How did they go from this





To this?



I know that with each Halo game, there are always subtle differences/improvements on the 'look.' But this was a drastic change... I don't read the novels or any related media, but was there ever a canon reason for the Stormtrooper look?

Better quality video cards and more processing power between different xbox versions is all I got.

I think he means why did they go from dudes with spartan-ish armor, to a present day mall ninja look.

What was tactical when it came out is not tactical now and the mall ninja look is in?

HK got the contract

joglee was right the whole time!

Pretty much that. They go from looking like the Marines from Aliens, to Buzz Lightyear.

The simple answer is that 343i is a bunch of idiots.  They wanted to reinvent the Halo series after Bungie bought themselves back from Microsoft.  They had no experience with the game so they essentially CODfied it.  Hell they went through changing weapons and sound effects that were well established.  Microsoft essentially skullfucked the Halo series with 4 and 5, IMO that's why they haven't announced 6 yet.  Wanting to get their shit in a row because 5 was a pile of steaming shit for months after release until they basically rewrote entire sections of the game code to make it play 'better.'  The MP is pretty solid these days, but I won't touch single player.

These are the armors through the Bungie games.  Halo to Halo Reach.

Original Halo: CE marines are best marines. 

Always thought the metallic looking "plate" armor they had was cool and was something a little different. Certainly a unique look. Wish they had stuck with that concept through the series. 

UNSC got hold of some of the engineer aliens and various alien tech which was applied at every level, from ships to personal armor. This change was represented by the new armor design as well as the more diverse late gen Spartan program armor and biomods.

Different branch/MOS/unit. The third pic looks like MP's or something, the upper pics show UNSC Marines in standard body armor.

Also bear in mind, with sustained space travel, time dilation is a factor. Uniform and equipment standards change.

It's a bit of a plothole in how the chief wakes up in Halo 4 with the newest BR85 battle rifle,(With the blocky eotech-like sight and pic rails everywhere) sticky launchers and MA5D assault rifle when the UNSC was using the older MA5C and BR55(Battle rifle with the ACOG-looking scope that appeared in Halo 2) iterations throughout Halo 3.

Not to mention Cortana somehow physically modifying his armor while he was in cryo... That's kinda fucky. "Firmware update" indeed.

ETA: Oh, almost forgot. The reasoning behind exposed hard plate armor is the fact that they're fighting aliens that use suspended plasma weaponry. Armor has to absorb and dissipate the immense heat from those weapons, and a cloth exterior would burn at those temperatures, so there's no point. That's the original idea behind the art design, though Bungie let the art department get away with pretty much whatever they wanted in the name of artistic license for the most part.

So... "Because it looks cool."

Are you sure those are UNSC Marines? There are different military branches represented in the HALO universe.

Is that a KAK shockwave brace on the Smg?

Face masks are easier to CGI then real faces

Peacetime's a bitch, no matter the era.

I was wondering that myself.

Does he fire it from the shoulder?