I played it in 2009 and still enjoyed it
Recommending it is a different matter
Do also admire all the trial-and-error involved

>>714925854
It's interesting to watch 'O Brave New World' and hear accounts of how only a few believed in Halo's potential
Even stuff like applying stuff pioneered on PCs for cooperative play were doubted just because it was being applied to console
Tragic how the series originated in defying expectations just for new employees to be even more lacking in vision and resort to (cheap) trend-chasing

>>528750161
Lightning in a bottle is too simple of a view anyway. Game design can change for so many reasons and did in Halo's case.
>RTS then TPS then Marcus got them thinking about FPS
>MP is cool but only some of Bungie/MS sees the true potential
>what's popular right now and should we try to top it or stand out?
And all throughout Halo we got tons of games that tried to imitate some elements and slam them together with original ideas, poorly. Also, games that didn't even care about imitation and just did their own thing believing it could turn out good enough even if it was no Halo.
Take the same team but adjust things for a 2021 release date instead of 2001, you'd have something even better. And with all the reports from 343 employees about them trying to apply sound thinking from Bungie-era but being denied by higher-ups, it's plain to see both fans and devs want more of the good stuff in Halo, but they so often get overruled by people blinded by greed.