The classic Mark V is such a beautiful thing. It's rare that you see a power armor that looks so elegant yet powerful. H2A ruined it with the boxification, tampering with the silhouette and proportions, and the addition of totally unnecessary rivets and grooves. It's a shame 343i stuck with that redesign in the H4 MP variant. What's so hard about just staying faithful to the original design?

: I can see why you think that. Looking back at the legacy designs they're
: comparatively like any Mustang from the 1970s to mid-2000s. Air Assault
: was always on my head too in Reach. I loved the simplicity like a mix of
: Mark V and ODST that goes well with absolute any look. It really
: complemented the female player model very well too.

: With AA's progression from Reach to Halo 4, I think they did try to go just a
: little too futuristic. I could definitely appreciate it myself despite the
: flaws but the basic design was still there and so were all of its defining
: characteristics I found so appealing. As with all of these designs, they
: should have looked towards the evolution of Mark V to Mark VI. The latter
: looks modern and chic, fancy by comparison, yet totally practical.

I never actually liked the Mark VI that much and I'd have preferred they went back to a more Mark V-style suit if there was ever to be a redesign. Needless to say, it's still leagues ahead of 343i's power ranger armor, except with maybe the bodysuit. I group the Mark VI's rubbery bodysuit in the same category as H4's snakeskin. Glad 343i has learned from that at least.

: More than anything the wild use of bright colors for armor is just annoying.
: Early issues of Escalation tried pulling this off where a single team had
: members with varying colors and patterns, all bright and totally visible.
: They weren't trying to hide. These Spartans wanted to look flashy. What's
: wrong with olive drab or black? That's why I'm glad that Blue and Osiris,
: with the exception of Vale, have very practical colors for their armor.
: It's either green or on the grayscale.

Bu... but the artists' emotions might get hurt if they aren't allowed to express their creativity to its fullest!