I love this game. Graphics and art style? Amazing. Gun play? Amazing. Maps and sandbox? Amazing. True evolution of Halo’s core gameplay done amazingly well. You can absolutely see that this game was a labor of love on the part of the devs. But the MTX for cosmetics is abhorrent. None of those armor coatings/pieces are worth $10-$20 each. I definitely won’t be buying any premium store content until they make prices more agreeable. I’m talking $5 MAX for a full armor set. These companies keep monetizing minor customization at prices that a lot of players (especially FTP) are not willing to pay. And like I said, are simply not worth the artificial price tag that 343 (or Microsoft) has put on said items. With the battle pass having a focus on Reach’s armor customization, it’s completely greedy to put most of the good unlocks from that game behind a ridiculously high paywall.
And let’s not forget the complete lack of choice when it comes to actually playing in match made games. I’m one of the players that has mainly played swat in every game since 3. The fact that I can’t even choose a base Slayer gametype for matchmaking is nowhere near an ideal MP system, especially when you translate that fact to all other gametypes. Which, itself, is a problem that bleeds into problems with the battle pass and progression.
If you can’t get the gametype you need for a challenge, then it’s essentially a wasted game. A lot of people are trying to progress through the pass because it’s the ONLY progression in the game, and the only (cheapish) way to get what seemingly few armor customizations there actually are available. That being said, the BP itself is extremely underwhelming and has too much filler content. Armor kits are effectively worthless when you should be giving us each individual piece of a characters armor from the BP like we were lead to believe. Challenge swaps for days, even though they shouldn’t even exist (playlist problems make them necessary when you’re actually trying to progress the BP). There’s just too much crap and not enough content in it.
There’s very few problems I have with the gameplay itself, one of which is lack of player collision. It’s something that has done nothing but screw me over on several occasions. Teammate walks through me as I’m throwing a grenade? It bounces of them back to me. Lining up a shot with a sniper just for a teammate to phase through me as I’m firing. Completely passing through an enemy as I’m trying to getting a back smack, just for them to back smack me (even getting back smacked from the front for no reason). Collision needs to be implemented ASAP.
The other problem I have with gameplay is vehicles. They’re all pretty weak (except for tanks). Banshee/Wasp down in 2-3 sniper shots? Really? Plus some of them maneuver like a piece of styrofoam (like the Mako from Mass Effect. There’s no weight to the ground vehicles. Splatters don’t work right on anything except the Ghost. Chopper doesn’t slam through vehicles like it’s supposed to which makes it kinda worthless.
I’m really not trying to hate on Infinite or 343 here. And the hate and toxicity others have been giving them is unacceptable. Developing a game with as large a scope as Infinite is a ton of work, which the devs have noticeably been putting in. Like I said at the beginning, I love this game and believe it to be a true and proper evolution of Halo’s core gameplay mechanics. Art style is absolutely on point. 343 have obviously put a ton of work and effort into creating this game. After 4 and 5, I was wary of new additions to the series but so far, gameplay wise, I’m blown away. Most of what has been done with Infinite is exactly what the fan base asked for. There’s just niche but glaring problems that shouldn’t have been a part of the game to begin with. I’m extremely excited for the campaign launch, and am looking forward to proper changes being made to MP to make it a much more enjoyable experience. I know these aren’t new opinions exclusive to me, that they have been rehashed by the community for weeks. I’m just another fan who’s been with the series for 20 years, watching it grow and evolve into some truly amazing experiences. I want this to be the pinnacle Halo experience. I just don’t know how many more times you can shoot yourselves in the foot with horrible business practices and changes to the series, and still have the community support you.