Recently, Friv5Online conducted the first public testing of Halo Infinite multiplayer. First of all, its goal was to test the stability of servers and the performance of the game on computers and consoles. But developers also need feedback on gameplay changes and innovations. Although this version includes only a small part of what will be on the release, some conclusions can already be drawn.

First and foremost, longtime fans of the series will pay attention to how the running is implemented in Halo Infinite. In the first parts it was not at all, then it became a replaceable ability with a cooldown, and in Halo 5: Guardians it was available to everyone, without exception. Here it is also endless and can be used at any time, only the speed of running is practically the same as normal walking - the character is already fast enough.

The reason why you should use running at all is that only with it the player can tackle. Well, those who are accustomed to running in other shooters have a kind of placebo effect - it seems that if you pressed the left stick, it slipped away faster, and even the damaged shield starts to recover when running, unlike Halo 5.

The disadvantage of this skill is much more significant - running characters are displayed on the minimap. So it's better to walk - this system makes the game more similar to the older parts of the series and will certainly please conservatives who oppose running in Halo . However, they are not happy with everything: if earlier all targets were shown on the mini-map, now they are only running and shooting, and this is already causing controversy among fans.

At the stage of the technical test, full-fledged PvP in the game was not available (except for a tiny window from 5 to 7 am Moscow time, which for obvious reasons I did not find). Teams of four players took part in matches against bots. On the first day, the opponents were completely helpless - each game ended with a score of 50 to 10. But the developers gradually increased the difficulty, making the matches more interesting.

The bots did not look like real people, and their behavior could often be predicted, but they were not so bad: they hid behind shelters, tried to stay close to each other, used different weapons and grenades. At some point, she began to "spam" with squats in shootouts and perform other "human" stunts. By the end of the test, what was happening was less like beating babies, but still it was impossible to lose in matches.

Only one mode was open - "Slayer". At first, all matches were played on the "Coupling", a rather schematic location with several open areas and underground corridors. The map is good - here there are a couple of good positions for snipers too, and you can run around with a shotgun.

The next day, "Reload" opened, a map with a greater verticality, where the main battles take place in the center - there and from above you can shoot, and collisions occur below, and on the bridge in the middle.

Finally, the third location - "Bazaar", the brightest of all. Here, too, the main "action" takes place in the very heart of the map. Especially at the beginning of the match, when boxes and crates of fruit are blown apart by grenade explosions.

All maps are almost devoid of dead ends, they are full of corridors and stairs, allowing you to quickly get to high positions and just as quickly jump down to the lower tiers. Additional weapons always hang on the walls in the same places, but the guns themselves change in every match. The filling bar allows you to understand when the weapon will reappear on the wall.

Everything is in order with the arsenal already in the test version. The starting guns - the MA40 automatic rifle and the MK50 pistol - are perfectly balanced. With them you don't feel helpless, but you can't call them very strong either - if you haven't picked up another weapon yet, you will be able to win even with them. Best of all, these barrels are suitable for close and medium range gunfights - it will be difficult to shoot at long-range targets.

Other examples were created for this, including the BR75 burst rifle and the luxurious VK78 Commando submachine gun - the accuracy and booming noises made when firing made it my favorite weapon, despite the strong recoil.

Also among the new products, I really liked the Heatwave - a light grenade launcher that pierces targets through and through. It differs from the rest of the guns in that when you press the left trigger, you do not activate the aiming mode of the sight, but determine how the projectiles will fly - a horizontal line or a vertical line.

The main star among the updated "oldies" was the Needler - this submachine gun, if not changed in the future, will be one of the most powerful weapons in the full version. He quickly shoots crystals in pursuit of the target, and leaves her almost no chance of survival. In matches against bots, it is difficult to say how bad or well balanced it is, so I really want to try it out in normal PvP.

You can test all these barrels at the Academy - this is not a shooting range in the usual sense, but tests on a small site, where in the allotted time you need to eliminate as many targets as possible with the issued weapon. It's a good idea, but I would still like to see a standard training ground, where all types of weapons are available at once - due to time constraints, it is difficult to learn all the features of the guns.

In addition to weapons, auxiliary equipment is scattered on the maps, which is used by pressing the right bumper. The overshield makes the character much more enduring, the sensor allows you to install a scanner that marks targets in a small radius. With active camouflage, the player becomes invisible, and the grappling hook makes him a Pathfinder from Apex Legends - you can quickly fly up to your opponent and make a surprise attack.

Also interesting is the energy shield, which creates a small wall that absorbs projectiles. The one who placed it can shoot through the shield, but it does not appear immediately after clicking - while it is erected, the enemies can already run away.

During testing, I also tried out the local cosmetic store and the battle pass. Nothing out of the ordinary - weapon skins, armor skins, multi-colored visors, new helmet models, and so on. The interface is still very clumsy - either the awards are not displayed in the pass, or the menu works somehow. But you need to understand that this is an assembly many months ago.

For the same reason, I see no point in discussing graphics. Yes, on consoles of the new generation, the shooter is already played at 120 frames / s, which is cool, but still this version is far from final - it will still change.

When Halo Infinite 's servers went offline on Monday night , I returned to Halo 5 and after two or three matches I got bored. All these jerks, strikes on the run and other unsuccessful decisions, which distinguished the fifth part, begin to look even more like controversial experiments. VThe Infinite series returns to the days of Halo 3, almost copying some of its details - a sign that Friv5Online is really doing everything it can to create a very powerful shooter.