Before I start I want to say that I am not playing campaign until co-op is out. So please, no spoilers. This is purely about the gameplay.
So, my GF and I were playing through the “beta” last month. I think that the base gameplay is good, the weapons I feel were more balanced in the flights than they were now. However, I’m going to be as objective as I can and not let my opinions get in the way.
I’m not talking about the cosmetic issues.
Or the shop’s prices.
Or the nature randomized game mode playlists (yes I saw the tweet. Its coming Tuesday)
Or even the number of maps.
I’m leaving out what isn’t in the campaign.
Without forge to create a steady stream of new multiplayer maps, the matches I play are already getting stale. Like, oh boy, another game of odd ball on Streets. another CTF on Aquarius.
Maybe the game mode problem would have been solved with custom games, but the menu is broken and all of the options are not there.
The randomized vehicles and weapons help a little bit with trying to keep each match varied, but with the small (but way better balanced than the other Halos) sandbox of weapons, its all the same. I know that “at X location I will get a plasma carbine. Y location is always a sentinel beam. Z location is either BR or Commando” it isn’t completely “random” Its a weapon type. Fiesta was fun for a little bit. But the maps are the same and the sandbox is small so I was bored again.
Speaking of the maps, its not the number that bugs me, its the design. Recharge and live fire just feel like mirror-flipped versions of each other. They don’t look like it, but they play like it. Aquarius, Streets, and Bazar are all just 3-lane maps. I got tired of 3 lane maps in COD Ghosts. I already dropped that franchise. Fragmentation, Highpower, and Deadlock are effectively just vehicle race tracks with some player cover on the outside and middle. Behemoth is like a mix of the race track and 3 lane. Launchsite is interesting in theory, but the only game mode it works with is 1 flag CTF. Instead of being a circle its a diagonal line with one side having a shortcut. There is potential, but it is limited.
And the vehicles…
I only played with a scorpion once. During the flights. I never even touched a wraith yet. My old favorite was the chopper, but the vehicles are so messed up I don’t want to use it. I don’t even want to use the other vehicles either because the balance is off. And the BTB maps don’t really support the vehicles Halo has. They are more like race tracks than a battlefield.
Then I get jumped back to the menu where I see challenges that tell me to play more to get a tiny itty bitty reward.
Infinite was fun when it was new, but I feel like the “beta” has made this game already overstay its welcome.
Again this is putting my opinions aside, but those opinions stack onto the game as it is now too.
Objectively, the quality and quantity of content for launch leaves much to be desired. It makes the game boring.
Then subjectively, how it feels like the game keeps pushing “buy this” in my face makes me feel insulted for what little time I do spend. I keep thinking “Its one thing that you’re charging $20 for an armor set. Or $5 for a color and 4 slices of 1 emblem. But $10 for 6 months of my time for at least 2x that and continually reminding me about that $20 set while the game itself is boring. Is this a joke?”
Its like the game is subconsciously telling me that I should feel obligated to spend my money and time on it and that I should feel thankful for the game “rewarding” me for putting up with it. I shouldn’t feel thankful for dropping $20 on a digital space flower. and I don’t feel thankful for sending $10 expecting to be bored for the next 6 months. I was excited to grab the ODST armor and the Superintendent AI, but just like the wraith I never drove, I don’t think the game will ever let me get that far. Its all out of my hands so why should I bother?
I’ll play Tuesday when the playlist and challenges are updated, I want the game to be better. But I felt no urge to play infinite in the last week and a half. Even before then, it was intermittent. Considering the next season is still 6 months away, unless they drop a big update in between then and now (which doesn’t seem to be the case. Big updates look like they will only come with seasons. not when they are needed.) I’m not going to keep playing regularly. Over a year later, I still boot up Doom Eternal once a week to check things out. I only bought the deluxe edition, everything else has been free! I was hoping Halo Infinite would have been like that.
