Aha, I find hype makes games far more enjoyable. Makes me ignore any real problems and lets me just enjoy the game. Then again, when the hype wears off the problems start to show themselves.
I was hyped for Reach. Guess how that turned out. Shattered all the trust i had with Bungie, and they most certainly didn't regain it with Destiny (which i feel is better than Reach but then that wasn't very high bar).
Then there's BioWare and Mass Effect 3. Holy shit... I liked Dragon Age 2 better than Origins but it never fixed the world, which is very important in a fantasy game for me (the only one i like is the Elder Scrolls world when it comes to fantasy video games).
Battlefield 3 was nowhere near as good as BFBC2... and hearing what happened with BF4...
Starcraft 2 is an immense disappointment, story-wise after the original and Brood War. WoW has fucked everything great in Warcraft after wonderful Warcraft 3 and its expansion.
343i did well with Halo 4 issues aside, but i will never again give any game company trust, they will have to earn it again and again with each game.
The only games i still hold any hype for are Bethesda's mainline Elder Scrolls games (and perhaps the next Fallout), because i know i will enjoy those, or that at least they have very extensive modding. EDIT i'm not contradicting myself really, Bethesda still needs to earn my trust. I just will be hyped for their games... a bit. Which is more than anyone else gets.
I dunno, little Chief in the Fall of Reach comics was kind of little shit. I guess there always has been SOME personality left dormant, but yeah i see what youre saying.
I never liked The Fall of Reach book really. The world is interesting but the Chief... Nylund's characterization of the Chief is very different from his portrayal in the games, or Halo 4. And not something i like at all. Let's not even speak about The Flood, which is really terrible. The bookChief just doesn't mesh with the gameChief.
EDIT not sure what to think of the child the Chief was. Personality changes a lot. Doesn't necessarily mean much.