This is my review and personal thoughts on Halo Infinite's Free to Play Multiplayer.
Halo Infinite is 343's latest entry into the Halo franchise since they took it over from Bungie. Let's be real and admit 343 has had a very hard time carrying on the Halo legacy from MCC issues, to the disappointment of Halo 4 and Halo 5. Then Infinite was met with huge criticism during its reveal trailer which resulted in a year long delay. Here's what's good and bad...
Look and Sound: A
The game looks and sounds really good. It truly looks and sounds like nostalgic Halo, but has that next gen crisp feel to it. I cannot fault them for how great of a job they did with the delay to really tune up the graphics.
Character Customization: B
I'm mixed on the customization of your Spartan and AI in this game. On one hand it's cool they are adding more and more transmogs but overall it's a very limited look and color palette compared to other FPS games as well as past Halos. At least there's more than just 6 different colored Chiefs running around so they at least added some customization to the game. Also the ability to choose your AI companion's voice and color is a neat touch, although we all miss Cortana. Still though, it's far from some of the PC ports like Installation01, Halo Online, Eldewrito, and Project Contingency. 343 said you would be able to customize each individual armor piece's look & color, as well as weapon skins, and the ability to re-position and re-size your weapons, but none of this has really come to fruition.Progression: B
Progression was mostly battle pass and seasonal content unlocks via playing the game and completing bounties and achievements. Unfortunately at launch this was extremely terrible and rated an F. Since huge fan backlash 343 has since fixed this a bit. However, it's still far from most modern games like Warzone, Destiny 2, etc which have better figured out how to reward players for playing the game. Earning XP from playing matches, getting wins, and completing bounties that don't require you to sabotage your team are where I'd expect 343 to focus more to get to A status.
Gameplay: A
Not many bugs and the gameplay is very smooth. I'll credit 343 for having what felt like a very smooth launch for a much anticipated free to play experience. Most new AAA titles these days are filled with bugs and server issues, but Infinite was mostly a smooth launch experience. If there's one thing they got right it was a smooth gameplay experience. The only thing I'd add is that the amount of content is extremely limited compared to other games and past Halo games. I expected more maps and game modes from the start and it isn't there yet.
User Interface: C
The UI is awful. You can tell 343 used some form of Windows forms that's used for Surface and other mobile type devices. Navigating menus is extremely painful. You can't even navigate menus while you're searching for players as it backs you out of queue. Compare that to Destiny 2 which allows you to access your menus at all times, even during load screens! The UI is also horribly organized and difficult to find what you're looking for. This looks like a UI & menu system developed by a freshman in college who has never programmed before.
Endgame: C
There's no good end game for Halo Infinite. In past Halo games you had achievements, ranks, and transmog unlocks to grind out across many social and ranked playlists. Sadly Infinite has limited playlists and little to chase in the end game, other than a rotating special event that is time gated and on an unknown rotation.
Monetization: D
Monetization of Halo Infinite is horrible. 343 even admitted the cash shop was terrible. Looking at other free to play games it's hard to find a good target to aim for but I'd pick Warzone. During Warzone's first year there was plenty in the cash shop and plenty more that was added. There was also the ability to buy the battlepass which allowed you to earn cash shop credits. You could choose to use those credits to buy the next season's battle pass or buy transmogs in the cash shop. I have yet to see another game do this very well.
Overall Grade: B-
I find myself thinking that the gameplay was very smooth and usually fun, but the lack of content, bad monetization policies, and general slow reaction to all the feedback has pulled my desire from going back into Halo Infinite. Maybe someday when they add more content (maps, weapons, game modes) I'll give it another shot. For now this ranks as my 4th favorite Halo behind Reach, Halo 3, and Halo CE.
