: I don't know exactly what he's referring to, but I can guess that it may be
: the brawl between the Chief and Locke on Meridian. If that is the case I
: wouldn't want to have that experience for myself in gameplay. I don't know
: how that fight could have been left to the player had it not been in the
: form of timed actions and button mashing.

I could have been anything. It could have been the opening cutscene for all we know. You could have dropped down to the surface MDK style while still maintaining control. As for the fight, you simply have it be a gunfight that you let the player partake in. MGS largely did this and its boss fights are legendary.

: He could have been referring to the introduction scenes for Blue and Osiris
: and I still can't see how that would have worked outside of giving free
: reign, which seems almost mindbogglingly impossible given the scale of
: that setting. The only reasonable method I could see is working is similar
: to ODST when we fell in the drop pods with limited use of the camera. That
: might have been a little weird considering the scale of the battle and the
: limited ways you could control the character throughout the scene. I'm
: totally fine starting off where we did and seeing the amazing scenes we
: did from a third-person perspective.

Play or watch the MDK opening and imagine building upon that.

: I just don't see how it's a "cardinal rule" and not just his own
: personal take on it, which is totally fine. I've never felt like I've been
: robbed when someone I play as, whether a protagonist with a linear
: storyline or a character I've crafted myself, does something absolutely
: fantastic on screen.

I think cinematic are generally reserved for emotional or interpersonal interactions, which are difficult to have the player do since interaction with the game world is largely limited to the physical. As such, it makes perfect sense to have the players do any action that is cool.