: The following is my opinion and there are probably generalizations: For one
: thing the entire last year we were all bombarded with Halo. We had the
: game, the novels, the webseries, etc. The problem there was that it was
: too much, at a subpar quality, and that is was much different from what we
: knew.

: Now that we are post-launch and from the way it looks post-DLC (which was
: short to begin with), we are getting nothing. That vast difference from
: content delivery and the quality of that content has now relegated us to
: either being indifferent to Halo now or generated a hate/dislike in it's
: 343i state.

: They played it too safe and at the same time while trying to develop their
: own "Halo" they managed to create alien things that don't gel
: with Bungie's Halo or had no purpose in being created at all. It all ended
: up, as mentioned before, as a subpar quality.

: Sure we got a solid game, and a consistent stream of decent books, and a good
: attempt at a step towards a Halo movie. But for the freshmen 343 team we
: begin to see the direction they plan on taking in each step and many of us
: don't enjoy it. (Again not true for everyone but there is a portion,
: including me.) Not to mention the apparent disconnect on some things that
: 343 has for feedback from fans and players....

: Halo 4 should have been for all intents and purposes a functional reboot that
: kept it's past strong in it's construction. But with barely any mention to
: the past games in it's story it functions as a reboot with no purpose for
: being a reboot. Sure it goes a little more in-depth here and there, but on
: the surface it's vague (like more vague than how I felt about Halo 3's
: story: simple but functional) but it's far deeper crime is the way the
: story is fragmented into different mediums with a player having to read
: into them to make sense of it. We also have a much more simplified set of
: things because the game is coming out on the end cycle of the 360, what's
: sacrificed is the bigger expanses with actual geometry, the really fast
: object respawn times (Weapons, Bodies, etc.), and the lack of features
: (Campaign Theater, etc).

: On the multiplayer front I felt that there was too much change implemented,
: the first being instant spawns and branching out into other issues. From
: armor designs, to weapon implementation, the maps created. All we get is
: generic looking stuff that does little to add or differentiate from other
: games. Even the biggest map in the game is not as big as what we've seen
: in the past, everything seems so cramped. It's all focused on medium to
: small encounters, what I wouldn't give for a Falcon/Hornet to fly around
: in a true BTB map. There are truly times I wish Bungie didn't leave...

: In the end though, I still hope that they can take our criticism to heart and
: take their time with Halo 5. I would have been perfectly happy with
: waiting out another year or so for Halo 4 and having had it a launch title
: for the 720. Knowing now what we got, I sincerely hope they aren't rushing
: 5 for a tie-in to the 720 and that they can take their time.

: Or maybe I'm just Halo-ed out and I'm on the coattails of it....

: That's my contribution to this thread, now excuse me while I go play Tomb
: Raider...

You know, I share in that last thought. I wonder if I'm just all Halo-ed out myself. If that's the case, then I'm willing to bet that there are a lot of others like us. And for that reason, 343i needs to be extremely careful with the way they handle Halo 5. With Halo 4, they essentially turned Halo into a POS generic shooter which tries to appeal to the casual gamers, e.g. Call of Duty fans. If their aim is to have a loyal fan base for years to come, such as what Bungie had, then they basically need to fire every last person on the team and try again. If their aim *is* to appeal to the crowd who plays the latest and greatest while pre-gaming on a Friday night, then full speed ahead. But take heed - that would result in the alienation of the loyal fans of the series. And many of those fans are already feeling Halo-ed out, especially after Halo 4. We're loyal to a point, but don't push your luck, guys.