Why are melee attacks so much stronger than guns?
You're wearing full body armor. And holding a gun. Feel free to shoot at us. Yep, go ahead, start now, we're almost ready. Why? Because we're going to hit you over the head with our weapon before you can kill us. Works. Every. Time.
Why don't we leave marks in the snow when we fall?
Lost Planet, Amped, MotorStorm... even Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball has ground that reacts to the characters' feet. Not Halo 3. Master Chief falls heavily, sliding down a snowy slope with his body sunk deep into it. Only it hasn't. The snow remains as pristine behind him as it was when it fell. There are some footprints, but they vanish almost immediately and look flat. This isn't next-gen - it isn't even last-gen. The core game was already complete in Halo 1 or 2. All we need is next-gen flair and we'll be happy. Come on, Bungie, we want our snow angels!
Why did they bother with the single falling leaf?
In the High Ground map, you'll often see a single leaf fall from the trees above. One leaf. We could have had an autumnal scene with thousands of individually rendered leaves swirling in air disturbance from rockets... instead we get one slowly-descending leaf. That you can't shoot. That disappears through the floor.
Keep telling yourself: "It's only the Beta..."