I've been playing Halo 3 and it's reminded me that a lot of Halo's magic is in what the game let's you do in campaign (some of which the designers may not have intended). Some examples:
- Getting vehicles where they're not supposed to go.
- Giving marines your power weapons (infinite ammo fuel rod gun? how can this not be fun?)
- Dynamic AI. I've played hundreds of hours of Halo and the AI will still surprise me.
- Being able to do vehicle sections on foot and vice versa.
[*]Carrying weapons from an early part of the level to a later part to have a massive advantage. (I remember "pick up-drop forward" cycling every power weapon I could find onto that tram car to take me to Regret's cathedral in Halo 2. I had so much ammo I didn't have to sweat all those Honor Guard Elites waiting for me.)
Little things that would be great to have fixed:
- AI Warthog gunners that aren't blind! Reach was the worst about this. The gunner would track enemies, but wouldn't fire unless they were point-blank. Infuriating!
- Friendly AI that won't steal my hog and drive off with it when I walk more than 5 feet away (to say, snipe that turret that the gunner won't shoot at).
Also, a neat little thing I noticed in Halo 3. ODST gunners & Marine gunners have different targeting distances. An ODST warthog gunner will engage at twice the distance of a marine. It's the little things like this that really show Bungie's attention to detail.
I'm really glad we're getting new enemies besides the Covenant. The Covenant've been great, but after 10 years of fighting them, I know their tricks.. That's not to say they don't surprise me, but they're a known enemy. I hope the Prometheans stand up as challenging, dynamic enemies. It sure sounds like they will, especially with 343 mentioning how they will work together (a new trick).
