That strongly indicates the story is set on Earth and Mars. Earth I understand, it makes sense that the early confrontations were in and around the city, but why Mars? Could something have been their prior to the arrival of the Cabal and the exclusion zone?

Theoretically the Reef and the City's forces could have been pushed back by the Cabal before our current offensive. If that is the case then we are looking at the Vex as secondary antagonists this time. Hmmm.

Doesn't the opening cinematic kinda imply that it was Mars where we first saw the traveler? or am I way off base on this?

If by "imply", you mean states in plain text "THE PLANET MARS" across the screen before the Traveler is first seen (49 seconds into the video), then yeah, I guess you could say that it's implied. :P

hehe, no I meant it was on Mars that we first saw the traveler. Meaning Mars was a very significant plantet for that reason.

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Personally I want more that discusses the Vex because they're so mysterious and so powerful, but I also kind of don't, because they have no personality. The Fallen are scavengers and cutthroats, the Hive are heavy metal zombies, and the Cabal are Space Romans, but the Vex are pretty much just bronze robots.

My money's on the Cabal currently, and I'd really like to see them fleshed out. I called them Space Romans, and they are, but they're also simple country hyper-turtles and have touches of Klingons and Grimhammer 40K-- which still leaves them kind of cliche, but these influences give a lot of potential.

As for Earth, I doubt it.

I hope to see a Vex expansion soon, although I doubt the RoFe (Rise of Iron) will be it. The Vex, for me, are some of the more interesting (story wise) and definitely the most fun to fight.

The Cabal are somewhat interesting story wise, but I do not like fighting the Cabal. I think they aren't as fun to fight for me because:
1- You can't dance with Phalanxes like you could with Hunters.
2- You can't shoot them in the hand like you could with Jackals. Often my bullets won't hit their hands, but hit their shields instead, even when my reticule is clearly on the hand (I blame bullet->head magnetism). This is frustrating and I shouldn't have to compensate for it.
3- The shielded guys just seem like bullet sponges (Halo 2 brutes all over again).

Now, I do like that they jump around, and finishing one off w/ a headshot is somewhat satisfying, but that doesn't compensate for the annoyances of 1-3.

I think the best part about shields in general is that it requires at least a bit of teamwork. The Vex require no team work what so ever. It requires brute force and timing. That is it. That, to me, is boring. I would much rather fight Cabal because they are interesting tactically. The Vex just keep moving forward and shoot you. That is their MO.

1- You can't dance with Phalanxes like you could with Hunters.

That's true. The swings are too fast and too wide, but mostly it's just that they turn around too fast.

2- You can't shoot them in the hand like you could with Jackals. Often my bullets won't hit their hands, but hit their shields instead, even when my reticule is clearly on the hand (I blame bullet->head magnetism). This is frustrating and I shouldn't have to compensate for it.

You always aim 3-4 inches higher than you think you need to (or 3 inches lower, if you're aiming for the foot) and slightly to the left. That's the trick. You're right that it shouldn't be necessary. My pet theory is they made the shield collision box too big but also made the Phalanxes' body collision box too big, or they compensated one or both from an even worse state they were in before launch and didn't fix it hard enough.

3- The shielded guys just seem like bullet sponges (Halo 2 brutes all over again).

If I remember correctly (and it hasn't been changed), the Cabal take less headshot damage for whatever reason, that might be why Centurions feel worse to you than Captains, Knights, and Wizards.

Now, I do like that they jump around, and finishing one off w/ a headshot is somewhat satisfying, but that doesn't compensate for the annoyances of 1-3.

I'd say it makes the kill even more satisfying, but to each their own. Even I think Phalanxes are a bit of a pain if you're not in the zone, and it really bothers me as a Hunter that it's so hard to stab them. My knives don't work! What is a Hunter without their knife?

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The edges are consistent with old snow, but I've never seen old snow that had such a consistent thickness - and I've seen lots of snow.