A month late halo infinite multiplayer beta review

Games Halo Infinite
1

A Questionably Late Halo Infinite Beta Review
By: LATECHSPARTAN

bruh that character cap is seriously way to small for this review. well, check the comments for the remainder sections.

ABOUT ME
So, I’m just providing this section to help explain my perspective. I’ve been playing halo since the CE days of old back when Xbox live didn’t exist, and I’d have to get friends together in one building to set up a good old fashion L.A.N. party. Halo CE was the first videogame I ever played as a child. You can thank a babysitter for that. I’ve been playing long enough that some of those I grew up playing with, unfortunately, are no longer with us. I’ve been jumping feet first into the campaign with my brothers and friends, on legendary since halo 2. Boy was that first jackal sniper a rude awakening. Which is the reason why I am very disappointed that coop will not be available at launch. Overall, my personal favorite halo game is halo 3. This is due to a number of reasons. But each game was fun in its own right. Though, I will admit, I liked halo 5 the least.
This game franchise is how I made some of my closest friends. For those of us that are still around, we generally end up playing halo 3 or reach in the MCC whenever we’re all able to spare the time. We’ll laugh, rage, call each other things that you can no longer say in public, and just try to make the most of what time we can have together. Some of these guys I haven’t seen in a few years. Last time I saw one he was being tasered in a puddle of his own piss at our high school prom, another when he was trying to hide from the police after a drag race, some when they walked across the stage at their college graduation, and others at their first weddings. Some are loveable misguided idiots, others are smart as can be while lacking all the understandings of common sense, and one is damn near identical to me in every way but our social lives. I’ve known all of them for almost my entire life and am guilty by association at this point. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

GENERAL
In general, the beta was a solid hit. I did experience frame rate issues and some connection issues. I am unsure if the connection issues were on my end or not. I will elaborate on the more specific issues I had further on in this document.

Scope glare
For the love of God this needs to be cut. You’d think that the human race would have perfected the kill flash since its introduction with the ACOG back in the 1980s/1990s for the us military. This is meant to help balance the game, but it removes any advantage of using a scoped weapon for combat at a distance. The older halos all used tracers with a very defined trail that was easy to follow. Removing a sniper’s ability to hide completely kills the play style. The scope glare was a beacon to all saying “hey look at me! I’m shooting at you from over here 9am to 5am every week but only during business hours!”
I think the flash needs to be removed. Not a bad idea. It’s been implemented in other games. But its implementation here was poor. This is halo, you don’t have to give scope glare like every other shooter. Halo sets the trends and doesn’t follow them.

TTK
Overall, the time to kill seemed rather quick. It could be that the shields are weaker or that weapons are stronger/haven’t been fully balanced yet. But some weapons were definitely more effective than others.
Hit detection/hit boxes
I did notice hit detection issues with some weapons and even the fusion coils. While riding in the gunner seat of a warthog a fusion coil passed right through my character. Hopefully this will get fixed.

Physics
Overall, the game physics were on point and definitely reminded me of the older halos in many ways. There’s definitely some polish work needed. But things are looking really good!

GRAPHICS
The graphics are awesome. The art style is definitely more reminiscent of the older halo games. Which is the right decision in my opinion. I feel that the halo 4 and halo 5 armors more or less kinda looked like heavy armor power rangers. So far, I absolutely love what I see. Good job 343! You certainly beat my expectations on this one. I’m glad to see the old art style being favored again. I do hope that the phoenix on a shield emblem along with the background shield emblem return. I’ve been rocking that since halo 2. I was disappointed when it wasn’t in halo 4 and I was so put off by halo 5 that I never got far enough to unlock it if it was even in that game to begin with.

Friend or foe
For the most part I did not have trouble determining who was on the other team and who wasn’t. I do have an issue with how brightly the shields glow when they take damage. Yes, it’s nice to see where I hit the opponent. But I don’t think they need to glow so much that everyone else can see them from a mile away. Still a cool idea, it just needs to be tweaked a bit.

Motion tracker
I found the motion tracker seemed a shorter range than previous iterations. But that is manageable. My biggest gripe is that the motion tracker no longer displayed if someone was above or below you. This would result in some confusion that is avoidable.

Thoughts on AI and announcer voice
Overall, I like the idea of the personal AI. Personally, I would love to make my own custom one. But that would be with the end goal of making it as toxic as the lobbies of 2007 could be. Mostly for nostalgia.
But I do miss hearing Chris Scullion announce my sprees in BTB. How will I know if I’m doing well if its just the small voice of an AI cheering me on and not the exhilarating announcer shouting that I’ve killed my 5th opponent with a charge of buckshot to the back of their skull.

Player collision and friendly fire
I truly do believe that player collision and friendly fire need to return. I think it ultimately helps teamwork when people have to watch their lanes of fire. While playing I would have teammates routinely block my shots because they would move Infront of me with no concern for whatever I’m shooting at. I did find this annoying. friendly fire makes players think twice about their movements and actions. It helps build teamwork and communication skills. If someone is greifing someone it should just eventually give the option to boot them. Just like in the old days. Friendly fire puts hair on your chest and just remember, friendly fire is always smiling.

HUD
I thought the HUD was crisp and clean. Though I do see some people complaining about placement of certain aspects of the HUD. If HUD customization is an option, I certainly would take advantage of it.

Controls
The default controls were well thought out. Certainly, the controls are a little crowded for me. But I can manage. I ended up developing my own custom control setup to support my style of play.

2

Progression
EXP issues
I had some issues with EXP not being awarded when a challenge was complete. I’m sure that will be fixed by the time the game launches.

Unlocks earn or buy
Personally, I am not a fan of battle passes. I feel like its an extra money making layer for stuff that should naturally be in a game. I understand there’s more too it but I’m just giving the short of it. I hope that the armors I desire are unlocked through experience progression and challenges like in halo 3 and halo reach. I’ve rocked the EOD helmet since halo 3 and the phoenix on a shield emblem since halo 2. I’d hate to have to pay more money than base price to acquire them.
Experience with challenges during the beta
The challenges aren’t a bad idea. But making them the only method to advance certainly is. I found myself completely breaking with my normal play style in order to complete the challenges. This created an issue where I was not always working cohesively with my team and made for an overall unfun experience.
Need for a comprehensive and understandable progression system
An understandable and reasonable progression system is needed in order to keep players engaged. Especially me. I don’t find a challenge only progression system all that enticing. All in all, a simple EXP system based off of the medals is all that’s really needed.

Movement
Base movement s****peed and balancing sprint
The base movement speed is set at a good pace in my opinion. But what I am most happy about is the reduction of the sprint speed. I am primarily a vehicle guy and halo 5’s “enhanced movement” completely destroyed the vehicle sandbox in my opinion. I’m glad its just a means to pick up the pace a little bit and lead into a slide.
Clamber
Clamber is actually the only part of Halo 5’s enhanced movement that I liked. Its something that halo has admittedly needed since its infancy. I’ve lost count of how many times my multiplayer spartan has fallen to their death because they were an inch too low and their feet just barely didn’t make it. Annoying yes, but not the end of the world.
Slide
The slide mechanic was an interesting addition to the game play. I didn’t use it all that much, but it certainly has its uses and does change things up a bit. Chaining it together with the grapple shot was entertaining.

Equipment
Drop shield strength and Drop shield size
The drop shield is certainly an interesting piece of equipment. But I could never really find a way to fit it into my play style. Its too weak to use when taking heavy fire and buys you less than a second when you need it. It also seems to be much smaller than when it appeared in the campaign trailer in 2020. Ultimately, I think the drop shield needs a strength boost. But I also would not mind seeing the old bubble shield return.
Grapple shot and becoming a 1500 pound spooderman
The grapple shot was by far my favorite piece of equipment to use. It was the enhanced mobility that one needs to go vertical without breaking the game. I’m unsure if it needs a range boost but I largely was happy with its reach. I largely used it to quickly cross open spaces to avoid attracting enemy fire or to gain a terrain advantage by taking the high ground. Sadly yelling “its over Anakin! I have the high ground!” resulted in me taking more fire than I thought. I can see many custom games based off of the grapple shot being created when forge becomes available.
Repulsor
Now this was my second favorite piece of equipment. I had a rather rude introduction to it when someone used it to block my melee attack and put me on the backfoot for the encounter. An encounter I actually ended up losing. I wasn’t even mad. I thought it was a great changeup to the sandbox and it had taken me by complete surprise. This is a piece of equipment that adds a good bit of flavor to the sand in the sandbox. I know how this sand tastes because I’ve been eating it for 20 years. Its crunchy.
Over shield
The over shield operated as expected and I have no real complaints with it outside of how brightly you glow when using it. Aside from how much you stand out I have no problem with it.
Active camo
The active camo worked as expected. I was surprised to see that I could move at full walking speed and not have to worry about compromising the cloaking effect. Overall, I like it how it is currently setup for the game.

Weapons
Overall thoughts
So far, I think the weapon sandbox is pretty good. I feel that some of the reticle bloom should be toned down on some weapons and increased on others. I do miss some of the older legacy weapons like the elite and brute plasma rifles though. I know there are probably more weapons that are in the game than what was in the beta. I look forward to seeing what those weapons could be.
Fusion coils
The fusion coil is admittedly, hands down, my new favorite weapon. The chaos that a team can create at the beginning of a match with these things is hilarious. Thanks to these I’ve already had an unforgettable moment where the entire enemy team and their mothers were throwing fusion coils at the warthog I was on the gunner seat for at the beginning of a match. The whole time I was yelling in the mic trying to tell the driver not to go that way. Damn it was fun.
S7 sniper
This rifle performed as expected. My only gripe is the god awful lens flare.
Skewer
This was definitely an interesting addition to the weapon lineup. I feel that it has a lot of potential, but it may need some more balancing. Given its just a kinetic weapon I feel it shouldn’t be one hit killing some vehicles. I also feel the spike it launches needs a little more drop. My only other gripe is the lens flare.
Shock rifle
This weapon was an interesting addition. I like the concept and implementation of it so far. I can definitely say my experience with it was quite a shocker. My only real gripe is that it suffers from that god awful lens flare like all the other scoped weapons.
Needler
I ultimately didn’t use this weapon all that much. But it seemed pretty balanced to me when using it.
Rocket launcher
I really liked the rocket launcher this time around. I’m happy to see the old launcher return. My only gripe is that I feel the rocket should travel faster. I unfortunately did not get around to attempting a rocket jump.

3

Gravity hammer
This iteration of the gravity hammer is interesting. I wasn’t able to get enough time with it to get accustomed to how it functioned. I understand that this was done to help differentiate it from the sword. But it is sluggish and powerful. It does seem like its more of an ambush weapon now instead of how I would see it used traditionally.

Plasma pistol
I’m struggling to find a good play style application for the plasma pistol. Its had the EMP effect for over a decade and that’s been removed for this iteration and the EMP effect has been given to the shock weapons. Ultimately, I found out the EMP effect had been removed from the plasma pistol just in time to become bumper food. So, I was a little disappointed there. It can still be used for the legendary noob combo. But the EMP effect was where it really shined.

Assault rifle
Overall, I liked this iteration of the assault rifle. I liked the fact that I could use it to take down 1 to 2 enemy players and actually use the weapon effectively when dealing with a larger group of opponents. But I do have one big gripe with it. It can be used a lot farther than it should be able to harass other players. Its reaching pretty far into the battle rifles range/territory. If this were changed than I would consider it pretty balanced.

Sidekick pistol
The sidekick pistol is definitely inspired by the base halo 5 magnum. It feels like a laser beam that is getting stretched out pretty far to be honest. But it absolutely shines in close quarters. Outside of its effective distance being much farther than a pistol should be, I have no issues with it. Instead of it being a pocket sniper like the M6D, this is the pocket laser.

Commando rifle
Overall, I like the commando rifle. Aside from its recoil I don’t see an issue with it. Well, the recoil and the lens flare. But the recoil is manageable for the most part. Might start calling the Commando Rifle the “CR” to speed things up a bit.

Bulldog shotgun
We went from 8 gauge to 12 gauge. There’s a lot less power in a 12 gauge. The bulldog does play its roll well. But I do miss the 8 gauge madness of the M90 shotgun. I found no balance issues with the bulldog.

Ravager
Ultimately, I did not use the ravager all that much. It certainly packed a punch but was able to be balanced by needing to lead your shots much farther and the area denial function was interesting. I don’t have enough experience with it to provide solid input on this weapon though.

Heatwave
This was an interesting new weapon. I used it to great effect in close quarters. The ability to change the angle at which the 3 bolts are launched is an interesting way to aid in using the ricochet function. I think this weapon is pretty balanced.

Pulse carbine
This seems to be the covenant/banished battle rifle in my opinion. Just closer range ant slightly tracks the enemy. It has a quick ttk but seems balanced overall.

Battle rifle
By far one of my favorite weapons of the series. The battle rifle, in a much more traditional look, has returned. I found this weapon pretty balanced overall. My only gripe, again I promise its for the last time, is the lens flare.

Shock grenade
This was an interesting grenade to use for the first time. With relying on the EMP effect for the shock rifle and the shock grenades it makes the likelihood of a vehicle being EMPed decrease. Its applications are interesting, and I look forward to developing a better strategy implementing them. I don’t see much of a balancing issue with them.

Spike grenade
This was one of my favorite grenades from halo 3 and I am overjoyed to see it return. It seemed balanced to me and worked just like I remembered it.

Plasma grenade
The plasma grenade was definitely balanced for sure and very effective. My only gripe is the lack of being able to grenade jump with them.

Frag grenade
The frag grenade was definitely balanced for sure and very effective. It has a good bounce for bouncing around corners. My only gripe is the lack of being able to grenade jump with them.

Weapons I never got to use
There were some weapons that I never had the chance to use. Those weapons are the Disruptor, Hydra, Energy sword, Mangler, Stalker rifle, Sentinel beam, and Cindershot. I know the energy sword pretty well, but I have no experience with these other weapons and can’t give much of an opinion on them. So, I will avoid doing so until I get the chance to do so.

Vehicles
Vehicle drop issues
My biggest gripe with big team battle was how the vehicles being dropped off created a camping opportunity and was generally just kind of frustrating to deal with. I could go on and on about this but I think the old/normal way of having spawn points for the vehicles and have everything available at the beginning may be the best way to go.

Vehicle destruction issues
I think the time delay and warning for the death of a vehicle is nice. But I mostly have a gripe about the destruction kinda seeming a little bland and the immediate despawning of the vehicles carcass after it explodes. I routinely use destroyed vehicles for temporary cover in the older halos, so this left me scrambling for cover farther away than I would have liked.

Wasp
In my opinion, the wasp was more like a gnat. Just a slight annoyance that can be easily dealt with. The machineguns, missiles, and health need a buff. It feels exactly like the nerfed hornet in halo 3 mcc multiplayer. Its not the most effective in locking down an area and forcing the enemy team to funnel through a different pass. Ultimately though, I do miss the hornet and the falcon. I found that they were far more condusive to my style of play when I have a team that communicates.

Banshee
The banshee actually had an issue with it being dropped off by the pelican that would cause it to spin/rotate about in random directions. This damaged my character once and I witnessed it kill another player on another occasion. Aside from that I think the banshee weapons and health need a buff. It handled well but I didn’t get enough flight time to fully judge handling.

Ghost
The ghost handled pretty well and packed a punch. It truly feels like a more aggressive ghost. It was tankier than previous versions and was very useful in BTB. I think balancing wise this vehicle is good.

Mongoose
This vehicle was light and agile. It did roll easily like the older versions, but I did find it to be a lot bouncier. This did throw off driving it a bit. I think its good over all aside from the bounce.

4

Warthog
Now the warthog is a vehicle that I hold near and dear to my heart. It’s the first vehicle you get to drive in every halo game to date and 343 you guys have done it dirty and good at the same time. It is probably the best handling warthog of the series so far outside of its inexplicable ability to bounce to the moon. Seriously, it could probably compete with space X for that government contract. I by far enjoyed the warthog the most out of all of the vehicles I got to experience in the beta. The hit box for the gunner needs a little work as I noticed fusion coils passing through me when I manned the gun. I managed to get my twin and one of my closest friends in the vehicle and go on a 3 man rampage against the enemy team. Avoiding enemy fire and crushing them under the wheels. It brought us back to a much simpler time when we drank far more mountain dew than what is meant for human consumption while gaming late into a school night. Unlike now where we drink enough alcohol or consume enough nicotine to convince ourselves everything is alright now that we’re adults with real jobs. Anyway, the chain gun has a great rate of fire but its also laser accurate, I feel like it needs more spread and maybe a damage boost. But, aside from that its rotation speed seems spot on and the ability to jump from driver seat to gunner seat is nice. Yes, I know that was added in halo 5, but I hardly played halo 5 for a multitude of reasons.
Aside from those gripes, by fire my biggest gripe is the audio/sound for the warthog. The warthog’s engine does not have the aggressiveness that it once had in the first 5 games nor the comparative audacity from halos 4 or 5. The audio for the warthog from the first 5 games is iconic and is much more pleasing than the audio used in the beta. The current warthog sounds bland, and its gun has a generic machine gun noise as well. They both need to be more aggressive. I’d mistake the current warthog for a modern 4 cylinder generic car, made by generic car company, passing me on the interstate while I’m pulled over trying to put out the engine fire on my 8 cylinder 2005 limited edition -Yoink- box.
Tank
Ultimately, I can’t give too much of an opinion on the tank. Because I was able to drive it for all of 2 seconds at the end of one match and man the machine gun turret on another while someone drove it without a clue on how to use it. Which lead to much frustration as I know they could hear me giving directions in the mic. Thus, we were unable to prevent the enemy from capturing the flag. Even though we had every opportunity to stop them. The tank is my second favorite vehicle in the halo series, right behind the warthog, and I generally use it to great effect in BTB.

Other vehicles
Ultimately, I never saw the Chopper, gun goose, razorback, rocket hog, gauss hog, passenger warthog, wraith, or puma. So, I cannot give much of an opinion on these vehicles.

Bot training
I think it’s a wonderful idea to allow for bot training. Being able to warm up is a pretty good option. The difficulties were definitely well understood and easily changed. Though I would advocate for a difficulty higher than spartan difficulty. Plus, I would love to see the option to train against bots in other game modes than slayer. Playing with friends against bots is cool too. I wish the difficulty for that could be edited though.

Social game modes
The social game modes ended up being sweatier than a 300 pound out of shape neck beard at a Louisiana mecha con. This is either from a small sample size or a heavy implementation of skill based match making. I truly hope that the tolerances for SBMM, if implemented into social game modes, is loose enough to drive a scale model of the UNSC Infinity through without scraping the sides. Now that I’m an adult, unfortunately with the accompanying responsibilities, I generally just want to get home, relax, and play some halo with those friends that are still above ground. If I want to get sweaty its gonna be on the weekends when I have more time. Though, I hope there is no SBMM in the social play lists.

Social arena
Social arena was a meat grinder. Every match I was in was neck and neck. Whether I liked it or not. This could have been due to player base/sample size or due to SBMM. Overall, I found the maps to be engaging and full of tactical opportunities. The AR worked well as a starter weapon, and it rarely crossed my mind to immediately ditch it for another weapon. Though, I did happily trade the AR or the pistol, depending on ammo count, for a BR or the new CR when the opportunity arose. I found it easy to get around the map without running into an opponent in some matches. But largely it was constant action. I was glad that the AR is able to take down two opponents with a single magazine vs how it would take almost the whole magazine in earlier titles. This meant that I wouldn’t be caught with my pants down while reloading if an opponent came to support the other opponent I just took down. Which meant I could give the next guy a good romping too.

Social BTB
Big team battle is what I live for. I was sad to see only one map, but that is completely understandable since this was a beta. I will regularly play on sand trap where I’ll drive the gauss warthog and a friend on the turret can possibly get 40 kills in the match. Well, they’ll get 40 kills if they communicate with me. It takes two to tango after all. Those wheelman sprees are something else. I liked the idea of the armories on each end of the map. But it did become a camper’s paradise as people began to learn about them.
The vehicle drop system also created a camper’s paradise. I found that it made vehicle acquisition a pain in the -Yoink-. Especially since the vehicles were dropped in the open where you could easily be picked off or a heavy weapon, such as a skewer or rocket launcher, could be used to destroy the vehicle entirely. Asset denial is key to winning a match, but that asset denial was made way too easy in my opinion. I am still a much bigger fan of vehicles being at the spawn or strategically placed around the map.
The map we had available did flow pretty naturally though. I found it to have enough variation that I could out flank the opponents if I needed to or pin down a group of opponents in a tight area with a mounted gun or vehicle. I look forward to the other maps that will be available at launch.

5

Improvements
When it comes to bugs, there are certainly plenty of small ones that need to be fixed. Many of the bugs I experienced were in the bot training though. So not in the general multiplayer. The other areas of improvement I outlined in the previous sections. Though, I am well aware this is pretty much just one drawn out op-ed. I do hope certain aspects like the scope glare is removed entirely and I do hope the warthog gets a little more attention. This betta was far beyond what I expected. Good job 343!

Overall experience
Welcome to the meat grinder! Every single match always ended up being neck and neck. It was intense. Even when I didn’t want it to be.
Community wise, I was really surprised when I heard a full lobby of people talking outside of party chat. It was like 2007 was back, just for a moment. There certainly was the toxicity of the older lobbies for sure. But there was also plenty of new blood. It was a nostalgia trip akin to a Vietnam flashback. It almost brought a tear to my eye. So, I made the logical choice, I -Yoink- talked back with all the ferocity of an alcoholic fighting for the last bottle of bourbon on the shelf of a liquor store. There’s quite a few interesting interactions I had over game chat that I could compare to the interactions I had over a decade ago during what many refer to as the golden age of Xbox live. That being the Xbox and Xbox 360 days. I genuinely hope that people talking in halo’s multiplayer game chat becomes more common again. Especially the trash talk.
Thankfully I was able to get a few of my close friends and twin brother on during the beta. It was like a breath of fresh air. We had many shenanigans occur during the beta that we will definitely remember for some time to come. We certainly had our gripes about things. But our experience was largely very positive overall. I hope to get what remains of my old friend circles together in a larger BTB lobby one day. Admittedly though, the toxicity that could flow from having all of us together on one team may result in a server being uninhabitable for some time. But only if someone else trash talks first. its comparable to a powder keg, all it takes is a match and were off to the races saying some of the most heinous words known to mankind.
Hopes, dreams, and everything that makes people cream
Now after this beta I do have high hopes for halo infinite. As stated earlier, I am disappointed that coop and forge will not be available at launch. This unfortunately means that my friends and I will have to break a tradition we’ve had since Halo 2. We’ll just have to live with it though and experience the campaigns on our own time. Though it is hard to get us all together now in days anyway. Were all spread out across the United States with only a few of us remaining in our hometown in south Louisiana. So, I do hope that coop and forge are worth the wait.
I also hope to see some of the older legacy weapons reappear. Like the SMG and both the Elite and Brute plasma rifles with all their iconic and satisfying audio. But with things being regularly added to halo infinite, I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before they are added. In general, I am not a big fan of live service games as I’ve always found them to be player unfriendly. But I will give it one last chance given what I’ve seen in this beta.
Closing
Now, I know this has drawn out long enough. Hell, if you haven’t closed out the tab or swiped to the next post you might be wishing for a lobotomy right about now. Don’t worry, I’ve been nursing off of Kurt Cobain’s microphone the whole time I’ve been typing this. So, the feeling is mutual. I view that there’s no such thing as too much feedback and data.
I need to give congratulations where they are due. 343, you have managed to recapture my attention after halos 4 and 5 flopped with me. There is quite a lot of things I see that I like, and it gives me hope that halo is back. That it will once again be at the top of the charts and not a joke. I look forward to the final product and the experiences I’ll share with my friends. No matter the distance that separates us.
The potential for this game is infinite and I look forward to the release. Now this has been a long read and I’m sure you just want it all to come to an end. Well, here it is. I’ll see you star side Spartans. Just don’t end up on the other end of my MAC gun. I got it with a preorder form REDACTED.