First the good stuff. They confirmed that Halo 5 will have a level playing field in MP; everyone starts with identical gear, and that's a good thing. There's plenty of other games that do the custom loadouts & rank-based unlocks schtick, and Halo doesn't need to emulate them. Also, I noticed that for the remastered H2 maps they've switched from the Halo 4 model of the sniper rifle to the Reach/HCEA model. I approve of this, as reuse of old Bungie assets is a good thing. The H2A BR looks snazzy as well, just like the classic one.

Now the stuff that's... not as good. I still don't like 343I's art direction. The Spartan armor still feels off, and both H2A and H5 have that "Halo 4 look." It's kind of hard to describe in words, but the textures just seem kind of muddy (though that could have been due to the stream quality), and their choice of color pallets seems more monochrome than Bungie, almost as if each stage is being run through some sort of odd filter. For example, the Midship remake is cast in a dim blue aura, likely because of the large hologram of the galaxy that serves as the primary light source, while both the original Midship as well as Heretic had more "natural" lighting, revealing all the purples, blues, greys, and other colors that the Covies use. Like Halo 4, it still doesn't quite look like Halo. I still prefer Bungie's art team, and in some ways Destiny looks more Halo-ish than 343I-era Halo. I guess I'll just have to get used to the "343I look." I just hope the Grunts and Jackals don't still look like mutated abominations in Halo 5.

Finally, the unanswered questions, all of which revolve around Halo 5's weapons. Why does the BR have a red-dot/reflex sight? Can it still zoom in? If so, does it have less magnification? Also, what's with the single-shot LAW/AT4-style rocket launcher? Does it serve a different purpose than the rocket launcher, perhaps being a dedicated anti-vehicle weapon, or is it replacing the old-school rocket launcher? Finally, what distinguishes the SMG from the AR? Are they bringing back dual-wielding? I hope not.