I’m going to go into detail about all the things I like and dislike, you will see a summary by the end though.
BTB:
This mode is fairly fun if you get strongholds or Stockpile, if you get CTF or Slayer its downright boring. Too much camping on huge maps that could fit 16v16. Map selection is poor (obviously) with only 3 maps, what matters though is that we get maps that actually play a bit differently.
Room for improvement
-Wasp is incredibly OP, needs nerf of some kind
-Chopper needs buff.
-Plasma pistol needs to get its EMP back. Vehicles are not so weak that they need to be coddled from being EMP’d, vehicles have history been absurdly strong so I feel that this would be fine.
-Remove Slayer altogether and give us something more interesting that actually encourages map movement. I’m thinking a King of the Hill mode but the hill is huge and is placed in the most contested area, basically anything would be superior to the boring garbage we see out of Slayer and CTF respectively.
Arena/HCS:
This is where Infinite shines like a Diamond in the middle of summer, it is by far the funnest and most enjoyable competitive experience I’ve had in Halo probably since Reach v7 but honestly I kind of want to put it on the level of any of the classic Halo in terms of being super fun and interesting to play. However, it is not perfect by any means.
Room for Improvement
-gametypes are a bit bland. I understand that Infinite only has like 5 actual maps but some of these are just atrotious. Slayer on Bazaar? CTF on Behemoth? Come on now. I don’t care if you need to use forge maps, for the love of Halo give us better gametypes than those two. Oddball has never been stronger than in Infinite, just an important thing to note going forward.
-Some weapons need to be removed or changed a little. Shock pistol (whatever its called) is worthless, no Skewer even though you’d think it was on Behemoth, and is the Cindershot really so OP that it cannot be in competitive settings? You could just put it top mid on Aquarius and give it low ammo idk just seems like an odd weapon to not include.
-Behemoth in general should not be in competitive, too boring no matter what you do with it I feel. Only think that I could see being fun on this map would be KOTH top/bottom mid or something idk.
General:
Infinite feels like a slower paced version of Halo 5 at its core, but has enough charm and interesting aapects to it that it stands out from other Halo titles. Its extremely early stage right now but again, this will undoubtedly be the greatest Halo within a year.
What it do right:
-Oddball. I have never had this much fun in Oddball before. It feels like an intense thrillride, easily the best gametype in Infinite and I don’t think its close.
-Weapons. Even weapons that I thought were awful at first (Commando, Sidekick, Mangler) I slowly started to grasp and appreciate just how useful they were.
-Ranking System. It was not too long ago that Halo didn’t even have a ranking system (Halo 4) so fans will be happy to know that ranks are still integral to the experience and that it seems to be pretty accurate in terms of matching you against/with similar skilled players.
-Customization in general is incredible.
-I have yet to see any cheaters in my lobbies. Now this is purely anecdotal but this is a good sign of things to come.
What it fails/underperforms at:
-lack of maps. Infinite has about 10 maps at launch. Although this is acceptable it not ideal. We need far more maps, hopefully sooner rather than later.
-lack of depth in sandbox. Halo 5 by the end of its lifecycle was jam packed with just about every weapon you’d ever need in a Halo game. This game is lacking tons of stuff. This may not be as important for 4v4, but for BTB this is pretty disappointing. No prometheans weapons at all, none of the cool variants/weapon from Halo 5 Warzone, no weapon variants in general for MP (not in BTB which is where it matters)
-awful progression system. There are challenges in this game that are just downright stupid. One of my challenges wanted me to get kills with Gungoose greandes… Please make challenges that are more generalized that don’t expect players to play a specific mode and farm for specific things. I replace some of these stupid ones with things like “get overkill” or “get a flag cap” or “hold onto ball for 30 seconds straight” you know just some things that feel like challenges and not a chore list. The game also needs just a general progression system, something like SR152 in Halo 5 or general in Halo 3, something to keep people playing outside of fun.
-lackluster playlists. No Infection? No Assault? No Warzone? seriously, give us some cool stuff to enjoy. Variety is the spice of life.
In Summary:
Infinite has a fantastic core gameplay loop. Fights are engaging, guns are challenging to master, and overall a game that just “feels” like a Halo game. If not for the maps being so different it would be easy to confuse Halo Infinite with Halo 3. I do think they’ve (sort of) nailed the magic for MP with Infinite.
Infinite is just not impressive enough in terms of scope to really wow anybody, I feel told somebody that this was a game that required 6 years they would laugh at me… It is unfair to say the game is unfinished in my opinion, I think 343i have nailed the gameplay, but it would be irresponsible to just ignore just how little content this MP is offering when you compare it to other Halos or even to other FPS games.
If anyone is familiar with me they’ll know I am anything but a 343i fan, but for the first time in a long time I can finally say that Halo is back. Maybe it’ll never be close to as popular as it once was in its prime, but the fun and the general experience just leaves me wanting more. Infinite is 343i finally reeling back their egos a bit and putting most of their work into improving classic Halo instead of subverting it.