While waiting to answer this question in detail (spoiler: "no"), the first contact with the game reveals in any case a great quality: that of maximum accessibility. Even before we can start the adventure, the menus present us with a myriad of options that will allow all types of players to customize the experience to their liking. Caption size, interface colors, field of view, sound mix, text chat text-to-speech, voice chat to text conversion, and message display time are just a few examples of the dozens and dozens of settings available. We note all the same immediately that the launch interface of the campaign is designed to accommodate several players, while the coop mode is not available at the launch of the title. And it shouldn't happen until next year, which is obviously extremely unfortunate. Let's overcome this shortcoming, and put on the armor of the Master Chief! 
You certainly already know the introduction of the game, which reveals a Major in bad shape, because unconscious following a confrontation with Atriox having gone wrong. Luckily, the Echo 116 pilot finds our hero floating in space and puts him back on his feet. Then follows a first sequence of battles on the warship Gbraakon, then the landing on the Halo Zeta. The latter is currently in the hands of the Outcasts, led by Chief Escharum who was once Atriox's mentor. So much for the general context, which will naturally be enriched later and will also give us more information about Cortana and a certain Augur. We won't tell you more so as not to spoil any surprises, but don't expect any incredible script twists. If the story unfortunately remains quite classic, it does, however, benefit from very pleasing cutscenes. These sequences displayed in real time indeed benefit from extremely detailed facial animations. The female hologram that accompanies the Major will feel more alive and real to you than ever.
IT'S THE GRAPPLE THAT CHOSEN IT!
But enough of the suspense, the biggest highlight of the game actually lies in its fights. Which is not nothing for an FPS, you will agree! More tactical than ever, clashes always require using the right gun against the right enemies, and the right gadget in the right situation. Knowing that the weapons can be of five different types (kinetic ammo, plasma, electric, solid light or heavy) and that the Major now has five ancillary equipment, the possibilities are numerous. This "combinatorial" aspect could come into opposition with the limitation to two weapons, but the levels are fortunately full of racks in which there is only to draw. Of the five gadgets whose presence we have just mentioned, the grapple launcher is undoubtedly the most innovative for the saga and the most interesting. It not only allows free clinging to any surface (making it easier to move, explore, and platform phases), but also propel itself towards enemies to briefly stun them, temporarily remove a held shield by an adversary, or even to attract a weapon located a few meters away.
This is what really boosts the gameplay, without however distorting the feeling of "heaviness" typical of the series. The developers managed to find a perfect compromise, thanks in particular to a relatively low grapple pulling speed. The second most exciting gadget is definitely the Portable Wall, as this one-way shield stops enemy fire but lets the Major through. The threat sensor is only useful in very specific situations, since it reveals the presence of invisible enemies. Simple but effective, the shield generator simply boosts the Major's level of protection. Finally, the thrusters allow evasive lateral maneuvers to be carried out. This is certainly the most dispensable equipment (the game also offers it quite late in the campaign), but its presence is in no way a problem. Note in passing that the fights benefit from a particularly well done automatic save system. The recording is indeed frequent enough that the player never has to start a sequence that is too long. If during a confrontation against several opponents you kill a particularly powerful enemy, the game is for example immediately saved. Boss battles also get recorded at every milestone. And don't panic if you see the "saving checkpoint" message appear moments before you die, the game will recognize this and return you to the previous point on its own. Absolutely perfect !
Very static, this open world clearly lacks life. The most striking example comes from trees, which do not move a leaf when shot at with a rocket launcher or rammed by an armored vehicle. Besides, the physics of the vehicles is very questionable, some being too light and others too unwieldy.
HALO VARIANT ZETA
Now is the time to address the question of the open world, a marketing argument par excellence for too many years now. As much to say it right away, Halo Infinite's Zeta halo is based on recipes seen and reviewed in the past, especially in the open worlds concocted by Ubisoft. Thus, it is full of objects to collect (audio files serving the narration, gameplay modifier skulls, Spartan modules intended to improve gadgets, Mjolnir lockers housing cosmetic objects for the multiplayer mode, Forerunner artifacts to scan…) and resumes the famous concept of the bases to be captured. These outposts are generally defended by a few dozen Pariahs and Covenanters and allow, once the change of ownership is recorded, to order vehicles and find a few soldiers ready to follow the Major. They also act as fast travel points, and capturing them indicates nearby points of interest on the map. These take the form of allies to free, Pariah towers to destroy or VIP targets to kill, defeating the latter also allowing you to get your hands on improved weapons. A bravery point system rewards participating in these various activities, accumulating them to unlock ever more weapons, vehicles and marines in captured bases.
Nothing really revolutionary then, and it's even worse if you consider the questions of form. Very static, this open world clearly lacks life. The most striking example comes from trees, which do not move a leaf when shot at with a rocket launcher or rammed by an armored vehicle. Besides, the physics of the vehicles is very questionable, some being too light and others too unwieldy. And all tend to be disturbed by the slightest tree or rock that stands in their way. Finally, it is the indoor levels that are doing the best. We find the cold colors typical of the saga, as well as a rather pleasant gothic-futurist architecture. However, Halo Infinite retains a flaw that already appeared in Halo Combat Evolved twenty years ago: some places are copied and pasted several times, without any shame. Where is the next-gen in all of this?
TOWARDS INFINITY, AND BEYOND
If the open world does not offer anything exceptional or new (especially since it is relatively small and divided into several islands), its presence is still welcome because it makes it possible to extend the life of the single-player campaign. We completed the latter in fourteen hours, visiting only moderately the open world. It must therefore be possible to complete the adventure in eight to ten hours in a straight line or, on the contrary, to spend twenty to thirty hours freely traversing the Halo Zeta. Note also that the game gives us the opportunity to continue the exploration after the end credits. Another way to prolong the fun is naturally the multiplayer mode, which made a surprise appearance on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Xbox on November 15th. Free-to-play and therefore accessible independently of the single-player campaign, this multiplayer has the good idea of offering training with bots via the Spartan Academy and taking up certain gadgets from the main adventure, starting with the grapple launcher . It is a success, and we can only advise you to try it for yourselves. This separation between the campaign (paid) and the multi (free) seems to us to be beneficial to everyone. Players who don't care about singleplayer won't have to open their wallets, while those who have purchased Halo Infinite or subscribed to Game Pass will enjoy cosmetic bonuses for multiplayer, in addition to the good times spent during the adventure. Because if the next-gen promises are not kept, the game is still very satisfying!
