User blog comment:The Milkman/Phantasy Philosophy: Elder Scrolls/@comment-4854487-20120920173958/@comment-3492791-20120922025947

Remakes don't "improve" the game. Remakes are usually the exact same engine with improved art assets. They use spit an polish to trick you into buy a game you already have. The only redeeming quality of remake in my mind is that usually they playable on modern systems, rather than the original that requires you to have an outdated console to play.

H:CE remake was a horrible travesty. I had always said it didn't need to be remade, and still believe it shouldn't have, but that isn't why it's bad. 343 used it as a ploy. 343 re-released a game that was already proven to be a fantastic game, under their name and with better graphics. They did this in a attempt to gain the trust of the skeptical Halo fans, by both doing something that had been asked for (but not by me), and putting their name on something good. They improved the graphics in a subtle metaphor for showing that they will make the series better. They took something that was already a proven success, and made people think they made it better. It was basically a plan that couldn't fail. The duel engine is something that really peeved me, because it was a total show a vanity. It existed solely for the purpose of allowing them to show off.

But there was also a secondary motive. They added terminals into the game, for the purpose of delivering their re-written history. 343 wanted a method to establish their history over the existing canon, and decided the best way to do that was to put it in the original game to strengthen it's credibility. I may hold a grudge against them for that, but I still find it a valid point to dislike them for it.