[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] eating lunch I doubt 343 can turn Halo around even if they have the talent and desire since they will be under pressure from Microsoft, at least I imagine that's how it will be.[/quote] Well that's just it, Bungie was under no pressure to make Reach the least bit enjoyable. It's their swan-song, the last departing effort made to finish up the franchise and leave it with as little fuss as possible. The future was already decided (no more Halo) so of course Bungie ducked under the bar of expectation knowing that whatever comes of this game, there's going to be another, bigger, multi-platform release (hence the deal with [i]Activision[/i]) to compensate for whatever Reach doesn't get them. No pressure, no direction, nothing good, which is where 343 has a tremendous advantage in crafting a far better game than Reach because they have the intrinsic motivation to not push -blam!- out. Their entire existance is based on Halo, and if it doesn't perform they'll be out of a job (or at least reassigned to other stuff) and that's a good of a reason as any to try, to innovate, and in general to make a truly good game as opposed to making one that just fits the bill.