The best thing Halo: Infinite's campaign's got going for it is that Halo's combat is great, but I am unimpressed by the open world. It's a standard Ubisoft type of open world game but unlike Ubisoft's open worlds, Halo: Infinite's world is empty. It's just a large battlefield to run around end filled with enemies. There are no characters to meet or side stories to engage in. It's just combat. I definitely felt the emptiness and repetitiveness when playing this game. The story didn't grab me either.

They pretty much skip over everything the set up at the end of Halo 5: Guardians to tell a story similar to Halo: Combat Evolved. There's a new ring, some enemies are trying to use it to attack Earth, and Master Chief is the only one who can stop them. There are two major characters that interact with Chief in this story, and I didn't care for any of them. The Weapon is the new upbeat and perky version of Cortana, and I found her unamusing. The other character is the pilot who came off too whiny. Master Chief I did enjoy here as the most experienced soldier who is straight forward and always on mission. Chief juxtaposed against the Weapon, who is a newly created A.I., and the pilot, who is scared and wants to go home, comes off as wise and brave. His ability to keep pushing forward against ridiculous odds is inspiring. The issue is the story keeps hitting that same beat over and over again.

The world is filled with audio logs, and I didn't bother listening to all of them. There were way too many of them. There also Spartan Cores scattered around the world that can be used to upgrade Master Chief's equipment. Master Chief has 4 equipment/abilities in this game, and I mostly only used the grapple shot which is a great new addition to the game. Outside of using the sensor in cases to detect invisible enemies, I didn't bother much with the other equipment and got through the game fine.

The multiplayer is Halo which seems to be what everyone wants. I always found Halo to be fun, and it's still fun. I've been having a good time playing with my friends. There are things that I've never liked about the multiplayer that are still intact here though such as Big Team Battle and vehicles (which all suck to use in the campaign except for the Ghost). There is a non-Big Team Battle playlist thankfully, so I played there most of the time. I wish there were more filter options though, so I can jump into a Team Slayer match when that's all I'm in the mood for or to remove game modes I don't like.

Halo: infinite is really good, but it feels like there should've been more here. I don't see this as a step up from Halo 4 and 5 as I've heard it preached as.

Thank f*ck for that. Halo Infinite's single player is meticulously created and it shows. Gone are the nonsensical lines of dialogue and stories which leave you out in the cold regarding the expanded universe stuff (I'm looking at you, Halo 5). As soon as the campaign begins, you are plunged into a state of mysterious peril. The mystery is gradually unravelled as you are fed bits of information as the game progresses, and the good thing is that it all makes sense and even sometimes explains itself for those who have not been following the Halo story as diligently as 343 Industries.

As for the gameplay, it is the perfect version of a tried-and-tested recipe. Put simply, it's basically Far Cry but in the Halo universe and with fantastic level design that is reminiscent of Halo games of old. If you've been around for a while, thing of "Silent Cartographer" made into a game and you won't be disappointed. The physics and mechanics are similar to those in Halo 5 (save for the Spartan slam or whatever it's called), which is to say that the game is sharp and balanced. The tools are your disposal for exploration are useful, with vehicles and the grappleshot helping you navigate the world. The best thing about Halo Infinite's world is that it's not full of the "fat" that comes with some open-world games. There is enough optional stuff to do, and it's actually beneficial, giving you new weapons, vehicles, fast travel locations, upgrades, and the like. And if you really can't be bothered with all of the exploring and capturing of outposts, then you really don't have to do it if you don't want to. The optional stuff takes nothing away from a stellar campaign but adds a whole lot of immersion if you want to embrace it.

I have few complaints with the game at present, but maybe the most annoying is the fact that you can't change the difficulty of the game once you've started it, along with the fact that you can't replay campaign missions without starting all over again. I suspect that these will be addressed in the future, but at present, they are inexcusable and the only consolation is that you can power through the campaign pretty quickly if you don't do the optional stuff. I take that as a good thing as I'd rather a great game that is mostly action-packed and worthwhile than a longer game with more arduous stuff to do.

In summary, I think this might be the best Halo campaign yet. An immersive world, amazing level design, and a story that the vast and meticulous expanded universe both deserves and contributes to. Anyone could appreciate the gameplay, but I'm afraid that you would have to be a fairly knowledgeable Halo fan to truly understand everything, such is the depth of the expanded universe and storytelling. For me, that adds to the experience, but for everyone else, fear not - you won't be left out in the cold. Like I said, the game mostly explains itself and its context over time so it results in a hugely enjoyable game that has been worth the wait.