>>723856697
Halo differentiated itself mechanically with
>2 weapon limit
>Vehicles
>NPC allies
>grenade hotkey
>Shield/regenerating HP mechanics
>Jumping
>Melee hotkey
>Physics
>Enemies can dodge
>enemies use the same weapons you have
>Enemies can also jump
>Damage mods vs HP compared to v shield for weapons
>Weapons have alt/charged attacks
>Turrets can be picked up
>dual wielding
>hijacking
>Armor abilities
>unique throwables
>etc

Visual/audio
>borrows from starship troopers/Anime
>realistic human weapons
>Aliens instead of demons
>Silly enemies like grunts
>Enemies talking in general
>Having an actual story/cutscenes

Halo objectively felt like it was doing its own thing in the early 2000s.