: When I saw the opening cutscene to Halo 4 I had a shock. I actually thought,
: "Is this possible? Do I live in a universe where the upstarts who
: take over Bungie's mantle can actually tell a better story than Bungie
: did?" My world was turned upside down.

: But it soon righted itself again.

Honestly, I think they told a story every bit as good as Bungie.
Only Halo 2 and ODST really carried a good story for me.
Halo 3 can be accused of everything that Halo 4 is, story wise.

I suppose it just isn't especially unique any more.
Gears of War, Mass Effect... for their own flaws as a series, they arguably managed to create a much more detailed and consistent universe than Halo has ever come close to.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the Halo games a great deal. But that's just it. Playing the games.
For all it's expansion into other media, today, Halo is less of a universe and more of a game to me.
We've been bombarded with just too much Halo in too short of a time (there's been a bloody annual game release since 2009).
It's the Call of Duty effect kicking in.