: I have the opinion that the game needs to be accessible for everyone (aka
: easy to get into/learn). I'm afraid that having ALLLLL these new options
: and abilities will cause frustrations to new players. We need new players,
: unfortunately to some, to grow this franchise. Knowing this, even though I
: found extra abilities like ground pound fun and super satisfying, I think
: it adds too much.

That's another sentiment I've about Halo as a franchise... not only was Halo a 'slow' style fps, it was simple. Halo 1 was grenade, mellee, and 2 weapons. Now there's so much going on all the time. Granted the average control scheme in most games these days is much higher than when Halo originally released, but I think the simplicity of Halo CE was also something that made it really stand out from the rest, and it drew in an enormous community - even people who rarely or never play FPSs (I knew a number of people in that category who enjoyed Halo). Too many control options is another area where it feels like it's blending in, as it were, with the rest, and raises the barrier to entry. =/