I like video games.... A lot. So yeah, I'm heading off to LA to study game design and do a little acting on the side. Wish me luck?:]
"We make games we want to play."
That quote is exactly what should be kept in mind. I think it just might be what decided if you liked Reach or not, and I, personally, really do haha. The first Halo games, especially 2 and 3, were kinda a balance of the Bungie flavor and the lore (lore+general fan service trying-to-please-everyone stuff), but Reach was Bungie flavor to it's fullest. I doubt they had the control of the lore like they used to now that 343 was taking over during Reach, and they were probably completely okay with that! Why? Cuz I bet Bungie fully believes that 343 is going to be great for the franchise. As far as the insertion and care of the lore goes, 343 is a mix of past Bungie employes and hardcore fans putting their heart and soul into it, so I'm way stoked for that. So as the other part of that trade off, Bungie got to take the direction they wanted on the series.
During the ViDoc, a lot of people complained about Bungie pointing out the flaws of Halo 2, but not mentioning any flaws of Reach. You have to keep in mind that it's from their perspective. Halo 2 had "flaws" because they had to cut so much, and so much of what they strived for didn't work out in the end. It was like an unfinished painting, but only unfinished in a personal way- a way that no one outside of Bungie would really notice because the painting was above awesome anyways. But Reach was that painting, the personal painting they got to finish and finish their contribution with, and maybe with it being more personal to them, the less it was to others. It really is a trade off, but "Bungie's Swan Song" was used way too much for that not to be the case.
I personally like Bungie games because of how they're made. That little hint of underlying stuff, the stuff that you can instantly recognize that it is, indeed, a Bungie game! So I loved Reach because of that, they took that opportunity (shown above) to adopt back their personal style/pizzazz/feng shui, and the game had an overflowing of it seeping through every single *insert witty object title other than crack*.
So the reason I'm stoked for Bungie to pass on the Halo Universe is because I'm comfortable with it in 343's hands, and it gives Bungie its freedom back to make more of the games they want to make, games that I truly enjoy. That, in turn, makes me even more interested/excited than ever for their new universe. And HOLY CRUD am I excited.
So here's to looking to the future Bungie, or, you know, something cheesy like that. I seriously can't wait!
P.S. If the post title made it un-clear, Reach is to blame, but, in a good way (haha, it just didn't all fit). Oh, and this post turned out to be way longer than expected.
Haha, my bad.
[Edited on 08.05.2011 7:42 AM PDT]