1) Art direction is subjective, graphics are not. I do not think any games graphical improvements are open for interpretation. Its 1's and 0's, its either got more/better effects or it doesn't. The frame rate is either higher, the same, or worse.
2) But HOW is it factually better looking? This was my original question, that still has not been answered other than "I think it has more particle effects on screen" and "it just looks better when I use my eyeballs to look at it"
There are no facts being presented here. A fact would be "Bungie has implemented soft shadows and higher resolution textures." An opinion would be "it just looks better." I feel like I'm only reading opinions, just wondering if there are any facts on what they're doing to improve the engine.