First of all I’d like to make clear that my english is not the best, so if anything is not clear enough, feel free to ask.
I’d like to start on a positive note.
I honestly think that all vehicles look great. The Art Style is beautiful! (at least the vehicles we’ve seen so far)
However, just because something is pretty, it doesn’t mean it’s flawless.
I really don’t wanna be the guy who always mentions Halo 3 as a positive example and how things should be, but I think the arguments fit in very well in this category.
I have a few complaints
- Vehicles feel like they’re made out of paper / lifeless.
Maybe it’s just my wrong expectations, but I feel like there is no response in terms of physicality on vehicles.
I’m not just talking about the gravity hammer - I’m throwing grenades, firing rockets and the warthog is barely responding. The Warthog just keeps driving straight forward, there is no change in direction, the tires never leave the ground. Even if 2 Warthogs collide head to head at full speed, nothing happens.
- Vehicle spawn system
This one has already been mentioned very often, so I’ll keep it short. The animations look cool, I’m happy that pelicans somehow get involved in Multiplayer.
But it really takes away from the experience if there is no heavy vehicle at all. I’m not kidding, the last time I saw a tank was in the second flight. I’am almost Level 7 now and I haven’t seen 1 tank now - and even if, the chance to get in is very low.
I respect the approach to create something new, but right now the solution it’s just not satisfying, at least not for me.
- Vehicle Self Destruction
I don’t know how everyone feels about this, but I have to say that this new feature really annoys me. There were so many times where I was at full HP, yet the vehicles were about to blow up, so I had to abandon it.
The fact that a lot of the vehicles spawn in the middle of the map makes it even worse - because of the reason mentioned, by the time you get into the vehicle (if you’re lucky) you already get shot from all directions.
And there is not even a good indicator if the vehicle is in good shape or not - because most of the time, it looks the same as a new one. You could at least add a sign of smoke, fire, so people are aware.
Obvsiously a vehicle can be damaged over time, if the vehicle is in bad shape, your shields should also go faster down - but given the fact there are more players now in BTB and taking into considerations that all vehicles get targeted the moment it lands - the time to enjoy your vehicle combat has been reduced so much.
- Covenant Vehicles
As already mentioned above, the vehicles look great - the chopper is no exception, it looks beautiful and I’m very glad it’s returning - but in my opinon, it somehow plays very similiarly to a ghost. I’m talking about the Plasma Travel Time.
And what about the most unique feature? In my opinon, the main charasteristic thing about the chopper is the fact that you were able to shred enemy vehicles with it - the downside beeing that it was not the easiest thing to pull off due to the harder handling of the vehicle.
Wraith / Banshee
Is it just me, or does the plasma shot (I don’t know how to call it) on the wraith very small? I can’t speak of the damage radius, I’m just talking about the visual aspect - It feels tiny compared to other Halos, it’s like throwing a plasma grenade.
I was just able to use the Banshee once - so I won’t be able to make my final verdict on it for now - the first impression is that it’s not the easiest thing to use, but again - I can’t judge something after 1 usage.