Totally Rated features reviews and opinions of what's hot and what's not in the tech and gaming world.

Bringing together leading titles from across the industry, we hear first hand from those who have reviewed - and rated - the very latest games and products on the market.

In this week’s episode, we get a sneak preview at Unreal Engine 5, the budget friendly OnePlus Nord 2 went on sale and did you get your Halo Infinite invite?

First up, news, Halo Infinite flight invites have started going out to SOME Halo Insider members...

That's right, previews for Halo Infinite start this weekend and invites have started popping up in lucky Halo Insider’s inboxes.

Previews will run from July 29 - August 1, 2021, and those who are able to join in this weekend will get to test a small portion of the next Halo game early.

343 Industries has confirmed that the testing “will focus on Bots and a slice of the new Academy experience” as these are new elements implemented in the upcoming game.

However, the post also promises that future technical previews will also focus on traditional PVP Arena and Big Team Battle. Halo infinite still doesn't have a firm release date but is slated for ‘Holiday 2021’ so if like me you didn't get into this preview we don’t have too long to wait.


In Tech, This week the latest handset from OnePlus released and while it didn't release globally there was still quite a bit of chatter around it on the internet.

TechRadar’s James Peckham wrote: “Historically, OnePlus has been about making high-end phones for a lower price than the competition. The same can’t be said for the latest OnePlus 9 series, but the OnePlus Nord 2 is taking on that mantle.

“The mid-range phone market is an extremely competitive space, with great options from the Google Pixel 4a to the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, but the OnePlus Nord 2 features specs that allow it to hold its own in that space.
“In fact, the OnePlus Nord 2 is one of the very best phones in this segment of the market. It features some impressive specs including a 50MP main rear camera, 65W fast-charging and a 6.43-inch 1080 x 2400 display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

“That screen offers a good experience, although some will be disappointed that the company hasn’t stretched to a 120Hz refresh rate here. That said, it offers good picture quality at a suitable size for many people.

“One odd quirk is that the company has moved to a MediaTek chipset for the very first time, but it was seemingly the right decision, as we’ve found it offered improved performance when compared to the original OnePlus Nord.

“The other highlight of the OnePlus Nord 2 is strong battery life, as we found it would always last a full day of usage even when we were pushing the phone to its limits. If you find it doesn’t, there’s also 65W fast charging that sees your phone go from 0% to full in just 30 minutes.

“The OnePlus Nord 2 doesn’t have any game-changing features, but as a total package it offers a top experience that many will enjoy considering its lower price than a lot of other phones right now.

“So if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to a flagship, you should consider the OnePlus Nord 2 alongside the tough competition (such as those phones mentioned above) and note that it has a great camera experience, strong battery life and more going for it.”

And finally, this week new Unreal Engine 5 footage came out from The Collation, the team behind Gears of Wars latest installments.

In 2019 Gears 5 launched as one of the best looking games created, in Unreal Engine 4 and to be honest it’s been looking even better now running on the next generation of consoles.

But based on this early look at what is possible with Unreal Engine 5 it seems we’ll be making huge graphic leaps for the next Gears of War game.
New episodes of Totally Rated will roll out every week.