Master Chief’s latest adventure opens in media res, with his defeat at the hands of a Brute warlord and the destruction of the UNSC Infinity. The balancing act works, and this is the best a Halo game has felt in over a decade. Equipment like the incredibly satisfying grappleshot, open-world elements that inject increased opportunities for exploration, and freeform base assaults that challenge players to think creatively – all of these and more help the formula stay fresh and relevant.

Simultaneously, 343 Industries’ new game charts its own course. Whether it’s the satisfying stick of a plasma grenade, the haughty cries of a sword-wielding stealth Elite, or the gradual discovery of a mysterious Halo ring, Infinite is an homage to Combat Evolved, 20 years after that first release. As one of the most recognizable “feels” of play, it’s confidently nostalgic and rooted in an established legacy, ably recalling the earliest games in the series. Halo Infinite walks a narrow line between old and new and does it with as much success as I’ve seen from a game. But no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and I’m eventually scaling the outer fort wall and dropping into a nest of entrenched Brutes, as the familiar rattle of my assault rifle begins to clear the way. While my marines disembark and charge ahead, I grapple up into the nearby hills and begin to pick off Jackals with a unique variant sniper rifle – spoils of an earlier conquest.

With each explosive cannon blast, the outer sentries prove they’re not much of a threat, but my foes have prepared for this approach, and the narrow mountain path hits a blockade. I rumble along in the armored cocoon of my Scorpion tank, scaling an elevated path to the Banished stronghold.

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