Obviously, this is subjective, and I think the complaint that they looked like clay is fair - and because it was a majority opinion, they likely took time to redo it. That wasn't necessarily a good idea, as obviously the backlash showed, but the model has a level of detail in it that makes me feel what people didn't like was the art direction, not the modeling itself. But I don't think it's a bad model, I think the decision to leave him looking like that was with the intention to fall more in line with older art styles - which were limited due to technology at the time, so aren't necessarily an accurate representation of what the \*goal\* might have been with H2/3/Reach. I'm assuming that is what we'll see in game - more dramatic texture to his features, and then more detailed hair. The eyelids and eyes, the crags around his mouth, the work on the teeth all show it's not a \*bad\* model, but it could use more dramatic detailing - that would make it look more like what I think people want. I think you're right about it being materials work, and I think it comes down mostly to texturing within that. I personally feel that screenshot up top is fine, but it's a fair complaint to say it looks like clay. I think those are fair complaints, which I can understand. Due to the head being enclosed in the chest piece of the armor, there is a Visor you can equip even outside of the PA frame that acts as a PA helmet as soon as you enter the frame to give you the added benefits of a complete Power Armor set. See, this is what I was looking for and why I asked the question I asked. The armor is very heavy but well protected. It's not a huge deal, and obviously within a day most people who are mistaken will be corrected, but that confusion definitely works in the marketing's favor. They had to have known some people would be confused by that and mistake the pre-rendered footage for visual upgrades. However for the very last scene, one of the ones that was complained about the most, they switched it for pre-rendered footage. It's why it has a lot of the same scenes from the first trailer. Like that kind of comparison is the point of this new trailer. They delayed it and then remade basically the same trailer knowing people would compare and contrast the updated visuals.
The reason I think this bait and switch was intentional is that this trailer was released once before to major backlash. Photorealistic is a bit of a stretch, but I agree the game looks great now and I'm not complaining about the graphics at all. If that was the case then the last scene of this trailer would be less egregious. I could be wrong here but if your saying in-game cutscenes will be pre-rendered I don't think that's true. They just decided to make close up cutscenes prerendered.