In all the years that I’ve played Halo, I’ve always felt that the Brutes have never really gotten the love that they deserve, and that’s a shame because, in the lore, they are actually better than Spartans in every physical way. Despite all of the criticisms and negative feedback that 343 have gotten about the way they changed the art style, I believe that the way that they depict the Brutes is better than anything that Bungie ever could have even dreamed of. With this faction now looking as good as the do, and the role that they play in the Halo universe, the Brutes should be turned into characters in future Halo games, like the Elites were in Halo 2, as it would add a lot of variety to the game, as well giving players a lot more customization options.
Halo is known for it’s player customization, especially with how good it was in Halo Reach, and how rewarding it was in Halo 3. Making Brutes into an option that players could choose for their character would greatly increase the pool of unique characters that the community could create, and that players could call their own. The Brutes have been through several design changes throughout the games, and these can all serve as inspiration for the designers at 343 when coming up with armor for the players to choose from. With that, players should also be able to change up their Brute’s fur color, fur style, head design, and armor color. For team games, armor color would change to match the team that the player is on, while fur color may have to be changed to a standard color for the team, if the game designers feel that it is necessary. An example of how the Brute customization menu could look is as follows:
- Head - a list of head options that change the nose, eyes, and scars. - Head Armor - a list of head armors that range from basic iron helmets, to various chieftain helmets, and even an option for no helmet. - Chest Armor - a list of any chest armors that the designers come up with. - Wrist Armor - a list of armors that cover the Brute’s wrists and hands. - Leg Armor - a list of armor that covers the legs. - Fur Color - a list of natural fur color (black, brown, white, orange, silver, etc.), and possibly unlock-able undercoat colors that provide an interesting look (such as black fur with an orange undercoat, which gives off a flame-like appearance). - Armor Color - changes the color of the armor, just like with Spartans and Elites.Character customization that includes Brutes can go even farther by giving Brutes their own unique assassination animations. These animations could really show off the Brutes’ characters by making them beat Spartans and Elites to death. Imagine the possibilities of ways to assassinate opponents: crushing heads in their hands, strangling, snapping spines over their knees, or throwing opponents into walls. Something that would be really impressive is if Brutes had a unique set of animations for killing opponents if the player is holding a Brute weapon. These animations would involve Brutes using the blades on Brute weapons to stab or cut their opponents. This could be made even cooler if they take a Brute weapon that another player is holding, snatches it out of their hands, and uses it to kill that player.
Aside from just looking cool, Brutes could offer game-play variety. Imagine variants of Invasion that involve Brutes fighting against Spartans and Elites, instead of only having the option of Spartans vs Elites. There could even be a type of multi team games that splits players among the three factions.
As can be seen here, there are a lot of options and opportunities that come along with adding the Brutes to Halo’s multiplayer as a playable faction. Undoubtedly, it would do wonders for Halo’s sandbox if 343 were to add them as an option.