A couple of nights ago, I played Reach for the first time since Halo 4 was released with Avateur & The Backpackers. After I joined, the party went into the Invasion playlist.
The first thing I noticed was the bloom. Full-on bloom. It was terrible, and it immediately reinforced my approval of how 343 changed the core gameplay mechanics: the lack of bloom, the faster movement, the higher jumps. And it underscored the frustration I felt on Halo 4's release: that the basic elements were in place to bring a game that was better than Reach, but were counteracted by a host of crap (perks, gameplay-affecting player investment, ordnance, poor maps, etc). Even the art suffered -- I spent a couple of minutes in my armory just looking at my Spartan's (iconic!) model, wishing 343 had kept the same aesthetic rather than the weird anime-inspired look they went with.
Sorry for the short, Milleresque "just a reminder that I'm not happy" post, but I thought this was worth mentioning. 343 was so close to making a game I'd play and enjoy more than I did Reach, and yet so far.
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