So, back in the day, I was excited about every Halo that came out. I was a huge Bungie fan. I went back and played Marathon because I wanted to see where they came from. I went to midnight releases of every Halo from Halo 2 on. I was active at HBO. But then, several things happened...
I switched jobs and wasn't able to sit at a desk all day anymore. I became a Youth Pastor. My son got involved in sports. I became a foster parent. In general, life got busy. But that wasn't what really drove me away.
I picked up Halo 4 at midnight with Mariachi. We were excited. We went back a played through the campaign together, a time honored tradition. It was enjoyable, but I can remember thinking then, "Wait, what is going on?" The reality was, Halo 4 was forgettable. It was a good, fun game, but I just had no desire to go back to it. I played Spartan Ops and like it with friends, but the competitive multiplayer wasn't as fun. It just didn't capture that "fun" feeling for me. I just wasn't excited for it. And as such, I lost my excitement for the future of Halo.
I heard about Destiny, but I didn't have time to really dig into it. I preordered just in time to get into the Beta. Man, I'm glad I did.
I had so much fun playing the beta. I didn't want to stop. Every encounter felt familiar, but fresh and new. I can't wait to play the full game Bungie has created.

Thank Bungie, you rekindled my fire. I'm excited again.
-Jester GS

And it feels good.

Initially I was turned off by all the floaty jumps, glowy ball magic attacks and the MMO aspects.

The Beta relieved me of some of those issues.

I do not take Halo 4 as a catalyst for a possible hiatus from Halo or a move to Destiny. 9 steady years of Halo and I need some change, at least for awhile. TITANFALL has filled some of what I need for now and Destiny will too.

Initially I was turned off by all the floaty jumps, glowy ball magic attacks and the MMO aspects.

The Beta relieved me of some of those issues.

I do not take Halo 4 as a catalyst for a possible hiatus from Halo or a move to Destiny. 9 steady years of Halo and I need some change, at least for awhile. TITANFALL has filled some of what I need for now and Destiny will too.

I've actually been playing H4 again and enjoying it, far more than I did originally. I think too much Halo without some variety is bad. So, I'm happy with Halo, and am looking forward to the MCC and H5.

That being said, to Jester's OP...I feel a ton of anticipation and excitement for Destiny. I absolutely loved the Warlock's lift once I got used to it and feel downright laborious in H4.

Simply put - I loved the beta, and best of all - so did my friends. That's worth the $60 price of admission, easily. I feel downright giddy thinking about all of the secrets to be uncovered.

A grand new adventure, just over the horizon.

I was excited about a handful of other games before I spent a week with the beta. Now, the more information revealed about Destiny, the more it eclipses all other concerns. I don't think I'm going to be playing many other games for the rest of 2014, and then 2015.