: Maybe it's just me, but your entire post screams "hyperbole".
: They're still a rookie studio, and there's still a whole lot of people who
: think they did a pretty damn fine job with the game. It's not without its
: faults in the slightest, but good grief. I continue to be excited for the
: future of the franchise, and hopeful that mistakes made in H4 are learned
: from and evolved upon in the future.

: Grim

My response to your response to his response is this response:

http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=1180222

I would have posted this and much more from it, but I went the "avoid drama" route for once. Everyone can read that and make up their own minds. Well, not quite yet. Pete skipped one of my favorite parts:

"It's during that time you're questioning yourself: 'How is this going to work, will it be as I envision it in my head?" says Holmes. For Halo 4, he says there were a few epiphany moments that helped boost the morale of the team. One of the earlier ones that Holmes recalls was when the team completed a small piece of the Halo experience that he described as a "very traditional" Halo. User research showed that people thought it was a lot of fun, and it showed that the team was capable of making a Halo game that was true to what the series was about.

343 scrapped it, Holmes says, as it was too traditional. But that first build showed the new team that this amalgamation of different studio cultures could work together and achieve a common goal.

It all makes sense now. For real. All the arguing and bickering. Restaurant analogies. Schooly was right. I was right. It's brilliant. That quote really sums it all up.