I love this game, but I won't deny its problems. The story and score are honestly a peak Halo experience for me, the Campaign was great despite problems such as the art style and sometimes repetitive nature of the level design, but a lot of other problems prevent a higher score. The multiplayer is enjoyable for me personally, however it was a misfire and not on the level of classic Halo gameplay. The Spartan Ops mode was OK and had potential, but was a meagre replacement for the Firefight mode and failed to provide that level of entertainment. The Forge mode was also still acceptable, but doubtless a large downgrade, ESPECIALLY from the incredible Forge World to the somewhat mediocre Forge Island. I don't hate this game, far from it, but it could and should have been better in a lot of aspects.

Honestly, if it wasn't for Forge and the Custom Games Browser, this game would get a 1 star. The Forge is doubtless the best in the series, and while the art style is inferior to 3 and Reach, the Forge mode itself is an incredible tool that has set the new standard for the series. CGB is a great feature first introduced here, and thanks to the possibilities allowed by Forge and decent custom games options, it's a wonderful Halo experience. That's where my praise ends. The story is an absolute joke and an insult to the series. The campaign is repetitive, and the new Promethean Soldier enemy type ruins the excellent trichotomy the faction had before. Multiplayer is enjoyable in itself, but as a Halo game it utterly fails, being more a cross between Call of Duty and Destiny. Loot-boxes ruin customisation, and 343i continued to prove they can't design original armour to save their lives, with almost no original design armour in this game being anything other than embarrassing shite. Then there's the lack of features, with Split screen Co-op (A series staple and a major reason it exploded in popularity) being gone, and Forge (easily the game's best feature) not even releasing at launch. This was the lowest point for the series... then Infinite came out.

This game was supposed to be THE Halo game. We waited 6 long years, for what essentially feels like a Beta released at full AAA price. There are so many things in this game that have so much potential. But that's the word - potential. And a lot of it was squandered. There's a lot to love here, but also a lot to hate. The open world concept worked in some aspects, but majorly left things feeling boring and repetitive after just 10-20 hours... Whereas the classic games I could play literally the same level several times in a row without becoming bored. The story is a mess, to say the least. While not quite Halo 5 levels of insulting disgrace, it's a garbled disjointed mess that feels like a bizarre cross between a prologue to a better narrative, and a sequel to a game that doesn't exist. Seriously, 343i, get new people in charge of this franchise. The ones heading it right now are just not even close to up to it.