tl;dr: game fun, game pretty, slight problems, store bad, battle pass mixed

Infinite's multiplayer combines the best parts of the Bungie and 343 Halo games. The movement of Halo 4 and parts of 5, with the equipment system of Halo 3, and a nice mingling of the gunplay of both of them. And it's not a bad looker, either. While I never actually despised the art style of 4 and 5, I thought it was far too great a departure from the original and Infinite's style sees somewhat of a return to it. It's not a complete return to Bungie's style, but an evolution of it with 343's own spin, which I do like.

The core experience is just as stellar as many of the other Halo games. Fighting over power weapons is fun and tense as people run for them at the start of matches. And the new equipment they've given us to play with adds so much to the thrill of it. Not much compares to grapple-hooking an enemy Spartan and flying towards him so you can slice them with an energy sword. Or popping their shields before splattering them against a wall with the repulsor. Or blocking the incoming grenade of an enemy with a drop wall. Or jumping back from an enemy with a gravity hammer using the thrusters. Or the... threat sensor. Alright that's a bit lackluster but the rest are very fun to use, even though the grapple hook obviously steals the show.

But not everything is perfect. The lack of player collision in regular game modes feels odd, to say the least, and something I wish would return. Similarly, the removal of friendly fire from casual games, while understandable, does feel a little bit odd. It means that players don't have to think as much when they're engaging with enemies since there's no worry about hitting teammates. Some might enjoy this, others may hate it. Me? I'm on the fence.

And it's no secret that the progression system is in need of work, though as of now they have announced they are working on adjusting that, which is very good for the future of the game. Similarly, while I'm not a fan of battle passes, 343's approach to them in that they never expire and can be bought and worked towards at any point is a very good design choice. It eliminates much of the FOMO aspects that other games have.

But the cost of certain armor pieces and colors in the store is rather ridiculous, to say the least. Not only that, but the new armor coating system is rather annoying. It wants to be similar to Destiny's shader system, but it has all of the baggage of that system with little of the perks, at least right now. I would much rather the coating system be used for different patterns and camos on armor and allow the colors to be customized freely. I would also rather there not be so many pieces of armor locked in the store.

The armor core system, while not a bad idea on paper, is also somewhat frustrating. Because if I like a chest piece from, say, the Mark VII core, but the helmet of a Mark V core, I can't wear them together. Additionally, the coating system suffers here, as well, since coatings only apply to certain armor cores. While these issues do not hurt the moment-to-moment gameplay experience, they do hurt the overall experience.

Despite these flaws, I would definitely recommend this game if you're at all interested in FPS games. I'd advise against buying into any of the cash shop items until the issues of pricing and customization are addressed.

tl;dr: game fun, game pretty, slight problems, store bad, battle pass mixed Infinite's multiplayer combines the best parts of the Bungie and 343 Halo games. The movement of Halo 4 and parts of 5, with the equipment system of Halo 3, and a nice mingling of the gunplay of both of them. And it's not a bad looker, either. While I never actually despised the art style of 4 and 5, I thought it was far too great a departure from the original and Infinite's style sees somewhat of a return to it. It's not a complete return to Bungie's style, but an evolution of it with 343's own spin, which I do like. The core experience is just as stellar as many of the other Halo games. Fighting over power weapons is fun and tense as people run for them at the start of matches. And the new equipment they've given us to play with adds so much to the thrill of it. Not much compares to grapple-hooking an enemy Spartan and flying towards him so you can slice them with an energy sword. Or popping their shields before splattering them against a wall with the repulsor. Or blocking the incoming grenade of an enemy with a drop wall. Or jumping back from an enemy with a gravity hammer using the thrusters. Or the... threat sensor. Alright that's a bit lackluster but the rest are very fun to use, even though the grapple hook obviously steals the show. But not everything is perfect. The lack of player collision in regular game modes feels odd, to say the least, and something I wish would return. Similarly, the removal of friendly fire from casual games, while understandable, does feel a little bit odd. It means that players don't have to think as much when they're engaging with enemies since there's no worry about hitting teammates. Some might enjoy this, others may hate it. Me? I'm on the fence. And it's no secret that the progression system is in need of work, though as of now they have announced they are working on adjusting that, which is very good for the future of the game. Similarly, while I'm not a fan of battle passes, 343's approach to them in that they never expire and can be bought and worked towards at any point is a very good design choice. It eliminates much of the FOMO aspects that other games have. But the cost of certain armor pieces and colors in the store is rather ridiculous, to say the least. Not only that, but the new armor coating system is rather annoying. It wants to be similar to Destiny's shader system, but it has all of the baggage of that system with little of the perks, at least right now. I would much rather the coating system be used for different patterns and camos on armor and allow the colors to be customized freely. I would also rather there not be so many pieces of armor locked in the store. The armor core system, while not a bad idea on paper, is also somewhat frustrating. Because if I like a chest piece from, say, the Mark VII core, but the helmet of a Mark V core, I can't wear them together. Additionally, the coating system suffers here, as well, since coatings only apply to certain armor cores. While these issues do not hurt the moment-to-moment gameplay experience, they do hurt the overall experience. Despite these flaws, I would definitely recommend this game if you're at all interested in FPS games. I'd advise against buying into any of the cash shop items until the issues of pricing and customization are addressed.