I've been thinking about this for a while. Probably controversial, but...

Does anyone else think the Bungie games were better in literally every way? I know a lot of people will instinctively disagree since it's such a bold statement on Reddit, but after a lot of deep reflection, I believe they were better in literally every single category. Hear me out:

• Gameplay: Gameplay was way better back in the day. All this modern sprinting and sliding really ruins the super soldier feeling you get when your max speed is a soccer mom walk. Super soldiers don't need to run. And "advanced movement mechanics" are only cool when they come from glitches like super bounces and collision issues on traffic cones.
• Sandbox: The weapon selection was clearly best back then. For example, the fact that the Battle Rifle was so good in H2 and H3 that you'd never pick up literally anything else that isn't a power weapon made it really easy to decide what to use, rather than in Infinite where different guns are good at different things and it's annoying to think about what to pick up.
• Networking: Online multiplayer is way better without dedicated servers. It's fun to get Host and know your shotgun effectively has more range, you can kill enemies before they see you, and you can even pull high skill maneuvers like using a lag switch to really dunk on the n00bs. I also liked the skill factor in Halo 3 where your bullet velocity with the BR varied based on your ping, so you had to lead your shots differently each game.
• Graphics: Everything looked better back then. Less is more when it comes to polygon count.
• Art Style: Bungie art style was cohesive. Have you seen the Yoroi set? I want to be a Spartan, OR a Ninja Gaiden with katana, not both at the same time. And don't even get me started on Hazmat. Spartans. Don't. Wear. Pants.
• Customization: Not only did I have access to decent color combinations back then, but I could also use ugly combos. I didn't use them, but now I'm mad I can't. It's also annoying that now you have to pick between clean and glossy coatings, matte coatings, shiny coatings, dirty coatings, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical, etc. That just gives me decision fatigue. I'd rather have everyone look basically the same but technically have more options mathematically. Oh and the coolest part of all that was the fact that in all team modes you were just red or blue. It's nice that if you don't have time to customize you look exactly the same 90% of the time anyway! I also like that there were no accessibility settings back then. If you can't tell the difference between red and blue, that's a skill issue.
• Monetization: Back then you could get all the customization and gameplay for only $60. Now you don't have to pay anything to play, which means there are too many poor people online. You also get about the same amount of customization for free, and if you pay $10 for the Battlepasses you can easily get 4x the customization Reach had with less grind. Okay I can see how that sounds worse, but the fact that you are now allowed to spend more money to get even more on top of that is just plain unethical. It's also annoying that new maps are added all the time for free. Map packs were better because they cost money. If you don't understand how paid customization is unethical but paid gameplay content is good, I don't know how to help you.
• Soundtrack: Marty. Nuff said.
• Story: All this character building in 343 games is weak. Green tank man go boom, that's all the story I need. This isn't a soap opera.