J'aen said:
When you say huge difference I get a mental image of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons cursing DC because Superman's cape is a centimetre too long.
In Halo 2 your could switch weapons instantly leading to kills with the sword not even extended and Plasma Pistol-Battle rifle kills in halo 3 this can not be done.that is a minor change that drastically changed the gameplay (see MLG Halo 2 matches vs Halo 3 matches)
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26259469
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=22887445
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=23053324&viewreplies=true
There is even a petition for sidewinder
http://www.petitiononline.com/h3swindr/petition.html