7/10
+ Great foundation to build out from for years
+ performance is solid
+ sandbox is good but needs some tweaking
+ visuals are great
+ equipment is very well implemented
+ bot matches are awesome to warm up or fool around in
+ academy is a nice touch and very well made, easy to expand further
+ solid settings/controls to tweak things
+ ranking system is clear and simple
+ attention to detail is great e.g. doors to hack for loot, flag/items can carry on hog
+ weapons feel satisfying to use
+ movement is solid and strafe is effective
+ Halo craziness is preserved and promoted e.g. flag carrier on a wasp or throw a fusion coil
- no server region selection e.g. Australia only (deducted a whole point for this stupid shit)
- UI sucks, everything is clicks away and generally just worse than previous game entries, it also blackouts sections, isn't clear for the action you want
- bigger fireteams cannot be joined sometimes, xbox party chat/friends doesn't sync with the game or what friends are doing in real time
- quick resume sucks and requires a reboot to find matches
- audio is too weak, even when changing to compressed audio or dolby atmos or anything, Apex does this waaaay better
- esports vs BTB chaotic, they cut classic 4v4 maps again like Halo 5
- damage is too dependent on network connection quality, some games you go +10 and the next -10, purely on hit registration
- crossplay is forced in some modes, especially now PC cheats for wallhacks and aimbots are out already
- visual feedback is too much
- too much CQC and constant engagement e.g. what happen to clean maps The Pit? It's all clamber, turn one corner and fight.
- needs more maps (not esports focused and BTB needs cleaner larger open areas) e.g. standoff, less esports oddball and strongholds on quick play
- aiming is inconsistent/glitchy randomly
- many systems in MCC that have taken years to refine are just missing
- waypoint website has no stats on overall player or game history specifics
- slide sucks and doesn't carry any momentum e.g. slide down a huge hill and come to a full stop quickly still
- vehicles too light and die too quick
- banshee isn't a one shot bomb kill anymore
- grenade splash damage is too much, feels like tied to networking latency/prediction issues more than anything
- lacks player filters e.g. slayer only or objective only, I do understand their attempts to push a mixed playlist though from historic data
- lacks other ways to play e.g. BR mode, firefight, something new e.g. RTS leader or group leaders issuing mini-fireteam commands based on the intro animation groupings, they could have had respawn via somewhat controllable ODST drop pods (especially BTB) and not gone full BR
- ping system compared to Apex's wheel options is far less communicative and strategic in game or stacked fireteams