and visuals, and there’s no reason to not have time be an influence on the architecture. Like maybe we have decaying structures from thousands of years with only sentinel upkeep, or meteor impacts from space on the rings, etc.

[@spookyfool]

To be honest, Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3 didn't have that much of a difference in designs in forerunner. Halo 2 had the stone structures but when you get to the Library or the walls that surround it they looked just like CE design but with a little more detail. Halo 3's didn't look any different either.

[@royalpain6338]

@@spookyfool To be fair most of the forerunner places we go is just either the map room or the firing control station, not saying i wouldn't want different forerunner structures and styles but it made sense that the vital structures would be similar looks and layout wise.

[@sirfrosted3374]

That comes from the backlash they got from trying to change the architecture in 4

[@MrTylertherockstar]

@@sirfrosted3374 but they didn't even change it that much. The problem with Infinite is that everything pretty much looks the same. Halo 2 was cool because you had a bunch of destroyed stuff (Quarantine Zone), and it introduced newer and more complex architecture that CE didn't have. Halo 3 introduced the grand level structures that 343 has tried to desperately hold onto because they think that's what the player base wants. Why not add different geography? Not everything has to be a green field with nice trees. CE showed that swamps were possible, 3 showed that deserts were possible. No reason we can't have frozen tundras, more tropical jungles, etc.

[@elchasqui6986]

@@MrTylertherockstar it's not only the lack of diversity, but the lack of world building. In the classic games you always got a sense of the forerunner spaces having real intrigue and purpose, which made them fun to explore. In Infinite it's like they just set out to make pretty forerunner architecture without weaving in any sort of world building. Well, there is some admittedly, but it's like they said "yeah, we already know enough about the forerunners, so there's not much new stuff we can really do with them, so we won't really bother". I hear that the Infinite ring in the novel features in features a bunch of cool areas and secrets, with ancient human settlements referenced and that palace of pain used to torture and conduct experiments on humans, neither of which we got to see in the game...

[@midshipman8654]

its amazing how you encapsulated most of my thoughts on this campaign. even the nuances and small bits like liking how cheif and Weapon act, but there is a bit MUCH of just back and forth static conversation (applies to the banished too who tend to just be long winded and say the same stuff). as well as the core gamplay being amazing, but a bit monotonous in terms of encounters.

[@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight]

Why is the structure of most 343I levels as simple as “go to terminal and shove Cortana into it to open door”? I don’t remember having to do this often in the Bungie games.

[@KingIOAccess]

Absolutely. I've been quite dissapointed by the campaign. I miss the big cinematic moments of gameplay. E.g. The covenant halo 3, the ark

[@jackcolson4745]

@@KingIOAccess Yeah the ark is my favorite halo mission of all time because of those reasons.

[@brecibros2469]

Rather go through the same corridor 50 times?

[@tokisugar]

@@brecibros2469 you literally do that in Infinite as well?

[@eliaxxz5360]

It was pretty much the same thing, check the cartographer, destroy this thing by overloading the shields. Save these marines. I think you may think they were different because the environments were more varied.

[@AutumnHouse2007]

I swear act man must be the best game reviewer on KZbin. His points are always such smart things I never noticed. And the jokes and references are on point. 11/10.

[@stevenborg102]

true but i think he overdid the jokes in this vid. too many were interrupting the pacing and points he was going through

[@shawnshawnson]

parasocial

[@Prawnsly]

yet another word that has be coopted from academic discussion to be frequently misused by internet morons. good job 👍 @@shawnshawnson

[@Shardthackeray4562]

I just watched the part were you talk about the pilot and his emotions and chief trying to remember that he is to much like a machine and forgets that sometimes people don't always feel the same way he feels, it just really made me cry after I watched it a few, I literally said "bustards making me cry and shit" cause im not usually a crier and usually hate that I cry but this made me cry so I love and hate it, if that makes sense.

[@Derekthetau]

Let it out bro! Feel that shit!

[@TrueGamer22887]

Emotional=/=good. The pilot is ready to off himself and chief, who you just admitted doesn’t really have emotion as he’s a genetically modified weapon who was raised for war, say 2 sentences to him and the pilot does a total 180. Shoehorned emotion doesn’t make it good

[@toomuchwubwub]

@@TrueGamer22887 sometimes that's all it takes. I've suffered from major depression my entire life, and sometimes 2 sentences from someone you look up to. EDIT: Is all it takes

[@TrueGamer22887]

@@toomuchwubwub I’m sure you were completely cured and did a total 180 in 2 seconds like the pilot did bud, that’s def how it works

[@toomuchwubwub]

@@TrueGamer22887 very rarely but once or twice yeah. What's with the aggression? /genuine

[@alpinegamer3329]

I want to see what’s happening on earth, like how’s UNSC main headquarters and stuff doing after Cortana, and like zoom out and give a recap of everything