: I do see where you're coming from there. It's just not a perspective I happen
: to share with you. I wouldn't have noticed the redesign of the Forward
: Unto Dawn if it hadn't been pointed out. Granted, the Covenant ship
: redesigns are obvious, as is the new Warthog and Scorpion and Wraith. It
: just doesn't bother me (other than just not liking some of the designs as
: much as the old ones).

: Let's not forget that Bungie did the same thing 343i has done. The Master
: Chief's armor changed between every game, and we got the same lazy
: explanations ("Oh, it's a new model."), but people didn't
: complain about it then. They completely changed the design of the Banshee
: for Reach (which admittedly did get quite a bit of flak, if I remember
: correctly).

How is a new model a lazy explanation? It makes sense and sounds desirable.
Both "new" designs after that were basically the same, adding a big scratch and removing some dots and small scratches are the only things I could really point out.
You should have pointed out the Brutes. (Someone would then point out nothing else changed as much as the Brutes.)

: I guess I just take it for what it is: a combination of improved technology
: and 343i wanting to put their personal stamp on Halo.

I don't understand why anyone thinks that's so justifiable, let alone important. I'm not a visual art guy but I've dealt with things other people created before and I was pretty content to leave their style intact in most cases.
There's a point to be made (again?) about it being financially prudent too. Everyone decries Hollywood doing the same things over and over again, but it makes money. Why shake up Halo, what's there to be gained? Halo 4 didn't bring a bunch of new people in and it drove out some old people. Halo 5, we'll see.

: I agree with your Star Wars points. For all it's flaws, the prequel trilogy
: did an amazing job from a design standpoint of making all the technology
: look like it predated the original trilogy and keeping a coherent design
: language. I'm just not sure it's fair to compare a movie to a video game
: in that regard. Lots of games change designs of things between iterations.
: I'm okay with the design of ships and weapons and armors being fluid, as
: long as there is a good resemblance. The assault rifle, for instance,
: hasn't looked the same in any two Halo games, but it's still obviously the
: assault rifle.

I could not tell you the differences between the Halo 3 and Halo 4 assault rifles other than some tiny things being moved or replaced and corners being a little more rounded (and I think the ammo counter font?). The battle rifle likewise has had little visual change across all of the games. The needler has been the same since Reach, which only had a few differences from the one in Halo 3.
Here's a good one: The plasma pistol has never had what I'd call a major redesign, across every single game. It does keep changing though. It's pretty different from the original one now, but it changed incrementally, not all at once. It was never enough for people to say from memory that it's much different from the previous one.
That may be the key to changes that are, well, good, and that people don't balk at.

: I think the same can be said for all the stuff 343i has
: designed. That's still obviously the Warthog, or obviously the Wraith, or
: obviously a Jackal, etc.

Well that's not the case for all of us. The first time I saw a picture of the new Jackal design (without the shield or a weapon, just the enemy in armor) I asked what it was. Someone said it was a Jackal and I said, "No it isn't". They had to insist this was the new design. I would never have made the connection without more context.