I'll always have a soft spot for the slow, floaty jumps of the Bungie Halos. Without full-on sprinting, thrusters or jetpacks, Infinite isn't as hectic as 4, 5, or even Reach-but the introduction of more informal movement tools has a huge effect on how firefights play out. But the maps open up a whole lot more once you realise every ledge can be mantled, every slope a chance for a slight speed boost. You're not nipping around like a Titanfall pilot.

You're still a slow, bulky super-soldier, of course. But immediately upon switching to keyboard, my Apex Legends muscle memory kicked in, and suddenly I was slide-hopping off every incline. Halo's always been a gamepad shooter, and that's how I approached Infinite at first. Yes, I was as upset as anyone at seeing them put sprint in my beloved Halo, but it's such a minor speed boost that it feels almost unnoticeable-except, of course, when it comes to sliding. Even the Pulse Carbine finds a place beyond just being 'the alien Battle Rifle', instead firing slower plasma bursts that veer towards opponents.ģ43 has long experimented with making Halo movement a little more interesting, and I think they may have cracked it here.

Old favourites have been tuned to fit better into the overall sandbox (the Assault Rifle feels viable now, while the Battle Rifle is no longer the absolute go-to weapon), while new weapons find their own interesting niches-from the rapid-fire Bulldog shotgun to the Skewer, a hefty, brutal thing that fires massive railroad spikes through people. New to the series, these incredibly-named AI opponents (opens in new tab) only just put up a fight-but while almost every match was a steamroll, they gave us a chance to experiment with Infinite's new arsenal in a live setting.įar from the redundant bloat of Halos 4 and 5 (which saw three entire 'factions' of different-coloured shotguns, assault rifles and SMGs) Infinite's weapons feel tight and balanced. The weekend let us play team slayer matches across three maps (Live Fire, Reactor and Bazaar) against bots.

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