I realise 343 were in the unenviable position of needing to make a good Halo game, but given they did so, they needed to convince people to actually try it, and so we got this free-to-play deal. It's a real shame because the core game feels like classic Halo with a respectable bit of Reach and 4 thrown in, and I would love to be able to just buy it and avoid the horrible monetisation dreck we're left with.

The battle pass progression feels extremely predatory, and despite a welcome post-launch change to add experience for each played game, the fact that without going premium there are many levels where you get absolutely no reward feels completely ghoulish. Even a handful of armour customisation options available from the jump, or unlocked in-game would alleviate this problem, but Microsoft have clearly seen the whales on the horizon and that's now the focus.

All that being said, the core gameplay is fantastic, a real return to form for the series. Guns feel and sound great, the mechanics work how they ought to, and it's just downright fun. Jumping in a fire team with friends is a great time, and well worth the time. Some of the newer game types feel a bit off - what the heck is a power seed, anyway - but the gameplay itself is so solid that really doesn't matter too much.

Gamepad input is a bit weird, and I'm struggling to dial in the settings just how I like, I think there might be a bit of an aggressive deadzone making things feel pretty coarse.