First, let me say that I appreciate being invited to play Halo Infinite prior to launch and I’ve had a great time in the games I’ve played.
I think the basic gameplay is fantastic and I was able to get totally immersed very quickly. My gut reaction was and is, I can’t believe it, they got it right, they nailed it! Movement speeds(run and normal), the Master Chief jump, the “beatdown”, weapon swaps, reloads, all that stuff felt great! I can’t believe how much fun I was having. A review I watched referred to the gameplay as “modern classic” and I think that fits.
I want to say here that I also appreciate that there aren’t any loadouts in the game. Anything players want has to be obtained from the map. Perfect.
Alright, so those were some positives for me, and there were many, but now I want to mention a couple things which I think are holding the game back:
1.Reluctance or even refusal to let players have a battle rifle. This has been an issue ever since it was taken away in Halo Reach. I only managed to find one a couple times. Maybe I just don’t know the maps well enough yet. Of course with the AR being effective at very long ranges I don’t know why anybody would pick one up. This is a borderline deal breaker for me and I can’t imagine that I don’t have plenty of company here.
2.Maps, maps, maps. Now this issue is one that I have seen a few people mention on Youtube, so I know I’m not alone on this one. All Infinite maps except one I have seen are claustrophobic boxes. Every map, in every Halo game, is in fact a box, an enclosed arena, with finite bounds. But look at Halo 3, look at how cleverly, and artistically, those boxes are hidden! The play spaces were limited, but offered fantastic views of alien vistas that were so well done it was easy to get killed while sightseeing. Also, the maps I’ve seen in play testing Infinite offer few landmarks for players to use to orient themselves. Without landmarks I believe the tactical aspect of the game suffers. In most early Halo maps it really wasn’t much of a mystery where the opposing team was. It was about tactics and having some sort of a plan (individually or as a team) on how you were going to go after them. I don’t think I can emphasize the importance of good maps enough. On the multiplayer side of the game I believe it’s the thing players remember most. This current crop of maps is forgettable.
Alright, that’s my two cents, and I’m sorry if it sounded a little harsh at the end, but I wouldn’t even bother if I didn’t think the game was great and had the potential to be even better, maybe the best one yet.