: Yeah. I was just thinking about this this morning: why wouldn't it occur to
: game developers who take over a beloved franchise, that what's loved about
: said franchise, the magic let's say, is a combination of details from
: large to small, the fabric. ANYTHING that "fixes what aint
: broke" is messing with that formula of perfection.

Because if you just do the exact same thing over and over again, it gets boring and stale - especially if the old games are still around. (This is how many people felt about Reach, and [even with all of its changes] Halo 4.)

The key is to figure out what makes it special, and take risks in other places. Just because ODST did this better than Halo 4 doesn't mean 343i was not trying.

Yes, Halo means oversaturated hues and Forerunner monoliths to me, and the Forerunner aesthetic was a disappointment. But other people may think differently. And you can capture the flavor without being an exact copy, too - I felt "The Package" looked more classic Halo (Halsey aside) than Halo: Reach did.