Lol if you think HBO is bad you should check out GAF and Waypoint.

: Halo 4 was solid. I hated some things, loved some others. Given the nearly
: impossible task they had to do, I think they should be proud of what they
: did.

Solid at what, exactly? C'mon, you know writing. Their writing is terrible on just about every level. We can focus on campaign alone and use nothing but critical analysis to come to a very honest and conclusive assessment that the campaign's plot, story, characterization, etc. is anything but solid, or even close to solid. Add in the unbelievably linear and uninspired level design, repetitive situations, and utter lack of challenge, and you have one really bland game. Oh yes, it can be fun at points, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. All my opinion, of course (not saying this for you, but in general).

: I hope their post-mortems are fruitful, and they come back like gangbusters
: and surprise all of us next time.

Optimism is great and all, but shouldn't they be trying to surprise with the current game still? Aside from that ridiculous interview that just made sense of everything. I'm expecting a major crash and burn with the weapon tuning. And without sarcasm, I truly would love to be surprised by it not being a bust. Not really holding my breath, though, mostly because I'm still laughing too hard about those so called X's in multiplayer.