I don't like how you have no idea how much health an enemy has, I can judge very easily in MW2 and BC2 but it feels like luck if I kill them before they kill me.
The graphics are okay, but they help in making the game feel as dated as the controls, maybe other shooters have advanced too much from this original formula.
I disagree with all of this.
You can tell their health is depleted once their shield is down. If you hit them with a melee attack at all in this state, they die instantly. It is a really good and simplified way to tell how far gone you or your enemy is, without having to look away from the player.
As for the graphics, I think it looks nice, but this is probably because I think the art is so great. It also has extremely impressive technical features IMO, like I also never saw such good ragdoll physics in a game, I especially like how enemies can stumble when they are shot.
And on the controls, I do not see how they are bad at all. I would say this is one of the best controls in a game this gen even, and it is not even finished yet! What did you not like about the controls? Besides the new mapping (which you can change) I thought it all worked out extremely well.
The stockpile mode is great and I've grown to like the Team SWAT mode, which was something I didn't enjoy much in Halo 3.
I was especially surprised with these modes as well. With these and obvious stuff like Forge going to be in the final game I am now certain this will be the best Halo game ever, franchises need to peak somewhere after all!
The mode I was really disappointed with though, was Invasion. It might be due to me not liking bigger matches, but I just thought it was pretty boring. It has cool ideas though.
Also, apparently all Bungie games are free to play online over the weekend. The beta ends soon and Generator Defense comes on soon too, so get to playin'!
EDIT: Screw you Orta, the assassinations are awesome! :x :x :x