You think you have lag?...
...It took Jesus 3 Days to respawn
Whilst looking at my weapon usage stats today something came to me - I realised that a fair amount of change has happened to the weaponry throughout the trilogy and into Halo:ODST. A few examples of which seen below:
Assault rifle in Halo 1 gave way to >
...SMG and Battle Rifle in Halo 2
Pistol in Halo 1 gave way to >
...Magnums in Halo 2
Magnums in Halo 2 gave way to >
...The 'Halo 1' pistol in Halo 3
Which then re-appeared as the M6C in Halo ODST alongside the silenced version of the SMG
Added to this are the abundance of Covenant weapons that have changed or recieved upgrades throughout the course of the games. Vehicles have been added and upgraded, grenades likewise, It seems like everything has been looked at and modified in some way. But what's missing from this list? The Sniper Rifle. Very little has changed in the way it works. The sight has been modified slightly but as for customisation, there has been little.
As it is a wish of mine that Halo: Reach will play out like ODST, taking control of various squad members - in the books, Linda (the sniper specialist) has an abundance of options when it comes to parts for her rifle. This includes different ammunition, a variety of sights, changeable stocks to reduce recoil and extended magazines. Now I'm not suggesting a Rainbow 6 style setup menu where modifications are chosen before the mission starts, as in my opinion this slows down gameplay. But perhaps the modifications could be there at all times where the D-Pad could be used to select the different options available.
As each Spartan in the team on Reach has his/her own specialty, this could be extended beyond the sniper and include such options as a greater variety of explosives and scout weaponry (silenced BR?) for Kelly. I know I am assuming a lot and this whole idea is based around the assumption that we will play as individual members instead of just one Spartan throughout. But in my opinion, it would add a greater level of strategy to the game that hasn't really been explored in the run-and-gun style of the previous Halo games. (ODST excluded as that did require some level of stealth)
Forgive the vague nature of my evidence in this post as I can't quite remember where in the book(s) it quotes her weaponry options. I also cannot remember the name of the heavy weapon specialist in the team on Reach >.< I need to read the book again!