Halo Infinite and OnePlus Nord 2 are the highlights on this week's Totally Rated show

Totally Rated features news, reviews and opinions on everything that's hot in the tech and gaming world. And a few things that are not hot. Experts from T3 and its sister publications quite literally reviewed – and rate – the very latest games and tech products on the market.

In this week’s episode, we get a sneak preview of Unreal Engine 5, the budget friendly OnePlus Nord 2 goes on sale to mid-priced applause, and Halo Infinite is rolling out to selected Halo Insiders. Did you get your invitation?

• Halo Infinite and Xbox Halo Infinite edition release dates confirmed

The good news is, you can watch all of Totally Rated S2 EP5 right here and now.

Halo Infinite flight invites have started going out. Did you get yours?

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 until August 1 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 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 you didn't an invite, you don’t have too long to wait. 

Is the OnePlus Nord 2 the best mid-range phone on the market?

In Tech this week, the latest handset from OnePlus launched in much of the world. 

An impressed James Peckham TechRadar trilled, “OnePlus Nord 2 is one of the very best phones in the mid-price segment of the market. It features some impressive specs including a 50MP main rear camera and 65W fast charging.

“The screen and offers good picture quality at a suitable size for many people, although some will be disappointed that the company hasn’t stretched to a 120Hz refresh rate here. It's 90Hz only.

“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.

“So if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to a flagship, you should consider the OnePlus Nord 2. It has a great camera experience, strong battery life and more going for it.”

And finally…

New Unreal Engine 5 footage came out from The Collation, the team behind Gears of War's latest instalments. In 2019 Gears 5 launched as one of the best looking games to be created in Unreal Engine 4. It’s 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.

Catch you next week on Totally Rated.