Came to what conclusion? I just reworded the statement made by the devs.
If people didn't like the changes in 5, they would have abandoned it faster, like those other titles.
Fewer people bought the game than any other mainline game. So how well liked was it?
At best, you can argue that it was somewhat better at retaining those who accept advanced movement.
Isn't that the same mentality that has lead to the current state of the Call of Duty franchise? It might be a laughing stock on internet forums, but hey, the fans like it! I really just don't understand what is so unique about Halo. It's a sci fi FPS. I've played a dozen of those. I can understand stentiment and devotion to the characters and themes, and I think the criticism of Halo 5's story are completely valid, but I don't get the fascination with the old school design.
One of the reasons God of War changed (I'm going to go back to this well a lot, just FYI) was because the original game was made in 2005. It was a different era and what worked then wouldn't work today. They modernized the mechanics of the game while keeping the character and themes consistent. It's why the game was still "God of War" at it's core despite existing in a different genre than it did before. It also worked for Assassin's Creed. It was a tired and uninspired social stealth game with it's glory days well behind it. Then they reinvented it as an RPG series and the results have been two of the best games in the franchise. Innovation is not something to turn away from.
Here's a compromise, because it seems we're coming at this from different perspectives: for multiplayer, go nuts. Take away sprinting, ADS, add strafing, make an old school game. Great. Love it. But for single player, deemphasize co-op, double down on an emotional story that's going to get me invested in these characters and make the game world more experiential. Best of both worlds.
The old school design made for a style of Multiplayer that you really couldn't find anywhere else. It was uniquely halo.
The lack of sprint means that everyone can shoot at anytime while moving in any direction.
That might seem like a small detail, but it
greatly changes the way people navigate maps, engage in and retreat from combat, and setup for offense/defense.
This video sums it up rather nicely
It opens with a split screen of a player taking the same route on the H5 and H2 versions of midship. The H5 map is "stretched" to accommodate sprint.
Each route takes the
exact same amount of time time traverse, but it H2, you can traverse it while shooting, looking 360 degrees around you togather information, and dealing damage . With Sprint in H5,you Are locked into looking straight ahead , and you can't deal any damage.
So, the larger maps actually nullify sprint's speed increase, leaving only a lack damage dealing and a lack of free-look as sprints meaninful impact. And the longer maps mean H5s base movement is
relatively slower than in H2.
I don't think people really care THAT much about single player movement mechanics- but even there, you don't have to make the player stop shooting to make running "immersive". A sprint animation, doesn't need to require the character to stop shooting. That's a limitation, not an enhancement.
