: And thus, I remain one of the only people on Earth that actually thinks this
: level isn't all that bad. Although admittedly on my very first playthrough
: in the wee hours of September 26 2007, I was about ready to rage quit and
: throw my controller through my monitor because I kept getting lost.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the tempestuous story of how "Cortana" came together, or barely did, it's not surprising that it's not an excellent level on par with the best of the Halo 3 campaign. But I too don't really hate on the level as much as popular sentiment. (Then again while the Library doesn't offer much in the way of varied experiences I too don't think it could do with much beyond cutting one of the levels.)

Really aside from being able to turn off the Gravemind/Cortana moments for repeat playthroughs, the only thing I feel for "Cortana" is a sense that we missed an opportunity. It's clear that the payoff of Cortana's possible rampancy and rescuing her got short shrift, but so too did the chance to revisit places we visited in Halo 2, and see them in their Floodified state. We lost the majestic vistas and more open battlefields that made High Charity interesting. It never really felt like the same place.