: I don't mind the plethora of human rifles and burst modes (though, perhaps it
: would have been better to keep it like the Halo 2 e3 debut of 3 shot burst
: \ 1 shot burst when zoomed) as I would 'expect' humanity to have that if
: going for some realistic stuff.

Honestly, if I were in charge of sandbox design for Halo 4... I would have announced on April 1st, 2012 that the whining between the BR fans and the DMR fans had become intolerable, and thus both weapons have been removed from the sandbox.

When meltdown on the forums starts to wane, I post an update saying "Fine, they're both in." And then I waver back and forth on that point until someone makes me reveal that the BR-55 now fires semi-auto while zoomed.

Yes, I'm an asshole. Doctors say it's hereditary.

: But the Alien weaponry... so much untapped potential and freedom to make the
: guns do fantastical things, without the need to explain it other than
: "I dunno, it's alien tech...." !

"See this thing? It's like a nuclear flashlight."
"A what?"
"Point it at something and..."
FWOOSH!
"...it catches on fire."
"Anything?"
"Anything. See that grass over there?"
FWOOSH!
"See those cliffs over there?"
FWOOSH!
"That Ghost over there?"
Fwoosh.... wah wah waa boom!
"Catches on fire and then explodes."
"...can you hold it down and sweep it across the landscape?"
"Yeah, but it drains the batteries like you wouldn't believe."

: Steal some shit from Unreal or Quake FFS. Bio-Rifles! Shock Rifles! RipJacks!
: Needler grenades! Dogs with bees in their mouth and when they bark they
: shoot bees at you!

I still think that Forerunner weapons should aspire to District 9-levels of making you look at the gun in your hands in horror and whisper "What were they fighting with this thing?"

How's this for a Forerunner sidearm: Remember the Siren's ability in Borderlands 2? She immobilizes an enemy and levitates them over the ground. Give me that ability in a weapon the size of a pistol, and it'll be the perfect open-ended tactical weapon. With this gun, I can rip a troublesome enemy out of cover and whale on him without danger of evasion or return fire, or I can leave him be and concentrate on other enemies. Halo could use that.