Halo: Anniversary - The Halo 1 remake (fuck anyone who calls it "halo ce" remake)

[Pooky]

Of course, a skilled player using a shotgun would open that scenario with a grenade, thus eliminating the pistol's advantage.

This is what people don't seem to get when they whine about the pistol. Yes, the pistol is easier to use than other weapons, but other weapons can be more powerful than it WHEN USED APPROPRIATELY.

e: in fact, let me just list some general uses for all the weapons that a skilled player can accomplish

Pistol: General combat. Use this to engage infantry at any range except very long, and to peck away at the health of vehicles.

Assault Rifle: Sidearm to the pistol. Use this as a finisher when you empty your pistol mag in close quarters. Also effective at close range against vehicles.

Shotgun: Other than the Rocket Launcher, the best weapon for taking on vehicles at close range. Capable of 2 or 3 shotting most vehicles, can also be used to engage infantry in tight spaces and around corners.

Sniper Rifle: Used for sniping, obviously. Also makes a good alternative to the Pistol for general combat in the hands of a sufficiently skilled player.

Rocket Launcher: Versatile and extremely powerful, limited only by slow projectile speed and low ammo. Use to quickly take down vehicles at any range, and to engage groups of infantry at any range from close to extreme.

Plasma Pistol: Highly effective against fully loaded vehicles. A single plasma pistol overcharge will lower the shields of ALL vehicle occupants, allowing them to be quickly killed with pistol fire or a single grenade. Also useful if you know an enemy has the overshield, and as a quick melee kill at close range.

Needler: Deadly on narrow bridges (like those on danger canyon and infinity) and in narrow hallways. Can also be used against unaware snipers for the lulz.

Plasma Rifle: Only really of use against vehicles at close to medium range. Can also be used as a quick burst to melee. Probably the weakest weapon.

If the system itself was EMP'ed then of course there wouldn't be any popping or sparking because you know, the generators are turned off.
If a computer had it's electronics's burned out would you still expect it to boot up or attempt to?

If the system was EMP'd we would have at least seen the pop of their already active shields dissipating. All logic aside, flaring and sparking shields are the accepted visual cue for shields being down. Not putting that in means they were either being really lazy or didn't think it through at all. The shield flare appears in other scenes, so there is a precedent.