Recent reviews by Elysi

I are win

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Add Patrick Bateman
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Also join
Darling Dots
For sane people like Bateman ♥

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"You, Jack. You carve your own path, use whatever methods you see fit...
.... Deep inside we're... kindred spirits... you and I..."
- Senator Armstrong


Buy the soundtrack and jam out to "Rules of Nature", "The Only Thing I Know for Real", "A Stranger I Remain", "Red Sun"....
and "It Has To Be This Way" along with all the other bangers.

Don't forget you get a whole S - Tier game with this purchase too!

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"Lets dance!"

♥ ᴀᴠɪʀᴀᴛʜ

As someone whose 700/700 achievements in Halo MCC...

Hello all - Welcome to my review of Halo Infinite prior to the campaign that releases in 4 days.


First, some history.

I've been a player of Halo since 2001, I was introduced to the franchise at a very young age. My parents gifted many different consoles during my youth - however, Xbox always stood out... why?.. Halo.

2004 came along and my Dad took me to Best Buy to cop the limited edition Halo 2. My first steel book! I can't tell you how many times I replayed Outskirts and Metropolis in Halo 2 for fun and... for the out of bounds stuff too. Getting the scarab gun was a pastime. I loved to wraith jump and sword fly on various levels - especially Foundation, Turf, and of course... Headlong. When I obtained the multiplayer DLC for Halo 2, for some reason, my cousin and I loved dying by train. I did not get Xbox Live until Halo 3 released.

So, Halo 3 released - My Dad surprised me with the Legendary Edition... Still being rather young (I think I was 10), I tore the box to shreds to unveil the helmet and game. Yes, I am now aware that the box had a cool poster lining it and the art was cool. Luckily, a few years ago, a friend of mine gave me his nearly unscathed complete Halo 3 Legendary Edition box and helmet. (So I have 2 Helmets now) Xbox Live was as gnarly as you may have heard back in 2007 - I may have contributed to that nostalgia many of us have from that time. The campaign was a perfect end to the trilogy - Master Chief's story most certainly could have ended there, but it is my hope that Infinite justifies the past two games. Speaking of Infinite - I wonder where the playlist variety from Halo 3? Where's the forge and custom games I spent many months simply enjoying?

Halo 3 ODST is a visceral experience. An experience I'd more than invite 343 to try and rival. ODST is a story that happens between Halo 2 and 3. ODST is evidence that the franchise can stray from the Master Chief. I enjoyed ODST as much as I enjoyed any main line game prior to its release. ODST also brought Firefight - a mode that has not been done justice since its original release. It is arguably a selling point for the title - I wish the "survive as long as you can" aspect carried on in future titles.

I forgot to mention one of my favorite parts of these titles... The customization! Armor acquisition was tied to level ups and achievements! Hayabusa, the katana, and Recon armor are the most recognized armors from that time period. They were cool, and they were earned... not bought.

The Halo Reach beta came as a surprise to me as a beta key was thrown in with your purchase of ODST. A story about Spartans - a story where you knew the end in the beginning. Reach in my opinion is the strongest title in the series in it's story, style, and offerings. The story speaks for itself (go play it). If you are wondering why we see the "Heroes of Reach" battle pass for the first season of Halo Infinite - it's style is just right. What does Halo Reach have to offer? Reach offers what Halo 3 offered but better - a better forge (and a world for it "Forge World"), a better theater and file sharing system, and of course... playlist variety (look up some screenshots as the servers for these games were recently shut down).

Another strong point of Reach is its progression system. Unlike Halo 3 (I do like both systems), cosmetics were earned through a progression system governed by a few sources of cR (credits). Commendations were long time permanent "challenges" that granted large amounts of cR. Challenges are much like what we see today in Infinite - but they give cR. There was a small rng element at the end of a match where you could win a jackpot of cR - it wasn't very invasive. I'd also like to note that players gained cR based off of match performance and completion. cR was used as the players xp as well as the players currency to purchase new armor, kneepads, helmets and attachments, wrist equipment, and armor effects. Maxing out the leveling system was something very few did, but they were rewarded in kind with the Haunted Pilot helmet.

I'm aware Halo CE Anniversary exists (I did buy it), it included the Halo Reach multiplayer with all DLC much like how ODST did with Halo 3's multiplayer. I don't have much to say about CE Anniversary as it existence was merely to celebrate. I did find it odd that they didn't bring CE's original multiplayer like how 343 did with MCC.

Halo 4 was a surprise to me in many ways. The style of the Halo games was drastically altered, and the lack of Martin O' Donnel's lovely compositions - the franchise became kind of foreign to me. I loved the story... I don't have much else to say about it. I started to get really good at Halo at this point and I found I flourished quite well online - Regicide is a wonderful game mode. The forge tools were nice but the maps weren't as grandiose at Reach's Forge World. Halo 4 started the greater trend of criticizing 343 Industry's (the new guardian of Halo after bungie left to make Destiny).

MCC launched and it was arguably one of the worst launches for a game in history. I'm sure there are plenty videos out there to better explain this than me, but MCC was absolutely not ready for release. Halo MCC had CE - 4 at launch, not to mention Halo 2 Anniversary. H2A is beautiful, the campaign, the multiplayer... the forge... amazing. I believe the forge tools saw it's peak form here as it was simple and intuitive to use, an enhancement from its previous iterations.

Insert Halo 5: Guardians launch here. (I do not want to discuss Halo 5)

MCC adds Halo Reach and ODST to it's MCC library.

Halo Franchise ports over to pc through Steam and gamepass.

Fast forward to now, MCC is thriving, it has a FREE progression system, and a FREE rotating Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) shop that exclusively uses currency obtainable in game. MCC has a plethora of matchmaking selections based on what game(s) and game type(s) you wish to play. MCC has nearly everything from every past Halo game. MCC has a custom games browser and file share. You name it.

I hope at this point this review has helped you formulate some of your own thoughts about Halo Infinite when compared to its predecessors.

Finally, my thoughts and questions surrounding Halo Infinite.

The weapon sandbox is pretty small. (maybe for easier balancing)

The new chopper sucks.

Why is there another Plasma Rifle shoe-in?

Why is previous game cosmetics in the store (especially Reach armor)?

Why are day 1 features from previous games not present day 1 in Infinite?

Why is there no leveling outside of the battle pass? Like a player rank that doesn't effect the BP.

Why is multiplayer rigged around challenges and mtx?

Halo Reach's progression system would fit well.

Halo continues to be influenced by trends set by other franchises: player movement, loot boxes (H5), f2p model.. etc.

I wanted to write this review to document how I feel about a game that my friends have already started to stop playing.
I look forward to writing a review of the campaign as well.

I'd really like this game to turn out similarly to Halo MCC - but - much sooner.


Set a fire in your heart, Spartan

Originally bought this game for my Xbox One a few years ago - and I got all 100% achievements. I liked the game so much on Xbox that I bought it again for PC - and it's even better on PC! It performs way better (especially with 60 fps).

The game is difficult, but it is worth the buy if you want a nice learning curve. Be patient with yourself.
No one is good at anything when they're first trying something new.

When compared to the earlier titles in the series - Dark Souls 3 stands out in my opinion as the magnum opus of the Dark Souls lore and core game-play. It's the smoothest and well thought out game in the series - it's sad that the series ends with it.

If you're interested in achievements (like me) - expect at least 100 hours (unless you get carried)
(It's okay to ask for help) No shame, check the forums. Finding the rings will kill you - Look up fextralife for guides.

Fight hard and die well - give those invaders hell. And - make sure to kill the host if you're invading - it's quite fun.

OoooOooooOOoOOooh Elden Ring.. How long must we wait for you to release?

Lest we all go hollow whilst waiting.