Personally, I've always filed Spartan teams in the "Cool to read about, but you'll never be able to make a good game that stays true to their nature" drawer.

I'd still like to see them experiment with different, more subtle ways of differentiating the characters. Maybe Linda is always shown in shadows or partially behind cover, maybe Kelly has more battle scars and bullet wounds on her armor, not to mention the three or four extra weapons strapped to her.

M&M Spartans with super-special custom armor just seems like phoning it in.

: (as you mention, making sure Linda has
: all kinds of optics on her to indicate she's the team sniper)

Who is this guy? Has anyone figured out what his job is?

: So once again in our eyes, 343 commits the sin of trying to please everyone,
: and thus please no one. Or so it would seem, wouldn't it? It is honestly
: too early to tell.

We can place bets, and my money is solidly on "Trying to please everyone" with a side order of "Artistic License".

: Long time fans have been wanting to see more of the
: Spartan IIs in game play for years. Maybe this will be good. Cortana
: coming back? Oh hell yes she is. Anyone should be able to see this one
: coming a mile away, especially with how the Greg Bear novels

Meh. The Greg Bear novels aren't an indication as much as the line in Halo 4 that explicitly says that can create organic life from digital life and blah blah blah there's a solid boundary between organic and synthetic intelligence and transhumans/cybernetic augments don't exist blah blah blah.

Oh, and Brian Reed's a Marvel writer, and you know that they can't kill off characters.

: (If I'm proven wrong and 343 actually DOES have the stones to kill Cortana
: d.e.a.d then someone bookmark this post and call me out on it later, I'll
: take my punishment)

I think we'll be too relieved to met out punishment.

: As 343 continue to "find themselves" in terms of what they want
: Halo to be, I see things improving. It doesn't mean I AGREE with their
: style and direction, but I can appreciate it.

Well... I can't appreciate it, but I can say I've learned a lot about storytelling by watching them.